ToySwing

ToySwing

I enjoyed reading and playing with the app ToySwing. This is an app that features Niki & Jazmin like in the app Spot The Difference With Niki & Jazmin. In this app we are shown a beautiful story of two sisters who are very different but share the same love for toys and playing on the swing. Much as we see in real life, we find children that disagree and become stubborn but their mother helps them work on their problems to find solutions. I think this is one of the most important parts of the book, so rather than telling you all about it. I rather highlight this point. If you need to teach social interactions; that is okay to have a different opinion; sibling rivalry; or sharing this is a great app to use with your children.

Going back to the beginning of the app we meet the two girls trying to swing with their favorite animal toy. The mother comes up with a solution to create a toy swing for the animals so that they may join in on the fun of playing on swings. Then we go through a few pages of the story where conflict arise such as picking what kind of cloth to make the toy swing out of. Each time conflict arises the mother helps the children to realize the solution to their problem is to work together. One of my favorite pages is when they are sewing the swing and one girl says it is too loud and one is watching closely. Some of the children that read the book with me really connected to that moment and said I don't like loud noises. They told the book to "shhhh". I found this to be very cute and amusing at the same time because they were able to relate to the characters and see themselves in the story.

I like that in the story there are a lot of motivations. You can find stars on each page that are hiding behind different animals and parts of the scene. Also, every page has a nice amount of interactions so after the page is read, children can take time to explore the wonderful animations. I also like that you have the choice to turn the music and reading of the book on and off in the app as well.

The second feature of the app is a memory game. It consist of twelve matching cards that will flip over and make six pairs. This is also another great feature of the app. It presents itself as just more than a book but gives you a game filled with the same images you see during the story to match. I personally happen to think this is a nice touch. Children enjoyed playing the memory game as well and was happy when they uncovered all the cards to show the toys on the swing set.

Improvements:

- Though it keeps in fashion with the other Niki and Jazmin apps, I think that this could have been more 3 dimensional and realistic.

- A choice in the memory game of how many cards to put down from four through twenty.

- This app is great for early learners but I could not recommend it for children over the age of six.

- Perhaps an additional game or special question and answer section identifying emotions or problem solving skills will help make this a better fit for children over the page of six.

ToySwing iTunes Link:

https://itunes.apple.com/app/toyswing/id582249285?mt=8

Price: $1.99

If you would like more information about the app and developer you can find it here at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Niki-and-Jazmin/130614283758707?ref=hl

Webpage: www.NikiJazmin.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NikiAndJazmin