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Parents' Guide to

Build With Grandpa

By Mieke VanderBorght, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 3+

Mini-games about building appeal to construction lovers.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Paid Education
Build With Grandpa Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Build With Grandpa App: Screenshot #1
  • Build With Grandpa App: Screenshot #2
  • Build With Grandpa App: Screenshot #3
  • Build With Grandpa App: Screenshot #4
  • Build With Grandpa App: Screenshot #5

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What’s It About?

It's time to clear a lot and build a house in BUILD WITH GRANDPA. Use a wrecking ball to demolish an old building and then get to work constructing a new one. Each mini-game lasts a few seconds and asks kids to participate in the building process. Choose the right tools and equipment, dump gravel, mix cement, find construction-related words to build the foundation, watch a live-action video, choose wooden beams to make up the correct length for the walls, paint, and add doors, windows, and more to finish it up. Then, hang up a picture of the final product and start all over again.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

The ever-sweet and gentle grandpa is an encouraging guide through a simple overview of constructing a new building. Build With Grandpa is bound to be appealing to that toddler/preschool subset with an obsession with all things construction. Kids can interact with select parts of the construction process from start to finish and then enjoy a picture of the house they "built." Unfortunately, each activity doesn't last long and doesn't allow for much in-depth exploration of any of the concepts introduced. That means the work that goes into construction -- and some of the underlying educational concepts the developers claim the app covers -- gets breezed through. It's also quite repetitive: Once kids build a house, the whole process to build another one is essentially just a repeat with some different vocabulary words or wooden plank lengths swapped in. Because of that, Build With Grandpa speaks particularly to kids who watch wide-eyed and open-mouthed as cement mixers turn.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the construction process with Build With Grandpa. Name the tools and equipment, explore what happens when and in what order, and get creative with the final product.

  • Go on a construction hunt in your neighborhood! Find a nearby construction site and -- from a safe distance -- observe and discuss what they're doing and using.

  • Construct something at home. Kids can use Legos, blocks, cardboard boxes, or specialized construction kids to make houses, skyscrapers, and even whole cities.

App Details

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