the ikids blog

App Review: FirstWords: At Home

There are some kids apps that you just love. In response to the recent launch of our favorites lists, @NuggetIsland declared “we are totally a shapebuilder family!”

Shapebuilder earns this endorsement because it does a great job of reinventing a classic – the children’s puzzle. It’s easy, intuitive, and uses touch technology to teach a core concept – shapes.

FirstWords: At Home succeeds in a similar way. The app introduces spelling one letter at a time by allowing kids to drag the letters of a word into place, aided throughout by helpful audio prompts.

You simply touch the letters to hear them spoken and then drag them close to the appropriate spot where they helpfully snap into place. When you complete a word, you are rewarded with an animation that highlights the letters of the word one at at time. And then it’s on to the next word.

For kids that are exploring letters for the first time, this is ideal. The app helps reinforce the connections between letters and sounds, while also introducing the idea that letters can be combined to make words.

FIrstWords: At Home also offers the option to adjust the difficulty level of the app – for example, you can hide the letter hints and let your child try to spell the word on their own.

For parents with kids that have recently mastered their ABCs, this app is a perfect next step in their development. Interested? You can get it here.


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