Chutes and Ladders: Ups and Downs app
This app presents kids with a game format that requires them to count spaces to move their piece along the play neighborhood board. Throughout the game, they are presented with 'good' and 'bad' choices that can be made and they need to choose the correct answer. If they land on a chute, they slide back spaces, but if they land on a ladder they get to move further along in the game.
How I Use It
I like to use this app as an articulation motivator. For every ten target sound productions, I allow my client to take one turn on the game. They like the colorful images, the swiping feature that tells how many spaces they get to use, and the spaces that light up as they count their move. Although I use this as an articulation session motivator, it's a great way to incorporate some social skills practice as well. The choice scenarios relate to everyday activities that many kids can relate to. I will caution you that if you have a young child that doesn't handle losing well and you aren't working on this as a pragmatic goal, they may not react well to having to go back to the beginning of the game. My school-age kids can handle this and they really enjoy playing a game while we work.
PLAY-DOH Create ABCs app
I love to find different ways to engage in letter naming, sounds and letter formation. While hands-on activities are a must for me when working on these skills, I have found that some kids are highly motivated by alphabet apps. There are a lot of great songs, clips and tracing activities that target these skills well and I often use them as a reward for hard work during our sessions. PLAY-DOH Create ABC's is an app that offers three different types of activities:
- Write and Craft - trace letters and learn and create new vocabulary words that start with the same letter.
- Create and Share - Build your own letter and object play scenes using a variety of backgrounds, colors, letters and objects. My little ones love this activity!
- Letter Matching - reinforce initial letter sounds by matching the letter to the object. I like that you can select the letter you want to start with for direct practice.
How I Use It
The Write and Craft activity is the one I use the most for the visual and tactile support it provides. Kids trace over the PLAY-DOH balls in the order shown on the screen to make each letter. I like to have them say the letter as the trace each part and then say the letter and sound such as 'B /b/' as they complete it.
Both of these PlayDate Digital apps have been nice additions to my technology collection and would be fun educational choices for parents to use with their children at home. I recommend checking our their full collection to explore all of the apps that PlayDate Digital has to offer.
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Where to Purchase
Head over to the App Store to purchase and download Chutes and Ladders: Ups and Downs and PLAY-DOH Create ABCs app. While you're there, check out the full collection that PlayDate Digital has to offer!
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