App Review: Burger by Magma Mobile

Recently I have a lot of kids needing to improve memory and following directions and Burger is just the game to get them started.  There is a timed mode, which for all but the highest kids is too much pressure, however the un-timed "burger creator" mode has been wonderful!

There are lots of options and they are fairly familiar, so my kids don't need long to get familiar.  We generally refer to the bun as "bottom" and "top" and the actual burger patty as "meat" and the kids seem to pick this up quickly.  I have been using this game to build some memory for 2 and 3 words as some of my kids have an especially difficult time with remembering and repeating as well as executing the directions.  

This game has been a motivating and fun way to work on some of these memory/directions skills that my kids tend to avoid.  A way that they love to play it is we take turns taking orders for the other person, this way not only are they following directions but giving them as well.  I sometimes throw in a wrong item, just to make sure that they are paying attention to how I follow their directions.

Overall, great game that is a fun way to work in some extra memory practice and is generally good for at least 5 minutes of sustained interest before changing to something else, some of my kids even enjoy this as a reward and don't even realize that we're still working!

App Review of Cooking apps for following directions

Here is another trio review, this time for some decorating apps that were found on the Bubadu.com page of Google Play.  The three apps that I really like from them are their cooking/decorating apps.  There is Ice Cream Kids Cooking Game, Cupcake Kids Cooking Game, Pizza Maker Cooking Game, and Cake Maker Kids Cooking Game.

This first picture is from my favorite, Ice Cream Kids.  There are lots of options available on the free version of this app, as with all four of them, but at the end of each is a game.  On Ice Cream, there are balloons to pop, and by pushing the button on the bottom right more balloons float up.  All four apps are great for descriptions, following directions and are just plain fun for the kids.  I must admit I, myself, had a lot of fun creating the examples for the pictures! Also, at the end of each game you can "eat" the product by tapping on it and circles that look vaguely bite-sized disappear.

In the cake maker, my second favorite due to the great shapes of the cakes (which would be great for kids working in identifying shapes or making requests), has fireworks at the end which are quite fun for the younger kids.  Also, if the candles are on the cake they can be "blown out" using the candle button.

Pizza maker offers more great shapes, as well as a bunch of new options for sauce, cheese, meats, fish, fruits and vegetables.  Again there is a little end game which is reminiscent of fruit ninja where you slice up pizzas as they fly by and try to avoid the toys that are thrown in.

Cupcake maker is my least favorite, but still a great app!  At the end there are bubbles that are blown and popped along with lots of options for cake, icing, toppings and decorations.  

Each of these apps has excellent graphics, show up well on the tablet screen and feature smooth play with an "undo" button that the OCD kids (and adults) will like.  In the free versions ads are rarely triggered other than at the very beginning, and they are visually beautiful.  These would be great to add to any collection for expressive and receptive language, especially following directions.  Sequencing can also be targeted as the cake, cupcake, and pizza versions have the stages in which the products are cooked, decorated, and "eaten" at the end.

Great apps with very good potential for use in speech therapy sessions and at home for carry-over activities!

Android Apps for Speech Pathologists Review: My PlayHome

Today's review is of a great app that is also available for iPad as well as android platforms.  My PlayHome is a fantastic app that all my kids seem to enjoy.  It is somewhat of an interactive doll house with lots of uses for expressive and receptive language with naming, following directions, describing actions and much more.

The free version is somewhat limited as it has only the living room and kitchen, I decided to spring for the $2.99 full version and it is very well worth the money.  There are five rooms total, two bedrooms (parent and child's), a bathroom, a kitchen, the living room, and the backyard.  Each room has fully interactive items that the kids love to explore (I loved them too!)  In the living room changing CDschanges the music, drop a person on the recliner and they bounce, they can open and close the curtains and turn lights on and off as well as interact with most of the things in the room in some way.  The kitchen became a fast favorite as the cupboards, fridge, and oven all open and anything edible in the app can be eaten by the characters by holding it near their mouth.  The stove turns on, the water in the kettle boils and by putting the kettle/milk/juice in a character's hand and moving the character they can pour drinks then drink them!  You can even put things in the sink and turn on the water.  The bedrooms have dress up opportunities with hats, and the bubbles can be blown.  The characters also go to sleep when put in the beds.  Outside there is a trampoline for them to jump on, flowers and carrots that can be watered and harvested, as well as tree house that they can play in.  

In the kitchen we usually target following and giving directions.  I love this because they are salient actions such as "Get a plate and put a cupcake on it." or "Give the milk to the mom and make her pour it in the cereal."  The kids get a kick out of ordering around an adult and the interactive sounds make this an engaging  activity.  There are so many opportunities for asking and answering questions when the characters play out actions.  This app could also be used for turn taking, social-pragmatics to use as part of a social story to act out the bad behavior and then the desired behavior.  This is one of those apps that once you have it, you can't imagine what you did before it.  

The only drawback is that this app must be used on a large screen size. I find my 10 inch screen is good, but on anything smaller it would be very difficult to manipulate all the small items and they would be hard to see. 

Overall this is a great app that all my kids have enjoyed, generally if they start to loose interest we just go to a different room and they are back on track.  Very few apps out there have as much to offer as this one does for a speech therapy session.  I highly recommend this to any speech-language pathologists looking for a great language app that can be educational and engaging!