What is a "Montessori" app?

There is a growing number of educational apps with "Montessori" in the title. In a quick search, typing in "Montessori" in the search on iTunes yields about 450 iPad apps. I suppose claiming "Montessori"might automatically give you some cred, that the app follows a fairly successful educational approach developed by Maria Montessori. But does it? I think of the many educational approaches, the Montessori approach has the most potential as an app because of the underlying principles, especially the materials that require hands-on learning. However, many of the Montessori apps out there don't live up to it's name.

What are the Montessori principles? Here are eight principle of Montessori education - taken from Montessori - The Science Behind the Genius by Angeline Stoll Lillard (pg. 29). (Angeline Lillard was one of my professors in grad school and we spent quite a bit of time on Montessori!)

1) that movement and cognition are closely entwined, and movement can enhance thinking and learning
2) that learning and well-being are improved when people have a send of control over their lives
3) that people learn better when they are interested in what they are learning
4) that typing extrinsic rewards to an activity, like money for reading or high grades for tests, negatively impacts motivation to engage in that activity when the reward is withdrawn
5) that collaborative arrangements can be very conducive to learning
6) that learning situated in meaningful contexts is often deeper and richer than learning in abstract contexts
7) that particular forms of adult interaction are associated with more optimal child outcomes
8) that order in the environment is beneficial to children

So how do these principals translate to the app world? What I look for in a Montessori app:

1) Is there interactivity where the movement is meaningful and enhances the learning? Do the materials used in the app capture the purpose of Montessori materials? Can kids move around a bunch of "1" blocks and then see that 5 "1" blocks is the same length as a "5" block? Can kids easily make these types of connections from the interactivity offered by the app?

2) What is the premise/context of the activities? I've stressed this before...

3) Is there open-ended play? Is the open-ended activity well-designed and balanced? While we want to give kids control to explore and learn, the activity itself needs to have a purpose, context, and be engaging so that kids will want to choose to play it.

4) Is the app polished, simple and beautiful in design? This might seem like a trivial point, but Montessori materials are polished, simple, and beautiful. Kids should be attracted to it, but not distracted by it. (Back to my Balance issue).

5) How much are kids "rewarded"? I'm not opposed to light forms of rewards, but Montessori apps should be light on reward systems.

6) Are there cooperative learning opportunities? This doesn't just mean make it multiplayer. Do the open-ended activities encourage kids to work together?

Here are a few examples of Montessori apps I like. They may not hit on every principle nor the six areas I look for, but they are some of the better ones of what I've seen so far....

Apps from Les Trois Elles Interactive - I think overall, they do a solid job, though their latest app, Montessori 1st Operation was a disappointment. Check out Montessori Geometry or Montessori Letter Sounds instead.






Apps from Montessorium - These apps are clean and simple. I'm more familiar with the first three shown here...

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Endless Alphabet

First off, let me say that Endless Alphabet is a great app from Callaway Digital Arts Inc. It's a super creative and hugely popular app but here's my problem: the title. It's a way better spelling and vocabulary app than it is an alphabet app! In fact, I think it's a poor app for learning the alphabet, especially if used without further reinforcement and support. So parents - get this app, but be careful who you get it for and how you use it. Price - Free (beware of ads though - can purchase ad removal for $0.99)

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Developmental Appropriateness: This app covers a lot - Letters, phonics, spelling, vocabulary. I think it does a great job for spelling and vocabulary, and even phonics - for kids who have already started to learn phonics. For kids who are just learning their letters and phonics, this may not be so great. It's well, just too cute! It's too distracting. Sure, these younger kids may be engaged and even repeat the letters and sounds, but that does not mean they understand what they are playing with. Being able to repeat the sounds they hear is step one of many to actually learning and understanding letters. A better measure of if they "learned" the letters is to see if they recognize the letters outside the context of the app, in various forms. Kids don't fully understand the alphabet until about 6 years of age - when they are reading. Kids are able to repeat the sounds they hear not because this is a great app, but because they are kids who are at the ideal age where they are learning to produce sounds and talk in general. Do I think younger kids CAN learn from this app? Yes - but I think only with reinforcement from parents to connect the information from the app to other examples of the letters and letter associations and with repeated exposure. Do not get me wrong on this last point - I am NOT saying have your kids play with this app as much as possible, I am saying that they will learn better once the novelty of all the cuteness dissipates.


