Ages 5–8Spelling Hive — included in the Family plan on TotType
Spelling Hive does the weekly spelling homework with your child. The bees say a word, a short sentence that uses it, and the word again, and your child spells it on the keyboard without seeing it, the way a school spelling test works. Every word climbs four steps: copy it, look at it and spell it once it is covered, spell it with one honeycomb cell per letter, then spell it with no help at all. Words come back over the following days, and each word your child knows fills a cell of the hive with honey: 260 cells in four jars, from kindergarten to grade 3. Grown-ups can add this week’s school list, and in Family Bee they play too, with harder words and a honey timer.
- Ages
- 5–8
- Teaches
- Spelling from dictation: hearing a word and writing it without seeing it · 260 words for kindergarten to grade 3: short vowels, sh and ch, blends, silent e, vowel teams, -ing and -ed, compound words and tricky words like friend and because
- Plan
- Family plan ($4.99/month) or Family Plus — try a free 60-second demo first
- Plays on
- Any browser — keyboard or touch, nothing to install
How to play Spelling Hive
Listen to the word and the sentence. Type the word; bees fly into the honeycomb as you type. When every honeycomb cell has a letter, the bees check it (or press Enter), and a word that needs fixing gets typed once more with the bees. Every word spelled right is a flower the bee catches, and 10 flowers finish a level: short words first, then 4-, 5- and 6-letter words, then big words. The speaker button says it again and the turtle says it slowly. A flight is 8 words, and a word that is new starts as one to copy, so nobody is stuck. Every third flight, Buzz the clumsy bee misspells up to two words your child already knows, and your child fixes them. In the Grown-ups corner (press and hold for two seconds) a grown-up can type this week’s school list, up to 20 words, with the test date; 6 of every 8 words then come from it. Family Bee is a spelling bee for 2 to 4 players, each at their own level: Sprout, Bud, Bloom, Buzz or Grown-up.
What your child learns
- Spelling from dictation: hearing a word and writing it without seeing it
- 260 words for kindergarten to grade 3: short vowels, sh and ch, blends, silent e, vowel teams, -ing and -ed, compound words and tricky words like friend and because
- Look, cover, write, check, the routine teachers use for spelling lists
- Proofreading: finding and fixing the wrong letters in a misspelled word
- This week’s school list, practiced over the days before the test
Why it works at this age
Spelling from dictation is how school spelling is tested, and it is harder than copying or picking from choices: the child has to pull the whole word from memory. Spelling Hive teaches each word in the steps teachers use (see it, remember it, hear it, then spell it), spreads practice over the days before a test, and gives credit for a try that keeps all the sounds, because spelling by sound is the foundation the tricky parts are built on. Every built-in word comes with its sentence, so a word like their is never mixed up with there.
Tips for parents
- Type this week’s school list into the Grown-ups corner on Monday, with the test date, and let the game plan the practice.
- Play Family Bee after dinner: a child who beats a grown-up at spelling remembers it.
- Print the look, cover, write, check page from the Grown-ups corner for a pencil practice at the table.
Frequently asked questions
What age is Spelling Hive for?
Ages 5 to 8, kindergarten to grade 3. On first play a short dictation check of two to six words picks the starting jar: Sprout (kindergarten, 40 words), Bud (grade 1, 60), Bloom (grade 2, 80) or Buzz (grade 3, 80). A grown-up can change the jar in the Grown-ups corner, and Family Bee adds 60 grown-up words, such as rhythm, necessary and Wednesday, for parents who want a challenge.
Can I add my child’s spelling list from school?
Yes. In the Grown-ups corner, type up to 20 words (letters, apostrophes and hyphens) and, if you like, the test date. While the list is active, 6 of the 8 words in every flight come from it, and the corner shows how many are ready: a word is ready once your child has spelled it from memory on two different days, or on one day when the test is tomorrow. The list stays on this device and is never sent anywhere. Its words are read aloud only by your device’s own built-in voice; on a device without one, a grown-up reads them (press and hold Peek to see the word).
How is my child’s spelling measured?
Your child spells words from dictation, without seeing them: 260 words for kindergarten to grade 3, plus your school’s list. A word counts as known once your child spells it from memory on three different days. After each flight the card for grown-ups names the tricky words, what your child wrote, and the pattern behind a mistake, such as a vowel swap, a double letter or a missing silent e. A try that keeps all the sounds, like frend for friend, is praised as sounding right before the tricky part is shown. Game progress is saved on this device; learning shows up in your child’s Insights.
What is Family Bee?
A spelling bee for the whole family: 2 to 4 players, 3 or 5 rounds. Each player picks an animal hero and a level, so a five-year-old spells cat while a parent faces rhythm against a 20-second honey timer, and a child can beat a grown-up. Children have no timer. The word is spoken, never shown, until it has been spelled. A tie is settled by one sudden-buzz word, and the champions board stays on this device.
How long is a session?
A flight is 8 words and ends with the hive growing a new row of comb, a word skywritten by the bees and a short report for grown-ups. One more flight is offered once. There are no streaks and no timers for children.
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