Osmo Interactive Learning Games for Kids!

In this time of lockdown and school closures I’ve just discovered a range of fabulous educational smart games called Osmo which are a fantastic tool for parents to make use of. We recently partnered to work together, something I very rarely do here on the Imagination Tree as I don’t often find products I genuinely believe are in line with my philosophy of learning through creative, open-ended play.

With Osmo however, I have been seriously impressed by the ingenuity of these games, as they have very cleverly balanced the screen time with interactive materials, meaning the child is fully involved, active and engaged during play! As such, they’re not at all passive, instead requiring plenty of problem solving, creativity and thinking skills to be used as they play.

The difference comes from the fact that the space in front of the screen becomes an interactive play mat, where children use real manipulatives to answer the questions, recreate images they see on the screen and solve problems.

There are lots of different programs that can be downloaded with accompanying kits bought to match them. These include learning games (ABCs, Words, Stories, Numbers, Tangrams), creativity (Squiggle Magic, Masterpiece and design (Newton, Costume Party) and coding, which was my kids’ favourite of all!

I’ve been so impressed with the design and ingenuity of these. There’s something for all ages (3-11) and between the Little Genius Starter Kit, the Genius Starter Kit and the Coding game with Awbie set, they’ve all found something at their own level that has challenged or inspired them.

My older girls love the creative sets and the Coding with Awbie game. They’ve learned some coding at school and this seems to be a really good level of challenge for them. I’m already interested in checking out the other coding kits they have available!

My littler ones love the challenge of the interactive maths games as well as Squiggle Magic, which brings their creations to life as animations on the screen. It’s amazing to watch their faces light up when they realise it’s their own creation in front of them, they think it’s pure magic!

They even receive feedback and encouragement from the cute characters during the games which is fabulous! If they make a mistake they are gently prompted to try again and effort is praised, which is exactly the right way for them to build on their experiences and improve.

I’m so glad we’ve had a chance to review these kits and plan to use them as a daily part of our home learning over these coming months. This is the kind of screen time I have no guilt over using as I know how educational and interactive it is.