My fear is that parents of 3 yos or even younger are the ones getting this app - because it's called "Endless ALPHABET" when really it should be parents of around 5 yos who should be getting this app to help strengthen phonics, learn new words and how to spell them. Rating: 3 for 3yo (points for that this is in fact a highly engaging app for this age), 5 for 5yo, so an average of 4/5 stars.

Balance: I think it's ok for the older kids. They know their alphabet and that letters have sounds associated with them. They can get past the cutesy-ness and learn. But like I said, this is too much for the younger kids. Perhaps if the developers specified an age group and titled their app more appropriately (seriously, I think they are selling themselves short as it doesn't mention their best features!) I wouldn't have a problem. But they don't, and I think it's misleading. Rating: 3/5

Sustainability: Kids and even adults will find this engaging. The ever growing word bank also helps give this app longevity. Rating: 5/5

Parental Involvement: There's not much here to help parents be more proactive. Parents should take it upon themselves to play the app together and relate the letters and words to real world experiences. They can even have their own little spelling bees to practice the words they just learned. Rating: 3/5

Total: 15 out of 20 = 4 stars

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Shake-N-Tell

Shake-N-Tell was created by Your Name in Cows for true storytelling lovers. I'm always on the look out for unique apps, and this is one of them. This app provides the basics of stories and the rest is up to the storyteller. So if you're looking for an app with all the latest interactive features, this is not it. But if you're looking for an app to guide quality interactive time with your family, this may be it. Price: Free with in-app purchases for more storyboards.

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: I really like the idea of this app. Hey, it's hard coming up with stories, so why not get some idea boosters. The navigation is pretty simple. Pick a title, then read the story. They highlight certain parts to encourage more description and elaboration on those parts. You can hit the shuffle button if you don't like where that page of the plot is taking you to get another option. If you're running short on time, you can fast forward to the end. 

Here's the thing - I am not a good storyteller. I really admire parents and whoever who are great at it, doing voices and sound effects and all. This may not be enough for me. They provide little tips for storytelling, wish there were more, or maybe an example or two showing the difference between the bare basic story and how someone turned it into a great story. I also think some added features would make it easier too. For example, adding a brief synopsis of each story could not only help families to choose the story, but also to help the storyteller prepare. Or a menu system where you could choose specific things for the story - like the genre, characters, setting, etc. These would also be good because some of the stories can be scary so parents can better decide if it's appropriate. This is actually a big point - parents need better indications here for whether the story is appropriate for their kids. But, in the end, is this better than trying to come up something completely on my own? Yes. Does this encourage more interaction for families? Yes. Rating: 3.5/5 (no age rating as I feel the parent is the main user here).

Balance: As I said, this is overall simple - but more features could make it better. Maybe offer suggestions of elaboration. Another suggestion would be a back/main menu button, if folks decide they want a different story. As is, you're pretty much locked in. Rating: 4/5

Sustainability: This is a hard one as the quality and effort required is kinda up to the storyteller. With the in-app purchases, there's a variety of stories to choose from. Rating: 4/5

Parental Involvement: This is a strength of the app as it encourages folks to take their eyes off the screen and onto each other. Good storytellers (parents AND kids) can just fly with it, and not-so-great storytellers can use it as practice to get better. At least there are prompts for where to elaborate or get others involved to make it a collaborative story. Rating: 5/5

Total: 16.5 out of 20 = 4 stars

Cartoon ABC

Cartoon ABC was created by Kids Academy Company and is exactly what it sounds like. An app that aims to teach kids the ABC's using cartoon animation. THere are now tons of ABC apps, so where does this one stack up? Price: $1.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: With so many alphabet focused apps out there, it's becoming harder and harder to pick out which ones to get. Some of the things I really look for are 1) repetition - the actual letter needs to be repeated over and over, 2) word associations - it's almost given that letters are paired up with words starting with that letter - are there a few different examples? Are the words appropriate? 3) Letter presentation - is it prominent? Does it get lost with the words? and now more and more with apps, 4) how are the interactive elements related? Cartoon ABC addresses my first three criteria really well. There's lots of clear repetition of the letters, it's paired with three different examples where the actual letter is highlighted, and each presentation begins and ends with only the letter. So yes, this is a solid ABC app. However, when compared to some other ones, this one does not capitalize on the affordances of the device - there's not the same interactive quality as seen in other apps - it's more like watching little video clips. Rating: 4/5 (aim for around 3 years)

