Our bee is open to all homeschooled students in grades 4 through 8 who reside in the nine county circulation area served by the Albany Times Union: Albany, Columbia, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington Counties.
Around the country, there are hundreds of other sponsors for regional bees leading up to the Scripps National Spelling Bee around the country. Most sponsors are newspapers.
Call local newspapers near you and ask if they sponsors a regional spelling bee. If it's a large newspaper, ask for their "Newspapers in Education" department. You could also try searching the electronic archives of your local newspaper. If they've sponsored bees in the past, they surely published articles covering it. In some cases, your local bee might have been sponsored by a community organization rather than a newspaper, but, once again, searching the archives of your local newspaper may turn up the name of the sponsor. Your friendly local public librarian will surely be happy to help you track down that information if you're having trouble.
Some states have a sponsor with a bee that covers the entire state, but most regional sponsors cover only a part of the state. For example, there are close to 20 sponsors bees each in states such as Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. By contrast, Maine has one sponsor bee that covers the entire state.
Once you find the name of a newspaper or organization that sponsors a spelling bee for spellers in your area, ask how a homeschool student may qualify to participate in their bee. All sponsors provide such arrangements, though the exact details of the "qualification structure" may vary from place to place.
Click here to return to Frequently Asked Questions list.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Frequently Asked Questions
Click on each question to go to the answer.
When and where is the bee for homeschoolers in our area?
Suppose I win the homeschool bee? What happens next?
Who is eligible to spell in the bee?
What kind of weird words will I have to spell at the bee?
How do I prepare for the bee?
What are the rules for the bee?
What's the history of the local homeschool bee? How long has it been going?
When and where is the bee for homeschoolers in our area?
Suppose I win the homeschool bee? What happens next?
Who is eligible to spell in the bee?
What kind of weird words will I have to spell at the bee?
How do I prepare for the bee?
What are the rules for the bee?
What's the history of the local homeschool bee? How long has it been going?
Suppose I win the homeschool bee? What happens after that?
The winner of our homeschool bee will represent homeschoolers at Greater Capital Region Spelling Bee sponsored by the Times Union and Capital District BOCES, which will be held at Proctor's Theater in Schenectady in February. This bee will also include about 100 students representing public school districts and private schools in the twelve county circulation area served by the Albany Times Union. Admission is free and open to the public, with the doors to the theater opening at 4 p.m. The bee will also be televised on a local cable station.
IMPORTANT: Students spelling in the Proctor's bee will need to have parental permission in order to participate, due to the television coverage this year. Capital District BOCES must receive a signed consent form prior to the bee, or the speller will not be able to spell in the Proctor's bee. Here is a link to the consent form.
The winner of the regional bee at Proctors wins an all-expenses trip to Washington DC to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee during "Bee Week," which traditionally begins on Memorial Day weekend and continues through the following Friday. Parts of the Scripps National Spelling Bee are broadcast live on ESPN and/or ABC.
Click here to return to Frequently Asked Questions list.
IMPORTANT: Students spelling in the Proctor's bee will need to have parental permission in order to participate, due to the television coverage this year. Capital District BOCES must receive a signed consent form prior to the bee, or the speller will not be able to spell in the Proctor's bee. Here is a link to the consent form.
The winner of the regional bee at Proctors wins an all-expenses trip to Washington DC to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee during "Bee Week," which traditionally begins on Memorial Day weekend and continues through the following Friday. Parts of the Scripps National Spelling Bee are broadcast live on ESPN and/or ABC.
Click here to return to Frequently Asked Questions list.
FAQ about our homeschool spelling bee
Click on each question to go to the answer.
When and where is the bee for homeschoolers in our area?
Suppose I win the homeschool bee? What happens next?
Who is eligible to spell in the bee?
What kind of weird words will I have to spell at the bee?
How do I prepare for the bee?
What are the rules for the bee?
What's the history of the local homeschool bee? How long has it been going?
When and where is the bee for homeschoolers in our area?
Suppose I win the homeschool bee? What happens next?
Who is eligible to spell in the bee?
What kind of weird words will I have to spell at the bee?
How do I prepare for the bee?
What are the rules for the bee?
What's the history of the local homeschool bee? How long has it been going?
What are the rules for the bee?
What information am I allowed to ask about the word I've been given to spell?
You may ask for a definition of the word and the language of origin of the word. You may also ask that the word be used in a sentence.
Even if you are almost 100% sure you know the word you have been given, we always encourage you to ask for some information about the word. It allows you to collect your thoughts and you always want to be as sure as possible that you have heard the word correctly.
If you are not sure you heard the word correctly, you are encouraged to ask that the word be pronounced again for you.
It is YOUR responsibility to make sure you understand the word you have been given to spell, so take your time and ask the questions you need.
Do I have to say the word before and after I spell it?
It's a very good idea to do both, but you will NOT be eliminated just for failing to say the word before or after you spell it.
Saying the word before you spell it is a good idea, because the judges may be able to stop you if they think you have misunderstood the word. Then the pronouncer can repeat the word and try to make sure you understand the word you are expected to spell.
Saying the word after you spell it is also a good idea, because it lets the judges clearly know when you have finished spelling the word.
