Junior Learning Spelligator - Phonics Word Building Game for Ages 5-9

I used this with two children, aged 8 and 12. One is behind on their reading and the other has a lot of trouble with spelling and a lack of confidence with it. I called it “Upwords Junior” and told them that once they are good at this, we can play regular Upwords which is one of my favorite games. They’ve had junior versions of other games, so that was an easy sell to get them to do it. We have mostly played collaboratively, because both of them are still getting up to speed on it. There are a LOT of words not on the cheat sheets. Also, when played as written, it results in someone really being able to run the board up. The kids and I have made up a bunch of variants or changes in the rules - such as a limit of words you can make before it’s someone else’s turn. Or getting two points instead of one if you use a “hard” tile vs and easy tile. Etc. I would get this for a regular-level reader in like kinder/first grade, because it is using the early reading skills in fun ways that don’t feel like “reading practice”. Also good for ADHD kids struggling with reading because it keeps it interesting and varied without feeling like “drills”. 10/10 would recommend.

This spelling game has worked amazingly for my 7 year old kiddo! When we play he doesn’t even realize we are practicing key spelling rules and building words! He loves to play and gets really motivated building tons of words! We homeschool so this is perfect for us and my older kids even join in sometimes! The pieces are nice quality and instruction's manual is helpful for beginning spellers!

Love this game for my students. I separated all the tiles in to vowels, digraphs, ect.. put them in the little photo containers from Michaels’, so that my kids could access them better.

The instructions are not very clear. The first time we played we each chose our own tiles one by one trying to make words. But the video on here shows how to play properly so watch that before you start. Since the tiles are flipped you can’t tell if you’re picking a beginning or ending tile until it’s flipped. I wish the whole block was different color so you knew what you’re picking before flipping it. Play with my boys that are 7 and 9 who need some spelling help.

I was worried that my students wouldn't enjoy this game, but they have requested it numerous times! It has helped them sound out new words and then determine if that word actually exists. It is a great way to get them thinking. It does take some assistance from me to keep them going, but they really enjoy trying to get the most tiles!

Grandchildren love it. very good learning tool while having fun.

My kindergartner played this game during his class time with his friends and came home told us we wanted this game. We waited for a bit for this to go on sale before we purchase it. This is such a fun family board game, and at the same time, kids can learn new words. We enjoyed this game multiple times and not sure why we waited for so long to purchase this. Definitely recommend this for parents and kids family board game nights

Great game. I just gave this to my kindergarten-age niece, and we played it almost as soon as she unwrapped her gifts. The alligators are attractive to young kids. She wanted to play it right away. The spelling practice aspect is very well done. For kindergartners you can remove the brown and green tiles to make the game more age appropriate. This was a hit with kid and adults. It is genuinely fun to play (even for the adults), and even though my niece gets "fatigued" with her normal reading/phonics homework, she didn't seem to mind repeatedly trying to sound out words for the alligator.

Tal como de publica, llegó en excelente estado y a tiempo para el inicio de clases. Gracias

Good game for english learning and fun for kids, it helps to imprive vocabulary