Internet word game

Once again, I'm going to help you be a cool parent.

You want your kid to read. Your kid wants to play computer games.

Allow me to introduce: Blocks With Letters On and More Blocks with Letters On.

The website promises, "64 levels of mind-numbing word action."

Mind-numbing - well, kids love that in a computer game (did you know that when kids play Nintendo they don't blink? It's true. Watch your kid sometime. It's eerie.)

And word action - well, you love that.

Which makes BWLO the perfect game to entice kids to work with words.

In a nutshell, the game gives you some blocks (with letters on), which you move around to make words. Since the blocks only move certain ways, you've got to figure out which block to move first, which to move second, etc., to create the desired word. So there's a logic element to it.

Plus, the words aren't given to you. You have to figure out from the scrambled letters, what the word should be. So there's a literacy element.

The reason this game will make you a cool parent, is that the game's not a pushover. It's not like those academic sites that claim to have "fun" games. This really is a legitimate game in its own right - it just happens to be a fairly healthy one.

You should definitely try these games yourself. More Blocks With Letters On is, as one reviewer put it, "freakishly difficult." Some of the letters change before you can place them, so of course it's even harder to figure out the words. Try the first one first, before the sequel. And then let your kid show you how to play the second one.

I know I haven't been blogging as much lately - that's summer for ya. But I have tons of ideas, tips and resources up my sleeve. I'll post more often, I promise. In the meantime, thanks for visiting the site. I appreciate everyone who finds this blog, and enjoys it. Thanks for coming.