Aloe ABC and Giveaway

Aloe ABC, a new app by Aloe Apps, is designed to help children learn how to write the letters of the alphabet (upper and lower case) and the numbers 0-9. There are four difficulty levels or stages of progression in Aloe ABC: Training, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. The Training stage teaches young children how to trace over existing letter/numbers, helping them to recognize what the letter/number is and learn how to write it. The individual lines of the letters/numbers are differentiated by colors, making it easier for little ones to learn and remember in what order they should be written. While the colors help, I think directional arrows for the individual lines of the letter/number would also be a helpful addition. The Beginner stage continues to build on the skills learned in Training. Here the child is quickly shown the image of the letter/number and how to it should be written, the image then disappears and the start and end points are left as a guide. Your little one will have to draw upon their memory of the image to properly fill in the space between the dots. The Intermediate level continues to strengthen your child’s memory. Like Beginner, the image is quickly shown but now only the starting point is left behind. A shaded box that the letter/number should fit in is also provided. Finally, the Advanced stage is the ultimate memory test; little ones are not shown the image of the letter/number, but are given it verbally. They are then given the starting point and the area box to fill in with the correct letter/number. At the end of the completion of each stage your little one will be given a score of how many letters/numbers they got complete on the first try. After your child has successfully mastered their letters and numbers they can test their skills in a game setting where they are timed as they complete the Advanced stage. Aloe Apps say that they are teaching young children how to properly write the alphabet and numbers; I’ve discovered that I must not write the letters and numbers properly because the game kept telling me I was wrong, even when I was really trying to follow the apps directions. I think if the app were a little more lenient it would keep kids from getting so frustrated and discouraged.

The design and navigation of ABC Aloe is very straightforward. Located off the title screen, the options page lets you select the difficulty level and if you want to practice letters, numbers, or both. In this area you are also given the option to shuffle the letters/numbers out of order and turn the sound on and off. I found the visual aspects of Aloe ABC simple yet appealing. The background looks like paper which I found helpful when writing the letters/numbers from memory. I also think that having each line of the image is a smart and helpful design element. While I do appreciate the concept and value Aloe ABC, I think some minor changes, namely to the expand the parameters for acceptable letters and numbers, would make the app less frustrating and therefore more kid friendly.

We have two promo codes to giveaway for Aloe ABC. If you would like to enter to win one of them, please post a comment below. Contest closes on 12/9/11.

Price When Reviewed: $1.99

See the app in iTunes

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Seller: Aloe Apps

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.