Busy Shapes and Colors from Edoki blends shape recognition and color awareness. By adding attributes, whether beginning with colors or shapes, the app naturally expands vocabulary by defining objects in more detail through the development of spatial discrimination and awareness. Too often, we teach attributes in isolation and forget to make it applicable to daily life. It’s that applicability that makes language a living source for communicating and makes the lessons stick. This finely crafted app has 3 tiers or scaffolds. Kids can begin to learn about colors, shapes, or a combination of the two. At the highest level, the demand incorporates increased challenges for thinking and motor planning. Its beauty is its open invitation to play. And once kids engage, they instantaneously become absorbed in this incredibly addictive app.
As with all Edoki apps, teaching can be customized to increase the complexity of the task as kids gain competencies. Something new in this “Busy” series is the addition of comical penguins that serve as a sensory break or reinforcement to continue play. The rate of reinforcement can be adjusted in settings that are protected behind a parental gate.
Gameplay is similar to Busy Shapes 1 & 2 where kids sink their shapes into an appropriate hole. However, in Busy Shapes and Colors, there is labeling of the name of the shape and/or color. There are no other extraneous sounds – such as the hooting and hollering found in other apps that seem insincere or distract kids from the given task. I find it a privilege to play this series with kids as you can really get a handle as to both their thought processes/problem-solving abilities as well as see learning unfold before you.
In addition to the cognitive and language gains kids acquire from playing this game, they also receive practice in visual targeting, crossing midline, and isolating their index or other digits. When the app is paired with Bluebee, kids have a friend that gives them encouragement to keep them on task – and that is what is at the heart of learning – the love and encouragement that promotes the internal drive to learn.