Caboose: Learn Patterns and Sorting with Letters, Numbers, Shapes and Colors

by AtReks

As our train nears 170 reviews, we are excited to hop on the recently updated educational app, Caboose: Learn Patterns and Sorting with Letters, Numbers, Shapes and Colors by developer AtReks. Your train conductor, a sweet looking dinosaur will offer you two tickets, one that will have you traveling around the United States as you learn about patterns and another that will take you across Europe where your little one will sort items and build their vocabulary. Go on this amazing journey as it was built to work on all Apple devices running iOS 4.0 or later. Which ticket will your toddler, preschooler or kindergartener take first? With their recent update, Caboose has implemented a wonderful new menu screen. The graphics and organization has truly improved since our last exploration and why our readers need to be aware of these updates and how it is applicable to you!

Prior to becoming a first class passenger, it is important that an educator or parent explore the “cog” wheels or options menu in the upper right hand corner. Your train experience can drastically change as it meets your child’s learning needs. Within this menu, parents and educators will see how pattern content and type can be altered as it meets a number of academic needs. If your child struggles with certain fine motor skills, set the answer selection to either a tap or a drag/drop motion. As they cross new and unusual things, provide hints and select content that is appropriate to your specific child or student. Regardless of where the tracks may take them, verbal support and reinforcement is very evident. With the accommodations made by the developers, your child’s mobile learning experience can be done alongside a parent or independently.

Travel by day and night as you piece together the tracks that will take you from the northeast all the way to the upper regions of the western part of the United States with every correct answer. Children will experience and reinforce six different types of patterns which are taught in the early elementary years. These various patterns, A-B, A-A-B, A-B-C will be incorporated with learning upper/lower case letters, shapes, colors and sounds. Visit some of the most famous landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, White House, and the San Francisco Bridge as you learn about patterns. A note to the developers – as the train leaves a location, might it be possible to fill in the icon on the map so children can make a real world picture connection. We see it as another learning opportunity and possible conversations with your student or child. Another possible suggestion would be at the end of their trip across the United States, might they be able to make their own pattern thus showcasing what they learned.

Extend your travels now across the world to Europe as you hop on the back of a moving train and learn to sort items and build your vocabulary. Applicable2U was really impressed with this first class passenger experience. Developers included a number of support features that we really found useful. For example, it integrated in the upper left hand corner a “wifi” like symbol that when tapped repeated missing directions and visually explained the necessary sorting order as well. Through tapping of objects, reinforcing key words like “the largest, the smallest, and medium”, and color coding for answers that are correct or incorrect, children are guided and supported from beginning to end. When necessary such features can be turned off as users become more comfortable with the content and skill.

Applicable2U gives Caboose two thumbs up! It meets our approval for gaming with a reason. With a very interactive and engaging design, your child will be learning and having fun at the same time. If you would like to learn more about AtReks and the other educational apps that they have available, please visit their website here. With a simple $1.99 download, Caboose can be added to your iTunes library by clicking here.