This guest post comes from Pamela Mandell, the creator of
Feed Maxi.
She is the mom to two rowdy boys and a speech-language pathologist who has been working with toddlers and preschoolers for over 14 years. She created Feed Maxi as a means to improve language skills in little ones in a fun, creative, and meaningful way.
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Pamela with her e-learning department staff: Maxi Monkey,
Marty Macaw and Freddy Frog |
"Feed Maxi is an exciting new interactive speech-language game app for iPad that is captivating toddlers, preschoolers and kids with special needs with its high quality graphics and 3D animations. Children "feed" the adorable and very hungry Maxi the Monkey requested food items from a field of one, two or three foods that are child friendly (i.e., "goldfish crackers, yogurt, etc."). Maxi responds by commenting and engaging in endearing animations to show his pleasure. During the game, children love to give "FIVE" to Maxi and they look forward to the end scene where they get to explore a rainforest and pop balloons filled with food.
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| Joy when playing with Feed Maxi |
The app is unique in that Maxi the Monkey uses simple sign language combined with verbal requests to get the foods he wants. The graphics are gorgeous and the app is highly interactive and intrinsically motivating for kids. Feed Maxi is completely customizable and keeps score for up to 5 children at a time. It utilizes real-life pictures of food items that toddlers can easily relate to & identify. Feed Maxi enhances all aspects of communication including receptive, expressive and pragmatic language skills - all in one app! Feed Maxi also helps with vocabulary, problem solving, attention span, picky eaters and emergent literacy skills.
Speak Eazy Apps is a member of Moms With Apps, a parent friendly group of mom & dad app developers that support children's safety and privacy. In Feed Maxi, there are no in-app purchases, pop-ups or advertisements. The only links to outside sources, such as our website & the App Store, are kept behind a parent gate that only adults can enter."
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I was given a promotional code and played around with Feed Maxi as well.
At $2.99 it is a very reasonable app.
What struck me about the app is that it can be used for second language learning as well.
My preschooler will definitely broaden her vocabulary of the English language, while having loads of fun. I also like the fact that the spelling of the words are shown when the right object has been selected.
Photos supplied by Pamela Mandell.
