Lori-
I think the first time with any new experience is bound to be the hardest. Now that your son has done the bee once, maybe it would be a good idea to let him try it again. Good for him for trying- I don't think I would have had the courage to do it at his age.
Yesterday I attended a talk on the brain science of reading. It was really interesting to hear about the different areas of the brain that are engaged while reading. Good readers use the spoken language portion of the brain in addition to the area that involves symbol recognition. Poor readers use only the latter, and so are at a distinct disadvantage. They can't sound things out easily and can easily mix up words that involve the same letters like tack and cat, or words that have the same general "shape". It was really interesting. I'm thinking that since oral spelling is slightly different than written spelling, it requires different regions of the brain to be engaged. So someone who spells quite well on paper will not necessarily spell as well orally. I often "write" words in the air when I am unsure of spelling myself.
