Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree by Star Toaster ~ A Schoolhouse Crew Review

My kids love to play on the iPad and download all kinds of apps. My favorite is when they find an app that is educational but also a lot of fun! We recently had the chance to review a new app called Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree by Star Toaster. It was perfect for the little break we took over the last month or so to keep something educational in Gavin's hands.

What is Star Toaster?

Star Toaster is a great team that believes that learning will happen for your entire life. They have taken a lot of time to put together a team that consists of some of the best web designers, developers, an experienced author, and more. I was very pleased to see that they believe that children primarily learn at home no matter whether they are homeschooled, or go to a public or private school.

General info about the app:

This app is available for purchase through itunes for $1.99. You will need to have an iphone, ipad, or ipod touch running iOS, 8.4 or later. It is geared for the ages of 2nd through 5th grades, or 9 to 11. Gavin was in between 5th and 6th grade when we started this, but he still found it fun and entertaining. Also, another plus to the program is that you can have an unlimited number of users. This way you can set up an account for each of your children.

Getting Started with the Orphs of the Woodlands:

Orphs of the Woodlands is not only an educational book series, it's also fun and interactive. Your child will have fun reading the story, but also enjoy taking care of the orphs! They divide the series up into different adventures, this one being Tangletree, and they will have more coming soon!

The set up for this app was very easy. We downloaded it, added Gavin as the user, and we were on our way. Before we got started, we did watch the "Getting Started" video that is located right in the menu section of the app. This was a great help to understanding how the story/game works.

How does it work?

Well when your child first starts the book, he is introduced to the narrator, a flying squirrel named Abba. A flood has come and destroyed the homes where all of the woodland creatures live, and it is the reader's job to help them rebuild it! As your child reads, they will be able to help the orphs with food, water etc.

Gavin started the story and was immediately drawn in. The way it works is your child will read the story, and throughout the chapters, he will see words that have been highlighted. If he/she clicks on these words it will tell him the definition.

After the child finishes reading for the day, they can then go to Stumptown and do the jobs, if any are available so that they can earn gold stars to help the orphs. The jobs are easy and educational, and go along with what has been read so far. 

This is Stumptown to see what jobs are available

Like I said before, as the jobs are completed the gold stars are added up until they have an opportunity to purchase something that the orphs need.  You can see below that Gav is working on collecting enough stars to help the orphs get blankets.

There is also a great parent section where you can see your child's work and progress. 

How did we like it?

Gavin has really enjoyed this app, and will continue working on it, until he's finished with it. The price is great for what you get with this educational app. I am looking forward to more adventures with the Orphs of the Woodlands!

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