Tag Archives: Matilda

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Spelling Bee

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Chloe has her first-ever spelling bee on Friday. She’s supposed to study the spelling words she’s accumulated in class over the last few months, and we started our preparations this evening. She spelled word after word after word. And in a tribute to the movie “Akeelah and the Bee,” which we watched together a couple of weeks ago, we stuck to the most difficult words from her lists.

But she was more interested in singing the spelling than actually spelling the words correctly. So she spent most of her time misspelling and then respelling. But she had fun, and I did a good job of maintaining a calm demeanor (the spelling coaching does get kind of boring after a few minutes, but I will admit to enjoying that more than some of her arts & crafts projects).

In the meantime, we’re making good progress with Matilda by Roald Dahl. We haven’t laughed out loud as much as we did the first time, but we’re enjoying it a whole lot. The downside is that Matilda’s precocious reading hasn’t really inspired Chloe to read much on her own, but that will come with time. I just know it will.

My Artists & Writers in Training

Matilda

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I just spent the last 1/2 hour reading the first three chapters of Roald Dahl’s Matilda with Chloe. We finished A Wrinkle in Time yesterday, which she loved. But it was a little intense, and I thought we’d do well to enjoy some lighter fare.

By the third chapter, we were laughing so hard we were crying. It was the image of a little boy with a finger superglued inside his nose that did it. And the language, of course. We laughed and laughed and laughed.

It was actually difficult to put the book down, but I didn’t want to set precedent by reading too much at once, or else she’d be pleading with me to read and read and read every night. And I’d go insane. What I’m hoping is that this might actually be the book that pushes her to read on her own.

You’d think she’d get it. If she reads on her own, she can read when she wants. She wouldn’t need to depend on her mommy’s schedule for reading sessions. She’s a great reader, so that’s not an issue. I like to think that it’s simply because she loves my company and how I read to her.

In the meantime, I will admit that I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow’s visit with Matilda. On second thought, maybe she should wait for the next book before she discovers the joys of reading on her own.