Sharing with Duckie Deck
Sharing with Duckie Deck gallery
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Sharing with Duckie Deck is a collection of activities about sharing for young kids. While the six activities are geared toward solo play, there are other kids portrayed in the app who cheer for each other and celebrate when food and toys are shared equally. There is no dialog, written or spoken (other than "yum!" and "yippee!"), but most kids will be able to get around without much assistance. Some may need some help to figure out exactly what to do, but most kids will figure it out through exploration. Within the parent section, there are descriptions of the games and lots of ideas around helping your kid to share. While there are normally no links to other apps, one appeared around the release of a new app. The linked icon appeared throughout the entire game, so kids could easily tap on it. Future releases may mean that a link will appear again.What kids can learn
Kids in the target age range will enjoy the different activities, especially the drawing, cake decorating, and memory game. It's more engaging for younger kids, but even those on the higher end of the spectrum might return to play again and again.
The depth of the content is age-appropriate and kids will be able to apply the lessons about emotions and sharing in their daily lives, as well as some critical thinking skills. The cast of characters is diverse in terms of gender and skin color/ethnicity and despite a lack of dialog, it puts forth a social agenda.
There are no instructions and no traditional scoring. Kids receive a sticker for each task they complete in a session and can play with those in a virtual storage drawer. There are descriptions of the games for parents, if needed.
What's it about?
SHARING WITH DUCKIE DECK is a collection of six activities geared toward toddlers and preschoolers. Kids can enjoy "sharing" toys with characters in the app based on their preferences (shown in idea bubbles above their heads), decorate a cake and cut it up, and dole out pancakes and cake slices evenly among the other kids: No one is happy until everyone gets a piece! As the in-game characters cheer them on, kids can play a one-player memory game. Creative kids can trace and paint a picture, but they can't save their artwork. Each time kids complete an activity, they are awarded a sticker which can be arranged and re-arranged.
Is it any good?
Sharing with Duckie Deck is a colorful and interactive experience for little ones. There are a lot of things to click on and explore throughout the activities and kids will enjoy finding all of the the surprises as they play. The in-game kids are encouraging, and there is plenty of cheering when things go well. Their facial expressions are very clear, so even young kids can tell when they are happy (everyone is sharing!) or sad (someone got all of the pancakes!). Parents will like the explanations of the games and the information about helping kids to share.
If there is a failing, it lies in the drawing activity: Kids have to trace a picture they select, but any swipe on the screen counts as tracing in the game. There are also no options for painting tools, brush sizes, paint buckets, etc., making it difficult to paint the way you might like, and then there's no option to save your work. Otherwise, this is a good introductory level app for younger kids who want to explore freely, but also do well with a slightly guided activity.
Families can talk about...
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Families can talk about sharing. What types of things do you share? Who do you share with? How does it feel when someone doesn't want to share? Is it ever okay not to share?
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Talk about friendship. How do you show you're a friend? What are things friends might do for each other? What are things you would not want a friend to do?
App details
| Devices: | iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad |
| Price: | $2.99 |
| Pricing structure: | Paid |
| Release date: | April 6, 2015 |
| Category: | Kids Games |
| Topics: | Friendship |
| Size: | 125.00 MB |
| Version: | 1.2.70 |
| Minimum software requirements: | iOS 5.0 |
