Most kids would associate playroom with fun and games. Well, today we have a playroom that is educational, too. Introducing Playroom - Lessons with Max, a fun app that introduces toddlers and preschoolers to various early learning skills.
Playroom - Lessons with Max stars Max, an adorable kitty, and his playful mouse companion. Both of them will accompany your juniors as they play and learn through five engaging games: Peekaboo, Colors & Numbers, Puzzles, Memory, and Match.
Peekaboo is a game very similar to hide and seek. Here, you help Max find four toys that are hidden in the bedroom. Some toys can be hidden in plain sight, while others are carefully concealed in drawers with only some of their parts peeking through. There are also other toys scattered around the room, making your quest a bit more challenging.
This activity is a great exercise in recognizing objects and problem solving. To keep the game from getting too difficult, the app provides visual hints after several incorrect attempts or after several seconds of inactivity.
Colors & Numbers trains your juniors’ skills in recognizing colors and numbers. Here, the app tasks you to find the toys that match the color of a toy wagon. As you drag each correct toy into the wagon, the app counts along and informs you of the tally through pictures and voice.
Memory is, as the name suggests, a memory game in which you are tasked to find all pairs of cards with matching illustrations. Observant juniors will notice that the app flashes all the cards just as the same game is about the begin, so you can try to remember their positions to win the game.
Match, in my opinion, is a unique activity. It develops skills related to following orders and mirroring. In this activity, the app will display two shelves: the one on the left is filled with toys, while the one on the right is empty. The goal of the activity is to place your toys in the same position in the empty shelves.
Parents Need to Know
The games in Playroom - Lessons with Max are intended to train various skills that are essential for juniors ages two to four. Several skills that are focused on in the app include auditory processing, fine motor, following directions, matching objects, recognizing colors, problem solving, and recognizing patterns.
You can play each game individually or “mix” all the activities by choosing “Game Mix”. It is notable that the app lets you loop through the activities endlessly until you decide to quit the game.
As an app intended for young kids, Playroom - Lessons with Max emphasizes heavily on positive reinforcements. After successfully completing a game, kids will be greeted by Max clapping his paws or giving them a thumbs up. The narrator also constantly voices out praises like “Good job!”, “You’re clever!”, and so on. There are no timers or penalties, although Max may shake his head if you answer/do something incorrectly.
An interesting feature in the app is the ability to record your own voice to replace the original voiceovers. To do this, tap the Settings button located on the top left on the Game Selection screen, and choose Custom Voiceover.
The Settings menu also contains external links to the developer’s other apps, social media accounts, and website. However, it is protected so you don’t have to worry about juniors accidentally accessing it. To open the Settings menu, you must first solve an arithmetic problem. Unless your kid is a mathematical genius, these problems should be quite difficult for him to solve.
Things I Like
Playroom - Lessons with Max is a lovely app. The graphics are bright and appealing for children. The characters are adorable, and the animations are cute as well. I really like tapping on Max on the Game Selection screen to watch him dance vigorously.
The activities are also well designed. I like that the toys/puzzles are generated randomly for every play, so kids will have more challenge. My favorite game is “Peekaboo”, which is is a fun way to improve kids’ cognitive skills. ”Match” is also a unique game, although I suspect it may be a little difficult for young kids.
Finally, I also like the feature for recording your own voiceover. I think the included narrator does sound a bit flat, so this is a great option to make the app more engaging. Using your own voice also provides your kids with a sense of familiarity when playing.
Overall, Playroom - Lessons with Max is a terrific activity app for young kids to pick up early learning skills. The graphics and animations are bright and colorful, the characters are adorable, and the activities are quite solid. I like how the app provides positive reinforcements as juniors play. The ability to customize the voiceover with your own voice is also a plus. I would highly recommend it.