Balance: The animations are simple and cute. My only critique would be with the main menu. It's nice that you can pick any letter to work with, but they are not all labeled on the main menu -some are, some aren't - so kids can't automatically go to a specific letter, without thinking about it (yes, it's in alphabetical order). Rating: 4/5


Sustainability: There's a nice variety of picture and animation. But again, I do think kids are gonna have an expectation for interaction features, which this does not have. So while this app does clearly and nicely present the content, after seeing all the different animations, kids may want to seek more action elsewhere in terms of an app. Rating: 3.5/5

Parental Involvement: There is a parent report section where it shows which letters kids have looked at. Again, I think these types of reports are great starts. This also points at a need for a better main menu labeling system so parents can easily tap on the letters they want their kids to work with next. Rating: 4/5

Total: 15.5 out of 20 - 4 stars

Disclosure - I received this app for free for review purposes.

Hot Dots Jr.

Hot Dots Jr. was created by Educational Insights and aims to teach kids colors, letters, shapes, numbers, and patterns. It includes Ace the Talking, Teaching Dog. I like the idea of have a virtual "teacher" so let's see if Ace delivers. Price: $0.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 3.0 or later

Developmental Requirements: In general, the activities assess appropriate skills for preschoolers and kindergartners. The app basically just takes kids through rounds of multiple-choice questions like, "Match the uppercase and lowercase letters" or "Which completes the sequence?" (By the way, using the words completes the sequence is too hard! Many little kids do not know the word sequence or even pattern. Many assessments use the phrase, "What comes next?" instead.) The difficulty in each round ranges, especially with letters, but there's no setting to select specific tasks. Some will be too easy and some will be too hard, but it goes fast enough where it's maybe ok. But it would be nice if parents and kids could select specific tasks to work on, or at least instead of a total score, it actually broke down scores by task. The activities remind me of actual assessments, but with less information.

Where I've set myself up for disappointment is with this whole Ace the Talking, Teaching Dog. To me, that means that Ace provides good instruction and feedback to help kids understand their answers - correct or incorrect. However, Ace does not offer anymore feedback than most apps, giving approval when correct, and maybe a bark when wrong. A "bow wow" tells me nothing. Rating: 3/5 (aim for around 4 years).

Balance: The tasks are very straightforward. The voiceover is clear and repeats the question. Sometimes, especially in the case of "which completes the sequence," kids who are unfamiliar with the tasks may need the prompt repeated, but also rephrased. Rating: 4/5

Sustainability: There doesn't seem to be a goal here, you get a score at the end of each round, but nothing else to really keep kids going, unless they just like answering questions. Rating: 3/5

Parental Involvement: Given the structure of the tasks, this is where I think it needs the most improvement. While its good to just have kids practice, there also needs to be instruction involved for them to improve and there is none within the tasks themselves. So what it needs is to provide parents with the knowledge of what and how to help their kids. Rating: 3/5

Total: 13 out of 20 - 3 stars

Disclosure - I received this app for free for review purposes

Learning Games for Preschool to Kindergarten

Learning Games for Preschool to Kindergarten was created by Agnitus and includes a variety of basic learning games tapping into color, numbers, letters, shapes, memory, and sorting. Seems to cover a lot and for free! Price: Free

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 5.0 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: I think the most important thing for an app that aims to cover an age range, especially 2-5 is progression. So much happens in these years that it really take a lot of consideration to design an app that adequately addresses the needs of kids at each age. While the games here do progress in difficulty, it does so very gradually. Overall, it's more fit for kids at the younger spectrum. It starts off with a lot of matching - even for colors and letters where it's not really recognition, but just matching, which does not do much for me. While it gradually takes away some of the cues to make it more of a recognition task, I still think these games are too easy for the older spectrum. Most kindergartens know their colors, letters, and numbers (which does not go up very high). Also, there is no setting, so a 5 year-old would have to go through over 200 rounds to get to their skill level. Trust me, I went through that many activities! I will say that the activities are cute and fast-paced though. But overall, I think this app is in desperate need of a difficulty setting, a progression that's more adaptive to each child's performance and more challenging levels. Rating: 3/5 (aim for 3 years).

