[App Review] Learn Letter Sounds with Montessori ABC

Learn Letter Sounds with Montessori ABC

Kids can easily learn to recognize their letters by singing the alphabet song and pointing out the letters when they see them in books or on flashcards. The Montessori ABC app, however, takes the learning one step further by helping kids learn their letter sounds. As kids click on the letters in the app, they are shown pictures of both uppercase and lowercase letters, along with words featuring those letters and interactive elements to keep kids entertained as they learn.

Playing with Letters

When kids first open the app, they are presented with a screen full of the letters of the alphabet and a picture corresponding to each letter. They simply tap on a letter and are directly take to a screen featuring both and uppercase and lowercase version of the letter, as well as pictures of words and objects featuring the letter.

From there, the fun begins.  Tap on the letter P, for example, and kids are shown a screen with a pig, a pumpkin and a plane. Choose to tap on the pumpkin and watch it make silly faces as the word “pumpkin” appears on the screen, both letter Ps highlighted in the word. Tap on the plane and watch it fly across the screen as the word “plane” appears.

While the app is very interactive, the speed at which the objects respond to being tapped may frustrate some young learners. For example, a child learning about the letter h cannot tap on the hippo and then immediately decide to tap on the hammer instead. He must wait until the hippo animation is finished before choosing the hammer. Sometimes tapping on too many elements at once can cause the app to become confused and show bits and pieces of everything on the screen. However, simply reminding your child to slow down and pay attention what is actually on the screen or asking your child questions about each word or letter should leave enough time between taps to avoid the problem.

Your Child’s Favorite Letter

The app allows parents and teachers to set up profiles for individual users and track their progress as they use the app. While the app does not track how well a child has learned a letter or specific words, it does track how often a child views each letter. This allows parents and teachers to see a child’s favorite letter or to see what letters the child has not yet been exposed to, making it easier to plan learning activities outside of the app.

With its interactive components, Montessori ABC is an app that will help engage your child as he learns his letter sounds and introduce basic spelling skills. Even if they animation does not appear quickly enough for some children, they will still enjoy watching animals make nose, vehicles move across the screen and words appear with sound effects and they move from letter to letter. They can also focus on their favorite letters, as the app does not require children to tap through the letters of the alphabet in any particular order.

All images from Montessori ABC

By Stacy Zeiger
Stacy Zeiger is an 8th grade English teacher, writer and mother of two who holds a B.A. in English and M.Ed. in Secondary Education from Ohio State University.