Can Franklin Spell F-U-N?

My eight-year-old was pretty pleased when her school district decided spelling tests are no longer necessary for elementary school kids. I wasn’t.

So, I'm  pleased to come across Franklin Electronic Publishers, who may have just the thing to make spelling fun and delight both of us: The Children’s Talking Dictionary with Spell Corrector. Priced at $59.99, it’s geared to kids ages six to 10. Type in a phonetically spelled guess, and moments later “whoops” pops up on the screen, followed by the correctly spelled word.

The hand-held machine speaks the word then digitally writes it out in block or cursive letters. The company will also introduce the Talking Spanish-English Language Student Dictionary early this year for the same price.

For older kids who have grown up with hand-held gaming machines, Franklin has partnered with The Princeton Review college testing company to make The Princeton Review Pocket Prep Handheld Tutor. The idea is while your college-bound kids are waiting for the bus or in the car on the way to soccer practice, they could be answering SAT and ACT questions. Available early this year, it also includes the new essay portion of the SAT.

Wouldn’t it be great if your kids learned something while playing a hand-held game? Would your kids use these or roll their eyes at the mere suggestion? Let me know and add a post.