Review: Math Bakery 1 -Start Counting teaches basic math in the kitchen.
Bottom Line: Kids ages four to eight who are just learning addition and subtraction can get a lot of practice with this easy to use app while they count cookies. Along with different levels of addition and subtraction, kids can face each other to see who is the best. Children earn rewards slowly so those that prefer quick pay-offs will need real-world reinforcements to compliment game play.
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Our darling of Smart Apps, Ellie shows us how the app works below! Take a look and don't forget to like and subscribe!
The app opens with a quick intro with the baker needing help from his children to make cookies, but they have math homework. He explains they can do math while baking and the home screen appears. Users can name one of three profiles and begin play by choosing from addition, subtraction or dual play.
Addition and subtraction each have six compartments of learning (plus or minus one, single digit addition and subtraction, double digits, plus or minus nine and missing digit fill in the blanks). Both contain simple addition with numbers and cookies as corresponding guides. The set-up is the same in all twelve areas. There is a numerical problem at the top of the page introduced with narration while each part of the problem is illustrated with different shaped cookies laid on the cookie sheet below. Once the problem has been given the numbers zero through nine pop-up on the bottom for users to answer. There is a numbered guideline at the top of the cookie sheet to make counting easier and faster and a timer in the left hand side of the screen to show how much time is left for the set of problems.
During play, kids are given praise every few correct answers by the chef and one of the children. In addition to the visual and audio praise, children are earning boxes of cookies that add up after each set of problems. After several play visits in the same section, stars are earned. After three stars are earned in a section, users can choose one of two house sections such as a door on a box in the style they prefer. Once earned, these objects appear in the "home" section of the app. Wrong answers prompt a pop-up screen reminding users to utilize the guideline as well as dragging cookies to add and subtract.
The other option for play is to duel against another player. Users can choose between simple problems or more difficult problems as well as how much time each player has to answer the problems from fast, medium or slow. When They are ready to play, just click the notepad and the player letter will show who is up first. In the dueling play area, the students are prompted to create a problem, then the other player has to answer. Whether right or wrong, that player now creates a problem for the other player to answer.
While playing I only ran into a single bug during play where all three stars had been earned but the game wouldn't recognize my mathematical prowess and award me my house part. Otherwise, gameplay was smooth and easy to understand, especially for this age group. I do need to mention that there is no way to turn off the timer during play, and this is a good thing these days for kids in our society groomed from a young age for timed test-taking. I still would like the option to turn it off especially for kids who don't learn as easily under pressure and special needs children.
Overall, this is a good app with a lot of helpful learning potential for kids becoming familiar with beginning math.
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Cynthia hopes all of you had a wonderful New Year's! *Smart Apps for Kids was paid a priority review fee for this post.
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