Balance: The features are cute yet not distracting and offer basic feedback for correct and incorrect. It could go further in probably more instructional feedback. One annoying thing I will point out that I hope is a glitch is on the search game, if you are stuck, it continuously says, "One more..." over and over. Shush and let me concentrate! Rating: 4/5

Sustainability: While the game offers a bonus sticker world and a shower game (not sure how engaging this one is), the very slow progression could still get very boring. Rating: 3.5/5

Parental Involvement: There's a nice "report card" for parents that shows the skills covered, total time, age progression and some overall progress. It also shows what curriculum themes have been covered, but the app itself does not address all the themes shown. Parents can share their child's progress on facebook. This is a nice start to getting parents involved. Rating: 4/5

Total: 14.5 out of 20: 3 stars.

Disclosure: I received this app for free for review purposes.

Alphabet Jumbled

Alphabet Jumbled was created by Pixel Interactive and focuses on some early alphabet learning. It's got 5 different activities - two are fairly standard introducing the alphabet and some flashcards. The other three are all about the sequencing of the alphabet with a "jumble" concept - sounds like something new? Price: $1.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: So the first two, more standard, activities are nice - they are just that - pretty standard. The first just labels the letters and letter-sounds. The second shows flashcards of the letter linked with an object. The last three are all about sequencing and putting all the letters in order. Some with just a chunk of letters, some with all the letters, some timed, some not timed. So "jumble" not in the word game jumble sense, just in a mixed around kinda sense. They are kinda fun and maybe a breath of fresh air from more standard early alphabet games. My question is, just how important is the sequence of the alphabet? Yes, it's important. The alphabet song is one of the most well-known children's songs (in the US at least). Virtually all American kids learn it, and it sticks. It's a simple and fun way to teach the sequencing of the alphabet, which helps build literacy skills. But knowing the sequence of letters is not the same or maybe not as important as knowing the sequence of numbers. That has more meaning - 1 is less than 2 is less than 3. But A has no different value than B than C. So why focus most of an app on the sequence of letters? Especially when the alphabet song is already a pretty effective and popular method. The goal of learning the alphabet is to learn to read - which is learning the combination of letters that form words, not the sequence of the alphabet. Rating: 3/5 (aim for around 3 years)


Balance: In most cases, the letters are filled in with a background like polka dots. While this makes the letters look cute, it may actually be distracting kids from recognizing the letters. Remember, young kids have a hard time seeing two things at once. So they may just focus on the colorful patterns instead of the letter. And with the flashcards, the letter appears with the colorful background in the corner, but then in plain print within the word - I'd highlight the letter correspondence here more as they can look pretty different - at least to little kids. Rating: 3/5

Sustainability - It's a cute looking app, and kids might enjoy the game element of the jumble activities. It  doesn't save your times though. Rating: 4/5

Parent Involvement: There's not much to do for parents here... Rating: 3/5 


Total: 13 out of 20 - 3 stars

Disclosure: I received this app for free for review purposes.

The Singing Alphabet

The Singing Alphabet was created by the Ministry of Letters ltd (kinda sounds like some Harry Potter reference, doesn't it?) As you can tell from the title, it's an app that combines music and the alphabet, where each letter sings its letter-sound in an artsy, jazzy, kinda way. I'm probably not doing it justice with my description, so please take a look at the video below. Price: $0.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: I think the purpose of this app is really to get kids exposed to letters/letter-sounds and music/rhythms, as opposed to any direct teaching. It's pretty free form, where kids can choose whatever letters to start singing. It doesn't label the letters and my version shows only the lowercase. I can see it encouraging kids to try spelling out different words or their names to see what that would sound like. But then you realize that you can't use a letter more than once, so that limits the types of words you can spell correctly. I also think it's easy to get lost in the music and rhythm than to really focus on the letter-sounds. So overall, I think this is actually a cute app to get kids in music with some light exposure to letters. But learning potential may be low. Rating: 3.5/5 (aim for around 4).

