School Writing - learn the abc

by demografix pty ltd

Price: 4.99$

iPad

Overall Score: 100/100

version reviewed: 1.1

reviewed: 13/06/2012

Best for: Teacher & parent tools, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Thinking & problem solving

What it is: a set of activities for developing handwriting skills (tracing, writing). Built-in sets include: practice sets (shapes, prewriting exercises, dot-to-dot activities, mazes etc), numbers, lower case letters, upper case letters and words.

What you do with it: add student's profile, customize the settings, add your own material (optionally), practice with your child or student (or let them practice on their own), monitor the progress. The typical single activity consists of 'learning' (watching the correct pen strokes for each shape/number/letter), practicing on your own following the visual guides and replaying/reviewing the learned material.

For detailed info we highly recommend the demonstration videos on the producer's website.

What we liked:the concept, range of built-in material (from pre-writing exercises to whole words, from basic letter tracing to puzzle-like activities), number of exercises (plus the option to create your own exercises), the options for following and monitoring student's progress, high flexibility and configurability, very informative instructions and help files (including demonstration videos).

What we didn't like: only a teacher or parent can assess the quality of student's strokes (there is no automatic recognition of drawn shapes so even when you draw abstract lines instead of the proper ones you'll always be rewarded with 'your such a good learner' message. Some letters (e.g. in the 'words' set of exercises) are small and will difficult to trace with a finger. Navigation could be more intuitive in some cases (some exercises require you to press a button to see a picture or play audio instructions).

Bottom line: an excellent, very flexible tool for parents and teachers with loads of high-quality educational material already built-in.

Appysmarts

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Length of play:

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2
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13
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iPad

Spot the Dot

by Ruckus Media Group

Price: free

iPad

Overall Score: 100/100

version reviewed: 1.0

reviewed: 06/12/2011

Best for: Brain teasers, Attention & concentration, Early math, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Memory, Music & art, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world

What it is: a set of activities for concentration, color recognition and fine motor skills.

What you do with it: see our video presentation

What we liked: concept, simple graphics, simple navigation, spoken instructions, good educational value.

What we didn't like: the design may be just too simple for some kids, after (aparently) repetitive tasks they may lose interest, for younger kids parent assistance is required. A little bit too pricey.

Appysmarts

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iPad

Shapes & Puzzles by Pirate Trio

by Next is Great

Price: 3.99$

May contain `more apps` links

iPhone

Overall Score: 98/100

version reviewed: 2.0

reviewed: 23/02/2012

Best for: Brain teasers, Attention & concentration, Early math, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Language, Music & art, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world

What it is: about 200 'wood-like' puzzles made with various geometric shapes.

What you do with it: slide the shapes in place to create various objects like buildings, vehicles, people, animals, plants or tools. There are three 'modes' with various difficulty levels and different graphic approach (n on of the modes the shapes have additional drawings on them, which make the picture more 'complete' graphically).

What we liked: the concept, very good graphics, easy navigation and operation, number of puzzles, the 'training' module for younger kids, three levels of difficulty.

What we didn't like: the voice is a bit 'robot-sounding' (especially in the 'shapes' activity). A some sort of a prompt system would be useful - for example when you drop a piece accidentally on the stage in the wrong place it stays there. Some pictures may be a bit too abstract (e.g. the turtle).

Appysmarts

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2
4
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iPhone

iPad

Explore and Learn Shapes - Android version

by Mediakitchen Limited

Price: free

Android

Overall Score: 97/100

version reviewed: 1.02

reviewed: 07/03/2013

Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Early math, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Memory, Thinking & problem solving

What it is: an app for learning colors (yellow, red, blue, green, purple, pink, orange, brown) and shape names (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, oval, heart, star, diamond).

What you do with it:

- identify different shapes

- solve simple jigsaw puzzles (about 4 pieces) with shapes

- match shapes

- identify smallest and largest shapes

- identify different colored shapes

- play a memory game (8 cards) with shapes

The app has a simple reward system (collect coins to buy stickers for a simple sticker scene).

What we liked: the concept, nice graphics, simple animations, funny main character, easy operation, spoken instructions, extensive customization options.

What we didn't like: can get repetitive after some time (not too much variety across the activities).

Appysmarts

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2
4
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10
13
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Android

Explore and Learn Shapes

by Mediakitchen Limited

Price: 0.99$

iPhone + iPad

Overall Score: 97/100

version reviewed: 1.0

reviewed: 24/02/2013

Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Early math, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Memory, Thinking & problem solving

What it is: an app for learning colors (yellow, red, blue, green, purple, pink, orange, brown) and shape names (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, oval, heart, star, diamond).

What you do with it:

- identify different shapes

- solve simple jigsaw puzzles (about 4 pieces) with shapes

- match shapes

- identify smallest and largest shapes

- identify different colored shapes

- play a memory game (8 cards) with shapes

The app has a simple reward system (collect coins to buy stickers for a simple sticker scene).

