Playful Minds: Math (5-8 years old)

Review

Common Sense Media says

Excellent practice with fun rewards, progress tracking.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Playful Minds: Math (5-8) is an educational app that drills kids' math skills and stretches kids in multiplayer mode as they compete against other kids in math mini-games. The app is meant to grow with the child and provides training from kindergarten to second grade. There are five profiles, so this can be a bargain for multi-child families. Parents also need to know that in multiplayer mode kids cannot exchange information, but parents should use a nickname when they set up the child's profile if they prefer that their real names not be seen at all. The game can be played perfectly well without the Report Card feature, but if you want to continue using the app after a year, a yearly subscription of $6.99 must be bought.

  • Ease of use4
    The entire app is voiced for kids, and they're told clearly what to do: Tap the correct answer.
  • Violence0
    Not applicable.
  • Sex0
    Not applicable.
  • Language0
    Not applicable.
  • Consumerism3
    There aren't any ads, but parents will have to pay $10 to buy coins to unlock the report cards feature for each kid to see their progress. Parents may also want to unlock fancy certificates and rewards for $5. If you want to continue using the app after a year, you must buy a yearly subscription for $6.99.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking0
    Not applicable.
  • Privacy & safety4
    The app allows for playing against other players either locally -- i.e. several kids in the same room -- or online, which uses the device's Internet connection to connect to the game's servers. There isn't any chat and nothing is shared beyond the child's profile name and character photo and whether they are using U.S. or UK standards on the leaderboards.
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Is it any good?

 

PLAYFUL MINDS: MATH (5-8 YEARS OLD) makes learning math engaging and fun by making it a game with goals to reach for. Kids start by creating an avatar that moves from game to game. They earn trophies and certificates and unlock character clothing and accessories as they complete exercises; they buy the character items with gold they also earn from playing games. The multiplayer mode is a set of competitive mini-games, and is safe as there is no interaction between the kids -- but kids can see how well other kids are doing graphically. Each child also gets questions suited for his or her level, so all kids have a chance to win.

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This review was written by Carolyn Koh
Kid, 5 years old
March 11, 2012
AGE
5
 
Haven't seen its equal.
Best I've found for my super-sharp 5y/o who doesn't have as much of a knack for numbers as for reading. Keeps her interested and teaches great foundational math. I'll most likely be spending the 6.99 to renew our subscription next year.
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Helped me decide (5) | Had useful details (5) | Read my mind (5)
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This review was written by Carolyn Koh
Topics:numbers and letters
Category:Educational Games
Platforms:iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Price:$2.99
Size:574.00 MB
Publisher:Gameloft
Version:1.0.1
Release date:January 19, 2012
Minimum software requirements:3.1.3 or later
This review was written by Carolyn Koh

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
Our child development rating guidelines

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