App Friday: Montessori Crosswords

Welcome to App Friday, our weekly link exchange of family-friendly apps. This week we explore early childhood education with moveable alphabets and word building with Montessori Crosswords. L’Escapadou is a family design studio based in France. This homeschooling family found inspiration after the launch of the iPad with the belief that the iPad can be a great tool for learning and creativity. Judging from the success of their two titles, Draw With Stars and Montessori Crosswords, seems like they are right on!

What is your app about? This app was created after watching one of our daughters doing a Montessori activity involving a movable alphabet. The goal of this activity is to help kids develop their reading/writing skills :  pictures are shown and kids compose the corresponding words using the movable alphabet. The app is also about having fun with the iPad (on iPhone also in the next update!) : so we’ve carefully designed the app so that it is fun to use!

Why is it special? Based on the proven Montessori learning method, this app provides 3 words series that match the phonetic complexity of words so that kids can start with simple words. A standalone movable alphabet is also provided for the younger children who begin to play with letters. So this game is ideal for kids from 3 to 8 years (or more if they want to perfect their spelling skills). It is also special because of the fun and colorful animations/fireworks displayed every time a crossword is completed – animations which will be interactive in the next update due next week!

What’s in it for me? For App Friday SEPTEMBER 3rd, Montessori Crosswords (iPad and iPhone) will be set to FREE on the iTunes App Store. In addition, Pierre (the developer) is setting his other app Draw With Stars for iPhone and iPad to FREE for App Friday also. Download all of these apps from iTunes on September 3rd!

Related Apps? Our Moms With Apps developers were busy assembling their iPad content this week. Check out their list of over 20 family-friendly apps for iPad! Also, to compliment the Montessori word-building app with phonics and verbal skills, check out iSpy Phonics and Story Builder, also developed by Dads dedicated to helping their children (so many “World’s Greatest Dads” right here at Moms With Apps!). For speech-language focus, try ArtikPix, recently updated and released for free, with in app purchases.

App Friday Link Exchange: Our goal at Moms With Apps is to spread the word about family-friendly apps. Do YOU have a favorite app to share? Please participate in our link exchange and post it down below. Include the app name in the Link Title, your email, and a URL to the app. Thanks for your participation!