Big List of Student Competitions - let's start one

[SoCal_Bear]

Maybe I missed it, but is there a master thread with students competitions listed anywhere especially ones that people thought were good? I would love to be able to find that all in one place. I was thinking that this format/layout would be good. Eventually, I can compile it into some sort of spreadsheet.

 

Name / Subject / Age or Grade Range / Individual or Team / open to Homeschoolers / Cost / Registration date / Competition Date / website link

 

I don't have a child that is really competition age yet, but I thought this would be useful information to put together and have as a resource. These are the other ones that I do know about so I will eventually look up and compile that information eventually and put it together. So, if you post a competition, please help me out and post the particulars listed above or if you have the information for any of these, please post it as it will help me out in putting this info together.

 

Mathnasium Trimathon Math, Kangaroo Math, Talent Search Testing, World Education Games, Continental Math League, Noetic Math League, Exploratory Latin Exam, National Mythology Exam, National Classical Etymology Exam, Math Counts, AMC 8, AMC 10/12, National History Bee, National Geography Bee, National Spelling Bee, Bible Bee, Odyssey of the mind (team), Lego Frist League (team), Science Olympiad (team)

 

[Crimson Wife]

Prufrock Press has a book on the topic: http://www.prufrock.com/The-Best-Competitions-for-Talented-Kids-Win-Scholarships-Big-Prize-Money-and-Recognition-P1889.aspx

[Dmmetler]

These are ones we've done from the list above:

 

Mathnasium trimathlon, usually September/Early October, Grades 2-5 (K and 1st can participate at most centers as 2nd graders), Individual, free, open to homeschoolers, must find participating center, http://www.mathnasiumtrimathlon.com/

 

Math Kangaroo, April, Grades 1-12, Individual, fee based, open to homeschoolers, must find participating site or host a site (different rules in different countries), http://www.mathkangaroo.org/mk/default.html (USA)

 

Talent search testing-grade range depends on program, fee based, open to homeschoolers who have qualifying scores on grade level testing, fee based, check with local or national program (BESTS, TIPS, CTY etc).  We use BESTS http://www2.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/students/bests/

 

Continental Math League and other subject tests- Grades 2-12 for most subjects, individual or team, open to homeschoolers, $20/student or $95/team, can do at home, no outside proctor needed, http://www.continentalmathematicsleague.com/  (also, science, current events, language arts, geography and social studies). Math given monthly from November-March, other tests given in set window in April.

 

Exploratory Latin Exam-grades 3-6, open to homeschoolers, about $20 to register as an individual, less if you register as a group, no outside proctor needed, test window from October-April http://www.etclassics.org/

 

National Mythology exam-grades 3-9+, open to homeschoolers, about $20 to register as an individual, test given in set window in March/April less if you register as a group, no outside proctor needed, http://www.etclassics.org/

 

National Classical Etymology Exam, National Latin Vocabulary Exam, National Roman Culture Exam- grades 9-12, but younger students taking classics can participate (but will be scored in comparison to whatever the lowest age group/division is), School registration fee of $15, plus $4/student, online test given in set window, http://www.aclclassics.org/pages/exams Must be proctored by someone other than the teaching parent if given at home, must be given to all members of a group at the same time if given as a group.

 

World Education Games- Grades K-12, online competition in Math, Science, and Spelling/language. Free to participate, homeschoolers compete directly for their country as "team Countryname". Register online. The next competition is scheduled for fall of 2015. http://www.3plearning.com/worldeducationgames/  In the past, there have been regional challenges like the American Math Challenge leading up to the games-the best bet is to pre-register on the website so you get e-mails.

 

 

 

 

[SoCal_Bear]

Thanks, Crimson Wife. I wanted to create a list of ones that were tried and true. Well organized, thoughtfully put together and worth the time to consider doing.

 

 

[acurtis75]

In addition to almost all the ones that dmmetler listed we have done:

 

Just for Fun and Scripps Spelling Bee - (1-3rd, 3rd-8th respectively), no cost, usually in February. We do a qualifying bee through our local homeschool group to go to the regional group bee which then has a spot if you win for the citywide bee in our large metropolitan area. 

 

Geography Bee - Same age divisions as spelling bee through the same group. No cost. Usually January.

