Getting to grips with your A, B, Cs can be hard. Unfortunately, there aren’t really any shortcuts: the best way to learn is to practice. But that needn’t be boring: bee-themed Spelling Shed makes learning entertaining.
The game has two main settings. The first is a traditional-style spelling bee. A voice will read out a word, and you have to spell it correctly – collecting a point for each word you get right. Parents, don’t panic: you can change the difficulty settings according to your children’s age and stage in the national curriculum.
As you progress through the game, you build up a library of known words, and a running total of your child’s score: motivational, as well as educational.
The second mode is an old-school guessing game a bit like Hangman. You’re presented with a row of dashes, and all the letters in the alphabet. You have only ten guesses to get the word – though you’ll earn three more every time you guess a word correctly.
There’s also provision made for dyslexic children: the app uses the “Open Dyslexia” font, which means it’s suitable for every child, however they learn.
Spelling Shed plays hard, but it’s also encouraging – every success is met with congratulations. All in all, that spells no more homework tantrums.