tjarnold Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Have any of you used any of the Hexco National Spelling Bee prep products? I can't find any sample pages online or anything about their return policies, so I'm a bit wary about spending so much on the products. I have a 6th-grader going to the National Bee in a few months and just want to check out all the options. Of course, if he were just willing to read the M-W unabridged, then I wouldn't have to spend anything ...:) Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences, Tiffany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjarnold Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 Anybody? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprimis Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 We found Hexco's "Spelling Rules Book" to be very helpful. Patterns and roots are explained in-depth. However, you can't beat lots of reading----quality literature, classics, science magazines, atlases, even cookbooks!-----as a recipe for success at the National bee. Congratulations and have a wonderful time in Washington, it was an amazing experience for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjarnold Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 Thanks so much for your response. I was wondering about the Spelling Rules Book and whether it would be a useful tool. If you would like to share more about your experiences at the National Bee, I'd love to hear about them. We've been to D.C. many times as my husband's family lives in northern VA, but attending the actual Bee will be completely new for us. Thanks again, Tiffany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprimis Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Tiffany, I sent you a pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sremer Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 http://www.spellingbeebook.com I placed 4th in the NSB in 2008 and 34th in 2007, and I recently wrote a book I'm sure your child will find helpful. If you'd like to purchase it, please use the discount code XPKUW5A9 for $3.00 off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjarnold Posted March 15, 2010 Author Share Posted March 15, 2010 Thanks for your suggestion. I'll check it out. Tiffany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Have any of you used any of the Hexco National Spelling Bee prep products? I can't find any sample pages online or anything about their return policies, so I'm a bit wary about spending so much on the products. I have a 6th-grader going to the National Bee in a few months and just want to check out all the options. Of course, if he were just willing to read the M-W unabridged, then I wouldn't have to spend anything ...:) Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences, Tiffany Congratulations! We will be there, also! DS12 is also a sixth grader and just won his regional bee this week. We have been twice before with DD17. Yes, we have used a couple of Hexco products in the past. One of them was Nat's Notes. I believe this worked fairly well for DD17. We just purchased the "VerboMentor" set for DS12 to prepare for this bee, but we do not have experience with it, though. It is expensive, but we are friends with the Spelling Bee Mom who pronounces the words in this product and she has recommended it for our son. I DO know that she is an excellent pronouncer as she pronounces for our local HS bee. Her son was 8th a couple of years ago and her daughter went last year and is also going this year. I'll point MomsintheGarden to this thread. Perhaps she can give you more insight. You can also PM her if you like. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjarnold Posted March 20, 2010 Author Share Posted March 20, 2010 Congratulations! We will be there, also! DS12 is also a sixth grader and just won his regional bee this week. We have been twice before with DD17. Yes, we have used a couple of Hexco products in the past. One of them was Nat's Notes. I believe this worked fairly well for DD17. We just purchased the "VerboMentor" set for DS12 to prepare for this bee, but we do not have experience with it, though. It is expensive, but we are friends with the Spelling Bee Mom who pronounces the words in this product and she has recommended it for our son. I DO know that she is an excellent pronouncer as she pronounces for our local HS bee. Her son was 8th a couple of years ago and her daughter went last year and is also going this year. I'll point MomsintheGarden to this thread. Perhaps she can give you more insight. You can also PM her if you like. Good luck! Congratulations to you, too! We did go ahead and buy the Hexco Spelling Rules Book, and I've been amazed at how excited my son is by it. I'd love to hear more about your family's experiences -- both at past national bees and with the Hexco products you described. Also, if there is any chance your son would be interested in being a spelling buddy/pen pal with my son, please feel free to send a PM. Good luck, Tiffany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 (edited) Congratulations! We will be there, also! DS12 is also a sixth grader and just won his regional bee this week. We have been twice before with DD17. Yes, we have used a couple of Hexco products in the past. One of them was Nat's Notes. I believe this worked fairly well for DD17. We just purchased the "VerboMentor" set for DS12 to prepare for this bee, but we do not have experience with it, though. It is expensive, but we are friends with the Spelling Bee Mom who pronounces the words in this product and she has recommended it for our son. I DO know that she is an excellent pronouncer as she pronounces for our local HS bee. Her son was 8th a couple of years ago and her daughter went last year and is also going this year. I'll point MomsintheGarden to this thread. Perhaps she can give you more insight. You can also PM her if you like. Good luck! Well, I looked at the shelves, and found that even though I talked about Nat's notes for years, I never actually bought it. Dd confirmed my unpurchase. Reg - aren't you glad for all the money I saved us?:) Here's what we actually bought, and what we think of each item. Before I start, I just want to tell folks that Hexco's books, while rather expensive, look as if they are produced on someone's kitchen table. They are comb-bound, copy-paper books with cheapo card stock for covers. They do contain good info, though. I just don't want anyone to be disappointed. 