Since Lara started school in September she has really shown an interest in the more educational apps on our iPad. Our latest free app is Learn to Write with Mr. Pencil which is an app designed to help you child practice their pen control when writing and drawing but with an element of fun and challenge thrown in.
Learn to Write with Mr. Pencil is a Leapfrog app and you can unlock the full version if you buy the Leapfrog Learn to Write With Mr. Pencil stylus which costs around £14.99. To unlock the app you have to stamp the stylus down and it took me several attempts to get it right.
Learn to Write with Mr. Pencil is designed for children aged 3-6. Lara is 4 and a half and I think the tracing activities may be a little too easy for her on the pad because the screen size means that the letters and numbers are a lot larger than she would normally write with a pen. I think it would have been ideal this time last year when she was just learning to write letters.
Lara seems to enjoy the game and challenge element of the app. The app is based in the town of Doodleburg where they are preparing for an arts show. As you progress through the letters, numbers and shapes you unlock other parts of the town where you find further activities to complete. Lara sat for nearly an hour playing this in one sitting and only gave up when she got to a tricky shape (I think it was a hexagon which required her to keep her hand very still.
I think the app is a really nice simple letter drawing app - one of the best we have tried. The stylus is in the shape of a pencil. At first I was really disappointed to find out that Mr. Pencil was simply a stylus and nothing else (the box seemed a bit big for just a pencil!) but having researched other ipad stylusususueues (what is the plural of stylus?) I've come to the conclusion that Mr. Pencil is very similarly priced to others whether they are designed for adults or children. Mr. Pencil is very big and chunky which is probably best for younger children to help them learn to grasp a pen - for Lara I think it is probably too big as it feels alien to her compared to the pens and pencils she uses at other times. The tip of the stylus is very soft so won't damage your screen.
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| Playing Learn to Write With Mr. Pencil on the iPad |
Learn to Write with Mr. Pencil is a Leapfrog app and you can unlock the full version if you buy the Leapfrog Learn to Write With Mr. Pencil stylus which costs around £14.99. To unlock the app you have to stamp the stylus down and it took me several attempts to get it right.
Learn to Write with Mr. Pencil is designed for children aged 3-6. Lara is 4 and a half and I think the tracing activities may be a little too easy for her on the pad because the screen size means that the letters and numbers are a lot larger than she would normally write with a pen. I think it would have been ideal this time last year when she was just learning to write letters.
Lara seems to enjoy the game and challenge element of the app. The app is based in the town of Doodleburg where they are preparing for an arts show. As you progress through the letters, numbers and shapes you unlock other parts of the town where you find further activities to complete. Lara sat for nearly an hour playing this in one sitting and only gave up when she got to a tricky shape (I think it was a hexagon which required her to keep her hand very still.
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| Leapfrog Learn to draw with Mr. Pencil |
I think the app is a really nice simple letter drawing app - one of the best we have tried. The stylus is in the shape of a pencil. At first I was really disappointed to find out that Mr. Pencil was simply a stylus and nothing else (the box seemed a bit big for just a pencil!) but having researched other ipad stylusususueues (what is the plural of stylus?) I've come to the conclusion that Mr. Pencil is very similarly priced to others whether they are designed for adults or children. Mr. Pencil is very big and chunky which is probably best for younger children to help them learn to grasp a pen - for Lara I think it is probably too big as it feels alien to her compared to the pens and pencils she uses at other times. The tip of the stylus is very soft so won't damage your screen.
