It’s official. After applying the fingerspelling and Look Say Cover White Check strategies, your charges are hooked on learning spelling, Yes, their enthusiasm is not a hoax. (Btw, true story. My lower secondary school teacher used to separate the boys from the girls and play Spelling Bee with us. She called out ‘hoax’ once. My male classmate misspelt it as ‘hook’; my female classmate got it correctly, much to the chagrin of us boys. I don’t know why this is such an indelible memory for me.)

Anyway, your charges ask, “Is there any rationale behind these Y2 words?” Of course, there is! As the popular saying goes, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Many of these words are related to planning your life: schedule, calendar, deadline, postponed, and biannual. Other words like “rejuvenate” and “mindfulness” and “flexible” may not appear to be related to planning at first glance, but when viewed from the lens of the over-scheduled lives of modern people, they serve as a poignant reminder for them to take it easy. Don’t be “frustrated” when “complications” pop up like cockroaches along the way. Keep calm and carry on, as Winston Churchill is allegedly reported to have said.

One last thing, NorthLight students learn the word “delay” during Term 3 in Year 3, with the context being transport schedules. You might want to highlight to them how “postponed” is a synonym.