LetterSchool Education App Review (iOS, $2.99)

Description

*Best Younger Children’s App 2013 - KAPi Award
*Reached the TOP 10 of App Store’s Education Category (iPad) in approximately 40 countries
*Listed in US App Store’s EDUCATION COLLECTIONS
*EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARD, Children’s Technology Review
*One of 12 BEST CHILDREN EDUCATIONAL APPS 2012, TeachersWithApps
*BEST EDUCATIONAL GAME, Best App Ever
*BEST EDUCATIONAL APP, About.com
*FAVORITE MOBILE APP FOR HOMESCHOOLERS, About.com

An amazing, intuitive game to learn all about letters and numbers: writing, counting, phonics and more.

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
* LetterSchool got lots of accolades from just about everyone (including us!) for being a spectacular app. TWA gives this app a huge shout-out! And, oh yes, this app makes everything cool! TeachersWithApps
* Learning to write letters and numerals will never be the same after a child tries LetterSchool. This app has raised the bar for all letter/numeral recognition apps. Children’s Technology Review
* Top Pick–A very well-done letter-writing app with tons of energy and even some phonics and counting mixed in. Highly recommended. SmartAppsForKids
* Editor’s Favorites–Great concept, overall look and feel, simple operation and navigation, types of activities, great educational value. AppySmarts
* Editor's Choice–A great tool for teaching young children proper handwriting. BestAppsforKids.com
* What a fantastic job these developers did! A handwriting lesson the fun way! This app is a great addition to your kid’s toolbox for life! Certainly this app should be in all preschool and kindergarten classes! BestAppsforKids.org
* We can’t possibly recommend the graphics enough. Simply put, they’re divine. TheiPhoneAppReview.com
* Wow! LetterSchool is a colorful handwriting app that is going to capture your child’s attention. One of the most engaging handwriting apps. TheiPhoneMom.com
* This is a must have app. It is so wonderfully made and will keep children entertained but wanting to come back again and again. iHeartThisApp.com
* I absolutely love this app!!! This is definitely the most amazing writing app of individual letters I've seen yet. I highly highly highly recommend this app. WelcometoTheirWorldApps.blogspot.com
* Your kiddos can learn their letters with LetterSchool and its off-the-hook, awesome set-ups. CafeMom
* Learning a letter on this app is like being on a great party. Every letter is a surprise! Apps4Kids.net
* This app of breathtaking beauty and simplicity is one of the top must-have apps. W. van Bochoven, Educational consultant
* This intelligently designed app will captivate the user through entertaining animations and an easy to navigate interface. UltimateAutismGuide.com
* I have tested out a few letter tracing apps and I give this one the award for the best so far. YourTherapySource

More reviews on LetterSchool.com

HOW IT WORKS
Kids practice essential skills as they play four exciting games per letter/number:

INTRO - discover the letter’s shape, name and sound
TAP - learn where to start, change direction and finish by tapping the dots
TRACE - learn the letter trajectory by tracing it
WRITE - test your knowledge by writing from memory

PLAY TO LEARN…
* how to write letters and numbers
* letter names and sounds
* uppercase and lowercase letters
* manuscript handwriting style
* count to 10
* fine motor skills
* eye-hand coordination
* the foundations of literacy and numeracy

FEATURES:
* many awesome games with different learning approaches
* two challenging levels for twice the fun and twice the practice
* impressive free-form writing in advanced level
* highly effective visual and auditory feedback
* stunning graphics, exciting effects and sleek animations
* characters at maximum scale regardless of device orientation
* choice out of three most popular typefaces in handwriting education
* scorekeeping: star-tokens and self-written characters in menu
* progress and settings stored for up to three players

Recommended for ages 3–7

Customer Reviews

• Very good, one little problem

  by John Leibovitz

  This is a great app. Very well designed and fun. My preschooler likes playing and learning with it. My only complaint is that the tolerance for tracing the letters is a bit too tight for my little guy. He traces a letter most of the way but then his finger inevitably wanders off the line just a tiny bit (but he's still basically on target) and the app makes him start over. This frustrates him and he ends up asking me to do it for him. Is there a way to set how "strict" the tracing is? Otherwise, excellent app, highly recommend.

