Bugs! by Poisson Rouge Interactica

14 activities focusing on maths concepts for children from 0 to 7, of all levels and abilities, colour-blind and left-handers are also thought of. Also suitable for older children neuro-atypical and/or with developmental difficulties, as the spirit of the app is not baby-ish. Relaxing for adults too as the soundscape and imagery are soft and relaxing, though lively and colourful.

The interaction is simple (touch, drag/drop), technology doesn't get in the way. The interface is one level to make it simple to go from one activity to the next. There is only positive feedback and all the activities give children a great sense of achievement and self-esteem and encourage them to show and talk about what they have just seen/done.

The various levels allow for children to drop an activity if they do not get it and go back to it until they do, but they are all available at all times, this gives a sense of freedom and allows for choice, independent thinking and decision making. All this encourages self-assessment, determination, self-confidence and last but not least, fun!


Detailed description and learning outcome of each activity

Cubes
A set of cubes, click on each of them and they "turn" to display a part of an image of a bug - scaffolds the notion of square numbers and surface calculation.

Trails
Push the insects along their lines, the trick is to do it well so the music plays harmoniously - not as simple as it sounds - great for fine motor skills and music awareness.

Butterflies
Pick up a butterfly to colour the leaves - space awareness, creativity and a sense of aesthetics.

Mirror bug
Play with the dots on the ladybug's back to draw in symmetry: faces, smily or sad - encourages creativity and introduces the notion of symmetry.

Counting bugs
Place the bug with the right number of spots on the shape with the right number (goes to six) - perfect early number recognition activity.

Drawing bugs
Touch a bug to make it draw, once all bugs have drawn, a meaningful image appears - this activity gives children a great sense of achievement and encourages them to communicate with the people around them "Look what I just did!"

Pattern bugs
Match the bug that walks in to its exact counterpart from a set - encourages pattern recognition and attention to detail.

Shapes bugs
Match the bug with the shape on its back to the shape drawn on the leaf, starts easy with 2 shapes to choose from, the last level has 6 shapes : square, circle, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, star - shape recognition, scaffolds notions of geometry.

Hidden bugs
Make the clover leaves disappear to discover the bugs underneath. Each has a number, they need to be touched in order (the number of bugs is random each time) - sense of discovery, sequence of numbers up to ten.

Musical bugs
A square made of 16 bugs, touching one makes it spin, change colour and play a sound. Each colour has a distinct sound and the whole square can be used as a kind of piano - rich activity with many possible fun and learning outcomes: music awareness, basic geometry, square numbers, multiplication, colour recognition, etc.

Puzzle bugs
Each bug has a small part of the scenery on its back to be placed exactly right, not so easy! - attention to detail, precision, fine motor skills.

Dancing bees
2 sets of bees, 2 directions, 5 petals each triggering a music loop and a choreography, that's endless (well, nearly!) bees dancing possibilities! A real mixer, accessible to the smallest and great fun for all - musical awareness, creativity, geometry, space awareness.

Bee circles
Place the bees in the right direction to set them in motion, starts with 3 bees and goes up to 8 bees - space awareness, geometry, directions, parallels.

Collecting pollen
Like a classic arcade style game, drag the bee towards the flowers to collect pollen, when the pollen sacks are full, they fill up the honeycomb-shaped collector.