When my son received this gift for his birthday – he literally groaned out loud
(……wait for it.……)
in front of the wonderful aunt who had purchased it for him. Ugh!
I had actually recommended the item and so the blame for such an honest (yet impolite) reaction clearly fell to me. I knew it wasn’t his greatest birthday wish, but I wanted this game in my kid’s closet. (Who knew who that his older brother had convinced him that the wrapped box was sure to hold a brand new Lego set?)
To say that Boggle Jr. is a game – is admittedly a bit of a stretch. There are directions for a “2 Player Game” included – but unless both players are the same age and the same skill level, it’s really an activity for one. Instead, consider Boggle Jr. a tool for helping a child develop phonics skills; one of many tools that I like to keep around the house to help my son move from non-reader to a skilled-confident-reader.
Here’s how it works: Two sided cards offer the player a choice between three and four letter words. (These words follow standard phonic rules and include dog, cat, jar, barn, fish, pond, etc…) A chosen card is placed in the plastic holder and the young reader works to “match” the letter cubes to the printed word under the picture. As a child develops their skills, the player can cover the printed word (by flipping a small plastic cover) and try to spell the word on their own before “unveiling” the text to check their work.
Let that lovely aunt know: Now when we open the box, my son does not groan or complain at all. While he doesn’t always care to sit with a book and flex his emerging-reading-muscles, working the cubes, searching for letters, and unveiling the answer (with a dramatic “TaDa!”) accomplishes many of the very same goals. His confidence has grown and he’s eager to show me the words he can read, match, and spell on his own. He’s happy and I’m happy…. which, I guess, means the birthday wish that came true was mine.