My friends at PBS KIDS continue making their brand of entertainment available everywhere through regular App releases, and the latest comes from the world of CYBERCHASE. The new CyberChase Shape Quest App for iOS combines games, puzzles and 3D augmented reality to challenge kids ages 6-9 to use geometry and spatial reasoning to hone their problem solving skills. The Free App is available now from (my affiliate), iTunes.
Games included in the CyberChase Shape Quest are…
PATCH THE PATH
Help your animal friends return to their homes in this augmented reality (“AR”) game, which uses a tablet’s camera to combine the real world with 3D digital content. Travel through 30 levels in 5 different environments and apply spatial memory, visualization and modeling skills, while investigating, predicting, putting together and taking apart two- and three-dimensional shapes. But this isn’t a game to play just sitting on your couch! By using the camera on your tablet, plus the “AR” technology, you can play while moving your whole body around the game board.
Before you play Patch the Path, you will need to print the game board from the Shape Quest website at http://pbskids.org/shapequest
FEED THE CRITTERS
The critters are hungry. Feed them by flicking food – but watch out for walls and obstacles. Play with 5 different animals in their Botopolis habitats through a total of 25 levels, while you practice spatial reasoning.
HIDE AND SEEK
The animals have hidden behind different geometric shapes. Can you find them all? Through 25 different puzzles, practice your geometry vocabulary while learning about hexagons, right angles, number of sides, and much more
Another recent release from PBS KIDS is the SUPER WHY! Phonics Fair, which hit the App Store last month and offers kids ages 3-6 a chance to learn reading, word-building and phonics skills through classic carnival-themed games.
SUPER WHY Phonics Fair includes 5 interactive literacy games designed for phonics practice, and each game features 30 key word families that are needed to learn to read (such as the –ALL word family, with words like “ball,” “tall,” “wall”). There are also over 130 stickers that kids can earn and decorate within the Phonics Fair Prize Booth, and 8 phonics-themed music videos.
Parent tools include a Progress Tracker and device notifications that allow parents to follow their child’s progress with each word family. In addition, instead of downloading a new app when their young Super Readers are ready to progress to more complex word families, parents will have the ability to purchase an advanced level of SUPER WHY Phonics Fair for $0.99 that includes an additional 30 word families, such as “OOM” and “EEP” words, as well as additional features.
For more on the great learning Apps offered by the team at PBS KIDS, check out http://pbskids.org/apps/
