My kids had a short week last week because of school conferences. I was able to meet with their teachers and find out how they are doing in school and where they might need a little extra help. My youngest needs some practice with her sight words and letter sounds. I was given some lists to practice with her but I know from experience with my older children that games that involve learning can be more engaging and helpful than studying lists.
My daughter was introduced to Dr. Panda when she got her Samsung Kids tablet awhile back so she’s familiar with the characters and was excited to try out Dr. Panda Plus: Home Designer. As a parent, I like that this set combines real world skills like writing letters with technology for a more interactive experience than an app alone. Since we had a bit of time off from school, we had a little Dr. Panda Party at home.
The Dr. Panda Plus: Home Designer set comes with 51 flashcards, 12 washable and erasable markers and 1 activation code to unlock the free app. The game is designed for ages 3-8 so my older daughter really enjoyed helping her younger sister with the game and got some practice in herself. As your child progresses and develops, so does the game making it more challenging for them.
The flash cards include characters, furniture and other objects for the home and each one is clearly labeled. One side shows the object while the other side offers an opportunity for the kids to color and design each piece however they’d like. The cool thing is that when the object is scanned in, through the augmented reality (AR) technology, your child’s design becomes a part of the game on the screen!’
For the beginner, when a card is scanned in it shows the letters of the word and kids can drag and drop them into place to spell out the word on the card. They can then place that item where ever they’d like in the house. They get to see the words come together while practicing their letter sounds. For older kids, search and explore missions step up the learning and there is more interaction with the characters in the game as they ask for specific things like an object that starts with a certain letter. When it’s found, it can be scanned in and when the mission is complete, the objects can be placed in the house. We really enjoyed playing this together and liked the extra challenge.
The game grows even further and focuses more on word recognition and spelling as your child develops their skills. Kids can get more elaborate with their play scenarios using the appliances, turning on the stereo and more. For just $39.99, this product offers a great value to parents with young children learning to read. It can be purchased on Amazon.com and soon at Apple retail stores across the US. You can find out more at www.drpanda.com.
Looking for something to reward your child for doing a good job? Dr. Panda Candy Factory is a fun app that is free to download but also offers in-app purchases to unlock additional features for $1.99 each or $2.99 to unlock the entire game. Right now the Dr. Panda Candy Factory has a Halloween theme making it even more fun!
At the Dr. Panda Candy Factory you get to create your own candies and experiment with color, flavor and shape. There are over 60 ways to design your chocolate, bubblegum and gummy candy then ask Dr. Panda’s friends to be the taste testers! This is an open ended game that is un-timed and there are no winners or losers, just a lot of creative fun! You can download it here:
Complimentary products were provided for this review, however, all opinions expressed are my own. I was compensated for my time. See Mommies With Cents disclosure policy for more details.
Feeling lucky? Enter to win Dr. Panda Plus: Home Designer by filling out the form below. Be sure to include the COLOR you’d like on the form! Also, be sure to check out all of our other giveaways. NOTE: If you don’t leave your address, I won’t have a way to get your prize to you. If you need more guidance filling out this form, you can watch this video on how to enter Rafflecopter giveaways.
This giveaway is open until November 6, 2017 at 12:01 am EST to U.S residents.
Lauralee Hensley says
If this isn’t open to those of us in the USA, you can remove my name from entry.