For children under age 5, blocks with letters written on them can provide an enjoyable and direct way for them to learn to spell new words and review old ones. One game to play with blocks is to have the children spell out names of animals, then try to imitate their sounds. They can also try connecting words by spelling out a word beginning with the last letter of the previous word they spelled.
Concrete poetry is a poetic genre in which the words of the poem are arranged in the shape of whatever the poem is about. A poem about apples, for example, would have its words arranged in the shape of an apple. A spelling game based on this type of poetry is to have children practice spelling a new word by writing the word multiple times, arranged in the shape of what that word stands for. The word "alligator," for example, could be written over and over, arranged in the shape of an alligator. Not only is this amusing for kids because they get to make pictures using new words, but it also helps to reinforce the spelling of the word.
Hangman is a classic spelling game for kids. It involves a guessing game in which one person (the teacher or parent) chooses a word, and the children have to guess what letters the word contains. When the kids guess correctly, the teacher writes the letter in its proper place in the word; when they guess incorrectly, the teacher adds another body part (head, arm, foot) to a man being "hanged" until the whole man is present. Children try to guess the word before this happens.
Another classic game is a word search, in which words are hidden among random letters on a page; the children are given a word bank, and they have to find the hidden words and circle them. This teaches them to recognize letter patterns quickly. Point "rewards" can be given for finding the most words.
In addition to games to be played in person with other children, spelling aids exist on websites with spelling aids in the form of interactive games. For example, Spellingcity.com lets kids type in new words, and it then uses the words to create several games and quizzes to test, teach or play games with the child based on her spelling knowledge.