My hubby and I have been married a while – 13 years – and over the course of our courtship and marriage we have always played Scrabble.
Growing up, he honed his skills with his grandmother. I, on the other hand, would try to play against him but give up after getting some little three letter word when he would play a five letter word such as “vicar” on a Triple Word Score (He learned that word from his grandmother, I know it).
Flash forward to today, and the game of Scrabble has come back in our household because of our kids. My husband and I are firmly committed to ensuring our kids have a robust and proper vocabulary.
In addition, with the advent of Twitter and other social media platforms, it is important to us that our kids use words properly. Sure, once they hit the teenage years their vocabulary will probably change but for now the goal is to provide them with a solid linguistic foundation to build upon. So while my kids aren’t playing Scrabble yet (fingers crossed!) there are lots of educational apps for them to learn about words.
Below are a few age appropriate educational apps that focus on words. (I have also included two adult apps since we can all improve our vocabulary once in a while and they are fun!)
Preschool Word Apps
1. Word Bingo (iPhone, iPod and iPad)
2. Write My Name by Injini (iPad only)
3. Smart Speller (iPhone, iPod and iPad) – Lots of other languages such as Spanish and French
4. My Word Wall (iPhone, iPod and iPad)
5. Noodle Words (iPhone, iPod and iPad)
As always, make sure you have a variety of word apps. Word Bingo is different from Write My Name and Smart Speller. The more variety of apps you have the larger appeal for your child. Every child learns differently and educational apps allow for different types of learning.
Adult Word Apps
1. Scrabble (iPhone, iPod and iPad) – Although, based on the collective online feedback I saw on the app, perhaps sticking with the old school version is a better way to go.
2. Word Dynamo (iPad only) – A fun way to test your vocabulary and discover new words; it has lots of levels to choose from elementary school and beyond
Let’s discuss! Are there specific educational apps that you and your family enjoy? Tweet me @weebootMom or email me at weeboot@gmail.com.
