Spelling Bust

Bees Bees I’d like to announce to the Geekdad audience that my eight-year old and I will be traveling to the Macy’s Spelling Bee Finals in New York on September 20. Unfortunately, I can’t do that. We won’t be going. There was an incident.

We recently watched Akeelah and the Bee. After working through his disappointment that it was not The Bee Movie, the elder child was hooked on competing in a spelling bee. While the movie was still playing, he searched our shelves for books with big words and started studying.

By the next evening, he began planning a spelling bee at his Elementary school. His greatest challenges were keeping the list of words secret from himself so he could both organize and compete, and how to split the "proceeds" from the spelling bee. He decided the split should be 75% for the school and 25% for him and he would pay the Bee expenses. No decision yet on the conflict of interest.

With all of that in mind, attending the Macy’s Spelling Bee today was an easy decision. He had enthusiasm, a good spelling track record and a willingness to learn. Why not jump into a real Bee? We even had a talk last night about the grand prize.

It’s Macy’s Third Annual Spelling Bee so if you’re between 8 and 12 years of age, join us at one of the Macy’s locations listed below for the chance to go on to compete with the other regional semi-finalists in the Final Spelling Bee at Macy’s Herald Square in NYC on Saturday, September 20th and win the Grand Prize – a trip for a family of four to the beautiful island of Jamaica plus a $1,000 Macy Gift Card.

My wife ferried all three boys (2,6,8) across town and through the mall to get him the coveted #16 slot. I planned to join them in progress after my class. I was waiting to exit the parking garage when I got the call many husband’s dread. "I need your advice" "What did they do?" I responded.

"I told him not to touch anything, and he pulled the wig off of a mannequin."

Parent Tip: It is wise for a parent to avoid laughter when speaking of disciplinary matters. Calmly respond to your significant other in measured tones.

Well, some would respond that way. We quickly decided that this Spelling Bee would end before it began for him; another time, another place.

Have you had high hopes for your kid’s first forays into new activities only to have them fall a little flat? I’m hoping that next time we try the scheduling allows us to focus more on the kid participating, not split between the other brothers in a new situation.

The Scripp’s National Spelling Bee

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