Balance: If I think of this as an alphabet learning app, then I think the music aspect overshadows the letter-sounds. I think even if kids are singing along and making the sounds, they might not connect it to the sound that particular letter makes, but rather cute sounds these cute letters are making. It would be more effective if there was a "learning" section first, where the letters at least clearly annunciate their names and sounds and then have what the app currently is as the "putting it all together" game that they could play. From reading the description on iTunes, it sounds like there was clear educational intent for letter learning, so I will rate it as such. Rating: 2.5/5

Sustainability: This is an innovative way to get kids interested in music and letters. If kids like this kind of music, then I think they will enjoy coming back to this app. However, if this kind of music is not their thing, then they might not be engaged. Rating: 3.5/5


Parental Involvement: Parents might find this app engaging for them as well. They can spell words out with their child and see what music it makes. There's no explicit role for parents, but the app can easily be played together. Rating: 3.5/5

Total: 13 out of 20 - 3 stars

Ready to Print

Ready to Print was created by Essare LLC along with an occupational therapist. It aims to help teach pre-writing skills and incorporates a series of activities such as touch, matching, and pinching. Price: $9.99  While I don't factor in price in the ratings, as I leave that up to you to judge for yourselves, this is really one of the pricier apps I've seen! Is it worth it? 

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: This app was definitely designed with an educational eye. It has a very set progression with levels and a review. There is no doubt that this has educational intent, and can be used at home or in the classroom. My real question is: Is "writing" on an iPad with your finger the same as writing with a pen or pencil? I personally, don't think so. The activities here (see photo), are very basic - tap on objects, drag objects, move finger in a shape/line, etc. Sounds like to me, this is a "how to use an iPad" app rather than how to write. Having read about and been part of many usability studies, I can tell you that kids have a natural knack for using iPads. They are good at it, even at a very young age - yes, before they can write. So I'm not sure what this app really teachers them in terms of writing. It's just not the same. Even the pinching is not the same as the "pincher" grip for holding a pencil. Does this app teach things like how to follow directions, matching, and recognizing shapes and letters? Yes. Does it teach you how to write? I don't think so.  Rating: 3/5 (aim for around 3 years).




Balance: The games are simple enough and without distraction. In terms of usability and engagement, it seems designed for it to be used with an educator - the look of it, that there are no verbal directions, etc. A tutorial and other features to engage children would make it have less of a classroom feel, at least in the beginning. Rating: 3.5/5


Sustainability: Again I can see this being used by a teacher or professional, where they have a purpose in mind for the specific activities - not necessarily writing. Otherwise, I don't see kids asking for this. Rating: 3.5/5


Parental Involvement: There's a review feature, which is grab for teachers and parents. I think for parents, an explanation for how these activities relate to writing would be useful (there's a little of this on the website) so they know what to watch for and how to relate these activities to other ones in everyday life. Rating: 4/5


Total: 14 out of 20  = 3 stars


Disclosure - I received this app for free for review purposes.

Kids Crosswords

Kids Crosswords was created by Learning Touch. It boasts 100 words, 10,000 puzzles, and 10 levels of increasing difficulty. I like crosswords so let's go. Price: $0.99

Device Requirements:  Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: Ok, I must admit, I was at first disappointed. I was expecting crossword puzzles. Yes, for kids, but some form of here's a clue, figure out the answer. This is more of a put the words together. There are pictures, and you make the word for that picture and the words cross and intersection. But even on the highest level, you can just tap on the picture and it tells you the word. But, after I got over the initial realization that this was not a crossword puzzle app, I thought that this was actually a pretty good phonics app. The 10 levels may seem like they only increase in difficulty by a smidgeon, but the progression actually makes sense - although I'd still like to see it get into a larger range of words and combinations of sounds or even not providing the labels for the pictures so kids have to figure it out. For what's there, throughout the process, it very clearly sounds out everything, from the letter options to as you place them correctly. The blending of the sounds together could be smoother - as is it's very separated so it's hard to hear how all the sounds together make up the word.


I've let go of wanting this to be more like a real crossword puzzle, but I do have to say that the developers still could have given the crossword aspect a little more thought. For example, all the pictures start off in black and white. For one, it's a picture of a painter, and the target word is actually red. But there would have been no way for someone who was trying to figure it out to get "red" from a black and white painter without tapping on it, thus eliminating the fun of "figuring it out." Rating: 4/5 (aim for around 4 years).

