Learning can be done in so many different ways thanks to technology. Devices are now giving a helping hand to kids to improve skills various areas they would learn at school. Osmo is a system that brings hands-on learning to kids with the use of a device. Osmo asked my family if we would like to try a system out to see if we could have hands-on learning fun. We were really excited to see what we could discover with this system!

How is Hands-On Learning fun with Osmo?

The Osmo Play System is combines digital gameplay with physical interaction for children to experience fun and learning. The twelve games they have available teach creativity, computer science, and drawing. Users must have either a compatible iPad or Fire tablet to use this system (we received a system compatible for the iPad for this review).

Below are the products we received from Osmo:

• Osmo Genius Starter Kit (compatible with iPad and Fire Tablet)
• Coding Jam

Getting the learning off to a “genius” start

There are a lot of fun kids can have with Osmo’s Genius Play System. There are five games kids can get lost in fun playing while learning. These games are Tangram, Words, Newton, Masterpiece, and Numbers. 

Each game helps children to gain new skills or improve upon learning skills. What is interesting about this kit is that Osmo is able to see and react to your child’s real-life moves. A great feature of this system is how kids are rewarded for completing games. It is cute and amusing, encouraging kids to want to keep learning through play.

Hands-on spatial and visual learning

Getting kids aware of how shapes can be manipulated in different ways is important for learning. Tangram from Osmo helps to improve on this skill in a tangible way. Kids move around seven shapes into different configurations to create fun images.

My daughter had a ball manoeuvering these shapes around. The mirror above the playing surface helped the system let my girl know if she was getting close to putting the pieces in the right spot and when she had successfully put each image together.

Word learning at its funnest

My girl is great at reading words, but she could use a bit of assistance when it comes to spelling them. The Words game is a great tool to help her improve on spelling, as well as her vocabulary.

The games my daughter played were really fun. The system helped her to begin to recognize how words are formed. She was then tested by racing Uncle Fred to spell different words with the tiles. I liked that the system was able to recognize whether tiles were in the way or if they were the incorrect ones in a word. It allowed her to focus on spelling the words faster.

Physics fun for children

Newton brings fun to learning the basics of physics for kids. Users have to guide bouncing balls falling on the screen to a drop in a specific area. The game becomes more difficult as you progress and when you include objects like the Osmo Tangram shapes. A download of this game onto your device is required before playing

The Osmo Pad may be used (not included in the Genius Starter Kit), or any blank white surface such as a sheet of paper or cardstock. We found this game to be interesting. As my daughter moved the lines by erasing the lines, she was able to redirect the balls on the screen. It is a wild game to play!

Getting your numbers in order

Math is an area I would love for my kids to become better at. Numbers is a math game that helps kids improve their counting skills using number and dice tiles.

My daughter loves swooshing the number tiles underneath the mirror to get the correct number combinations or to complete equations. I loved how the system could see if the tiles my girl used were the right ones. She has a blast playing this games.

Drawing fun at hand

Drawing past time for my daughter. She loves to create pictures for stories she dreams up or for presents to gift to our family. Masterpiece is a game that allows users to learn how to draw pictures by having images as lines to trace. A download of this game onto your device is required before playing.

This is my daughter’s favourite game to play! She traced the lines of many images to create works of art she could colour in. The cutest part of this game is seeing a video of her creating a work of art in a time lapsed video she is able to share with loved ones. We have to peel her away from the tablet to get her to stop playing this game.

Dance to the coding

Coding is an area of learning my daughter is excited about jumping into. Coding Jams helps to broaden the learning fun! This game is separate from the Little Genius Starter Kit and is sold separately. Users can compose their own arrangements using Osmo’s Building Blocks into patterns and sequences. 

Coding Jams is a perfect game for my little one to play! She got right into putting some of the blocks together to create cute arrangements and dance moves to play out. My daughter could play with this game all day! She really loves seeing the results of her coding on the screen. It is really fun to see!

Learning hands-on fun kids will love

My daughter is constantly asking to go on our tablet after using our Osmo Play System to improve her learning skills! Each game challenges and entertains her while having objects give her hands-on learning. We love how intuitive the system is to give her assistance when she needs it. The rewards and little extras engage my daughter to want to keep learning through play. It was a great early gift for my family to receive as an early holiday gift!

Are you curious to find out more about Osmo? I visited their website to discover more ways to learn and play! We also are following Osmo on their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube pages to find out what’s happening with this great product!

Disclaimer: I received the Osmo Genius Starter Kit and Coding Jam from Osmo to write this review. The views I share are my own.

Do your kids love video games? Every mom knows it can be a challenge to limit screen time. When you spend so much of your time on screens yourself, it isn’t easy to know how much is too much for your kids. However, you may be able to turn their screen time into something more productive. Coding courses for kids are becoming more and more popular in Ottawa and around North America as parents realize that coding is becoming an essential job skill. From basic HTML to Python, JavaScript, and C++, learning a programming language is a huge asset in many careers.

3 Ways Coding Can Benefit Your Kids

Coding Courses in Ottawa

Local moms can find coding camps in Ottawa that run during the summer or evening and weekend coding courses during the school year. Summer camps tend to last a couple of weeks and kids learn in an immersive environment every day, while school-term courses involve a couple of hours each week for the length of the term.

