Reviewed by Alison
What we love…
the ability to customize the app to your child’s level by selecting the mini-games you want them to focus on and the positive reinforcement for completing the various tasks
What we’d love to see…
Auditory directions for the mini-games like, find the jar with x objects in it and more specific directions for completing a task
Summary
It is a nice way to reinforce learning while introducing your children to a workshop and the various tools contained inside it while reinforcing early learning for your child.
Our Rating
Grandpa’s Workshop a universal iOS app by Fairlady Media is the newest addition to their collection. Be sure to read our developer interview with Fairlady Media to learn a bit more about the company and thier other apps. The app includes seven mini-games including: spot the difference among tools; board fractions which requires you to cut a board and count the number of pieces; measuring using Zippy the tape measure; select the tool from a variety of tools; number groups to find the jar with a specific number of objects; fix the jigsaw puzzle and paint the project. Each mini-game when completed gives positive reinforcement in the form of a “high five” and positive praise. This app works on sorting, counting, cutting, math skills, fine motor skills and speech by naming the various objects and counting.
The mini-games in this app were fun and the video’s of the tools in use reminded me of using power tools with my dad growing up. The positive reinforcement for completing the tasks along with being able to earn parts for the clubhouse gave positive reinforcement for continuing to play with the game. I also really liked how the developer allowed you to select which mini-games were included and the ability to turn the music on or off. My son especially enjoyed the jigsaw puzzle (especially the plate and piggy bank) along with painting objects. We also enjoyed finding the object that was different since it was a little different than most apps in that you found the tool that was different. The “more” section is childproofed and requires an adult to enter a series of numbers which will prevent younger children from getting into sections of the app that they should not. This is a great feature! I liked the tool vocabulary in the app along with the descriptions of the tools like the jigsaw.
I do wish the app reminded kids that they should not play with tools on their own just as a reminder – it currently does in the video portion but not when actually completing the activities. In the count the object section, he asks for a jar but does not say the jar with “x” objects in it. The spoken directions might help younger children. In addition, for some of the mini-games like the cutting of the boards it does not require you finish dragging the line before finishing the cut. In the puzzle it would also be nice if you could select an option to have to rotate the pieces to practice fine motor skills. When you are doing the tape measure or selecting a jar of objects, it would be nice if you could touch on the objects inside the jar to count, especially for kids that are just learning to count. Right now, when you touch on the wrong answer the wrong ones just disappear rather than telling you why it was wrong. When you are painting the stool, the command “rub the stool” can be a little confusing, it might be easier to say “pick a paintbrush to paint the stool”. It would be really fun if the objects you built went into the playhouse at the end of the app.
This app reminded me of working with my dad and handing him various objects while he was fixing things. I’m sure many little boys and girls will enjoy playing with this app as well as their parents who remember helping their parents as a child. It is a nice way to reinforce learning while introducing your children to a workshop and the various tools contained inside it. I am looking forward to seeing more apps from this developer! This app is on introductory pricing for this weekend only at 50% off so be sure to grab it while it is on sale.
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Grandpa's Workshopby Fairlady MediaCategory: Education, Games, Educational, Kids Requirements: Compatible with iPodTouchFifthGen, iPad WiFi, iPod Touch (4. Gen.), iPadFourthGen4G, iPadThirdGen4G, iPadMini4G, iPadThirdGen, iPhone5, iPad 2 3G, iPhone4S, iPadMini, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 2 WiFI, iPadFourthGen, iPad 3G, iPod Touch (3. Gen.) Size: 43.88 MB |
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Screenshots
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Screenshots for iPad
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Giveaway
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Alison
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Alison, Amanda, Grace and Mary are four mothers from different parts of the world dedicated to educating parents about the best digital stories, educational apps, fun games and technology products available for their children. We also offer the latest news in apps for kids, interesting articles, developer interviews, free apps and regular giveaways!
using a dustbuster! lol
I helped dust the house.
I didn’t like doing chores LOL no favorite hahhaha!! but if I have to pick..hmmmm vacuuming
doing the dishes
sweeping the floor
My favorite chore was vacuuming. ;-)
Would love this app for my autistic son because I think it would be challenging for him and he would love it.
laundry..put it in and go play :)
Washing Up dishes
helping to cook dinner
I loved working with my Dad in the shed. We would sweep up the sawdust for him.
I lived on a farm, so my favorite chore was anything I did with my dad outside.
favourite chore? isn’t that an oxymoron? hehe I think my favourite would’ve had to have been minding my little sister. As an adult, my mum told me that she felt bad she relied on me so much to look after her, but I never even realised at the time I was babysitting. I thought I was just hanging out with my sister.
I also used to love helping dad with stuff. I was his “finder” when he dropped nuts & bolts etc on the garage floor.
Does baking count? I enjoyed helping with the baking (even the stuff I didn’t like – there’s the shore part!). :)
Helping dad chop wood
I didnt have a favourite. I did ask to mow the lawns once cause I really wanted too, that didn’t turn out very well cause then I had to do it every week. It took hours and all I got was $10 :(
Washing clothes
Believe it or not – mowing the lawn.
Washing the car!
i helped cooking !!!
Watching my younger siblings who were twins.
folding socks!