Parents' Guide to

Picture Dots

By Ana Beltran, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 3+

Fun, free tool ignites curiosity, creativity, and STEAM.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Free Education
Picture Dots Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • Picture Dots: Screenshot #1
  • Picture Dots: Screenshot #2
  • Picture Dots: Screenshot #3
  • Picture Dots: Screenshot #4

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What’s It About?

PICTURE DOTS is an interactive platform that empowers little ones to create content by dragging dots onto images to layer in words, sounds, and music notes. Kids and families are in charge of deciding the purpose and goal of the game and how to use the app's features. Picture Dots includes some images for kids to explore and interact with. Granting the app access to the device's camera and photos allows little ones to explore and work with images from their personal experiences. To navigate, kids drag the colored dots onto the image and choose whether the dots will represent sounds, words, or music notes. The music notes are programed into the app, but kids have the option to type words or record sounds to layer in original content. Families can learn a bit about the New York Hall of Science's mission under the About NYSCI tab. Under settings, families can control sound, voice over, and choose whether the app appear in English or Spanish. The sharing via email feature and uploading pictures from the camera roll are passcode protected; to access users have to solve addition problems.

Is It Any Good?

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

Kids and families will enjoy letting their imagination soar and will feel empowered by this open-ended and interactive experience that taps into STEAM and language learning. Picture Dots is a platform that families can use for a variety of learning opportunities and to nurture a variety of science, math, language, and arts skills. Since the app is open-ended, kids may need some support in coming up with different ways to innovate with the tool. Parents will find this to be an awesome tool helps frame conversations about experiences, to tell stories, build vocabulary, and practice finding patters. The onscreen experience fuels offscreen connections and family bonding.

In addition to empowering kids to make observations, discuss images, and create content, Picture Dots is a bilingual tool, allowing families to enjoy its features in either English or Spanish. The app reads back the words or phrases kids assign the colored dots, reinforcing vocabulary is either language. Little ones will find the app to be colorful and visually appealing. It's also concise and simple to navigate. The app's functions are centered around layering in interactive dots and personalizing the experience. Another awesome feature is the parent gate required for adding images from the camera roll or for sharing via email. This feature adds a bit more control and oversight regarding how kids use or share material not already embedded in the app. Overall, Picture Dots is a fun platform that fosters creativity and can be used by families to explore and interact with the world around them.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can use the interactive images as inspiration for storytelling when using Picture Dots. Families can collect a series of pictures from personal experiences. They can then add words or sounds to help them narrate their own story. Sharing ideas and collaborating with family will help kids innovate or refine ideas.

  • Practice matching pictures and words. For example, when looking at a picture of a farm, ask kids to put a blue do on the lamb; a yellow dot on the cow; a green dot on the dog; and a red dot on the barn. Activities like this with a variety of pictures can help little ones develop language.

  • Ask kids to verbalize what they notice in images in order to build vocabulary and descriptive language. Help draw attention to detail by prompting them to share more than the obvious. What color is it? What shape? What else do you notice?

App Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended app lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate