Great Preschool App!

Name: Alien Buddies by artgigapps

Fee or Free: 1.99

Rating: 4.5 /5 stars



Why I Like it: This app has great graphics that compel young learners to explore. On the opening screen children are faced with three choices. These are pre-readers so they do not know that the choices are match, dot-to-dot, and stickers but after they explore on their own they will quickly have the functions memorized.  Once past this screen going left to right, young readers are given a choice of matching different colors, shapes, letters, and numbers. This where it really gets cool. In the top level learners are asked to find the alien among a line of six that matches a spaceship that flies up from below. Going back to the home screen for matching, learners can do matching through a listening activity which is great for building oral comprehension. The letter matching does lower case to lower case, upper case to upper case, and mixed giving learners a built-in challenge. The numbers are grouped 1-10, 1-20, and 1-50; again building on what children have learned and reinforcing their new knowledge at the same time.



In the dot-to-dot activity there are six choices of simple dot-to-dots (should be called stars-to-stars as children are connecting stars : ) ). Learners can ask for help if they connect to the question mark. In the help mode the next numbered star to connect to turns pink telling learners what to push.  In the I can do it myself mode the stars stay yellow. A bonus of the dot-to-dot that as the child hits each number it is said aloud so children get counting skills reinforced. The dot-to-dots get progressively harder as you move left to right and then down. Starting at ten going up to 17 stars to connect. If you are a parent working with your child you might take the opportunity to talk about constellations as the dot-to-dots are stars on a blue background.

Every time a child completes an activity successfully they get a sticker. Going back to the home csreen and choosing the far right choice children are presented with a landing screen showing eight different scenes. When they choose a screen they they are greeted with pleasant thematic music and the stickers they have earned are in a line at the bottom of the page. Stickers that they have not earned yet are transparent motivating them to go back and play more games to earn those stickers.

The graphics are engaging, the music is appealing and not obnoxious, the activities are age appropriate, and the children should get hours of play time from the 1.99 purchase.

Things I'd like to see to give it 5 stars. More challenging dot to dots. I'd like to see higher numbers, more complex pictures, and the use of an alphabet dot-to dot to reinforce the alphabet recognition taught in the app.

All in all, great job artgigapps!

 Visit Mobile iEducator for more app reviews!

Rain Go Away ABC's by Applicable2U

Appbrella Inc.

“It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring, he bumped his head and went to bed and he couldn’t get up until the morning.” No matter what time of year, this song will always come into a child’s head when they wake up on a rainy day.  What do parents think?  What should we do today, since playing outside is not an option. Appbrella Inc. has come to save the day!  Coming from the stand point of a parent for this review, Applicable2U was not sure if Rain Go Away ABC’s was really applicable.  Do we really need another application that reinforces the letters of the alphabet?  Our answer, YES!!  This educational app at first glance appears to be just an interactive alphabet in the form of flashcards, but it’s also a parents dream come true!!!

Appbrella Inc. is one of the many developers that are apart of the educational app recently launched Moms With Apps.  If you happen to have a young one of your own, are a nanny or even your school teacher, this application will definitely come in handy.  Once in the hands of a child, students can navigate through the app in two ways.  First, they can select a letter from the list in any order.  Within each flashcard there are a number of interactive pieces.  For example, the letter is announced when pressed.  Next, a users vocabulary begins to build once they click the image that begin with that letter.  Finally, with a shake of the iPad or iTouch objects will come alive.  My favorite is the letter “D”.  The more you shake, the more interactive that object will become.   The second way that a user can navigate through is by scrolling the alphabet in order.  If you happen to choose this method with your student/child, ask them if they noticed anything different on the cards each time.

Appbrella Inc. has taken into consideration that parents can have a part in a young child’s mobile learning experience in multiple ways.  The most obvious is that as the adult, you can witness your child/student beginning to recognize letters of the alphabet.  Together you can be surprised and share times of laughter at the interactive pieces.  As the child becomes more comfortable with the letters, it can also open up doors of prediction. Lets predict what other objects begin with a particular letter and what would it look like as an interactive flashcard.  However, what really sets this educational app apart from any other that we have seen is the TIPS.  These are not tips for children, they are tips for parents.  Tips of how you and your child can pass the rainy day away.  On a sticky like notepad, Appbrella offers ideas of non-technical things that you can do that relate to each letter of the alphabet.  SAMPLE – Letter N’s tip is to use uncooked spaghetti to make noodle pictures on paper.  Dye the noodles with food coloring for sensational squiggles! Just brilliant!  In the next version of Rain Go Away ABC’s, I think it would be interesting if parents could  share some of their ideas/tips with Appbrella.  In return, building a larger resource for parents on those rainy, cold, not so fun days.

Applicable2U gives this a definite thumbs up!  I am so happy that this is a part of our library.  If you would like to learn more about Appbrella Inc, be sure to visit their website.  Already know that this is a winning application for your family or classroom? Then go right to your iTunes library here and begin your download today!

Reviewers website: www.applicable2u.wordpress.com