There is nothing more ingenious than taking a regular, every day item and turning it into a fun and creative tool. Spelly, the makers of Spelly Straws, have done just that with their unique spell and sip straws that are made to appeal to children as young as four years old all the way to adults.

Randy Stein, 3D artist and father, brought his idea to reality with the help of a team of people skilled in the areas of graphic design, social media, and copywriting. Their collaborative efforts enabled Stein to put the pieces together as Spelly Straws was launched last year through the website KickStarter. Along with his skilled development team, Stein sought funding and feedback from the public regarding the design and use of Spelly Straws. The response confirmed the wide range of appeal of the straws. Adults were not the only ones to respond with their party ideas for the straw. Parents agreed the straw would be enjoyed during playtime and snack time by their children.

After a two-month campaign, enough funds were raised to produce the straws. Spelly Straws are buildable and customizable straws made up of letter pieces that come in six colors. The Spelly fun comes together by using separate joints (straw extenders) and the letter pieces, which connect to form the straws. Spelly Straws come in packs of 44 pieces to 11,000 pieces, giving you the possibility of spelling 300,000 to 75,000,000 million words, respectively. That is a whole lot of party, spelling, and learning fun. The straws are great kinesthetic pieces that your four-year-old or older child may enjoy using even if they do not know how to read or are just learning their letters.

Most children love using straws. My family goes through several in one month. Spelly Straws satisfies the straw obsession and presents an opportunity for children to practice their spelling skills while sipping their favorite water-based drink. If your child is an early reader, they can begin with familiar letters spelling short character words. As their spelling and reading skills improve, they will be able to use more letters to build longer straws. Using the letters, your children can build their names, the names of their pets, messages and more. My youngest child used the letters to build a straw with his name and the phrase, “…loves Star Wars,” following his name along with two heart pieces. There is no limit to the variety of ways Spelly Straws may be used just as a straw, but more so as a learning tool for your child. While they are having fun building words with the goal of making a longer straw, they will also be learning. Using the 44-piece set, we had enough pieces to build a straw that was almost five feet tall.

As a parent, you may be wondering how well Spelly Straws clean up after the fun. The pieces are dishwasher safe, so no hand washing is required. Another concern regarding the plastic; Spelly Straws are BPA-free and the pieces are durable.

Spelly Straws are creative, interactive and educational. Using Spelly Straws will add life to your party for guests with a wide age range and add learning fun in your homeschool.

-Product review by Jennifer Smeltser, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, April, 2016