As we are entering the last days of formal schooling before the kids break up for the summer break, a long 6 weeks of having to entertain the kids, it is also time to think about how you can still help with their education whilst they are not at school. I don’t mean sitting them down at a table with a maths book and giving them 6 hours a day tuition, but games that they can play which will be beneficial to what they have been learning at school so that when they return in September, they haven’t forgotten everything. One way to help with education during the holidays is by playing games, and there are lots of educational games that you can play with the kids. We have been trying out a game that helps with spelling – Roald Dahl’s Matilda: Splendid Spelling.
Roald Dahl’s Matilda: Splendid Spelling is a card game for 2-4 players, ages 6+ and has been designed for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. This set contains three educational and creative spelling games featuring one of Roald Dahl’s best-loved characters to help children develop spelling and word building skills, whilst still having fun (and best of all, not knowing that they are learning while they play).
In the box:
- 100 Letter Cards
- 40 Bookworm Cards
- 1 Minute Timer
- Instructions
Roald Dahl’s Matilda: Splendid Spelling contains three splendid spelling card games to play. Each game will help children with word building and spelling. The three games are:
Game 1: The Bookworm Game – To win the game you need to be the first player to collect 10 bookworm cards for Matilda by creating words from your hand of cards. A 3 letter word is worth 1 bookworm card but if you create a word using four or five letters you can win more!
Game 2: Matilda’s Word Grid Game – The aim of the game is to create as many words as possible in 1 minute. 16 cards are laid out in a 4 x 4 grid on the table, letter side up and the timer is started. All the players then write down as many words as they can make up using the 16 letters on the grid. The player with the most correctly spelt words wins that round and takes a Bookworm card. The first player to collect 5 Bookworm cards wins the game.
Game 3: Matilda’s Wordstack Game – Each player starts with 10 cards face up, 5 additional cards are then dealt face up in the middle known as the stack. Each player then takes it in turns to add letters from their own cards to the stack to form a word. The longer the word the more bookworm cards that are won! Players can add a letter on top of another letter to change a word for example, with the word NOW, a G can be added in front and an R can be added on top of the N to create GROW. Adding a letter on top of an existing letter scores an extra point. The first player to win 10 Bookworm cards wins the game.
Overall, we found that this is a good little card game that keeps the kids interested for a couple of rounds at a time. With three different games to play, it has good variation to mix it up a bit to keep the kids coming back for more.
Splendid Spelling is a fun collection of card games that is excellent for children to build and grow words using letter cards, which as a result is helping them with the spelling of words. One game also requires players to write down their words rather than laying cards out on the table so also helps to children practise their handwriting skills.
It is a game that will only be played for 10-15 minutes at a time but is fun with plenty of educational value. A great word game where players collect bookworm cards to help Matilda read, and of course win the game.
The cards are a good size for small hands. They feel good quality and the artwork is great, bright and colourful.
A fun and quick collection of games that will help children with spelling, word building and even handwriting skills over the summer holidays and beyond. They will have fun helping Matilda to read whilst practising spelling and word skills. And it might even encourage them to read a book or three over the summer (possibly even a book by Roald Dahl himself)!
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £9.95
Available to buy from Amazon here.
