Jacob loves to play Scrabble; sometimes when we get done with spelling a bit early, he’ll beg to play. I don’t mind, mainly because it’s fun, and it definitely gives him practice and makes him think. I’m all for word games, games that teach, games that are fun….but games that ultimately have a purpose.
Just in time for our summer roadtrip, we received Word Whiz, a small handheld word game from Learning Resources. This game is actually pretty fun, but it’s a very simple game, not hard to follow. It’s very small and compact, making it easy to slip in my purse or backpack when we go places. It takes 3 AAA batteries.
The basic concept behind this game is to give kids practice in forming 3, 4, or 5 letter words; it definitely promotes letter/word recognition in a hands-on way. There’s a main screen, and then there are two small screens to the left of that main screen. Kids will be given a choice of letters or blends, based on which skill level they’re playing (there are 3 skill levels). They have to pick which letter or blend best completes the word they’ve been given in the main screen. If their answer is correct, they’ll hear the sound for correct; if not, they’ll hear the “wrong” sound. I will tell you, I was afraid that the sounds might get annoying after a bit, but you can actually mute them. This will be so nice when we’re stuck in the car for hours at a time, wanting to maybe pull our hair out with all the different noises coming from the backseat. If the game is muted, they can still tell if they got the word correct, because the word will flash on the screen when they’ve completed it.
Not only are there 3 levels, but you can also play timed or untimed. If playing a timed game, it lasts 60 seconds. This is great for a short practice time when we’re just trying to finish up our spelling. Also, if not being played, the game will power itself down, another nice feature, so you’re not wasting battery power.
This game isn’t always the first game my son wants to play, but when given a choice to play a game in school, he enjoys playing this. I’m looking forward to using this over the summer, just to keep his mind going….summer is so wonderful, but it can honestly be such a drag on the brain….
You can purchase Word Whiz for $16.99 from Learning Resources. It’s geared toward Kindergarten and up.
The great news?! Learning Resources is giving a Word Whiz to one MamaBuzz reader! You can enter to win by doing one or more of the following; just be sure to leave a separate comment for each way that you enter. I’ll draw the winner, via random.org, on Thursday, July 15. This giveaway is open to U.S. only. Good luck, and have a wonderful day!
- What kinds of small handheld games do you or your kids love? Share in the comments.
- Follow @LearningHandsOn on Twitter.
- Tweet about this giveaway, one time only.
- Subscribe to the Learning Resources YouTube Channel.
- Follow MamaBuzz or subscribe to our posts.
- Follow @mamabzz on Twitter.
- Stumble this post.
(Disclosure: I received a Word Whiz, free of charge, from Learning Resources, for the purposes of this review. All views/opinions remain solely my own.)
