The Smith family dining room was no place for Scrabble novices Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours after 11-year-old Christian Smith became the third son to win the Colorado State Spelling Bee.
Seven children ages 2 to 16, two parents and an assortment of pets clamored around a high-top table that held a Scrabble board and an imposing Webster’s dictionary — unabridged, of course.
Life in the Highlands Ranch family has become an annual cycle of prepping for and competing in bees, and even playtime can help squeeze in a few more words.
“It’s fun studying. Jake helps me study a lot,” Christian said, referring to a brother. “I’ve always liked stepping up to the mic, having the adrenaline rush.”
The Smiths again will travel to Washington, D.C., May 24-30 for the national championship.
The vocabulary virtuosos fell into their spelling dynasty by accident.
When Zack, now 16, won his class bee in fifth grade, mother Kirstin started training him in earnest. Zack made it to the state championship on his first shot.
“He spelled words I’d never heard of,” said the kids’ father, David. “I sat there astonished.”
That was before the Smiths boned up on spelling-bee strategy and orthography became a family passion.
Last year, David and 14-year-old son Jake temporarily moved to a Broomfield apartment to bypass rules that bar previous state winners from competing back-to-back. Jake had already won the state title in 2007.
Alec, 12, won last year.
Drills of thousands of obscure spelling-bee words start anywhere from spring to mid-fall in the Smith house. They study Greek and Latin roots. And each retired champion teaches his kid brother a few more tricks.
Christian, as a fifth-grader, won the state competition earlier than any Smith before him with the word “lucigen.”
Kirstin, who is home-schooling Christian this year, is quick to point out the family’s other hobbies.
“We’re not nerds,” she jokes.
Christian plays acoustic guitar, Alec the sax.
They all play backyard football and care for a growing menagerie of two dogs, three bearded dragons, two snakes, a cat and a hermit crab.
As toddler Dawson squirmed across the Scrabble table Sunday and a few of the boys launched hopping Easter figurines into the air, others pressed with growing urgency for 8-year-old Caleb and David to take their turns.
There were peals of laughter and loud thumps from 6-year-old Jillian, who went AWOL to dance in the living room.
Finding two to four quiet hours a day to train can be tough in this house.
But Christian dutifully follows his advice to other would-be champs:
“Study your heart out.”
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