 

Information for our area for both of these http://www.sethsa.org

 

AWANA quizzing competition. No cost. Through our local church but I believe they have these all over the country.

 

Bible bee - three age divisions ranging from age 6 or 7 all the way up to seniors in high school. Approximately $30 for family study materials. There are verses to memorize and then a study guide for a particular book of the Bible. You study over the summer and then in late August either compete in a local bee or take a test online (which we did due to travel schedule). Top 120 in each category go to a national competition in October/November. DD participated this year for the first time and we're going to nationals next month. There are pretty significant scholarship and cash awards but the scholarships are mostly for pretty conservative Christian schools so that would be an issue for some people. I like that some of them are for online tuition and were dd to win some we would probably use them during high school years. www.biblebee.org

[JeanM]

National History Day has two divisions - junior (middle school) and senior (high school). They have categories for individual entries and group entries. I think the group entries are 2-5 people, but I'm not positive. Their website is http://www.nhd.org/. I think a lot of the details like when and where depend on your state. Both of my kids have participated, and it's been a great experience for both of them. Between them they've done individual documentaries, group documentaries, and individual performance. There are also categories for papers, websites, and exhibits.

[Dmmetler]

On spelling bee/Geography bee-that depends on your local group. One of the local groups does host it for HSers, but limits participation at any but a "fun" level to kids in their last couple of years of eligibility. I guess they figure that will make them look better, but it led my DD to drop out of doing the "fun" bees because she felt guilty for winning every year, and there wasn't a higher level competition to go on to. They also do charge a fee.

 

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. Grades 9-12 (if younger students participate, they only have four years of eligibility-be aware, also-last year, a girl won a Davidson Fellowship, but didn't actually place at JSHS with the SAME project. That's the level that it takes to win). Students prepare a paper and oral presentation outlining an independent research project to present at a regional qualifier, usually hosted by a university.  Very homeschool friendly (all students enter as individuals, and while schools may choose to send a limited number of projects, there is no requirement that htey do so-if 50 students from a single school wish to enter and are working at that level, they can do so), Top regional finalists go on to nationals to compete for scholarships. Mostly paid for and hosted by the US Department of Defense, therefore US proof of legal residence or citizenship is required.  http://www.jshs.org/

 

Intel Science and Engineering Fair-Prestigious high school science project competition, with high scholarship prizes for winners. Must compete in and qualify in a SSP fair in a US state or foreign country (many of these also send finalists to a state competition, as well as being able to give direct bids to ISEF). Regional fairs usually do allow homeschooolers to participate, but often add an extra hoop to jump (like having a preliminary just for homeschoolers). Be aware that if you are registered with a charter or cover school you may not be able to enter as a homeschooler, even if your school does not have a preliminary. For such questions, contact the regional coordinator. https://apps2.societyforscience.org/ssp-affiliate-fair/

 

For both JSHS and ISEF, please be aware that coordinating a regional preliminary is a BIG job and is one that is normally handed to a lower level faculty member who has a full-time job already (and it's often not compensated at all, or if it is, not well). E-mail is usually the best way to get in touch, provide a lot of lead time, and be aware that there are certain times of the year, like from Thanksgiving through January, that you have a good chance of getting lost in the cracks because that's such a high pressure time of year. If you are part of a homeschool group, it's a good idea to set one e-mail address to get all the contest information (for this and for any contests) which can be manned by whatever parent is interested NOW and the information distributed, then be passed to the next person.

 

 

 

 

[acurtis75]

This thread reminded me that there is also a history bee. We didn't participate because I found out too late this year but will probably do it for 2015. The individual registration cost is $75 and the first round (which can be done online) is conducted in January.

 

http://historybee.com

[Targhee]

First Lego League - open to homeschool/mixed teams, 9 up to 14 years old, team competition with maximum of 10 and minimum of 3 kids, technology/engineering. This is an excellent program! Kids learn much more than Legos and robots, like problem solving, working in groups, project management, etc. Regional, state, and national competitions.

 

Science Olympiad - open to homeschoolers with restrictions on geography (teams can only be made up of members living in 2 contiguous counties), max of 15 members competing in 23 events involving both study-test and build-test events. Events change/rotate. There are three groups A (elementary, don't know much about them), B (middle school, through 9th grade) and C (high school, including 9th). 9th graders can compete on either B or C team but not both. Regional, State, and National competitions.