One more app developed by Smarty Ears Apps: now an interactive app with scenes and characters that targets vocabulary, prepositions and following directions. As always it will be the SLP with their infinite creativity who will lead the learning process.
App name: House of Learning
App current price: $5.99 ( prices change are possible)
Compatibility: iPad only.
What is the app:
The app contains 12 scenes (bedrooms, classroom, kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining room, etc) and several characters ( mom, dad, son, daughter, baby, grandmother, grandfather, dog). The children can play in the scenes by placing objects on them and arranging the scene as the please. It is also possible to change the characters’ pose and clothing to adjust to specific areas by taping on each character.
I really enjoy arranging the room myself, my favorite room is the girls bedroom! So cute! I love placing the characters in weird placed and poses.( see image below)
There are lots of potential with this app for learning several concepts. House of Learning comes with a built in text to speech which pronounces the items placed on the scene which is great for vocabulary learning and reinforcement.
Tips for Here are some ideas on how to use the house of learning to help your child practice language skills:
Tips for teaching prepositions :
Many children have difficulty with using correct prepositions such as “on, in, above, on top of, under, next to, to the right, to the left”. The House of Learning is the ideal iPad app for helping children understand and practice these skills while playing.
Guided house builder: Instead of letting the child play the app independently, try playing next to them and telling them exactly where to put each object. Use complete phrases such as “ place the sheets on the bed”, “place the cup on the table”, “ place the shoes under/above the bed”.
Silly house builder: How about setting up the house before your session and putting the objects in “silly” places such as “the bed on top of the pillow”. When it is time for your session, you ask your student what’s wrong with the image and get them to guide you verbally to place the objects where they belong. You should expect them to say complete phrases using prepositions “the bed goes above the pillow”.
Following one or more step directions:
Following one or multiple step directions can be very challenging for some children with language delays.
Guided house set up: Guide your child along the game with one, two, three or more step commands. Such as “Get the ball”, “Get the ball and place it on top of the bed”, “Get the ball, place it on the bed and move the girl close to it.”
Story Telling
It is possible to take a screenshot when you are done with the scenes. Why not use these screenshots to let your students build a story? Here is how we can do this:
Set up the scenes and place the people where you want them to go.
click on “done” to display the camera button.
Click on the camera button to take a photo of the scene.
Choose to save this scene to the library;
Go back to the scene and prepare the scene for the next screenshot;
Repeat the steps.
After you have completed the “story” you can print and share with your students or ask them to create their own.
Screenshots:
The app is now on sale on iTunes for $5.99
Downloading it:
If you want to download House of Learning or view it on iTunes store. Here is the link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/house-of-learning/id452080937?mt=8
