If you could see how bananas my grade-school-age kids just went over an “alphabet app,” you might think they were watching some ridiculous YouTube video. Surely an eight and ten year old couldn’t be hysterically laughing while playing an app whose premise is to teach the alphabet?
But once you see how clever and smart this little alphabet app is, you’ll want to run–not walk–to your iPad or iPhone to download, especially while it’s still free.
What makes Endless Alphabet for iOS devices so much fun are the adorable graphics and sophisticated wordplay that doesn’t talk down to kids. The 26 words included in this free app aren’t your typical “CAT” or “TOP” spelling words, but more interesting words like “bellow”and “gargantuan”.
Go to spell the first word, and you’ll find that each letter has its own personality and voice that makes the letter sound when you touch it. Again, cue the laughter: I think my son would still have his finger on the letters if I didn’t make him go to bed. I like how kids can see and hear how the letters come together to form words even if I don’t expect most to be able to spell some of the polysyllabic words.
As a vocabulary builder, this app is great too. Once a word is spelled, crazy and colorful little monsters come together to teach the kids what the word means through cartoon vignettes that had my kids roaring. I even love the friendly voiceover that gives the word’s definition in a straightforward manner.
I also appreciate the safety feature in place to insure that very young kids don’t accidentally leave the app via the “Information for Parents” page which includes links to their Facebook and Twitter pages.
Endless Alphabet will presumably become “endless” with regular paid updates that can be added to the current word bank. It will be interesting to see if additional words can create the interest to keep a child coming back again and again. But, if they are as cleverly done as this set, I think a kids’ interest in this app could be, well, endless.
Grab Endless Alphabet for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch while it is still free from iTunes.
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