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Student Contests: A Real Motivator

Want to spark some interest in your kids in a subject they lack motivation? Have you considered participating in one of the many academic competitions now open to homeschoolers? This approach sure beats nagging, and it has been a favorite activity not just for my kids and their friends – but the parents as well.

Here are some we’ve really enjoyed:

Pizza Hut Book-It Program: Preschool-6th (www.bookitprogram.com) This well-known national incentive program awards kids a personal pan pizza monthly if they complete the reading goals set by their parents.  Homeschoolers must organize themselves into groups and Pizza Hut no longer offers the end of the program pizza party, but we still underwrite it at our co-op and the local Pizza Hut gives us a good discount on the dozen or so pizzas we order.

Math Olympiad:Grades 4-8  (www.moems.org)You need at least four kids and a math coach to run this program, but it is well worth your time. I have worked with kids who have only used the Math Olympiad program and the organizations’ practice material for a full year of math. These kids have done exceptionally well on standardized tests and college boards after their involvement. The cost is $75/team. Founder George Lenchner’s book Creative Problem Solving In School Mathematics is a great text to use with upper elementary students. Don’t be dismayed if you find the problems overwhelming at first – that’s the beauty of the program. You and your kids will be tickled to find how simple it is to solve these problems once you have mastered the strategies. “Meets” must be held on official dates October through March.

Math Counts: Grades 7-8 (www.mathcounts.org)  A great follow-up competition to Math Olympiad, though the two organizations are not related.  This program emphasizes problem-solving skills and analytical thinking. It will sharpen your kids across the board.  Your group of any size practices the math strategies as often as you like and then should hold qualifying rounds in January.  Your top 4 students and coach attend the regional meet in February, and the top teams then go on to the state competition in March.  Our co-op teams were surprisingly successful because our coach stayed involved for a number of years. We had solid kids on the team, but not natural “math whizzes.” Kayte’s final year of participation, the team came in 5^th out of 28 schools and won praises from the judges because they were an all-girl team –  probably the only one there.

National Geography Bee: Grades 4^th-8^th (www.nationalgeographic.com ) The National Geographic Bee occurs in three stages. First you hold your bee at the local level before your state’s deadline, usually mid-January. Your winner must take a written test, and top 100 scorers go on to the state bee in April. Winners of the state bees, go to Washington, D.C. for the national challenge in May.  You must register your co-op before October 15^th, and your Bee must include at least 8 students.  In our case, the Geo Bee was always my source of motivation for learning geography during these middle years. Our Geosafari was out of the cupboard once again, our atlases and maps were fought over, and every back issue of World, National Geographic’s magazine for kids, was read cover-to-cover.

Want to find out more about academic competitions and contests – Scott Pendleton’s book, The Ultimate Guide to Student Contests, 7^th-12^th is the definitive source of information. Pendleton specifically includes info on homeschoolers involvement. (Available from us at debrabell.com and other suppliers.)

In His Sovereign Grace,

Debra
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