As a former teacher and now a mom, I am so excited to expose you to my favorite new learning games for kids. When I originally saw Osmo (affiliate) advertised on Facebook, I put it on my wish list. More recently, Osmo reached out to me, and I was thrilled to add this award winning learning system to our educational journey. After experiencing Osmo, I see why it was chosen as TIME’s best invention of 2014. It is so fun, and I have no guilt letting my kids play on it because it’s am amazing educational tool. I have to confess that after letting my kids initially play with it for a bit, my husband and I kind of commandeered the device so we could begin to play. We just had to compete against each other in the “Words” game. I won! 😉
* Affiliate links provided for your convenience. Anything you purchase through these links helps to support Meaningful Mama and the free resources I provide. Thank you for choosing to support us. Further, I was given this device for free but received no other compensation for my review.
I loved the problem solving and visual challenges involved in “Tangram” and “Newton.” These games build in complexity as kids progress. “Words” is an amazing game that was completely engaging while also being super educational – teaching spelling and more through individual and competitive games. “Masterpiece” provided a fun and unique look at drawing. I am excited to get to announce today that they have a new game called “Numbers,” which ignites the love of learning math. In math, I do believe there is a right and a wrong answer. What “Numbers” teaches us, however, is there are a variety of ways to reach the right answer. You might find kids coming up with the answer to a math problem in a more traditional way (the way we parents learned in school). You also might see them being more creative in the way they find their results. It is not limiting. I have always loved learning and teaching math, and I couldn’t be more satisfied with how Osmo builds excitement about engaging with numbers…not to mention words, physics and art with their other games. The great thing about this system is that kids are growing their minds, and yet it all feels like play. I can’t wait to see what other games Osmo produces in the future.
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While I don’t have screen time guilt with this device, I still set it up as a reward for getting work done or good behavior. The kids, while using this device, are focused and animated in their interaction with the device and each other. The game “Numbers” builds on these core features: math sense, collaboration, confidence and progression. It works on math skills as simple as counting dots to as complex as multiplication.
One other note: I often feel like a product tends to reflect the packaging it comes in. For example, you open up a iPad, MAC or iPhone, and the packaging itself is tight and a real experience. Everything feels clean and makes sense, with little wasted space and purpose of design. I felt the same way about Osmo when I received it. The presentation was clean and considered. As we downloaded the apps and played the game, the entire experience mimicked what we first felt when opening the box. The Osmo website equally reflects the quality of the product.
Here’s a message from their press release: Osmo designed Numbers to help kids build math intuition in a fun learning environment by bringing in physical manipulatives to the digital environment they love. This allows kids to explore and play creatively with math like never before…The new game is an under-the-sea themed adventure where the object is to release the fish captured in numbered bubbles back into the water. As integers appear on the iPad’s screen, players use physical number tiles in front of the iPad to create an equation to reach that integer. Once you hit the number, the bubble pops and the fish is released. In Osmo Numbers there is no right way to reach an answer, players can use any combo of numbers, or operations.” Just watch how it works:
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The entire Osmo game set is available for $99.99 and is compatible with iPad mini and iPad version two or higher. Games can be downloaded for free at the App Store. I hope you enjoy this as much as my kids do. Maybe you can get your Christmas shopping done a little early this year. 🙂
