When it comes to technology children these days are absolute geniuses as back in my day I spent my childhood making mud pies in the garden and writing stories. In todays modern world there seems to be an app for everything, from entertaining little ones to teaching them the vital skillset they need for preschool and beyond. Orchard Toys have just released their 3-in-1 app for preschoolers and they are a brand that my children love as my toy cupboard is filled with many of their jigsaws and card games already.
Orchard Toys 3-in-1 App For Children 3+
Suitable for ages 3+ the new Orchard Toys 3-in-1 app has been designed to help children to learn about shapes, colours and patterns. Little ones can piece together eight animal themed jigsaws and play matching memory games of pairs which increase in difficulty with different colours, shapes and patterns as you progress. The app’s aim is to develop colour recognition, hand-eye coordination, matching and memory skills, shape recognition, number and counting skills and observational skills in preschoolers to help them along their way into early education whilst also keeping them entertained.
My son Gabriele is now three and a half and is obsessed with his iPad which I allow him to have as a treat if he’s behaved well and eaten all of his food at meal times. I much prefer giving the children educational material to learn from through play which is why this app appealed to me and the sounds and menus are lovely for children to explore. It is upbeat and easy to navigate with a menu divided into jigaws, pairs and colours, shapes and patterns to choose from. The jigsaws very conveniently feature some of Gabriele’s favourite animals such as meerkats, penguins and cows and each can be selected as easy, medium or hard with pieces ranging from four to twelve and a cheeky spider slinks down from it’s web to catch the puzzle which has Gabriele in fits of laughter. The pairs game is lovely for boys and girls alike with cupcakes, monkeys and buses adorning the cards and a trophy keeping count of how many pairs have been found. Gabriele loves counting along with the trophy and cheering at the cheeky little monster that comes running on when you win. The pairs again range in easy, medium and hard with card pairs between three and six for difficulty.
Finally the colour shapes and patters are separated into a sorting area with dinosaurs decorated in different spots and shapes that you have to match to a pile by dragging and dropping them into place, the number of items increases with each easy, medium and hard setting. I really thought that Gabriele might struggle with this as it’s not something he’s tried to do before but after a few tries on easy he got the hang of it and I love how the app allows a child to progress and build up their skills. I have to confess that I enjoy playing it too and have to hold myself back from assisting Gabriele when he’s looking for puzzle pieces and shapes. The unisex Orchard Toys 3-in-1 app is a fun and effective way to encourage learning and works as a great behavioural incentive for my son too. As a mother I’m overjoyed to see him having so much fun whilst developing his skills.
www.orchardtoys.com
Twitter: @OrchardToys
Facebook: /orchardtoysltd
