Spelling made fun, on all your devices!
Squeebles Spelling Connect is our latest (and best) spelling practice app, aimed at primary school age children.
Based on the UK curriculum and featuring over 8500 pre-recorded words and over 160 age-relevant spelling lists, the app starts you off with all the content your children need to start practising their spelling.
You also have the ability to add new words yourself, record your own audio for new and pre-existing words and create your own custom spelling lists for your children to attempt.
The Squeebles Connect series of apps allow you and your children to log in on any device with a working internet connection, meaning all progress is saved to the cloud and can be accessed wherever you are, with your unique login. A valid subscription is required (purchased from within the app) for you to add child accounts, with options available for families, tutors and schools.
Features:
- over 8500 pre-recorded spelling words, already loaded into the app.
- over 150 spelling lists, all based around the UK curriculum and created in conjunction with UK teachers.
- keep your children motivated - by doing well in their spelling practice, children can collect 35 Squeebles characters, each with their own personality and character card.
- the reward system also involves earning stars, power ups and turns on a fun mini game. Trade stars for new accessories to use within the game.
- add your own words or phrases, create custom spelling lists and record your own audio for words if you want to.
- set assignments / homework for your children, with pass marks and due dates, as well as full stats on each assignment and how each child has done when attempting it.
- add, edit and manage child accounts via the app.
- accessibility features include the use of the OpenDyslexic font throughout the app and the option to set coloured overlays for children who suffer with visual stress when reading.
- "word of the day" feature adds another fun learning element to the app.
- accented character support allows you to use the app to set spelling tests in multiple languages, or to use the app to practise learning other languages.
- each child can have the app tailored to their learning preferences via multiple player-specific settings.
- the "Tricky Words" feature stores the words each child misspells and asks those questions in one spelling test.
- school accounts allow you to add and manage classes or groups, meaning you can set work for children in specific groups.
- add other adults to your account, so multiple parents or teachers can log in and see children's progress.
- full stats for each child, including which words they're struggling with, common misspellings they're making and overall trends in their work.
- manage your subscription from within the app, including the ability to cancel your subscription at any time.
- support for Apple keyboard.
Please get in touch with any questions, suggestions or feedback you may have on this, or any of our other apps, by e-mailing info@keystagefun.co.uk
Support: https://keystagefun.co.uk/connect/support/
Terms of use: https://keystagefun.co.uk/terms/
Privacy policy: https://keystagefun.co.uk/privacy/
Apple EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
This is a subscription-based app, with various subscription bands for different types of account.
At the end of the initial trial period, the cost of your selected subscription will be applied to your Apple App Store account. Subscriptions will automatically renew at the start of each subscription period, unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel at any time by logging in to your Apple App Store account settings or via the app itself. There is also a free demo mode, allowing you to try the app before you subscribe. For more information, see www.keystagefun.co.uk/terms
This app works but the only grudge I have is that there is only one game to practice words and it can get repetitive. I suggest adding a “Practice” section where you can play many games related to the list of words you added to practice for that weeks test at school.
Developer Response
Hi. Thanks for your positive review. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. We're a bit confused on some of what you've said though, as there are various different ways to practice words. You have the regular "spelling test" type game, but also word searches, which allow a secondary way of familiarising with spelling lists, as well as a couple of other things like the "Word of the Day" feature, that allows children to see / learn a new word every day. We are always looking at new ways of allowing practice, but one of the things we're keen to avoid is taking away from the core practice of being asked to spell words in a "spelling test" format. Thanks for the feedback however - we'll certainly bear in mind the idea of adding in some more types of game or ways of presenting the existing games that make the app more varied. All the best. KeyStageFun (info@keystagefun.co.uk)
Pretty good, but…
GamerDad001
If the voice reading spelling words didn’t have a British accent, I would have no qualms about paying the $30 yearly subscription fee, but in testing it out, I, an adult who majored in English, misspelled words because of it. Plus the app looks very exciting, but has only a very basic game to encourage kids to work on their spelling. Huge potential! I’d love to see it fulfilled. It was so refreshing to do spelling words with my daughter and not have it be a battle, but I feel like after a month the novelty would have worn off.
