Deadline to Register for Spelling Bee

For students in public, private, etc. school, participating in the spelling bee is pretty straightforward, starting with classroom bees, then leading to school and county bees. Alabama homeschoolers, on the other hand, are considered part of one "Homeschool County" in the state. Just like Etowah, Jefferson, or Blount Counties, etc., we get one representative at the Alabama Spelling Bee. The winner of the Alabama Spelling Bee travels to Washington, D.C. to participate in the National Spelling Bee!

Who can participate?

Any eligible homeschooler [8th grade and below] (read about eligibility here, and there is no minimum age) is welcome to participate as long as they are registered with a school group that is enrolled with Scripps. Enrollment is expensive and is not cost-effective for most groups and co-ops. I think two or three enrolled last year.

To remedy this...we created a group called Learning at Home. Its sole purpose is to facilitate spelling bee participation for homeschool families. Without it, families whose school groups do not enroll would face enrollment expenses on their own. 

When you register through Learning at Home, you receive the official study materials Scripps has released for this year. Please note that these change from year to year and are essential for advancement in the competition. With your Learning at Home registration, you will also receive study tips and FAQs that I've compiled over the years.

How Do I Register My Student(s)? 

It’s super easy to register with Learning at Home and get started on your 2020 spelling bee journey! All I need is some basic information and an $8 fee per family. This means that, no matter how many eligible students you have, all you pay is $8. This helps me recoup the Scripps enrollment fee, as I do this on a volunteer basis.

Once I have both your registration information and your $8 fee, I will send you the study materials and study tips. Here is the information I’ll need, which you can send to me by email:

1.     Name of Parent or Legal Guardian

2.     Name(s) of Speller(s) in Household

3.     Grade Level(s) and Age(s) of Speller(s) in Household

4.     Phone Number

5.     Homeschool Group/Covering/Co-op (if applicable)

The following PayPal link has my information and the $8 amount plugged in already: https://www.paypal.me/LauraAnnTipps/8. I also have a Venmo account. If you need to send a check/money order instead, please let me know and I will provide you with a mailing address. Email at latipps@gmail.com.