Ages 4–7Word Monster — included in Family Plus on TotType
Word Monster is a typing game where your child chooses the words. Gobbledy, a baby word-monster, says what he is craving (a word that starts with B, an animal, something sweet, something that rhymes with cat) and your child decides what to type on his giant spoon. He gobbles it up and turns into it a little: a rocket sends him zooming, a drum goes BOOM, and a cat hops onto his head and stays there. Word Monster asks your child to think of a word that fits and spell it from memory. It practises vocabulary, sorting words into groups, colours, shapes, first sounds and rhymes, and gives credit when a spelling sounds right before showing the book spelling. It has 340 pictured words and knows 900 more.
- Ages
- 4–7
- Teaches
- Thinking of a word that fits, then spelling it from memory · Vocabulary and sorting words into groups: animals, foods, things that fly
- Plan
- Family Plus plan ($9.99/month) — try a free 60-second demo first
- Plays on
- Any browser — keyboard or touch, nothing to install
How to play Word Monster
Listen to what Gobbledy is hungry for, like a word that starts with B, something sweet or something that rhymes with cat. Type any word that fits on his big spoon, then press Enter or the Feed button. He gobbles it up and turns into it a little, and animals hop onto his head. Tap a hint picture to see its letters on the spoon. If a spelling sounds right but isn't the book spelling, he shows the book spelling to type over. Every five feeds he naps and dreams a silly sentence made from your child's words, and after three naps he is full until next time.
What your child learns
- Thinking of a word that fits, then spelling it from memory
- Vocabulary and sorting words into groups: animals, foods, things that fly
- Colours, shapes, first sounds and rhymes
- Sounding words out, with credit for a spelling that sounds right
Why it works at this age
Between four and seven, children know far more words than they can spell. Letting the child choose the word turns spelling into recall instead of copying: they think of something that fits, hold its sounds in mind and put them in order. Gobbledy rewards a sensible try (“rokit” earns silver, then he shows ROCKET), so a beginner is never stopped by the book spelling.
Tips for parents
- Let your child pick the word, even a silly one: he eats a pictured word that doesn't fit too, and something funny happens.
- When he asks “do you mean…?”, say the sounds together before your child types the book spelling.
- Print the Dream Book from the Grown-ups corner and read the sentences together.
Frequently asked questions
What age is Word Monster for?
Ages 4 to 7. Four- and five-year-olds start with first-letter cravings and can tap a hint picture to see its letters on the spoon. Six-year-olds start with kinds of things and seven-year-olds with cravings like “I'm cold!”. A new level of cravings opens when six of the last eight feeds earn gold or silver.
What happens when my child spells a word wrong?
If the spelling sounds right, like “rokit” or “elefant”, Gobbledy asks “Mmm... do you mean R, O, C, K, E, T? Rocket?” and shows the book spelling to type over. A spelling that sounds right earns silver, and one that is a letter or two away earns bronze. A word he doesn't know gets “Hmm, I don't know that one yet!” and is never spoken, shown again or stored.
Does Gobbledy say what my child types?
No. He only says words from his own picture list, in their book spelling, and he never says names. What your child types stays on the device; only the book spelling of a word he knows is recorded for Insights.
Does Word Monster save progress?
Yes. Game progress is saved on this device; learning shows up in your child's Insights. Nothing is saved during the free 60-second demo.
Can I print what my child made?
Yes. Every nap adds a dream sentence made from the words your child fed him. In the Grown-ups corner you can print the Dream Book and a Word Book of every word with its medal.
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