Developer Response
Thanks for your review and feedback. Totally get that it would be ideal for everyone to have the words available in their own accents / language. But the work involved in doing that is beyond the scope of what a reasonably small company like us can realistically manage.Instead, we decided to provide the ability for parents and teachers to record their own audio for each spelling word in the app - if their child isn't used to a British accent. It's quick and easy for you to record your own audio using the app and makes the app a lot more fun for your child when they hear your voice rather than a generic voice - you can add funny sentences for context, which can also make learning more enjoyable.It's possible at some stage we'll add a generic US voice option, but realistically (and we've found this in the UK already), with such huge variations in accents even within the same country, it's never going to be perfect for everyone in the way recording the audio yourself will be.
Accents
bgangler
It would be really helpful if there were different accents available to help children hear what is being said. I can’t tell you how many times my child has to repeat the word to understand what they are saying on the app. Please add different narrators to the app!
Developer Response
Thanks for your review and feedback. We've had a few US customers mention this.We're a UK company and 90% of our customers are based in the UK, so it's very deliberate that the primary accent we provide within the app is a UK accent. Even here though, we have huge variations in accent between regions.However, the app gives parents the option to record their own voice saying each spelling word - and this was the main way we always intended the app to be used. If you have time to do so, recording your own audio for each word can make it a lot more fun for your child. It means you can give them the exact context for a word (making it part of a funny sentence, or specifically related to them and their interests) and personalised to what you know about how they best learn.This is quick and easy to do via the app. Obviously we're not suggesting a parent record all 10,000 or so of the words we already include within the app in one go! But most children learn in blocks of words - certainly here in the UK the standard approach is to introduce 15-20 new words at a time each week. Recording that number of words once a week isn't going to take long at all, but it's not for everyone, and if that isn't something you have time to do, then I'd recommend looking for an alternative solution that provides words in a US accent that your child is comfortable with. There are plenty of options out there that are more US-centric.At some stage we may add a generic US accent, but I suspect this will only resolve the issue for customers in certain regions, due to the enormous difference in regional accents throughout the USA.Thanks for reaching out, and I hope you find something that works for your child.
Not for American English
Askadkask
Do not download the app if you are not in England or a country that has a British accent. The word r is hard to hear and my child is dyslexic. They cannot understand world when it sounds like would. Third sounds like thid and stern sounds like sten.
Developer Response
Hi there.The app does feature a UK accent, which given we're based in the UK and 90% or so of our customers are based in the UK, is understandable (and deliberate).However - the app gives parents the option to record their own voice saying each spelling word - and this was the main way we always intended the app to be used. If you have time to do so, recording your own audio for each word can make it a lot more fun for your child. It means you can give them the exact context for a word (making it part of a funny sentence, or specifically related to them and their interests) and personalised to what you know about how they best learn. This is quick and easy to do via the app.If that's something you don't want to do, then I'd recommend looking for an alternative solution that provides words in a US accent that your child is comfortable with. There are plenty of options out there that are more US-centric.At some stage we may add a generic US accent, but I suspect this will only resolve the issue for customers in certain regions, due to the enormous difference in regional accents throughout the USA. Thanks for reaching out, and I hope you find something that works for your child. Thanks. Ian, KeyStageFun.
Version 1.8.5 contains the following updates:
- We've added 3 new Squeebles for children to earn, designed by the winners of our latest competition. Well done to all of them!
- We've included a "Rate This App" feature within the parent / teacher zone (we only ask you once), so parents and tutors can rate the app with the Apple App Store if they want.
- Minor bug fixes and performance enhancements.
As always, if you have any suggestions, or requests, please write to us at info@keystagefun.co.uk and we'll get back to you ASAP. Thank you!
Version 1.8.5
The developer, KeyStageFun, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
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Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Ian Knapp
Size
179.3 MB
Category
Education
Compatibility
Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 13.0 or later.
iPod touch Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
Languages
English
Age Rating
4+
4+
Made for Ages 6–8 This app has an age rating of 4+ with content restrictions. Some content may be rated higher, but access is managed by the developer through in-app controls.
