Learning the ABCs Has Never Been SO Much Fun!

There are few things that make me happier than finding a great app to use at work.  It’s such a great feeling to introduce a new game to the kids that will not only be fun for them but will motivate them to learn.  A big bonus….being able to use said apps to encourage my own child to want to learn.  I recently stumbled upon Face iMake ABC and now wonder just how I made it through the last year without it.  This amazing app is just one of many (I can’t wait to test out all the others!) by iMagine Machine.  This company is dedicated to making motivating products that will encourage children to learn, imagine and most importantly, have fun while doing all of that.

I am not quite sure where to begin with this app.  Since I work with many preschoolers (and live with one as well), I am always looking for apps that will help work on learning the alphabet….learning, writing it and giving the letter some meaning so the kids will be encouraged to remember the letters.  Face iMake ABC does that and does it really well.  The point of the app is quite simple but crazy motivating.  You are learning your letters with a hands on approach.  For example, the letter E pops up, you touch the letter and a picture comes up.  They introduce the letter and the picture and then all the objects move to the bottom of the screen and you have to put them back in the right place.  It seems simple and possibly boring, but I assure you it is not.  Your kids will be kept entertained for hours on end.

I have already used this with many of my children at the gym I work at and many of them have asked to do it over and over again.  Since so many of my children have decreased upper extremity strength, I like to have them work on this while lying prone on a net swing.  Since this game is so much fun and super motivating, I can get them to lay in this challenging position for much longer periods of time.  For some of my older children, I have them use this app as a part of a multi-sensory approach to learning how to write letters.  I will have them first pick a letter out on this app and complete putting the pieces back together.  After that, I may use the LetterSchool app to practice writing the letters with their fingers.  After they are done with that, I have them practice writing on a piece of paper.  I find that this multi-sensory approach helps some of my kids learn the letters quicker.

In addition to what I have already mentioned above, this app works on so many other skills that are important for the development of the kids I work with.  Here are just a few more of the many skills that can be focused on when using this app:

Improve Visual Motor/Perceptual Skills:  if you have a child who needs to work on learning their letters and their visual motor and perceptual skills, this is a perfect app for you.  You can work on matching skills by dragging the pieces into the correct places.  This is also great for working on spatial skills.

Improve Graphomotor Skills:  if you have a child who needs to work on improving their grasp on a writing instrument, use a stylus when playing this app.  I suggest this one by iCreate.  It looks like a child sized crayon and my kids really love it.

Improve Letter Recognition:  this app is a fun and motivating way to work on learning the letters of the alphabet.  The music is calming and it helps keep the kids focused.  I have noticed that some of the educational apps I have used have loud and fast music which often revs up my easily excitable kids.

Improve Attention/Focus:  even though this is a fun app, it still requires you to have good attention and focusing skills.  This also requires good memory skills because there are times when you drag some of the shapes into place when you can no longer see where other objects go into.  I have found this to be the most challenging aspect of the app and one of the things I really like about it.  It really requires one to focus and pay attention to the details of the pictures.

Improve Social Skills:  you can always do this in pairs or small groups in order to encourage team work and cooperative skills.  The children may have to work together and take turns putting the object back together.  You can also work on having a child ask for help or teach a child how to give a friend advice in a friendly manner.

There are so many wonderful things about the Face iMake ABC app and know that you and your little ones will have a great time playing this together.  One of the things I like most about this app is that I actually enjoy playing it with the kids.  We can have fun together and I think that is a really important part of teaching and learning.  If a child can see that we are having fun as well, they are more motivated to work harder and work through the challenge of it.

I would love to hear from you all about what you think about this app.  What is your favorite letter and image?  What do your kids think about it?  Are there any other OT skills that you can think of that we can focus on when playing this with the kids?  Please feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions.  I love hearing from each and everyone of you and have learned so much from you through this blog.  I am just a click away and look forward to hearing from you.

Have fun learning your ABCs!