What we liked: the concept, nice graphics, simple animations, funny main character, easy operation, spoken instructions, extensive customization options.

What we didn't like: can get repetitive after some time (not too much variety across the activities).

Appysmarts

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2
4
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10
13
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iPhone

iPad

Shape-O ABC's

by bellamon

Price: free

iPad

Overall Score: 97/100

version reviewed: 1.2

reviewed: 06/12/2011

Best for: Brain teasers, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Language, Music & art, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world

What it is: over 100 'woodenlike' puzzles with shapes, words, colors and sounds.

What you do with it: see our video presentation

What we liked: concept, graphics, sounds, smooth interaction, options (colors, autocomplete), number of puzzles.

What we didn't like: -

Appysmarts

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iPad

Curious About Shapes & Colors - Android Version

by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Price: 4.99$

Android

Overall Score: 92/100

version reviewed: 1.1

reviewed: 27/04/2015

Best for: Education, Early math, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world

What it is/what you do with it: 6 puzzles/mini-games introducing kids to shapes and colors.

Complete the puzzles (require matching, sorting, tracing, sequencing) to create toys and unlock bonus mini-games.

What we liked: the concept. Good range of fun educational activities. Nice 3D like scenes and animations. Sounds and sound backgrounds. Ease of use. Narration/spoken instructions. Good educational value.

What we didn't like: we wish there were more levels/more variety (the puzzle activities can get repetitive after some time).

Appysmarts

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2
4
6
8
10
13
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Curious About Shapes and Colors

by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Price: 2.99$ (was 3.99$)

iPhone + iPad

Overall Score: 89/100

version reviewed: 1.3

reviewed: 09/01/2014

Best for: Education, Early math, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world

What it is/what you do with it: 6 puzzles/mini-games introducing kids to shapes and colors.

Complete the puzzles (require matching, sorting, tracing, sequencing) to create toys and unlock bonus mini-games.

What we liked: the concept. Good range of fun educational activities. Nice 3D like scenes and animations. Sounds and sound backgrounds. Ease of use. Narration/spoken instructions. Good educational value.

What we didn't like: we wish there were more levels/more variety (the puzzle activities can get repetitive after some time).

Appysmarts

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2
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13
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iPhone

iPad

GazziliShapes

by GazziliWorld LLC

Price: 1.99$

May contain `more apps` links

iPhone

Overall Score: 88/100

version reviewed: 1.0.4

reviewed: 02/02/2013

Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Early math, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Thinking & problem solving

What it is: an app teaching names of 8 basic shapes.

What you do with it: 6 interactive scenes/activities which help the child learn and practice the names of the shapes; e.g. in the scuba diving scene you are supposed to find a certain number of triangle or square shaped fish, trapezoid shaped jellyfish, pentagon shaped diamonds etc. (each scene is has a different theme and set of activities).

What we liked: the concept. Engaging activities. Simple illustrations and animations. Sounds and sound backgrounds. Spoken instructions. The option to display instructions on the screen (useful for hearing impaired kids). Overall quality of the app.

What we didn't like: navigation could be a bit more kid-friendly. The educational value could be even higher if the names of the shapes were read out every time a shape is touched. May get a bit repetitive after you go through the activities more than once.

Appysmarts

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iPhone

iPad

KIZ Wood Shapes

by Buxpod

Price: free

May contain `more apps` links

iPhone + iPad

Overall Score: 77/100

version reviewed: 1.1

reviewed: 13/07/2012

Best for: Brain teasers, Attention & concentration, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction

What it is: sets of wooden puzzles generated randomly (unlimited combinations).

What you do with it: slide the shapes in place by dragging them with your finger.

The good: nice illustrations and sound effects, ease of use (even for younger children).

The not so good: can get boring very quickly (the shapes are laid out randomly). Activating 'bonus features' requires connecting to Facebook (link easily accessible to a child).

Appysmarts

Graphic quality:

Length of play:

Educational value:

2
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10
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(years)

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iPhone

iPad

Best apps for kids for learning shapes.

School Writing - learn the abc

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Spot the Dot

Show Screenshots »

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Shapes & Puzzles by Pirate Trio

Show Screenshots »

Hide Screenshots »

Explore and Learn Shapes - Android version

Show Screenshots »

Hide Screenshots »

Explore and Learn Shapes

Show Screenshots »

Hide Screenshots »

Shape-O ABC's

Show Screenshots »

Hide Screenshots »

Curious About Shapes & Colors - Android Version

Curious About Shapes and Colors

Show Screenshots »

Hide Screenshots »

GazziliShapes

Show Screenshots »

Hide Screenshots »

KIZ Wood Shapes

Show Screenshots »

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