Komaneko, An Edutainment App Perfect for Kids!
Lucas watching Komaneko |
When it comes to the Ipad for my
boys, their time on it is pretty limited. There are so many apps catered to
children that it's hard to find good ones. So when I came across Komaneko, an
adorable whimsical education app, I was pretty excited.
It
is centered around the story of a beloved cat named Komaneko, who happens to be
quite popular in Japan. Created eleven years ago by the imaginative Tsuneo
Goda, Komaneko has since starred in several films and was even nominated as a
finalist for the Melbourne International Animation Festival, the London
International Animation Festival and the Seoul International Cartoon and
Animation Festival.
But
what of the app itself? Does it live up to what Komaneko is about? In my book, it sure
does.
The Story |
As
you enter the world of Komaneko, you are greeted with a simple interface that is ideal for young children. There are several languages you can choose from so
if your child is learning Mandarin, like mine is, it is an easy switch. Lucas
actually pointed out a few words in Mandarin that he knew!
The
all in one edutainment app (because why should learning be boring!) has four
areas on its interface that you can enter. The first one is read. Here you can
either record your child’s voice reading the story or hear it read to you. I
love that you can play the recording back as this helps the child hear how he
pronounces words which in turn improves their reading.
Aiden giggling to Komaneko |
Our movie creation! |
That’s
not all, this app also allows your child (ok I played a bit too) to use
their imagination by making their own movie! Lucas, the director, and I, his
assistant director, made a movie titled The Adventures of Komaneko the
Spaceman. It’s easy to do as you drag and drop images you want into a scene and
we managed to fill up eight scenes to make our story! After that we can play back and there is entertainment for all.
Colouring fun! |
Komaneko
offers more than just movies and stories, Lucas had fun colouring and
playing with the puzzles and for older children, there is also the Mission button
which encourages hand eye coordination. You have to tilt the Ipad to allow Komaneko to
grab things or use your finger to guide her. There is also games like spot the
difference and matching game, both encouraging memory use.
Overall,
I found this app to be a perfect balance between fun and education. It is easy
to explore as my four year old demonstrated and the story of Komaneko is so
sweet that even I enjoyed it.