Most children across the country are going to enjoy two things this week – Christmas and a holiday break from school. Some people, like me, will also be enjoying a long, holiday break (I work in a school).
Just because there is no school this week, it doesn’t mean that all learning needs to stop. I’m not suggesting that you keep on your kids about studying and other school work. Kids do need a break from that stuff from time to time. However, there is a way to make learning fun. So much so, kids won’t even realize that they are learning.
There is an app from 77Sparx called Wonster Words. It’s an award-winning game including Parent’s Choice, Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice and National Parenting Product Award. The game was inspired by Sesame Street.
This brief video gives you a little insight to the game. It’s really cute.
Learning to recognize letters is important in order to spell. A child also needs to know what letters sounds like, but individually as well as grouped together such as consonant blends.
With Wonster Words children will learn their ABC’s, phonics and spelling.
There are hundreds of words, 12 word families and 12 original stories currently available on Wonster Words. New content is added frequently.
Once you download the app you’ll discover the all new Wonster Island. Each part of the island allows children to do different fun things. Each section is as educational as it is enjoyable. They help children to explore and learn about word families, phonemes, digraphs and more.
There are different sections to the island – Phonics, Stories, Math, Science, Art and Music.
Within each section there are stories and sections that cover popular children’s themes including: birthdays, friendships, nature, space, animals and more.
Wonster Words encourages exploration and engagement without scoring, quizzing, limits, or stress. Let’s face it, kids have enough stress at school as it is. They certainly don’t need it when they are trying to have fun.
In the phonics section children will learn about letter blends such as “op, at, ap, ut and ph,” to name a few. I’ll use “ph” as an example.
Under the “ph” section, children will learn different words such as elephant, phony, photo, morph and phantom (there are more words, I’ve only selected a few).
Using the word “morph” as an example, children will first need to “grab” the letters with their fingers and place them in the appropriate spot. As the letters are touched and placed in the correct spot, the game will say the letter and make it’s sound. Once the word is spelled out, the game will pronounce the the letters and then the final word.
Catch the letters as the pop out of the colorful tubes, then place them in the appropriate spot.
Cute little animated characters act out “morphing” as well as define what it means to morph.
Each word is reinforced with a fun little animation that not only utilizes the word, but also provides a definition of the word.
The spelling section is similar, except that it doesn’t focus on the sound blends the same as as the phonics section does.
In this section children need to complete a series of words that follow the same theme. As children complete the different “challenges,” they earn little virtual rewards.
The other three sections – Math, Science, Art and Music – are a collection of interactive puzzles and games. If you read my review of Puzzlingo, this section is similar to that. Children need to put the puzzle pieces in the correct spot. Once they have accomplished this they get to see adorable animations as well as play fun games – all of which reinforces what they are learning.
Here are some new Wonster Words features that are new this holiday season.
- The introduction of the interactive Wonster Island (as mentioned above)
- New educational biomes that cover Phonices, Stories (spelling), Math, Science, Art & Music
- New engaging mini-games that reinforce puzzle topics
- Five new original scores and silly ambiance throughout the app
- Vowels coming soon!
Wonster Words is geared for children ages 3-6.
I’m an adult and I think the games are fun to play. I especially love the darling little characters.
Math puzzle game.
Once a child has completed the math puzzle they get to play a game related to it. In this game your child needs to “toss” the ball to try and knock over the various items on the shelves.
There is so much to do with Wonster Words. It will keep your child (or grandchild) entertained for hours (which is great if you are traveling this holiday season). Plus, 77Sparx is constantly adding to this game/app, so there will always be something fun to play.
You can download Wonster Words on iTunes, Google Play and on Amazon.
Wonster Words is free and there are some in-app purchases available.
For more information about this game, or other 77Sparx games, visit 77Sparx.com. The brand can also be found on Facebook.
What do you think about Wonster Words? Does it look like a game your child would love to play? Feel free to comment and share your thoughts. I always love to hear from reader.
Cute little characters and silly animations.
Kimberly
*I received a free code to download this game in order to do this review. Although compensated, the opinions expressed are entirely my own and not influenced in any way.
