Recommended for ages 4 and up.
Price: $7.99
My children use our iPad regularly, and whenever possible, I encourage the use of educational apps. So, I am always on the lookout for new and exciting apps that will engage them and they’ll want to keep coming back to! When I was given the opportunity to review one of Scholastic’s new apps, The Magic School Bus: Oceans, it was the perfect opportunity to expand from our current collection.
My four-year-old, Kieran, had fun exploring the several games that are featured in this app. I loved that it reinforced concepts such as Cause & Effect, counting and pattern recognition. She enjoyed the immediate feedback she received, whether it was in the form of a larger wave or more smoke rising from a volcano. It was easy for her to navigate through the menus, and she was independent with it from the moment she started using it.
Here is a sampling of what the app has to offer:
Synopsis
Ms. Frizzle and her class go on a wild ride to explore ocean life. The book The Magic School Bus: On the Ocean Floor was written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen and adapted for the iPad into an interactive format full of science facts, videos, photos and games. Readers are engaged in an active reading experience and they discover plant and animal life, coral reefs, the ocean floor and more. Every page features an interaction to extend the reading experience. Once the reading adventure is complete, children can play a fast-paced game to earn points for more science facts and to travel to other areas of the ocean!
Features:
- Embodies the “open exploration” essence of The Magic School Bus- which encourages kids to “take chances, make mistakes…and get messy!”
- Takes more advanced facts from the book and brings them to life so kids can manipulate variables and see cause and effect in action
- “Touch & Tilt” animated interactions make it easy for children to engage with the story: touch the words to hear the story and touch again to pause and touch speech bubbles to hear what characters are saying
- 7 interactive science explorations-touch characters, animals or objects to watch a fun animation and see science come to life
- Narration & Music: Features over 20 individual voices plus original music and sound effects that bring the story to life
- Game: includes over 20 animals in which children can play and earn points for more science facts to travel to other areas of the ocean.
- Facts: includes hundreds of facts about underwater life
- Individual words highlight as the story reads aloud to aid early readers; can be changed to allow independent readers to read unassisted.
BUY IT: The Magic School Bus: Oceans can be purchased for $7.99 on iTunes.
* We did not receive monetary compensation for this review. That’s IT Mommy received The Magic School Bus: Oceans app from Scholastic, Inc. free of charge to facilitate this review. This will in no way sway our opinion of the product or service. The review is in our own words and is our opinion. Your results and opinions may differ.
2 comments
This looks like a game that my daughter would enjoy! Thanks for the terrific review!
looks like a fun game with great facts about the ocean. since we love the ocean and scuba dive, this a great way to introduce new ocean animals to kids.