Balance - Everything is very simple and focused. I like that it doesn't allow you to do anything until it has completed sounding out and saying the words. Rating: 5/5


Sustainability - Although it seems like there's endless puzzles, there are really only 100 words and animations. Another reason I'd like to see a larger library of words is because a lot of the words start repeating, even within one level. This could get repetitive, and kids will just start memorizing. Rating: 3.5/5


Parental Involvement: There's not much to do here for parents. It'd be great if it could what words the kids are struggling with or at least a list of the words that appear on each level or just some sort of review for parents to generalize and reinforce. Rating: 3/5


Total: 15.5 out of 20 = 4 stars


Disclosure - I received this app for free for review purposes.

i Learn With Boing: Ice Land Adventures!

i Learn with Boing: Ice Land Adventures! was created by Tribal Nova. It is a literacy app targeting preschool and kindergarten. It has three activities targeting Letters, Phonics, and Words. I was looking forward to checking out this app because I previously reviewed iLearn with Poko: Seasons and Weather, which was a solid app and has now (along with other apps by the developers) been updated to include a parent center that tracks kids progress. So how this Ice Land stack up? Price: $2.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.


Developmental Appropriateness: The developers have clearly given thought to the design through an educational lens. Are the activities appropriate? Check. Is there leveling for each activity? Check. Is the leveling adaptive according to performance? Check. Is there instruction/tutor? Check - in the form of Boing, the character. Are the games engaging? Check - in general, yes, and one of the games even has a two-player mode to launch "snowballs". This is all great. 


Now here's me being critical and possibly nit-picky. First, is it me, or do some of the phonics pronunciation sound a bit off? I am not a phonics/speech expert, but I have some experience administering literacy assessments that include phonics and I feel like some of these are not quite right. For example, "e" here seems to always presented silent - which yes, there is the "silent e", but not always. How would you say "sh" or  "ow"? Second, there seems to be a wide range of vocabulary here - which is good, but it's kinda randomly presented. Figuring out the phonetics of "yogurt" is way harder than "sun". There's a progression not only for vocabulary, but letters and phonics and I don't get the sense that the level of difficulty within these domains were considered. The first point of the pronunciation concerns me quite a bit, and for that, I have to give a lower rating than what I thought initially. Rating: 3 out of 5 (aim for around 4 years).

Balance: Everything looks cute, yet simple at the same time. The phonics game, where you launch snowballs can get a little distracting as aiming and timing them correctly can be a little tricky! Also, not sure where to mention this, but my second player froze up during play. Rating: 4/5


Sustainability: So as you play, you collect rewards. These rewards can then be used in a connected app where you can make your own avatars and "play" in this other planet. It's kinda neat. However, while you are doing the activities, it may get repetitive. While you do collect rewards as you go, the activity remains exactly the same as you progress through the levels. This may bore some as there's not much to break up the activity play itself, since the reward system is a separate thing. Rating: 4/5


Parental Involvement: A great addition to Tribal Nova apps is the parent center. Like other apps that have also started including a parent center, this one allows parents to review their kid's progress within the app an then makes recommendations for other apps that target other subject areas. This one includes a comparison of their kid's accuracy rate with the general population's. There's also a nice kinda guide for parents, explaining the activities and what's available in the parent center. Like I've said with other parent centers, this is a wonderful start for parents to stay connected. Perhaps there could be different packages for parents depending on the level of information they'd like. 


One thing I'd like to see (not specific to the parent center) is some sort of setting so parents (and kids) can set the levels within each activity. Some kids might get bored with having to get past the initial levels that may be too easy for them. Rating: 4/5


Total: 15 out of 20: 4 stars


Disclosure - I received this app for free for review purposes.

Little Bee's ABC

Little Bee's ABC was created by Lisbon Labs. It's an alphabet app that presents multiple activities for each letter such as connect dots to learn the letter's shape, follow line directions to draw letters, paint missing parts of letters, and writing missing letters in words. So lots of letter writing and recognition in different contexts. Price: $2.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: Little Bee's ABC is a super cute app. The graphics are colorful in a soothing way, the voice over descriptions of the objects is lively and, well, cute! I just wish that more attention was paid to how the content is suppose to teach the letters. For each letter, you first see the target letter formed by a something else - like a Jack-in-the-box spring curls over to form the letter P. Ok - cute and fun. But for learning, kids don't recognize these two-in-one things well. Then, you are presented with 6 activities. Again, they are all cute, and maybe together, they help kids learn the letters. But looking at them separately, I can't help but wonder if they could improve the learning aspect. For example, in the connect the dots activity, you connect the dots to form the outline of the letter, so you don't actually connect the dots in the way that you would write the letter. Or, in the "friends" activity, it presents a few examples of objects or whatever that begin with the that letter, and gives cute descriptions of them. But no where in this activity does it actually ever say the letter! Rating: 3/5 (aim for around 4 years)

