Bottom Line: Another great app featuring Montessori concepts from Marbotic, this one designed for preschool students. Turn off multitasking gestures on the iPad and preschoolers can explore objects, numerals and even simple addition. It’s a fun way to explore number sense for the youngest iPad users.
Explore numbers with your preschooler and support Smart Apps for Kids at the same time (1 + 1 = win!) by downloading 10 fingers + using our download button (iPad only, $1.99)
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Heather S. recently reviewed Up to 100, an app by developer Marbotic, and I had to try it out as soon as she mentioned it. It’s a great take on numbers for young elementary students. This app, 10 fingers+, features similar concepts but is designed for preschool students, and I like it even more.
As an educator in an elementary school, I notice all the time the lack of number sense in our kindergarten students. They can’t easily add one (like 2 + 1 or 4 + 1), because they don’t understand numbers and numerical concepts. Even in first grade, I’ve worked with students who can’t tell me that 5 + 0 is still 5. An app like 10 fingers + supports this knowledge by letting kids explore the iPad with their fingers as the manipulatives. Marbotic also has created some wooden toys that interact with the app, but they are not required for use, and this review focuses exclusively on the app without the wooden toys.
10 fingers + has three games, and each game has two options for play. The first simply involves touching the iPad screen. As it is touched, a corresponding number of snails are shown and the number is spoken. As the name of the app implies, kids can use one finger, all ten, or some number in between. Tap the little creature in the bottom right corner to switch game play— this time, a set number of items are shown on the left (pineapples, frogs, even kitchen strainers), and the user needs to place that many fingers on the iPad.
After the iPad senses the right number of fingers on the screen, the stars (used to show the fingers tapped on the screen) move over to the corresponding pictures with some cute picture change. Lettuce is added to the kitchen strainer, frogs are given an umbrella to hold with their tongues, boats gain feet and eyes and a smile. My only complaint at all about the app is that the stars move over slightly faster than the child voice counts.
The second game mode features the same two options, with the first mode responding to the number of fingers the child places on the screen, while the second mode requires the child to match the app. In the second game, the requirement is to match the numeral on the side. The third game then takes it just one more step, teaching basic addition. Again, the first mode responds to the fingers the user places on each half of the screen (now divided by a blue line to show the concept of addition) while the second mode has the user match the screen.
I really love this app for preschoolers to explore math and number concepts. It’s even a great option for kindergarten students who have little exposure to numbers, and for first grade students who need a little more support. The app also features several settings for parents or teachers to adjust, including 13 language options (with British English and American English treated as separate languages). This language option makes it a great app for young elementary students learning a second language, too.
I highly recommend this app for any preschool teacher or parent of a preschool child. Let your young child explore numbers and gain a good sense of what numbers represent before they start formal education in kindergarten. Their kindergarten teacher will thank you.
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Heather H's 10 fingers were cold the whole time she wrote this review. Is it spring yet? SmartAppsForKids.com was paid a priority review fee to complete this review in an expedited manner.
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