When we first downloaded the 5-in-1 Mathomatix Measurement app a couple months ago the Bear (age 7) would help the Mouse (age 3.75) play which was both nurturing and beautiful to watch. The lessons are simple and the repetition effective in helping very young children learn basic math concepts like less/more, heavy/light, and long/short with or without an older sibling around to lend a hand.
Three of the app’s games are spot on: Fill Me Up, Long and Short, and most especially Action Months with it’s use of animated payoffs to teach letter recognition and spelling. All are super cute and worth a dollar individually. That there is a built-in reward system is the real kicker. The Mouse gets so freakin’ excited when she completes a level of a game and receives a prize on the screen. Like Hilton’s frequent stay program and Opentable.com’s impact on her papa, Measurement’s rewards keep her loyally coming back for more.
The Scale Tale game is visually enticing with a cute cyclops monster but fails in not allowing the player to guess which item is heavier/lighter before the scale tips – which becomes a dead giveaway in the end. The Mouse still likes to play it, tapping her answer repeatedly before it can actually be registered, but I’m not sure what she is really getting from the game other than frustrated. There is an analog clock game here too, but that isn’t a favorite.
My little Mouse has now taken to playing this app by herself which means a couple of things: the menu and gameplay are ideal for a 3-4 year old to get into the game and navigate around easily, and the app’s fun is well balanced with it’s educational element bringing about the most effective kind of learning.
Measurement is suited nicely for children 2.5 – 4 years of age and is well worth your $.99. Download it from the iTunes app store here.
*OWTK received a complimentary download of the Measurement iPhone app. The opinions express above are unbiased and true.
