Students can get their parents to set up a family game night with a spelling theme. One family member acts as the moderator, with age-appropriate words selected for the various members of the family. Each family member takes a turn competing in the family spelling bee, which would be run essentially like a regular spelling bee. As family members misspell words, they become audience members to cheer on the rest of the family still competing. The winner can receive a small prize or reward.
Learning to spell in rhythmic patterns, like when jumping rope, can help students remember words and stay focused during competitions. This method was popularized in the 2006 Lions Gate film "Akeelah and the Bee." The main character in this movie spelled words as she jumped rope by saying one letter with each jump. In competition, she would tap her hand on her leg in the same rhythm to help her recall the spelling of the words.
Children can expand their vocabulary and strengthen their spelling skills by using a dictionary game where they try to stump the parents. Kids search through the dictionary, looking for challenging words to test their parents to see if they can spell the words. The child also tries to recall the spelling of the word to show that she can stump the parents and out-spell them as well.
Online spelling games are also an excellent resource for students studying for the spelling bee. Websites such as The Times Spelling Bee have free spelling games to encourage fun learning. The Spelling Challenge is a game with three difficulty levels where a robot says words that the student has to type in correctly. The faster the student enters the answers, the higher the score will be. After spelling all the words, a box appears displaying which words were spelled correctly and which incorrectly. The student can mouse over the misspelled words to see the correct spelling.