As a Montessori "graduate" the last thing I ever expected to see out of this natural approach to learning was... an iphone app? Say it ain't so! But I'm kinda glad it is.
I allow my kids to play video games. Everything in moderation is basically my life's mantra and that applies to their time as well. We play plenty of sports, read, color, dance, sing and play far more board games than any mother should be required to. But we also (gasp) watch our fair share of television and play video games. I have no problem with that. Except, of course, when your child gets off a six hour plane ride and into a car with an iphone then proceeds to vomit all over herself as you are approaching a bridge from the motion sickness.
True story. Happened yesterday.
But I digress. My kids can kick my butt in most of the apps on my iphone and the only xbox "game" I can win is Dance Central (boy were they surprised to see mom throw down some moves!). But it is certainly refreshing to finally see some apps that actually TEACH. These Montessorium games are so visually appealing that my seven year old grabbed the phone immediately and started tracing his letters (which is clearly a little rudimentary for him).
I bought both the intro to letters and intro to math for my phone. Zuzu had fun with them for about ten minutes but I'm afraid they came out about a year too late. She'll still play them, and I think the directional letter & number tracing can even be beneficial for my seven year old, but these apps are definitely best for 2-3 year olds. And, in my humble digitally inclined opinion, worth the $4.99.
There is also an app called Alpha Writer (pictured above) which looks super cool, and probably more age appropriate for Zuzu, but it's available only for the ipad. If you have one, check it out and report back!
*I am in no way affiliated with Montessorium or Apple and am getting absolutely nothing for taking the time to write this post and sell their products. This is strictly my opinion.*
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