Wordy Qwerty by Talking Fingers Review

Back in October I had the opportunity to review the Read, Write, and Type Learning System by Talking Fingers.  My daughter absolutely loved it and her typing improved quite a bit.  She completed the whole program and still goes back to replay it from time to time.

Now I have the pleasure of telling you about another program by Talking Fingers called Wordy Qwerty.   Wordy Qwerty is the sequel to Read, Write, and Type.  It consists of 20 consecutive lessons that teach children how words are constructed, thereby improving their reading and spelling.  

Each lesson includes a new spelling rule that you can find here and the lessons are broken down into six activities which include the following:

1. Patterns:  Here you have to make two lists of words by typing the names of pictures and then sorting the words by a given characteristic.  If you choose wrong, you are given help by Qwerty and Midi.

2. Karaoke:  There is a catchy song for each of the 20 spelling rules.  This is my favorite part of the program!  What better way to help children remember rules then to put them to music.  Children are also encouraged to sing along, and I bet they will, mine did!  :)

3. Recycler: Children learn different vowel combinations that can make the long vowel sound, like the words "week" and "weak".  They watch the Recycler as it changes the first letter of two rhyming words.  Then they have to decide where the word goes, and if it is even a word at all.

4. Pop-a-Word: Here you have to find words in a four word phrase as each word quickly appears in a cluster of balloons. As you click on the correct balloons, they pop. The faster you find the correct words, the more points you make.  This can be challenging, and you have to pay close attention and be careful.

5. Write Stories: In these rhymes, children hear and see the first line, and have to type out the second line after it is dictated. They can see and hear the dictated line as often as they need, but get more points if they remember the sentence and try to spell the words correctly.  I personally think this is the most challenging activity. 

6. Read Stories: These written stories are missing several words.  You have to fill in the blanks with one of three given words.  Missing words will be ones that use the spelling rule you just learned.

Here you can see the complete Scope and Sequence.  

My Thoughts:  I really love Wordy Qwerty and am glad we got the opportunity to try it out.  I think the combination of all the fun activities is what makes this product great.  Kids don't even realize they are learning.  My daughter loves this program and asks to play it in her free time (which is unusual for anything that has to do with school).

That being said, she is a natural speller and this program seems pretty easy for her.  As parents, we can set the pass rate to the percentage we would like.  I normally set it to 80% if I have the option.  With Wordy Qwerty, if your child falls below your set percentage, they will be sent back only one time.  After that they more forward in order to keep kids moving through the program without getting too discouraged.  So as parents, it will be important to watch your child's percentage results and have them repeat any lesson they need help with.

Thoughts of an 8-Year Old:  I like Wordy Qwerty because it's fun. My favorite games are the "Pop-a-Word" and "Read Stories". My least favorite is Karaoke.  I also like the Orb Music Machine, which is where you get orbs for Mitty. LOVE IT!

Find Out More:  You can find out more about Wordy Qwerty and other products on the website, Talking Fingers.  The Online Home Edition for one user sells for $25, two users for $40 and it goes up from there, up to five users.  All home online subscriptions are for five years.  The CD Home Edition sells for $35.  Unfortunately it is not compatible with Windows 7 or Mac 10.6.  You can also purchase all those catchy songs on CD or from iTunes.  Lastly, if you want to try Wordy Qwerty out first, you can get Lesson 1 FREE.  You can also save 20% off your order by following that link. 

My Crewmates are also reviewing Word Qwerty, so you can check out what they think HERE.

Disclosure: This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.