new for us friday: er-u-di-tion (a sight words game!)

We’ve had this game for quite some time now, but it’s only in the recent few weeks that we’ve really explored how much fun Er-u-di-tion had to offer our little family.

It’s been awhile since we’ve tried out a new game for our New For Us Friday, so when I brought this game out to play, Maddy, Owen, and Cora were pretty excited.

The game is called Er-u-di-tion, and it is “the game to jump-start the road to reading”. So you know that this teach mama was totally interested in trying it out for herself.

And the coolest part? I’ve got one to give away to one lucky reader!

Want to see why this game is perfect for any family, playgroup, or classroom?

• Er-u-di-tion: The game’s name is written phonetically, so you pronounce it the way it’s broken up for you. I have to admit, getting my kids to say the name of the game instead of “that word game” or “that letter game where you get to go two times on your turn” has been a bit of a challenge, but after awhile, they go it.

The premise of this game is to “jump start the road to reading” by getting kiddos to play with the letters of the alphabet and sight words while they travel through “literacy land”. Since I’ve got a few game-crazy kids over here, they’re usually up for anything, but the added challenge of identifying letters or reading words while playing a game really makes this game a hit for Maddy and Owen.

the letter and word cards

With each player’s turn, he first rolls the dice and moves that number of spaces. When he makes it to that spot, he can then earn a “bonus” turn by identifying a letter or reading a word on one of the cards. If he does so correctly, then he rolls again and moves that many spaces. (This is why it’s a “game where you go twice on your turn,” game according to Owen.)

One of the cool parts of this game is that players with varied abilities can play together. If there’s a little guy who is just learning his letters, he’ll use the blue letter cards, but if there’s an emerging reader playing, he’ll use any one of the three sets of sight word cards. One set of cards is easiest, the next is more difficult, and the last is most difficult.

Proud Maddy! She read ‘near’ and scored a bonus turn!

Sometimes when I play with Owen and Cora, we’ll only use the letter cards. But other times, if Maddy, Owen, and Cora are playing, Maddy will try to challenge herself with the most difficult cards, Owen will challenge himself with the easiest cards, and Cora will use the letter cards. It works out perfectly!

Because I always hesitate to put new readers on the spot (and because I’m sooo not competitive when it comes to games), when we play a “challenge” game, meaning that Maddy and Owen were stretching their card choices a bit, we play that they can pick two cards. I’d say, Okay, for your extra turn, can you read this card (pointing to first card) or this card (pointing to the other)? That way, they didn’t feel crummy for not being able to read a tough word, but they were still confident enough to take the leap. (I’m big into choices, with parenting and learning.)

Overall, I really, really liked that:

• it’s a game designed to help children “read, spell, and understand the most common words in the English language” (loooove this–who wouldn’t?!);
• the game’s title introduces a new vocabulary word to little learners (okay, and most parents. . . );
• the creators thought about making this one game work for kiddos of varied levels–there are alphabet cards and three levels of sight word cards to use (so you’re also getting a set of letter cards and three sets of sight word cards!);
• the letters and words are written in a basic, simple font–not fancy or distracting for new readers;
• the letter cards include several words that begin with the letter or contain the letter in the word;
• the word cards include the word’s pronunciation and definition;
• the game is made of high-quality materials and bright colors and graphics without going overboard;
• it’s a game where players get to go twice–twice!–on their turns. Fun!

I wish that (and these are little wishes):

• the game’s name was a little easier to say–for the little guys, at least;
• there were separate uppercase letter cards and lowercase letter cards so that when we played just with letters, we didn’t have to stop and re-shuffle the deck. And I just like the idea of having uppercase and lowercase letters separate.

Okay, so if you’re up for scoring your own Er-u-di-tion game, it’s pretty simple:

1. Leave a comment here, telling me your favorite Teaching Tip or Sight Word Book from the Er-u-di-tion website. Be sure to leave your name and email address so I can contact you if you win!
2. Join Er-u-di-tion’s Facebook Fan Page for a bonus entry!

This giveaway will end on 04/23/10. Thanks, and good luck!

Disclosure: I was contacted by the kind people at Er-u-di-tion and was asked if I would take a look at their product. Maddy, Owen, Cora, and I loved it so much that I asked the creators for an extra product to giveaway to my awesome reader friends. Simple as that!