The company myfirstapp.com has created a host of fine apps targeting categorization, opposites, and more. All of the apps feature clear, colorful and attractive pictures. The apps can be downloaded for free. With the free download come 3 games. For $.99 an additional 3 games can be downloaded to the app.
The apps I’ve downloaded so far are:
Families 1 and 2
Opposites
Match It Up 1, 2, and 3
My Scene
Build It Up
The primary focus of Family 1 and 2 is categorization. The first screen has one choose from 6 broad categories. Families 1 one offers miscellaneous items, toys, animals/insects, party pictures, clothing and transportation categories. Tap on the category group to start the game. Each game screen presents a central box with three items, such as 3 hot air balloons (miscellaneous category). The child has to select a hot air balloon from the surrounding 7 picture choices and drag it into the box. Selecting the correct picture, causes the screen to change and reduces the number of surrounding pictures by one. Three new pictures appear in the center box, but now the child has only 6 pictures from which to choose. The game continues in this way until all the surrounding pictures have been placed in the center box. A happy face appears in the central box accompanied by children cheering when all the picture have been placed. A new game automatically starts up using the same pictures, but the order of placement in the central box is different from the first game. In other words, whereas 3 hot air balloons appeared in the center box first in the initial game but a flower might appear first in the second game.
Families 2 has the following categories: activities, foods, tools, birthday animals, things that go in water.
Suggested uses in addition to categorization: object parts, associations, receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, similarities, and differences.
Ages: 3-5 years
Website: myfirstapp.com
The next blog will look at the Opposites app
