Mommy22alyns Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Please don't bury me for this! The girls go to a co-op one day a week. They did class spelling bees this week and the top three will go on to the "big bee" in April. The girls were sent home with a list of 100 words, so we spent two weeks studying them. They were motivated to do well. Both girls won their classroom bees. I don't know how many words Sylvia needed, but Rebecca only had to spell three words to win hers. Three. :confused: Ummm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Yikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 All of the other children were out within 3 rounds? Wow, how hard were those words? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Maybe the other kids weren't interested. My kids never studied for spelling bees. To them, spending all that time practicing, and an afternoon at a spelling bee, would have been a horrible form of torture! I could totally see my kids messing up words on purpose on the first round just to aviod the whole thing. lol Sometimes, nerves get the best of kids and some kids are not verbal spellers. Once she moves up in levels, you will see some more serious competition going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 All of the other children were out within 3 rounds? Wow, how hard were those words? Rebecca was given a list of grade 3-5 words. She spelled careful, dinner, and answer. Sylvia was given a list of 1-2nd grade words, 50 "challenging" first grade ones and 50 "challenging" second grade words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Is your co-op really laid back? Ours is, so that wouldn't totally shock me if it happened to my dc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Is your co-op really laid back? Ours is, so that wouldn't totally shock me if it happened to my dc. I think it is. I honestly don't expect them to learn much, if anything there. It's more for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 sorry, double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunD Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I won some regional spelling bees in elementary/middle school, but I am a terrible verbal speller. I have to "write" the word in my mind and then "read" it. I could definitely understand children who weren't motivated, didn't study, or just plain aren't verbal-oriented, to be out in the first round. Even in a lot of the bigger bees, tons of kids are out in the first and second rounds. It might be due to nerves, simple mistakes, or mis-speaking even though they knew the correct spelling. Then the smaller group might go several rounds without losing anyone, until they get to some harder words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Is your co-op really laid back? Ours is, so that wouldn't totally shock me if it happened to my dc. mine either. I never made it very far in the classroom bee either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunkirst Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Just today our co-op leader called to vent. She has a PhD in Chemistry and is teaching a middle school level course. Her classes are fun and interesting and at grade level. Half of the parents pulled their kids out after first semester as the class was too hard. Today she just found out that the majority of the class can't change a fraction into a percentage (even with a calculator). One wonders when "laid back" becomes "unprepared," and how those kids feel. (Just to note, my kids are not overachievers - at all - just average. I generally feel like a slacker when I see what others here are doing.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I got the distinct impression at the homeschool regional one this past fall that my DD was one of 2 kids in the K-3 age group who actually wanted to be there. I think you tend to get more motivated kids when they're in the age groups where the National Spelling Bee is actually a possible target. I'm considering seeing if I can find a bee that will let DD compete with the older kids just so that she feels challenged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Please don't bury me for this! The girls go to a co-op one day a week. They did class spelling bees this week and the top three will go on to the "big bee" in April. The girls were sent home with a list of 100 words, so we spent two weeks studying them. They were motivated to do well. Both girls won their classroom bees. I don't know how many words Sylvia needed, but Rebecca only had to spell three words to win hers. Three. :confused: Ummm... Yeah, that's REALLY sad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) Just today our co-op leader called to vent. She has a PhD in Chemistry and is teaching a middle school level course. Her classes are fun and interesting and at grade level. Half of the parents pulled their kids out after first semester as the class was too hard. Today she just found out that the majority of the class can't change a fraction into a percentage (even with a calculator). One wonders when "laid back" becomes "unprepared," and how those kids feel. (Just to note, my kids are not overachievers - at all - just average. I generally feel like a slacker when I see what others here are doing.) :rant::eek::banghead: Edited March 27, 2012 by SailorMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I used to run our homeschool bee. Families signed up to participate and could sign up for optional group practice sessions. Most who signed up for the practice session came- week after week- totally unprepared. After the first week of parents admitting they hadn't even looked at the list, I naively thought they'd show up the following week at least a little more prepared. But they didn't. This happened year after year. Some kids were well prepared (like yours) and others were just thrown to the wolves in bee day. There were very few in between! Good for your kids!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Blessings Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 That is a shame for your girls . . . it is fun to have some lively, friendly competition. Interestingly, our dc go to a school with a high population of wealthy Chinese-Indonesian kids and the school spelling bee was a few weeks ago. My ds was competing with kids who were spelling "immigration" in grade 2. DD and friends in grade 1 were spelling "hungrier" and "eight" as part of their 2nd and 3rd round. It was something to see (especially lovely since dd won and ds was a runner-up :)). I have come to respect the work ethic I see in Asian cultures. It has taught me more than a few things about expectations for my own children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I'm a pretty good speller when writing, but find verbal spelling to rather difficult. In my fourth grade spelling bee I mispelled weird in the sixth round. I knew how to spell it correctly, but when spelling it verbally I couldn't see the word and all I could remember was "i before e except after c".:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) In our volunteer only homeschool bee (meaning all the kids signed up and I think all had studied in a special bee prep class last semester- we are new t this place) at the homeschool center here, the first girl got out on tough, which she spelled t-u-f-f. The winner spelled 5 words to win and the winning word was very easy, though I totally forget it. My shy son who decided to watch rather than compete this year was pretty disappointed that he did not participate once he saw all he needed to do was spell the word and that it would not have mattered that he was new and was not in the study class last semester. Even if that last girl was a super speller who just had no competition, at least they would have gone a few rounds before finding a winner. He is interested in spelling bees now, understands that most are harder, and we have decided to take him to one hosted by a different place. Edited March 27, 2012 by kijipt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I think this is one of those examples where it wonderfully points out the vast range of homeschooler abilities out there. Some have delays, some are ahead, some are right on level in most subjects but not others. Some were just taken out of school and are working to get back into the groove. My class at our co-op has kids who are barely able to read to those who can read and write voraciously. I know exactly who would win in a spelling bee among them - and it's not for lack of curriculum or parental involvement at home. It's just who they are at this moment. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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