• Great letter tracing App for preschooler

  by Keleeh1

  We have tried several beginner letter / number tracing apps and this is one of the best I've found and the price is reasonable. Helps promote correct form and is entertaining without being too obnoxious

• Hands down best letter/number app

  by kbazyk

  This is by far the most well designed, clean, and creative app on the market for learning letters and numbers. My son has been enjoying it since he was 10 months old. It's by far the best app and worth every penny.

• Great app!

  by julie585

  My son is 7 and has special needs- this app is the most fun of all the handwriting games we've tried. He's using a stylus on the ipad with this game now that we've been playing it for awhile. I wish it had the ability to turn off error sounds, and all sounds off, and step 1 only, step 2 only, step 3 only (my son figured out how to cheat.) Other than that it's perfect!

• Must have App for preschoolers

  by aestheticmonk

  So incredibly well done. Two niggles: 1. Need to repeat the names of the letters more. And could use with a rotation of a few more "example" items that feature that letter to keep thing interesting. 2. In landscape mode the bottom of some letters are too close to the second level star. These are VERY small points on an otherwise awesome App. Worth every penny and beyond. The best App we have for our 2.5 year old.

• Love it, so does he

  by Catchuri

  This is a great app, it offers visual, and multiple ways of doing each letter which I think helps with memory. Only wish it would repeat the letters name each time it comes up to trace or draw. Worth the money!

• Best handwriting app

  by Meatyard

  This is by far the best app to teach your kid handwriting. Each letter offers a three step process to learn the way to write them. The animations are great and varied, keeping my 3 year old interested.

• A total gem ! ! !

  by Hilly me

  This great app is soooooo engaging. The kids love it, and I recommend it to everyone. This is definitely one of the best educational games I know.

• A must have App

  by Chidexsky

  This app is a must have. I 2year old has improved dramatically since using it. I don't have to be with him or even talk to him while he's on it. The app does all that for me while I get things done. Thank you Letter School!

• 4 year old and 7 year old alike love this app!

  by Gi.D.up

  I really bought the app for my 4 year old who is just starting to recognize letters and show interest in letter formation. He is also a lefty, I think, so I figured this app might help since holding a crayon or pencil is sort of awkward for a beginner anyway. Well he loves the app and as soon as my 7 yar old dtr tried it she loved it too. She is a great reader and very bright but her handwriting is pretty bad and her teacher complains that her letter formation is incorrect. They literally both played with it for an entire 45 min car ride yesterday ( on seperate devices). Hopefully the letter formation on the app is cosnistent with how they want them to do it at school-which I actually have not verified. But regardless I like feeling like they are enjoying an electronic activity that doesnt shoot anything or make silly body noises. My only suggestion for improvements is that it would be fun i the item that retraces the letter could start with that letter. For instance, have the train come to trave over the letter "t" as reinforcement of the sound. Just a thought.

• Nice

  by Sacramuche

  This app can make handwriting activities more interesting but I wish there was a way to select letters individually to skip between levels rather than completing the whole alphabet first

• Please fix!

  by Andriana Falcon

  I love this app but when I downloaded it to my new iPad air it shuts down on certain letters (A, C, O, E to name a few). Please fix I am an occupational therapist and frequently use this app with my patients!!

• Worth the money

  by TR&EJ'S MOM

  The graphics and animation are so fun, I'm not sure my kids realize they are learning :) I really like how my kids can try writing the letter/number and they will be given several tries and then arrows to guide them, if needed. This app seems well thought out with what is appealing to kids without being over the top. Hope the designers will create more apps!

• Really nice

  by Канфета

  Please fix the bags, iOS 7 doesn't supported.

• OT

  by Lhs1234

  My kids love this app! They beg to trace letters and remember to form them correctly ! They have transferred the skill to their pencils too!

• Great app!

  by 4kidz@home

  My four year old daughter has so much fun using this app to practice writing her letters. Very engaging and pretty of positive feedback for accurate work. I had considered other more expensive handwriting apps but I am very glad I chose this one. No complaints what so ever about letter school!

• Awesome

  by Cede822

  I have tried many alphabet apps for my 4 year old. None kept her interest. This app keeps her interested all day if I let her. This is the best alphabet and number app out there out, for recognizing her letters an numbers and tracing them too. Outstanding app to the developers. Review only allows 5 stars but it's 10 stars for me, to keep my little one interesting in learning. Thank you....

