the school spelling bee

As I type this, I'm waiting for the finals of the school spelling bee to start. 

I was very shocked to get an invitation last week to the spelling bee to watch Mac in said finals.  

Had the invitation been for the finals of a sports contest, sure. But the spelling bee falls under "academic pursuit", and Mac usually stays away from those. 

There are 8 students in the finals. Four 6th graders, two 7th graders and two 8th graders. 

I asked him if participation in the early bees was mandatory. It was not. 

I asked if it had been a written test up until now. It has not been. 

I asked if he wanted me to help him study, make flash cards, etc. He did not. 

He told me his study plan was to just stare at as many words as he saw in a day and commit them to memory. He has a great memory, but I'm not sure it's photographic. But I checked my Tiger Mom instinct and left it alone. 

Yesterday he told me one of the 6th grade co-competitors asked if he'd been studying. He told her no, he said she looked shocked, and so he mentioned his casual approach to spelling bee training. I don't think she or her Tiger Mom are impressed. 

Mac then told me the whole reason he started with the spelling bee tryouts was to earn extra credit in Reading. He bombed a test, and knew the extra credit would boost his grade. Jimmy and I kept asking how his grade had improved so much. Now we know. 

He also told me that he knows he won't win, but the winner gets to skip an entire class. For what reason, I don't know. But that's his incentive. Skipping a class. 

If you could send out some positive energy starting at 8:15 today, that would be much appreciated. I don't care if he wins or loses this thing; I just don't want humiliation in front of an auditorium full of people.  

Here's to hoping his photographic memory is switched "on" today!