If your kids love playing video games, whether they’re console games or phone apps, ask if they’d like to learn how they work and how to make their own. Coding camps start by teaching them the foundational skills they need to program. As kids progress, they learn the more advanced programming languages and tools they need to express their own creativity by modifying and building their own games.

How Kids Benefit from Coding

#1 Better Math Skills

There’s a close relationship between programming and math, but they’re not the same thing. To start with, advanced programming will introduce mathematical concepts like trigonometry, which is essential for calculating arcs and the movement of a projectile.

As more advanced coders play around with what they can do, they will find places where they need mathematical tools to find the answer. Programming gives them the motivation to learn these math concepts first, and that can make learning the math skills easier.

Learning to code also improves kids’ problem-solving skills. It flexes the same muscles you use to approach a math problem, with logic and precision.

#2 A Creative Outlet

Coding can be just like learning how to draw or build something, it’s just done on a computer. It’s another way kids can explore their creativity and make something unique. While from the outside, coding can sometimes look computational and mathematic, it’s also a means to a creative end.

Coding courses show kids how the commands they input change the end result. They can start playing around with video games making changes and eventually even designing some of their own stuff.

#3 Career and Education Opportunities

Computer sciences, video game design, app development, web development, and more are all big growth industries. When you sign your kids up for coding camp, you’re opening a door for them in the future if they want to pursue video games, web development, or computer sciences in school and as a career.

Even if they choose not to pursue computer sciences, learning how to code is like learning a language. No matter what you do later in life, it will be a huge job asset.

You might be surprised how early kids can start learning how to code. Find a coding camp in Ottawa and learn more about signing up your kids.

So you are considering to learn French? That’s great! Learning French is always a great idea. It brings greater benefits than just the ability to communicate. But why learn French in particular?

French is the official language of 29 countries and is spoken by over 200 million, making it among the most spoken languages in the world. In Canada, it is the mother tongue of over 7 million Canadians, according to Census Canada 2016. There are several reasons to learn French – from culture to career, travel, and more. By the end of this post, you will most likely be ready to sign up for French lessons.

Wondering how to learn French? The internet offers so many resources, and you can use them to learn French from the comfort of the house.

Easy ways to learn French include:

• Online French learning lessons – probably the best and easiest way to learn French online. You just need to find a French tutor and start your language journey! There are some incredible sites such as Preply or local Facebook groups where you can link up with a french teacher.
• Self-study with online French learning resources – there are several sites that offer french learning resources, which you can use to master your French listening and reading skills.
• Link up with other people learning French – There are millions of people learning French all over the world. There are sites you can link up with such people, including social media platforms.
• Practice with mobile apps, audio TVs, movies and music.

Why you should learn French

1.  It is a great career asset

Let’s face it – France is the fifth-largest economy, and the French language is key to conducting business in France. So, it is a clever career move to learn French. But it is not just in Canada or France where French can be useful; it also widely spoken in Belgium, Switzerland, and several African countries.

There is probably no better language combination for the international job market than English and French. It can be an extremely useful combination when working for organizations such as the Red Cross, NATO, and the United Nations (UN). Whatever industry or occupation you are in, French will help you communicate with clients, employees, and vendors around the world.

Also, learning French through online courses can help get promoted from your current position or even lead you to your dream job.

2. A doorway to French culture

Often considered the language of culture, French is the international language of visual arts, theatre, architecture, dance, cooking, and fashion. Learning French is a gateway to classic works of literature by the legendary French authors such as Victor Hugo, Alain Delon, and Jean-Paul Sartre, among others.

3. Enrich your travel experience

France is the world’s top travel destination. Over 90 million tourists visit France every year. This is 50% more than France population, which is 60 million! What is it that makes France so attractive? Well, France is considered to be among the most beautiful places. It has several fascinating tourist attractions such as Disneyland Paris and The Tour De France!

4. French is easy to learn

Believe it or not, studying French is easy, particularly so for English speakers. This is probably because English is a combination of French and other European languages.

5. You can study in France

Learning French opens up the door to several opportunities for learning in the best universities in France, such as the University of Paris, Sorbonne University, and École Polytechnique, among others. If your French level is good, you may be eligible for grants by the French government to study a postgraduate course, enabling you to earn an internationally recognized postgraduate degree.

6. French is an official of several international organizations

Several international organizations have French as one of their official languages. They include:

• NATO
• United Nations
• International Olympic Committee
• International Criminal Court
• Red Cross

7. You will enjoy visiting Canada

Canada was a France colony in the 17th and 18th centuries. This is probably the reason why French is the second most prevalent language in Canada after English. Of course, Quebec is dominated by French, but French is also spoken in other provinces. Learning French will give you easy and fun time when visiting Canada.

8. It becomes easy to learn other languages

France provides a good foundation for learning other languages, especially romantic languages such as Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Portuguese as well as English.

9. Learning French opens up the world

French is among the most widely used languages on the internet. Understanding French will help you view the world from a different perspective by communicating with millions of French speakers in the world. You will be able to read news by French-language international media.

10.  Learning French is fun

French is fun to learn, and it will not take you long before you are able to communicate in the language. There are several methods that make learning French interesting to children and adults alike!

As you can see, there are several reasons to learn French. It will make your life more interesting as well as open up opportunities for you. Spare some time, find a French tutor, and start your French lessons!