I'm going back to Spelling City and moving in!

You may not recall, but back in February, I did a review for Spelling City entitled "Spelling City Here I Come."  It had been totally unsolicited.  However, Spelling City found out about it and offered me the opportunity to try the premium membership for further review.

Here it is!  Perfect timing as many prepare for a new school year.

First, I want to mention, in case you didn't go back and read my original review, that I really like Spelling City.  In fact, I even tried the spelling test part with my daughter, and she did an excellent job.  I was afraid that it would test her keyboarding instead of her spelling, but that wasn't the case.  Only once did she miss a word due to a typo and the site allowed me to retest that one word to verify she knew it.

Now, the differences between the basic and the premium...I thought I'd post a chart from their site so you can see it easier than I could explain it.

I think the premium features are nice for all and great for some. 

Here are some of the things I really liked about the premium program. 

First, mija really enjoyed the premium games even more than she did the regular games.  Not necessarily a reason to purchase a premium membership, but noted none-the-less.

But one thing we both enjoyed was the opportunity for her to sign into the site herself.  She thought it was "cool" while I appreciated the fact that I could keep track of what she was doing on the site.  The site kept track of everything she played, reviewed, and tested.  It even kept track of her test grades and what words she missed. 

This was one of the nice things for a home educator of one, but for a mom of more than one or a teacher in a classroom, this would be a really nice benefit.  It keeps track for you!

Here's an example of the information you would be able to see for each student.  Their format is much nicer than my copy and past below.

List 31      Spelling Test                05/02/2011 5:27 pm           93 %         tomorrow
                                                  completed at: 5:36 pm

List 31      Game - Teach Me        05/02/2011 5:17 pm

List 31      Game - Flash Cards     04/25/2011 12:29 pm

List 31      Game - Which Word - Definitions            04/25/2011 12:21 pm
                                                                              completed at: 12:21 pm

List 31      Game - Crossword       04/25/2011 12:18 pm
                                                   completed at: 12:20 pm 

List 31      Game - Flash Cards      04/25/2011 12:09 pm

List 31      Game - Teach Me         04/25/2011 12:06 pm

I only wish that all the activities would tell me when she completed or stopped playing it.  In a state that requires total hours, how many minutes is just as important as what she did and what date.

Another benefit for those with more than one student is the ability to make different lists.  You can have a list for each of your different grade or ability levels, have them review, test and keep track of it all on the site. 

Regardless of the number in your class, the ability to write your own definitions for your words is a plus with the premium membership.  In this way you can make it correlate with the definitions they are learning in their curricula.  I say curricula because you truly can have a different lists for various subjects going all at the same time.  In that way, SpellingCity.com spans across the subjects spectrum.  So not only do you benefit with the language arts realm, you can do science or history vocabulary.  You can even do math as Maria of Math Mammoth pointed out!

All this to say that Spelling City is going to stay apart of my home educating routine.  I give the site as whole and the premium membership a firm "A" for all users and an "A+" for those with multiple students.

The $24.99 for up to 5 home school students is a well-valued investment even if you only have one student.  Prices vary for classroom usage.

Thanks to SpellingCity.com for allowing me to try the premium membership!