This month head into the forest to practice math with Hoot and Squeak, but don’t wake up Hoot. Travel through the art of James Ensor for an epic hidden object adventure in Please, Touch the Artwork 2. Finally, practice social situations and identifying emotion with Emoquest.
Garry Froehlich
Jellybean Tunes
Hoot and Squeak Maths
By pkclSoft
Practice adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing with the colourful and fun Hoot and Squeak Maths. Hoot the owl wants to sleep, but Squeak the monkey has other ideas. Kids choose from one of three difficulties which determines how many questions they need to answer. They can then choose which operations to focus on, and the size of the numbers used in the questions. Math questions are presented in a multiple choice style with each correct answer being rewarded with a fun (and really well done) animation. Get the answer wrong, and Squeak gets closer to waking up Hoot. The sound and graphics design is quite good. My only reservation that the animations can’t be skipped, but otherwise this is a well done app and a worthy addition to the math app genre. Additionally, Hoot and Squeak Maths supports VoiceOver navigation and the Apple Schoolwork app and has a strong focus on privacy.
Please, Touch the Artwork 2
By Meynen Studio
Take a journey through the paintings of James Ensor in Please, Touch the Artwork 2. Guide the skull-headed protagonist as they traverse from scene to scene, collecting objects hidden throughout the paintings. Collecting enough objects opens up new areas and new paintings. If you can’t find an object, there’s a handy (and free!) hint button that will point out what you have missed. The art gets quite trippy in the fourth act (for example, heads on plates), so be aware that it may not be appropriate for young kids. Overall, the app is a relaxing and fun way to explore art, and also completely free.
Emoquest
By Harrison Shu
Emoquest uses social stories to help kids with social skills and to recognize emotions. Each story, such as Sharing is Caring, is presented on a single screen with animated characters and voiceovers (but no text). At certain points in the story, you are asked to decide what should happen, or what emotions a character is feeling. Choosing an option such as not sharing will cause the story to back up so that you can try again. The voiceovers are crisp and the graphics and animations are simple but clean. Several stories are available to try for free, with a monthly subscription needed to access everything.