Do I have to indicate capital letters, for example, if I am given a proper noun to spell?
No. The rules do not require that spellers indicate capitalization when they spell a word.
Am I allowed to stop in the middle of a word and go back to the beginning and retrace my steps?
Yes, but you may NOT change any of your original letters when you do so.
Suppose my parents and I believe that I correctly spelled a homonym of the word given by the pronouncer, but I was eliminated?
If the pronouncer failed to give a definition or sentence that distinguished the word from its homonym, your parents may file an appeal by handing a note to the pronouncer. Such an appeal must be filed BEFORE you would have received your next word, had you stayed in the bee. The judges will then consider the appeal and make a decision on whether to reinstate you.
Are there any other rules I should know?
We've covered the rules that come up most commonly above, but you can find a complete set of the rules for the bee, with annotations highlighting important points is available here.
Click here to return to Frequently Asked Questions list.
You may ask for a definition of the word and the language of origin of the word. You may also ask that the word be used in a sentence.
Even if you are almost 100% sure you know the word you have been given, we always encourage you to ask for some information about the word. It allows you to collect your thoughts and you always want to be as sure as possible that you have heard the word correctly.
If you are not sure you heard the word correctly, you are encouraged to ask that the word be pronounced again for you.
It is YOUR responsibility to make sure you understand the word you have been given to spell, so take your time and ask the questions you need.
Do I have to say the word before and after I spell it?
It's a very good idea to do both, but you will NOT be eliminated just for failing to say the word before or after you spell it.
Saying the word before you spell it is a good idea, because the judges may be able to stop you if they think you have misunderstood the word. Then the pronouncer can repeat the word and try to make sure you understand the word you are expected to spell.
Saying the word after you spell it is also a good idea, because it lets the judges clearly know when you have finished spelling the word.
Do I have to indicate capital letters, for example, if I am given a proper noun to spell?
No. The rules do not require that spellers indicate capitalization when they spell a word.
Am I allowed to stop in the middle of a word and go back to the beginning and retrace my steps?
Yes, but you may NOT change any of your original letters when you do so.
Suppose my parents and I believe that I correctly spelled a homonym of the word given by the pronouncer, but I was eliminated?
If the pronouncer failed to give a definition or sentence that distinguished the word from its homonym, your parents may file an appeal by handing a note to the pronouncer. Such an appeal must be filed BEFORE you would have received your next word, had you stayed in the bee. The judges will then consider the appeal and make a decision on whether to reinstate you.
Are there any other rules I should know?
We've covered the rules that come up most commonly above, but you can find a complete set of the rules for the bee, with annotations highlighting important points is available here.
Click here to return to Frequently Asked Questions list.
What kind of weird words will be used at the bee?
At the homeschool bee, our practice has to been to use only words that we believe a reasonably well-read adult might actually expect to run across in their reading.
At all levels of the competition, the official dictionary for the bee is Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. There are half a million entries in that dictionary and any word is theoretically fair game. Some of the words used in the later rounds of the regional and national bees can be very obscure. It's not possible to memorize them all, but students can have a lot of learning about etymology in exploring the dictionary playfully.
Click here to return to Frequently Asked Questions list.
At all levels of the competition, the official dictionary for the bee is Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. There are half a million entries in that dictionary and any word is theoretically fair game. Some of the words used in the later rounds of the regional and national bees can be very obscure. It's not possible to memorize them all, but students can have a lot of learning about etymology in exploring the dictionary playfully.
Click here to return to Frequently Asked Questions list.
How to prepare for the bee:
1) Read, read, read! Reading widely, including books, newspaper and magazine articles on a wide variety of subjects that interest you, is the best possible preparation for the bee.
2) Study the word list and the etymology tips provided at Spell It! Early round words in our homeschool bee will come directly from the Spell It! lists. Eventually, our bee word list will move on to words that do not appear on the Spell It! list, but the etymology and language of origin pattern recognition tips will often help you make good guesses about the spelling of those additional words.
3) Keep a sense of good humor and perspective. Have a good time with it! Make up funny sentences or silly stories about the words in Spell It! Try quizzing your parents about some of the tricky words you'll run across in your studies. It's good to remember that everyone makes mistakes, even adults! (Or perhaps I should, especially adults! Some of the mistakes we adults make are doozies! And most adult mistakes are far more serious than misspellings!)
Click here to return to Frequently Asked Questions list.
2) Study the word list and the etymology tips provided at Spell It! Early round words in our homeschool bee will come directly from the Spell It! lists. Eventually, our bee word list will move on to words that do not appear on the Spell It! list, but the etymology and language of origin pattern recognition tips will often help you make good guesses about the spelling of those additional words.
3) Keep a sense of good humor and perspective. Have a good time with it! Make up funny sentences or silly stories about the words in Spell It! Try quizzing your parents about some of the tricky words you'll run across in your studies. It's good to remember that everyone makes mistakes, even adults! (Or perhaps I should, especially adults! Some of the mistakes we adults make are doozies! And most adult mistakes are far more serious than misspellings!)
Click here to return to Frequently Asked Questions list.
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Noah Webster, author of America's First Dictionary
