Writing Magic Letters : Kids learn to write

By Spencer Riley | Updated on November 12, 2015

Rating 5.0

iPad, iPhone
Paid
age 2+

About Writing Magic Letters : Kids learn to write

This a fantastic app to get your children acquainted with letters, words and writing out the alphabet. It follows a world of make-believe where you the learner has a magic wand (his/her finger) which can cast “spells” or, in this case more literally, to actually spell. Your child will learn letters, vocabulary words and the idea of using a dictionary to organise letters and words. The app has received top marks from our reviewers and has achieved an EAS 5 Star rating and recommended status.

Writing Magic Letters : Kids learn to write Review

The metaphor of the app of casting spells and actually practising spelling is wonderful to motivate children for playing the app. Our children loved the idea of “mastering spells” as they progressed through the app.

Letters, writing and words are learnt in threes and are not learnt in alphabetical order. This keeps the learning process fresh and easy to follow. The narrator teaches the learner how to write the letter using his/her “wand” (or finger). Then, the learner is asked to trace the letter in order to learn how to write each letter. If it is wrong, the app asks the learner to re-do it until it is correct. Once each letter is learnt, it is included in the “Spell Book” which keeps a record of the words have been learnt. The next step teaches a word that begins with the letter that has been learnt. Then the letter and the word are placed in the “Spell Book”.

Once the three letters and words have been completed, there follows a game set in the fairytale land. When you press the arrow pointing to each scene, one of the characters in the story will ask you to find an object from your “Spell Book”. This is a great feature because it means that children will need to think rationally about the meanings of the words and spellings that they have learnt and then find it in the book in order to complete the game. The book has an average of three words per letter.

The app is also great for practicing reading skills as the narration is subtitled. If you take the sound away and leave your child to read he/she can practice his skills. However, if he/she is still learning how to write letters it is probable that he/she will not be ready to begin reading and following the instructions without your own help.

A nice feature about this app is that it saves your child’s progress so that he/she can pick up from where he left off. This is not so great in a multi-player household as you will have to keep refreshing the game however, this is not a tragedy.

We really enjoyed this app and think that it is a great addition for four and five year olds who are in the process of learning how to write and read. They will be enchanted by the magic in the story and will feel very motivated to continue playing, learning and casting “spells”!