2022 Spelling Bee

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We finally had the BHEA Spelling Bee. BHEA stands for Blount Home Education Association. This was my second year coordinating the bee. The judges pick the words from the list we received from the National Spelling Bee Organization.

I have two children competing in the bee, but I do not know the words they will get from the judges. We prepare the entire list, 450 words. My job as a coordinator is to communicate with all the parents, give them the word list and the book list, and make sure we have a building, sponsors, goodie bags, prizes, judges, and that the Board stays informed.

The BHEA Board suggested we postpone it for a month, from January to February, so that the pandemic numbers could go down a bit more. We had quite a few people sick – judges, participants, parents. January just was not going to work out.

Spelling Bee Family

Our family before the bee

By the middle of February, everybody was healthy again. The COVID-19 numbers in our area have gone down so much, that the Board even decided to switch masks from being “required” to “recommended” for indoor activities. Continue reading »


There Goes September

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October looms large and what have we learned? Lots. For one, we love middle school. Our children are in 8th grade and 6th grade respectively. Maybe they are more mature or maybe I am more relaxed, but things are going smoothly.

Grotto Falls

Hiking the Grotto Falls trail

With the pandemic, nobody is living their Plan A, and we are no exception. We wish we could do orchestra again, but alas, they require masks. My children cannot play violin for one minute with a mask on, let alone one hour. This is our second year of not doing orchestra and we miss it dearly. Continue reading »


How to Prepare for a Spelling Bee

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Last year, our son attended his first Spelling Bee. He was in third grade, which is the first year a child can attend a Spelling Bee. On a national level, I see some first graders who make it to Washington, D. C. (usually homeschoolers) and I wonder how they got there. Their parents and teachers must have realized they are so good, they enrolled them and the youngsters blew their older peers out of the water.

BHEA Spelling Bee - January 2017

BHEA Spelling Bee – January 2017

Precocious kiddoes aside, third grade is where Spelling Bee starts. So how does one prepare for a Spelling Bee? Here are a few ideas: Continue reading »


Essentials Curriculum Review

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For the past four months, I have been teaching spelling from a curriculum from Logic of English, called Essentials. My children are in second grade and kindergarten respectively and we started LOE Essentials in January, in the second semester. I geared this curriculum mainly towards the oldest, but the little one could benefit from it too. She is learning how to read and spelling is reading in reverse. So I have included her in our lessons, especially in the beginning, during the Pre-Lessons.

Teacher's Manual and Student Workbook

Teacher’s Manual and Student Workbook

I decided we needed the Pre-Lessons after administering the Placement Test very informally, over breakfast. Even though my son can write in cursive (we did not do manuscript at all), spelling has come difficult for him. We have tried four other curricula and I have no seen great results. He does the work, remembers the spelling for a few days, then he does not.  Continue reading »