My DS6 is a really, really good speller. I think it may be the only skill where he is innately more talented than his DYS older sister. The psychologist who is currently testing him for autism (among other things) recommended watching Spellbound with him and considering whether he is interested in entering a spelling bee, after he correctly spelled a couple of 10- and 11-letter words during an assessment. (I won't list the words themselves because I don't know whether they're part of a clinical test and I don't want to screw up test confidentiality, but I will say that they are both words that I have seen well-educated adults misspell.)
But I can't find any spelling bees for younger kids! I don't think he's really ready to compete with middle schoolers, although I'm sure he'd do well against other elementary school kids. Are there resources I am missing?
We can always wait until he's older. But it would be nice to be able to nurture a special skill in him that is his "thing," and this seems like a candidate. He is definitely a competitive kid, and I think he'd love an age-appropriate spelling bee, but Scripps seems a bit much for a six-year-old.