• Kinder Teacher Raves

  by quietlilactress

  I’m a kindergarten teacher, and was sold the first time I watched the trailer for this app. It is such a wonderful tool for those needing a little extra help with their letters. I love that it works on where to start (at the top!) when writing each letter. My only reason for not giving 5 stars is because I don’t like that the sound for the letter Ii is the long sound instead of short, the Xx sound is more of a Zz sound in xylophone, a couple letters have the “uh” sound attached like Dd (Duh) and Bb (Buh), the Oo doesn’t start at the top but rather off-center. It would be cool if it showed the letters and how they fit on lines spaces as well. Overall, it’s excellent, and I recommend it for parents to use at home, and small group, classroom work.

• No Customer Support

  by Hrhsooz

  My 2 year old granddaughter loves this app. But when I upgraded my iPad the app became frozen. It says "waiting" under the greyed app. I cannot uninstall it and reinstall it, and I can't purchase it again because it says I already purchased it. I contacted customer service but they did not respond. Great app until something goes wrong. Do not expect any help. Frustrating.

• Love it!

  by EverythingFan66

  It a great app for my kindergartener. He enjoys playing it and he's learning at the same time. He's working on 11-19 but the numbers only go up to 10.

• Great app but....

  by Shorti333

  My daughter looks forward to working on this app everyday but asks "mom, where did the music go?" 2 y/o responds best to music...bring back the sound and u get 5 stars! Update quick!

• Disappointed!

  by DenaV331

  Son loved your app...did an update, now there is no sound..?! Please fix!!!

• A ton of crashes with iPhone 5S and iPad Air.

  by HappyPig

  My daughter’s almost in tears that we can’t run LetterSchool now. Choosing 50% of the letters immediately crashes the app - here are the letters that crash: A, C, E, G, I, K, M, O, Q, S, U, W & Y. 13 letters out of 26, and every other letter in the alphabet. Again, this crashes on three different devices, all running iOS7. Don’t buy until is this fixed.

• Crashes on 5s!

  by CARRIV

  Needs an update. Crashes on my 5s as soon as I press on a letter. Please update!

• Bugs

  by StarGazrJC

  My son used to love this app, but ever since I upgraded to iOS 7, it keeps crashing on him. Please update to support the new iOS!

• Keeps crashing

  by Asterenjoni

  It could be great if it worked. Keeps crashing right after clicking on a letter. Extremely frustrating to pay for an app that's a dud.

• DOES NOT WORK ON iPhone 5s

  by Putthead

  This App worked on iPhone 4S with iOS 6, however, it has stopped working and doesn't allow me to get past the intro screen without shutting down. Wait until an update before you buy. Fun game for a 3 year old when it works.

• Why us this not downloading?

  by NOVAOTRL

  I have purchased and loved using this app with many students I needed to re download it and I can't! It says it's no longer available! what's going on???

• Great App, but

  by poem an

  My son Loves this app, but the sound stops working on our ipad. Plse see if you can fix this. Thanks!!

• Fun for the little ones!

  by Jarhead5811

  My 4 year old loves this app and is pretty good at it. My 2 year old can even play it! I really like that there are three stages to learning each letter. One to show you how, one to let you practice, and one to do it on your own. Even in the last step the line shows up if you need it. There are also different graphics once you've gone through the alphabet the first time. The ONLY thing I think could be improved on would be for them to hear the letter again after the last step.

• Thank you

  by Trablwocky

  Thanks not only for a great app, but for adjusting it so that children with disabilities can experience success with it. My son jumped happily in his seat the first time he was able to independently complete the letter "o". You guys rock!!!! One of our favorites for sure.

• Two words...

  by Moniland

  Awesome app! My 2 and 3-yr old LOVE it. They're tickled by all the various animations. Beautifully designed app that teaches what it sets out to.

• My kids love it

  by DahveedGR

  Of all the letter-tracing alphabet apps... This is the one that will keep kids most engaged.

• Fantastic

  by 07/23/12

  I think that this app is wonderful. I love the dnealian, zan bloser, etc. It would be nice though to have between the part where the student is drag tracing and the part where they trace while not seeing the letter to have a part where the letter is there faintly and they can trace. So have 4 ways and not 3. That way they have that before the letter goes completely unseen for tracing. Also if there could be more different animations like horses, people, etc. rather than just the grass, lights, etc. on the letters and different congratulations when a student gets the letters correct. Put numbers up to 30 or have an option as to how many numbers we want to use for our students. Other than that this is a very awesome and fun sight!!!

