Welcome to App Friday, our weekly link exchange of family-friendly apps. Today Valerie from Les Trois Elles is showcasing their app Tam & Tao in Numberland, which is based on the Montessori method. We also have John from Apps for Kids explain their creative storytelling app, Build A Story. Between numbers we learn, and stories we tell, it feels like we are covering lots of material this week. Thank you for joining us this App Friday!
What is Tam & Tao about? Tam & Tao in Numberland is a Montessori number app for pre-K children. It takes children through a magical numerical adventure while teaching them to count and write numbers. Tam & Tao the twin heroes lead the way and prompt children “how many trees can you see?”, “throw the snowballs”, making this app very interactive and engaging for children but not getting them wound up like some video games. The app is already available in English and French, allowing children to learn numbers in different languages. Spanish will soon be added. We are working with Special Ed teachers to make our next update more appropriate for children with special needs and always welcome feedback on our website: www.lestroiselles.com.
Why is it special? Our main target while building the app was the educational content. Two of the three co-founders are Montessori teachers and we thought we could make a real difference by offering our classroom experience and focusing on the pedagogy. Every detail of the app was built with that in mind and we used the appropriate Montessori material i.e number rods for quantities and the spindles for the concept of zero. The second thing that was important to us was to use a majority of the features offered by the iPad, iPhone and iTouch. Our app uses sound and touch and the digital notebook in which your finger turns into a rubber is somewhat magical. Also, Maria Montessori believed that children are attracted to “beauty” from a very young age. This is why we put a lot of emphasis on the graphics of our app and we are very proud of the outcome. To keep up with our latest news, please find us on Facebook and Twitter.
What is Build-A-Story about? With Build A Story, anyone can create, design and write their very own storybook. With dozens of themes and pages to get them started, children can choose from hundreds of characters to bring any scene to life. Children can add as many pages as they like, and read, print and share their stories, anytime. Build A Story encourages and develops a child’s imagination skills, literacy, and communications abilities – while they have fun telling stories in a totally new and unique way!
Why is it special? Build A Story is special because it focuses on the creation, not consumption, of stories! The unique Storybox story-writing feature, along with the writeable ‘Speech Bubbles’, means that each and every story really is the child’s very own …They get to dream up the tale, they give it the title, they put their words into every character’s mouth, and they choose where to take the action. Can an Octopus walk on dry land and go to School? Can a Fairy live in a Jungle Hut and eat Daisies from a bowl for breakfast? They all can, in Build A Story… if that’s what the child wants. Please follow us on Twitter: @funappsforkids or visit our site at www.appsforkids.com.au.
What’s in it for me this App Friday, January 14th?
- FREE – Tam & Tao in Numberland for iPhone/iPod/iPad
- Specially Priced at $2.99 (from $4.99) – Tam & Tao HD
- Specially Priced at $.99 (from $2.99) – Build A Story for iPad
Special Request We’d like to encourage our App Friday readers who download these apps to consider writing a review on iTunes after you’ve had a chance to evaluate. This helps the developer understand what’s working, and what’s not, in hopes of improving the app.
App Friday Link Exchange Our goal at Moms With Apps is to spread the word about family-friendly apps. We also like to let you know when there is a good deal out there on an app. Do YOU have some app news to share? If so, please participate in our link exchange and post it down below. Include the app name (& details) in the Link Title, your email, and a URL to the app. Thanks for your participation!
