My Hummingbird struggles with spelling. It has been a source of frustration to her for the past three years. She's one of those kids who just doesn't seem to "get it."

When Dan from SpellQuizzer contacted me about trying out the SpellQuizzer program, I thought it would be a great opportunity for Hummingbird to use it and see if it would help.

Before I could download it, T-Rex had some more health issues, so the program sat in my inbox for a couple of months. If I had known how much Hummingbird would like it, I would have downloaded it right away. 

Finally, last month, with the school year officially ended and our schedules a little more relaxed, I had a chance to download the program. I live in the middle of nowhere and I have really SLOW dialup so it took awhile to download. That isn't SpellQuizzer's fault, that's my slow dialup's fault.

Once I got everything downloaded, I recruited my 15 year old son, Rocker, to help me set everything up since I'm not as tech savvy as he. Turns out it was easy enough for me to understand on my own. SpellQuizzer gives great, simple step-by-step instructions even the most technically un-savvy can understand.

SpellQuizzer is set up where parents can make customized spelling lists in their own voice. If your computer isn't equipped with a microphone, you will probably have to buy one for about $10 - $15. You also might need to use microphone boost in your computer to enhance the sound well enough to hear the words properly.

I don't know if it was my computer or not, but I had trouble with sound quality (probably my computer). But - there is a solution for that! You can type in your own clues and sentences for the spelling words. That's what we have done, and it's working really well. Rocker is having a great time coming up with clues and sentences for Hummingbird's spelling words.

Something that impresses me with the SpellQuizzer program is its simplicity. This is a quality program that delivers what it promises without adding a bunch of bells and whistles.

Since Hummingbird has ADHD, she needs something like this - simple, with minimal distractions. Although she still struggles with spelling, SpellQuizzer gives Hummingbird ample opportunity for word repetition, recognition, and re-spelling missed words.

• It is a reasonable, one-time investment of $29.99, for a single license. Family pack (for up to 5 PCs) costs 49.95. Homeschool groups and school districts can contact Dan for pricing for their groups. A CD-Rom is an additional $7.50.

•  (You may have to make an additional purchase of $10 - $15 for a microphone to record words.)

• It has neat little noises you can (or not) activate for correct and incorrect spelling. I downloaded the Hallelujah Chorus for Hummingbird. You should hear her giggle when she spells a word correctly! And by the way, we're starting to hear a lot more "hallelujah" than "uh-oh" around here lately.

• If you need ideas for spelling word lists, you can find a ton of ideas on the SpellQuizzer website. They have frequently misspelled words, words by grade level, nouns, holidays, religious, U.S. States, and many more!

• You can share words with your homeschool group or classmates. It's very easy to import and export lists following SpellQuizzer's simple instructions.

• It can be customized for different children.

• It has a little feature called "Tip of the Day" which gives you little tidbits on enhancing your SpellQuizzer experience. There's a funny one in there, too (but true): "You should never run while holding scissors!" 

• Once it's downloaded, it doesn't require an internet connection to use. (A real plus for those of us with slow dialup) 

My General Impression of SpellQuizzer:

• This would be a good investment for a family with multiple younger children of different ages. At some point, I will be able to try this with T-Rex. Since he likes computer programs, I have a feeling SpellQuizzer will come in very handy for him.

• We plan to use this throughout the summer and the upcoming school year to help Hummingbird practice her spelling. Although we are trying to be pretty relaxed regarding curriculum and whatnot, I think SpellQuizzer will be something we use often to reinforce Hummingbird's lessons. I plan to make lists from her history studies, geography, literature, etc. just to help solidify the words in her mind.

• If your child thrives on quizzes, this program would be a good fit for your family. We aren't religious about quizzing, so I'm neutral about this, but it's great practice for Hummingbird!

• This is great for homeschool or charter/public school children. This list sharing option makes it especially helpful. Parents can even get the lists from their kids' teachers. If your child is in public school, this is a really good way to stay involved in your kid's homework. Kids could support each other and parents could keep up to date on homework and what everyone is spelling from one week to the next.

• SpellQuizzer is versatile enough to be anything from an intensive spelling program to summertime/after school practice. It really is up to the parent and child's creativity and personal needs as to what they want to do with it.

• For our family, SpellQuizzer is a good help and supplement to strengthen Hummingbird's spelling skills.

• Dan is extremely helpful when I contact him with questions. He has always answered my emails promptly. I would definitely give his customer service 5 stars!

For more information on SpellQuizzer, visit their website at www.spellquizzer.com.

To see what my fellow crew members thought of SpellQuizzer, click here: