Phonics Museum App from Veritas Press ~ Homeschool Crew Review

 

My youngest son loves playing on my iPad.  Utilizing the iPad for learning has been one of our favorite tools.  He can use the touchscreen much easier than a touchpad.  The ability to play and call it school is a big win in our family.  When we had the opportunity to review the Phonics Museum App I knew he would be mad if I didn’t take it. I knew of Veritas Press‘ curriculum, Phonics Museum, but the app was new to me.  It is so bright and engaging, who could resist?

 

It was easy to set up both of our youngest learners and then let them loose.  There are catchy songs, videos, games and interactive activities.  Within the museum, your learner is guided by Miss Biddle (both as an animated character and live action) and Percival throughout their experience.  For each letter, the different exercises are chosen from an easel.  A star is earned when successfully completed.  Some of these exercises are games, some video presentations and some are “writing” the letter.  All various learning styles are engaged.  By actively participating, more of what they are learning is retained.  They aren’t just playing games or watching videos, but working with the object of the lesson.  My son is still working with the letters.  He is covering not only the letter as a beginning sound but also as an ending sound.  Short vowel sounds are worked in as well.  When the activities for a letter are completed (all the easels have stars), a painting for that letter is “hung’ in the trophy room for the level.  They must complete all of the letters for the level before they can move to the next.

 

One of the things I appreciate about this phonics app is that it starts all learners from the beginning.  At first, my youngest daughter who is a bit older but is also using the app was frustrated by this.  But, she soon learned that she didn’t “know it all” and was having fun while filling in a gap or two.  This extra practice (disguised as fun) helped her move beyond super-simple readers to chapter books in the past few weeks.  Sure, she was able to move through things more quickly than her younger brother.  But — she had to successfully complete everything to get to that point.  There was no skipping ahead or “tricking the system” to get where she wanted to be.

I get emails notifying me of their progress as they complete letters.  I could sit with them while they are working — and I do from time to time.  But, let’s be honest, I like letting them work alone while I work with another child or work in the kitchen.  They like being independent and I can still keep tabs on their progress.  This does not replace our time snuggled on the sofa reading together, but is a great complement to it.

I have been slow to embrace digital resources for my younger learners. As each learner is teaching me that they are not all going to learn the same, I am reconsidering. Ever since introducing Phonics Museum to our son, he has been making progress. We have spent much of his kindergarten and first-grade year just trying to get sounds figured out. Maybe he was just ready, maybe this app is what did it, I don’t know. What I do know is that for the first time, my son is asking to do a learning activity. He is really learning. How do I know? It is carrying over beyond the app on the iPad. He is picking up early readers from our own shelves and reading them. I am so proud of him – and thankful to have this great resource.

 

 

You can check out the app for a free two-week trial to see how it works for your learner (or three).  You can continue month-to-month or pay a year in advance.  My only warning is that if you use this with more than one child, they may not want to share.  Check out other reviews of Phonics Museum App from Veritas Press by other Crew families by clicking the image below.