So way back when...2, err 3, years ago, when I was so ahead of the curve & got my kids their own iTouches, I was planning on writing a post on here about Kid's Apps that I pink puffy heart. That list has evolved somewhat, (less than you'd think,) as my girls have gotten older. Truthfully, it hasn't changed all that much. I did want to give a shout out to a particular app that should be getting some big time praise.
The app is Dora Hops into Phonics.
One of the main areas of speech that Little is struggling with is phonics within a word. She's got the first sound down & if she's focused, even gets the ending sound. It's those middle ones that are hard. Before, I had a diagnosis for what was up with her, we had downloaded several educational apps. Upon talking a good friend who is a speech pathologist, she gave me the name of the company who has supplied the brick & mortar type tools used by her trade for years. They do have apps, but I'm not going to give their name bc, 1) I think their apps are crap, 2) their stuff was geared toward a "teacher" with many students. Obviously, I'm not a teacher or a pathologist, so my needs were different. From what I could tell, these apps were made by someone who does apps, not by someone who does the speech part. I suspect, they are really well developed from a tracking standpoint. I do not need to track a bunch of kids, just one.
Dora Hops into Phonics was created by someone who understands what needs to be taught and how best to teach it on a handheld device. (Kudos to Nickelodeon for find that person. They are few and far between & I hope you are paying them well. Give them a raise, they deserve it!) It has been a huge help for Little. She's engaged, and learning at the same time. It teaches her the phonics lesson, but it also has little games w/in the game to hold her attention. Whomever designed this, really understood their target audience. Some of the games involve skills akin to "Angry Birds" which translated well for my kid. If she's frustrated or overwhelmed w/the level/lesson she just covered, well they have a little rest stop over here for you to take a break and keep it fun. There are other apps who cover this subject, and we do have another Dora app from which to compare. This particular app deserves praise in the respect, that it's teach my child w/out her realizing it. She's not even a huge Dora fan, but she likes the game so much, that she plays still plays it.