Balance: The interactivity focus around the letters and the app is overall easy-to-use. I did notice that the app presents the letters in all different kinds of fonts - ranging from simple to cursive, to more abstract like using the objects. While I can see a purpose to exposing kids to different forms of the letters, I do think that some of the staple activities like writing the letters stuck with the more simpler forms. We can leave the calligraphy to a different app, rather than a learning letters app, or at least until we know the kids are pretty comfortable with letter recognition and writing letters. Otherwise, it may just unnecessarily complicate the learning. Rating: 3/5


Sustainability: The variety of activities is a plus. It's a visually appealing app, and I'm a sucker for cute. But there are no goals or much to egg on play, so I'm not sure how much kids will keep coming back to it once they've gone through it all once. Cuteness doesn't work for everyone. Rating: 4/5


Parental Involvement: There's not much for parents to do here except watch along - and of course elaborate when they can. Rating: 3/5


Total: 13 out of 20: 3 stars


Disclosure - I received this app for free for review purposes.

Trunky Fishing Game

Trunky Fishing Game was created by UpsideDown Games. It's the digital take on the classic Fishing Game - yes, you know, the one at carnivals that you can never win or you might know it from it's toy form. The fish spin in a pond and they open and close their mouths. You have your little fishing rod and have to time it just right to land in the fish's mouth and pull it up without dropping it. So does it work as a digital game? How is it educational? Price: $1.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later

Developmental Appropriateness: This app presents the game in a few different ways - a just for fun, fish your heart out mode, and then modes where it asks you catch the fish with a specific color, letter, and or number - so tapping into recognition. I like that it sets up the learning in a game setting - makes the learning fun. You can even have a two-player mode and play on the same device at the same time. Some friendly competition can help motivate play. I actually do remember this Fishing Game as a kid and loved playing it.  However, I don't feel it quite feel it captures what made the fishing game fun. Here, you tap on the target fish when it's mouth is open and drag it to the bucket. There's no thrill of using a rod, timing your actions just right, and then the best part, pulling the fish up and praying that the mouth has closed tightly and it doesn't fall off. So while the app has put the player in the Fishing Game setting, it doesn't really feel like you're actually playing the Fishing Game.

I would also prefer a bit more initial instruction. It took me a minute to figure out what to do. Trunky, the elephant is there with his fishing rod, and since I expected a fishing rod as part of the play, I thought Trunky would have a role in it. But he doesn't. He's merely the cheerleader. A few simple directions would help. Also, in the learning modes, the target is said in the beginning, and then you see the label in the top of the screen. I would like to hear the target repeated or prompts given, especially if the child is taking long to find the correct fish. Kids at this age cannot read the labels, and they may not know to tap on the label to hear it repeated. The letter and numbers are also kinda small to read - making them more salient would be helpful. There's some simple feedback when you get it right, but more reinforcement of both getting the correct and incorrect answers could help support the learning. Rating: 3/5 (aim for around 3 years)

Balance: As mentioned a few more features to help support the learning are needed. Otherwise, the game is set up simply, colorfully, without much distraction. Rating: 4/5

Sustainability: While you get a point for every fish you correctly catch, it doesn't really record your score or keep a record if you're playing against others. And although you can choose to work on colors or letters or numbers, there aren't really any levels. It doesn't get faster or more difficult. Rating: 3/5

Parental Involvement: Trunky Fishing Game is linked to YogiPlay, a feature that parents can login to. Here, parents can look at usage reports (time spent on specific apps, time spent on reading/math/etc. apps), get recommendations based on your child's preferences, and also send messages to their child based on their usage and performance. YogiPlay also has a reward system where you collect coins and can "purchase" kid-friendly items. So this a great way for parents to stay connected, especially with games that are child-centered/meant to be a one-player game. Reviewing performance is important, but parents should also remember to reinforce the material and add-in real world context. Rating: 4.5/5

Total: 14.5 out of 20: 3 stars

Disclosure: I received this app for free for review purposes. Also, I've been working with YogiPlay as a reviewer!