My youngest really likes dragging and dropping the letters onto words in "word bingo". I am just concerned that when it sounds the letters and words out it uses only the name of the letters, no sounds.

Does anyone know of a spelling app that allows you to drag letters into the right place (with visual hints, she can't spell, she just likes letters and dag and drop practice at the moment) says the letter and spells the word? And has some use of sound AND name of the letters.

She's nearly 2 if that makes any difference. She can drag and drop the letters in the word bingo on the iPad but does not yet have the fine motor control to do it on my iPhone.

I have seen something called Simplex Spelling but didn't buy it... mixed reviews, but it looks like it's more phonics-based.

DeeDee

Thanks! Will look into both of those.

There is a Montessori crosswords app that might do what you are looking for.

DeHe

Honestly, my daughter used the heck out of the leapfrog magnet sets. I wanted to burn them very badly, but, she learned all her letters/sounds.

DS enjoyed the Montessori crosswords app also.

I'll put this into this thread because it's the active thread ATM for educational pre schooling. Reading Eggs, if you haven't heard of it, is a game based learn to read program online. The Well Trained Mind forum posted a few years of currently good promo codes. Apparently they do work consecutively and add free time to your account. Today is Feb 5, in case you can't tell by the time stamp. Here's the link to the codes.

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=345171

Thanks for the reading eggs codes, I must put them on my kids accounts. I wish she could do reading eggs on the iPad, that would solve my problem.

She's done the starfall app to death so I am fairly sure she knows the letters inside out. So the drop and drag spelling is "moving on from starfall". But it has to be iPad/car friendly.

Will look at the montissorri app.

I was going to suggest the Leapfrog magnets too--one of very few explicitly "educational" toys we have. There's one with lowercase letters where you spell small words. I think that's kinda how DS learned to read (he is still an early reader, but definitely reading).

DS couldn't stand the repetition of reading eggs. I realised how much he could read when he played on it a few times 18 months ago but he gave it away fairly quickly.

There's a Bob Books app (or two) that are better than the books. The pages start out black and white, but as you spell the words for items on the page, they get colored in. There are settings to change the difficulty. I think in the first setting you can drag and drop letters in any order. In the second setting, you have to go from left to right. In the third setting, the letters no longer appear at the target location. It's phonics based, so I don't think the letter names are ever used.

On the downside, the app samples all the stories, pulling a page from here and a page from there... so the app itself doesn't tell a story.

I wish starfall would port the "learn to read" section of the website, instead of just the alphabet part.

There are some Free interactive resources/games for learning to read/spell:

http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?grade=7&resource_type=72
- construct- a- word and other tools might work. There's a lot of stuff on this site for learning to read or write. Kids can create their own picture dictionary, which I think you can save or print. This is a site worth remembering!

http://www.e-learningforkids.org/index.html - has some interactive tools on word recognition and putting words together and reading/spelling.

http://www.abcya.com/kindergarten_computers.htm - has some spelling practice and storybook narration.

PBS Kids (http://pbskids.org/) - has some guided reading/spelling - especially with SuperWhy, WordWorld, and Between the Lions. My son was a fan of SuperWhy and WordWorld.

This site has free guided reading like Starfall, but you need to register first - http://www.literactive.com/Home/index.asp

This is a phonics chart in color and with audio - http://www.foniks.org/ - it's aimed at older ESL learners but I have used it with my son.

There's a new phonics, guided reading, video based program with the non-profit KnowWatchLearn - http://www.readingbear.org/

Thanks everyone! Now I just need time to look/ install...

BOB books on ipad/iphone

Just installed the Bob books app and realised I already had the Monti one, which I had tucked away somewhere when it was too advanced for the little one and way below the middle one.

Any Android ones? Please?