Monki Birthday Party - Language Learning for Kids and Toddlers
Monki Birthday Party - Language Learning for Kids and Toddlers gallery
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Monki Birthday Party is a toddler-friendly game that immerses kids in language naturally while they play. Parents or kids can choose language options from English, Spanish, Chinese, and Portuguese, and then kids follow verbal instructions in the chosen language to prepare for and celebrate a birthday. The app is a free download which includes one game: Three other games are available as in-app purchases or can be unlocked by sharing the app on Facebook or submitting an email address to receive the newsletter, granting access to personal information.What kids can learn
Kids will enjoy the birthday party theme and very expressive characters. The four games may get pretty repetitive before long, especially for older preschoolers.
Kids learn language skills and vocabulary naturally through conversation and play, and Monki Birthday Party encourages both.
All directions are delivered verbally with language options. The app doesn't track performance data, but parents can get more information about the research and ideas of questions to ask kids while they play from the developer's website.
What's it about?
MONKI BIRTHDAY PARTY - LANGUAGE LEARNING FOR KIDS AND TODDLERS opens in a park where kids are welcomed to a birthday party with Cowy and his animal friends. In the free game, kids choose a cake, add ten candles, sing Happy Birthday, and help Cowy blow out the candles. In the other three games, kids decorate for the party, exploring shapes and colors; choose party hats, working on differentiating smaller and bigger; and bust a pinata, sorting treats by shape. Kids can play in their language of origin to build preschool concepts like vocabulary, shapes and colors or play in another language. Switching between languages is easy -- just a tap to get to settings and then select the language -- and kids can access the language selection themselves.
Is it any good?
Monki Birthday Party - Language Learning for Kids and Toddlers is a strong contender and has the potential to be great, but there are a few hiccups that hold it back. Across the different games, kids get a nice mix of language exposure, practice following verbal directions, and time to be creative. While kids will enjoy setting up and celebrating at the party the first time, the games are shallow enough that they probably won't want to revisit them again and again. Also, the decorating game doesn't have a clear end, which may leave kids frustrated or confused. Though the multiple language component is a stand-out feature, and kids play while immersed in a second language, some might struggle with it: Languages are spoken at a natural fluent pace so playing in a non-native language is quite challenging, and it's unclear how much a kid will pick up. If they play in their first language and then in their second, kids might get more out of it. There is no denying the positive features, but with locked games, some confusing elements, and relatively shallow content, this app falls short of greatness.
Families can talk about...
-
Families can talk about what is going on in the game. Ask kids questions like "What would you give Cowy for her birthday?" or "How old do you think Cowy is?" to allow them to practice language skills.
-
To improve kids' language skills, read to them about a variety of topics, ask questions, and talk about what you're reading.
App details
| Devices: | iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Fire phone, Kindle Fire |
| Price: | Free to try |
| Pricing structure: | Free to Try |
| Release date: | April 8, 2015 |
| Category: | Education |
| Topics: | Cats, dogs, and mice |
| Size: | 56.50 MB |
| Publisher: | Monkimun SL |
| Version: | 1.2.6 |
| Minimum software requirements: | iOS 6.0 or later; Android 2.3 and up |
