It may not sound likely, but preschoolers can actually enjoy being introduced to historical characters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei. In an amazing collaborative effort put forth by Standford University education experts with Kidaptive Inc, Leo’s Pad Appisode 1 features an interactive, educational experience designed just for preschoolers that plays out in the form of a story told with games. Leo’s Pad Appisode 1 has stunning artwork and animation and plenty of activities to entertain and engage young minds.
Leo’s Pad Appisode 1 is the beginning of a series of stories that introduces to children to historical figures in a fun way. In this first “appisode,” an eight-year-old Leonardo (Leo) is going to Galileo’s (Gally) birthday party. Young kids are given an interactive experience that unknowingly teaches them significant facts that relate to this talented pair of Renaissance inventors. With songs, games and activities that focus on problem solving, logical reasoning and also creativity, Leo’s Pad debut episode is a genuine kid-friendly winner.
Leo’s Pad Appisode 1 gives kids the opportunity to help Leo build a telescope for Gally. Of course, Gally’s dream is to visit the stars and kids are given an opportunity to explore them as well. With a subtle combination of history and activities that enforce colors, shapes, letter identification and more, kids are learning as they play. And with such brilliant animation, fun sounds and engaging content, Leo’s Pad is the perfect “edutainment” app.
One of the prominent features of Leo’s Pad Appisode 1 includes a letter finding co-play mission in the stars where kids identify letters hidden in the stars and then ask a parent (or friend) to make three-letter words with their letters. There are other games that combine hide-and-seek with shapes and colors and using logic to assemble a telescope puzzle. Additionally, kids can exercise their creativity and make a birthday card with different paint brushes, a versatile color palette and stickers.
Aside from the clean and smart overall design, perhaps the best (and most surprising) part of Leo’s Pad Appisode 1 is that it is currently free to download, free of ads and has no in-app purchases – which means parents can confidently hand over their iPad to their preschooler. There are future “appisodes” in the works, which plan to feature other historical figures like Marie Curie, and though these will clearly be made accessible through this debut app, it remains to be seen whether future “episodes” will debut free of charge as well. As it stands, the initial story of Leo and Gally in Leo’s Pad Appisode 1 is an ideal preschool learning app that parents should snap up for free while they still can.
