I’m sure many of you will agree with me that spelling is just one of the those subjects that’s just not that exciting to teach but we know our children need to be taught it. I’ll admit that I have tried a few spelling programs but none has made our family as happy as Spellingtime.com

What is Spellingtime.com? It is an online spelling program that allows your child to work independently. Every week the parent enters the child’s spelling words. On Monday your child logs in and is able to learn her spelling words in a way that is fun and interactive. 

How does it work? The program is broken down into five easy steps for your child.

1.     On Monday your child is introduced to their words with the online host “Jake” who is a cartoon type person. “Jake” will say the word and then say it in a sentence. He will then ask your child to say the word and spell it by typing it in.

2.     On Tuesday your child has a choice of two different types of lessons. He can play “pie time” which is a game similar to hangman or they can play “spelling bee” which simulates a live spelling bee.

3.     On Wednesday the child can again choose between two different lessons. They can do a “spelling bee” or do “word scramble” with their spelling words.

4.     On Thursday “Jake” will do a “pop quiz”. The child receives a grade that is emailed to the parent. The email contains a grade and the words that were misspelled.

5.     On Friday the host “Jake” gives a spelling test to your child. The grade is emailed to the parent with the misspelled words.

6.     You also have the option to have your child review past words on the weekend. “Jake” the host reviews past spelling words.

7.     After a lesson is completed the child is rewarded with game coins that can be used to play one of the games on the website.

 

What are the benefits? Spellingtime.com is a fun and interactive way for your child to learn his spelling words. It is a program designed to be self-taught and independent. The parent can enter the child’s spelling list or you can use the word lists created by spellingtime.com. The spelling lists are for grades 1^st though 7^th.

The child can see and hear how a word is spoken with phonetically correct avatars.  Definitions, synonyms, and spelling rules are taught.

A great way to improve your child’s keyboarding skills.

Reports are sent to the parent after each quiz.

Lessons are printable for those days you need to do lessons on the go.

Here is a link to the program:

http://www.bigiqkids.com/SpellingTest/FreeSpellingProgram.html

What are the cons?  There are hardly any cons I can even mention because we love this program. The biggest con is if your computer is down then you don’t have access to the program.

Cost: There are 2 options to the program. There is the free version, which is limited, and then there is the full program at a cost. To purchase the full program you can pay monthly at $7.99 or a whole year for $39.99.  

This link lists all the benefits of the free program and the paid program: 

http://www.bigiqkids.com/SpellingTest/FreeVSPaid.html

The program is developed by “Big IQ Kids”. They have other programs also available for math, vocabulary, and learning states. I will be giving reviews on these programs soon.