Tam & Tao in Numberland
© 2010 Edoki Academy
Note that Edoki was formerly called Les Trois Elles Interactive. This is a sandbox App, where children can freely tap, trace, drag and drop their way through a set of numbers, from 0 to 9. According to the documentation materials, the app was modeled after the teaching methods of Maria Montessori. There are three modes of play, each hosted by either Tam or Tao, two children with strange accents, as judged by someone in New Jersey. The Draw mode turns the iPad into a slate, where children can draw with eight colors. An eraser is always available for mistakes. 123 Play consists of a ten screen ebook, with hidden animated sequences, one per number. For example, in the 4 screen, there are four sets of everything. Children can throw four snowballs at four wolves, shown in a winter scene, with four mountains and four trees. Touching an item labels it, e.g., "four wolves" or "four clouds." There are two language options (French and English) although changing them requires changing the settings for your device in the control panel, a very clunky process. While not the most sophisticated program, it is good at getting out of the way and letting children freely explore, or just scribble. Note that younger children may need some help getting in or out of some of the activities.
$9.99, iPad
Teaches: logic, math, numeral formation, counting, fine motor
CTR Rating: 80%