In full disclosure, I was provided with a free set of Tiggly Shapes as part of my attendance to Blogger Bash NYC. I review was not required. Affiliate links are included in this article.
Do your kids play with your iPad every day?
Are you always looking for fun and educational games for them to focus on?
If you answered yes, to either of those questions, then Tiggly Shapes are for you. This innovative and unique new game play concept is a MUST for your holiday list. Tiggly Shapes is an iPad toy for kids ages 18 months to 4 years old that will offer hours of learning fun! I have to say that my 5 year old also really loves to play with this toy.
Tiggly Shapes come in a small cloth bag making it easy to transport. Who doesn’t love a toy that can be played in the car, while watching a soccer game or even in the shopping cart? Each bag is filled with four shapes: triangle, square, circle and star. The shapes have a great texture of being smooth and soft which is perfect for little hands. They are also quite durable and can withstand the inevitable dropping and throwing of a toddler.
How It Works:
To get started, first you have to download the FREE apps that come with Tiggly Shapes: Tiggly Safari, Tiggly Draw and Tiggly Stamp. You can also download Tiggly Christmas for only $1.99. In this article, I am going to focus on Tiggly Safari. This is the first Tiggly App my kids played with, and it captured their attention for hours!
Once you download Tiggly Safari, press on the App icon to start. It will ask you to tap 4 shapes on the screen in order to begin. You can see how the introduction to letter-recognition begins right away! You are then asked to choose a language. Tiggly Shapes Apps are available in 8 different languages. A really cool new feature is that it can now be played bilingually as well allowing kids to learn a new language. How cool is that?
To get started, you have to match 4 Tiggly Shapes on the screen.
The last step is to choose the setting. By tapping the screen kids can choose various backgrounds such as the ocean, farm and jungle. Each setting offers an exciting adventure full of learning and fun! While playing, kids will learn valuable skills that will enhance their growth and development.
Farm: Shapes appear on the screen, and the child has to match the shape using their Tiggly Shapes. Once matched correctly, it turns into an adorable animal. The app verbally identifies the animal as well as shows the word on the screen. When played in bilingual mode, it will also say and show the name in Spanish.
Jungle: A dotted outline of a shape appears on the screen which the child matches with their Tiggly Shapes. For the this setting, more than one shape is matched in order to create an exciting jungle animal such as a tiger, zebra or elephant. The names of the shapes are stated verbally as well as shown in word form on the screen. The Spanish form of the word is also revealed when played bilingually.
Ocean: This setting is the trickiest of the three. It requires kids to match moving shapes which really works their visual tracking skills. Again, adorable ocean animals are created as the names are presented orally and visually as well as in Spanish (when played bilingually).
5 Educational Benefits of Tiggly Shapes Safari App
Enhances Academic Knowledge:
As you can clearly see from the descriptions above, playing Tiggly Safari helps kids not only increase shape recognition, it also helps enhance color and object recognition. Shapes and objects are introduced in a multi-sensory approach which boosts understanding and memory. Each setting also helps kids learn about what animals are found in different environments.
Increases Language Development:
Tiggly Safari is a great app to help kids boost their language skills and vocabulary. Both expressive and receptive language skills are enhanced since the app presents material orally and visually. While playing, have your kids repeat the words (in English and Spanish). This helps boost their vocabulary as well as articulation skills.
Boosts Fine Motor Skills:
Kids are required to manipulate the shapes and then place them perfectly on the screen in order create each animal. The shapes are the perfect size for little hands as to allow for greater success which in turn boosts confidence! In addition, hand-eye coordination is being developed as kids have to use their visual-motor skills to match the shapes properly.
Improves Visual Skills:
Tiggly Safari helps kids improve visual skills by having them match shapes in a variety of ways and ranging in difficulty levels. Visual discrimination skills are enhanced as children have to choose which shape to match, while visual scanning skills are developed on the ocean setting as they have to match a moving target. These skills are needed for academic success in school.
Tiggly Safari helps kids enhance visual skills by matching shapes and moving targets.
Encourages Creative Thinking:
As kids play in the different settings, they can create stories about all the fun animals. They can make the sounds of the animals and describe all their features as well. Encourage your kids to talk about their favorite animal or what animal they would like to have as a pet. You can also talk about what would happen if two of the animals encountered each other. It’s great fun for the entire family!
As you can see Tiggly Shapes Safari App is an amazing brain boosting toy and game concept that enhances cognitive, language, academic, motor and visual skills. It is the perfect tool to get kids ready for preschool and Kindergarten.
Tiggly Shapes can be purchased for $29.95, and it comes with 3 FREE apps including Tiggly Safari. You can purchase your own Tiggly Shapes on the Tiggly website or Amazon.com.