• Awesome!

  by amae2284

  This app is soooo cool. I wasn't sure at first if just writing letters would be fun, but this app is so well put together with great graphics! I don't think this app will ever get old! My 2 year loves it. It is a little challenging for her to trace some of the letters, so she will get better at it as she gets older.

• Great app, now add cursive!

  by Not Mi

  I really LOVE all the different font options. Now all it needs is a cursive font and this would be everything you need to reinforce handwriting on all levels.

• Wonderful

  by Bestinbreed

  My son hates learning his alphabet but loves this!

• The only letter app my son uses!

  by Shay1083

  It's great, I don't have to fuss with my son anymore to practice his letters! I say it once and he opens up the apps and starts. Wish there was a number version. Love it!

• Great in OT sessions

  by Bmc11

  IMO, this is the best letter writing app that I have worked with so far. I've tried many many many trial apps. I love that you can choose which handwriting style to use. The only thing I think could be improved is to give the adult the choice to bypass some of the animations and noises. As a therapist, practicing the letter more than once during the same session gets to be time consuming and sometimes irritating to the child to have to see animations and hear the sounds again. It would also be nice to be able to save more than 3 profiles, especially for school based therapist who work on beginning handwriting skills with a large percentage of their caseload.

• It does not disappoint!

  by Isakn

  The demo video impressed me, so I purchased it. But I thought to myself: I'm not sure if my 3 yr old son will go for this repetitiveness for each letter, even though that's what he needs. Well, I was WRONG. The first time he ever "played" this writing app, he practiced writing for 2 straight hours. And it has most things he loves, bubbles, trains, rocket ships, and he loves the fireworks after every letter/number.

• Wonderful!!

  by BattleBornMom

  My 3 yo son is hooked! He keeps going back for more, never getting bored. He has recognized his letters and numbers since he was less than 2, but this is the first activity which has inspired him to practice writing them.

• Letter school

  by AnnBrook

  This app is actually 2.00$ but its not a waste of money and annbrook my mom made that name. It also has cool things when you write!!! Mabye i should say this in a more realistic way i have app at school but i am on summer break and i have it at home oh i almost forgot when you trace it does cool stuff........buy app please!!!!!!!! And dont think annbrook think superchild

• Make it more robust

  by Gcslaughter

  I love Letter School. What would be great is to expand the app. For younger children, perhaps a shape section to work on beginning strokes. For older children, maybe "Word School", where they could work on putting letters together to make words.

• Awesome!

  by Marty Cohen

  My 2 year old loves this app. Does a great job of teaching him to trace letters and is very entertaining. Amazing graphics and animation.

• Best letter/number app out there

  by Bboyle4798

  My daughter was having a very difficult time learning her letters and numbers. This app was recommended by her occupational therapist. In the two months since using it her retention has tripled. Highly recommend.

• Problem using on iPhone

  by Ndfl1968

  The third button that activates the child drawing the letter freehand is too low on the screen and can not be pushed. Other than that it is a great app.

• Imaginative And Creative!

  by iPad Dad3

  Wonderfully interactive. My kids were mesmerized!

• Hugely helpful for letter reversals

  by Klsghfdttgccbjjugf

  Highly visual and helpful for my young students with dyslexia. They need lots of repetition and I would love a 3rd level with even more animations - I'd even pay for an upgrade that included more animations! Such a great app and well-worth the $.

• Wonderful and engaging

  by Trace letters

  Love how the app provides support as needed, especially the fading of arrows as the child writes. It has been very helpful for my special needs preschoolers in helping them focus, slow down, and creating muscle memory. I agree with the reviewer who suggested changing the g sound to a hard g sound, but the app deserves 5 stars and more.

• Gabby

  by L. Sunshine

  My grandson loves it. He is on his readers at school, so I like that he is reading on different devices.

• Ok but....

  by MomSaves

  Entertaining for an educational app but my son has yet to translate being able to do his letters on paper as he has learned to do what this app requires. Maybe someday it will "click". He is four.

• Amazing app!!

  by Outpatient ped ot

  This app is great for inspiring kids to learn and work on their letters!! I love how it grades the cues provided to increase the challenge with each of the three trials for practicing the letter. My kids love it!! Would love to have this app with shapes for some of my preschool kids as well!!!!

• View More

Screenshots

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Download

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Download