1. Spelling Rules Book. If I was going to buy just one thing from Hexco, this would be it. It's got rules, roots, hints by language of origin, exceptions, special cases, etc. This is a keeper. 2. UIL Notes. We bought this instead of Nat's Notes. I don't think Hexco sells this anymore. It's in alphabetical order and has a lot of words, including their pronunciation, pos, and definition. I think dd read through it but we didn't do much else with it. It's ok but I prefer something interactive for a word list, like a computer program. 3. Bee Prepared. An interesting book of spelling bee lore, with a huge alpha list of just words in the back. Dd read this, too, and enjoyed the trivia. It's interesting, but not necessary. 4. Spelling Mentor for the 2006 Paideia (Spell It's predecessor) on CD, which we can't find (sigh). This could have been great, but it wasn't due to the strong Texas twang of the pronouncer. I enjoy the Texas accent, but not on a product intended for spelling practice. 5. Verbomentor. This is our latest purchase, just this week. Ds has done several levels on it and likes it. It's about 1/2 of our friend pronouncing, who is very clear, and 1/2 Texas twang, with which we sometimes have issues. If I were you, I would hold off on buying Nat's Notes. Hexco is working on putting it into interactive CD format. Hopefully it will be out in January 2011, and will contain only our friend's neutral accent. We also have a program called Spelling Made Simple. I have found this program to be difficult to figure out, but it is much cheaper than the Hexco products, and it has files available for the entire CWL (only about 1/3 of the words have pronunciations, though). Ds is looking forward to adding the missing audio. He loves to hear his voice on the computer! I'll be PMing you about spelling buddies. See you at Scripps! GardenMom Edited March 21, 2010 by MomsintheGarden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjarnold Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 Well, I looked at the shelves, and found that even though I talked about Nat's notes for years, I never actually bought it. Dd confirmed my unpurchase. Reg - aren't you glad for all the money I saved us?:) Here's what we actually bought, and what we think of each item. Before I start, I just want to tell folks that Hexco's books, while rather expensive, look as if they are produced on someone's kitchen table. They are comb-bound, copy-paper books with cheapo card stock for covers. They do contain good info, though. I just don't want anyone to be disappointed. 1. Spelling Rules Book. If was going to buy just one thing from Hexco, this would be it. It's got rules, roots, hints by language of origin, exceptions, special cases, etc. This is a keeper. 2. UIL Notes. We bought this instead of Nat's Notes. I don't think Hexco sells this anymore. It's in alphabetical order and has a lot of words, including their pronunciation, pos, and definition. I think dd read through it but we didn't do much else with it. It's ok but I prefer something interactive for a word list, like a computer program. 3. Bee Prepared. An interesting book of spelling bee lore, with a huge alpha list of just words in the back. Dd read this, too, and enjoyed the trivia. It's interesting, but not necessary. 4. Spelling Mentor for the 2006 Paideia (Spell Its predecessor) on CD, which we can't find (sigh). This could have been great, but it wasn't due to the strong Texas twang of the pronouncer. I enjoy the Texas accent, but not on a product intended for spelling practice. 5. Verbomentor. This is our latest purchase, just this week. Ds has done several levels on it and likes it. It's about 1/2 of our friend pronouncing, who is very clear, and 1/2 Texas twang, with which we sometimes have issues. If I were you, I would hold off on buying Nat's Notes. Hexco is working on putting it into interactive CD format. Hopefully it will be out in January 2011, and will contain only our friend's neutral accent. We also have a program called Spelling Made Simple. I have found this program to be difficult to figure out, but it is much cheaper than the Hexco products, and it has files available for the entire CWL (only about 1/3 of the words have pronunciations, though). Dd is looking forward to adding the missing audio. He loves to hear his voice on the computer! I'll be PMing you about spelling buddies. See you at Scripps! GardenMom Hi, GardenMom, Thank you so much for your detailed notes about the resources. I absolutely agree that the Hexco materials I've seen are low in production quality, but high in usefulness. (It took me a while to come to terms with this, but it helped that my son was so excited to read the Spelling Rules Book.) Since we use a Mac, a few of the items you mentioned won't be options for us, but keep me posted on how your materials work out for you and your son. I'm still kind of considering New Nat's Notes ... but honestly, at this point, I have more resources on hand than we will have time to study them. I know that the structure of Bee week has changed in recent years, but I'm still wondering whether there will be any scheduled activities besides spelling, the Turkey Run barbecue, and the awards banquet. For example, is sightseeing completely on our own, or will students head out in groups? Any other experiences you'd like to share? Thanks, Tiffany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Reg - aren't you glad for all the money I saved us?:)Yes! It looks like expenditures for this year's bee won't go beyond $2000! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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