Review and Giveaway: SpellQuizzer

Last Fall, I was very excited to win a free download of a spelling program called SpellQuizzer through Ticia at Adventures in Mommydom. I figured it would be great for C, who had just started kindergarten, although I knew it would be several months before he could use it. Well, time has passed, and my boy has grown up. He recently learned to read 200 sight words, and now he is working on learning to spell them. So I set up SpellQuizzer and we finally gave it a try.

When you first open SpellQuizzer, you get a simple screen with several options:

C uses an old desktop computer that doesn't have a microphone on it. So I started with importing spelling lists rather than creating my own. I went to the SpellQuizzer site and looked through all the free spelling lists that can be downloaded. Because C is working on sight words, I imported all six of the Dolch Words Spelling Lists. Then I was able to go into the Create a Spelling List section to create lists that included the specific words C needed to know. He has eight lists of 25 words that he has to spell, and each includes words from multiple Dolch lists. So I created the eight different lists for him by adding the words from the lists I imported. This was very easy and we ended up with the eight specific lists he needed.

If you have a microphone, you can also create your own word lists by recording the word and a sentence yourself. The benefit of doing this is that you can make the sentences more personalized or funny. Plus, you can record words that may not be found in the free lists that are available on the SpellQuizzer site. Eventually, we may get a microphone for C's computer, but I expect it will be a while before he progresses beyond spelling sight words.

When C was ready to work on his first list, he opened SpellQuizzer and clicked on Quiz Me on a List! He's able to do this on his own. He then chose the list I called "Column 1" and it immediately started the quiz. The quiz section features a simple interface that is just a text box with four buttons below it: Play Word, Check Spelling, Quit This Test and Help. It also shows "Word 1 of 25" at the top so he can see how many words he's completed.

For each word, the word is spoken and then used in a sentence. If your child needs to hear the word again, they just click on Play Word. They then type the word into the text box and hit Enter, and it moves onto the next word in the list. If your child gets all the words correct, they hear applause at the end. C loves this part! If they get some words wrong, they're given the chance to try those words again at the end.

The great thing about SpellQuizzer is that it makes spelling practice fun. C actually asks to "play the spelling thing on the computer." He wants to practice spelling these words, which is really amazing. So far, he's made it through spelling 50 sight words after using SpellQuizzer to practice them. I'm very excited to watch him progress further, possibly even through all 200 words by the end of the year!

GIVEAWAY!

Because we've enjoyed SpellQuizzer so much, I wanted to host a giveaway, and the folks at SpellQuizzer have agreed. If you'd like to win a free download of SpellQuizzer, leave a comment below letting me know who would use it (include your email address if it's not easily found on your profile). If you're a follower of Just Playin' Around, leave a separate comment for an additional entry! Contest will end at 10:00pm Eastern Time on Friday, May 7th.

This giveaway has ended. The winner is #6 CandCFamily. Congratulations!

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