Lazoo Art Box
Lazoo Art Box gallery
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Lazoo Art Box is a simple drawing tool that also animates kids' creations. There are inspirational prompts to get imaginations running, or kids can use a blank canvas. They can also use the device's camera to take a picture and draw on it. Before allowing this, the app asks if it can access the device's camera, for which kids can easily give permission without their parents knowing. Yet, no creations, including the photos taken within the app, are saved in the app or on the device. Parents -- or kids who can read -- can access more apps and social media by swiping with two fingers in a specific direction.What kids can learn
Kids love to draw, and they'll love using their fingers to make colored lines, roll stamps, or place stickers. Prompts get kids thinking, and animations will delight.
Prompts and outline drawings offer a great jumpstart for getting creative. Kids work on creative expression, fine motor skills, and imagination. Even with the prompts, the possibilities are endless.
Drawing is super easy, and there's even a tutorial going into each drawing activity. Prompts get read aloud so even pre-readers can play along. But, there's no save option - which is a big disappointment.
What's it about?
Kids draw and create with a handful of simple art tools and creative prompts in LAZOO ART BOX. Then, kids press play and watch their drawings come to life in short animations. Drawing tools include chalk, marker, paintbrush, rolling stamp, and stickers. Three categories provide prompts: Let's Squiggle, Let's Color, and Let's Draw. Kids see a picture and respond to spoken prompts like, "What color should this airplane be?" Color, then watch it fly across the screen, or draw squiggles on three lollipops to animate them all. There's also the Blank Page section, where kids can create entirely from their own imaginationsand an option for kids to take a photo and draw on it. The parents' section has some enrichment ideas.
Is it any good?
Lazoo Art Box is an appealing drawing app because of its simplicity, super kid-friendly design, and its prompts that engage kids without limiting their creative expression. The drawing tools aren't super sophisticated -- an eraser would be a nice addition, for example -- but there's enough variety and color options to please most kids. The free draw option is good for kids who don't want anything influencing their creative process, but the prompts really are the fun part of this app: They have just the right level of inspiration to get creative juices flowing but are balanced enough to allow kids to interpret the prompt in whatever way they like. Occasionally, overly insistent directions to "don't forget to press play" break in while kids draw, but the animations are a fun touch for kids to see their drawings come to life. A major downfall is that kids can't save their creations. Nevertheless, this is a great drawing app to inspire kids -- and their parents -- to get creative.
Families can talk about...
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Families can talk about the prompts. What do they make you think about? How else can we represent kids blowing bubbles?
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Work together on a drawing and practice teamwork and coordination.
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Talk about what's different about drawing on a screen versus drawing on paper with markers, finger paint, or crayons. How does it feel different? What about mixing colors?
App details
| Devices: | iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad |
| Price: | $1.99 |
| Pricing structure: | Paid |
| Release date: | March 26, 2015 |
| Category: | Education |
| Topics: | Arts and dance |
| Size: | 73.60 MB |
| Publisher: | PBS KIDS |
| Version: | 1.0 |
| Minimum software requirements: | iOS 7.0 or later |
