Spelling Bee--Kid Spellers are Edu-Cool

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We watched the national spelling bee (on ESPN, no less) this week, and my 8-year-old daughter was mesmerized while these mostly middle schoolers and their ability to correctly spell such obscure words.

There's definitely more than memorizing the spelling of thousands of words, including learning word origins to predict the spellings, not to mention remaining calm under increasing pressure while on camera.

Would you encourage your child to dedicate the time it takes to be a spelling be champ? What would you do to help your child succeed?

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Parent Replies to "Spelling Bee--Kid Spellers are Edu-Cool"

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Darn it! A PTA meeting ran late. I'll be watching it on ESPN360 this weekend.

But here's a great article from Teacher Magazine on how these kids thrive with the companionship they feel during the event: www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2009/05/26/spellingbeecompetitors_ap.html?qs=spelling+bee

Another great spelling bee film is the documentary titled, "Spellbound."
Here's a link to the trailer:
www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi915013913/

If you're interested in spelling bees, I highly recommend this film!!!

My daughter is a spelling be champ. It's not that difficult to expand kids vocabulary if they love to read everything. In that context, the words stick because they have meaning and it is just reading, not all memorization. It totally depends on the kids hunger for words.

The 2009 Bee airs tonight. We were apparently watching last year's. But we will watch it tonight.

For kids who often complain what's the point of learning a language, aside from say communicating with other people, there is this whole additional understanding of where words come from to begin with. I found an online ethmology dictionary that's pretty interesting, located here: www.etymonline.com/

I never thought of memorizing a whole list of words as rewarding, but learning their origins, their meanings, and the rest, well, that's a good lesson.

I'll definitely check out the movie. Thanks!

I heard on NPR yesterday afternoon that a female student from Valencia, California, advanced to the next level (semi-finals, I believe?). However, a student from Orange County did not advance.

An excellent movie to rent about Spelling Bees is "Akelah (sp) and the Bee." My son has watched it a couple of times, and each time, it gives him an extra boost to learn new words and their meanings.

I'll have to check out the schedule for the Bee, so we can watch it, as well. Thanks, MagnetMom, for sharing!

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