TOS Review: Ooka Island Adventure
For children play is work. Children learn through play. Ooka Island Books describes Ooka Island Adventure as “a downloadable hero-mission in 3D designed to teach young children how to read fluently and well.” From the website: “The OokaMethodTM combines phonological development and language-rich text with comprehension activities so that children have the opportunity to achieve effortless reading”. You can down a PDF Guide to Ooka Island Adventure by clicking here.
My oldest daughter made this observation about Ooka Island: “This is designed so that the work isn’t separated from the games. She can’t just go on and play around and avoid doing the learning activities. And she has fun doing the learning activities. This combines the fun of the games with the hard work of learning.” For a detailed explanation of the learning activities click here (Ooka Island books also has a trailer you can watch at that same link.)
Be sure and check out the FAQ’s for Ooka Island Adventure. The FAQs provide more information on downloading and installing the game, how the adventure works, requirements and more. I highly encourage taking the time to explore that page. If you click here, you can find information geared for home schooling families. Thanks to the FAQ’s I learned how Supergirl can play the game in Full Screen Mode.
This has been an amazing fit for Supergirl. I love how the game adapts to her level. She is challenged but loves the games. I like that it is guided play based on her learning followed by reading the book and then she gets 8 minutes of free play. She can choose to play a game that has already been unlocked or go to “pencil playground.” At the end of 8 minutes, if she is still logged in, the robot appears and takes her through another round of guided activities. She loves playing with the elves in pencil playground. Here’s Zobot with two elves.
Thoughts from Supergirl: “I like it. It is fun. I’m saving the robot.. I’m getting words. I read books. I get to save the Ooka Elves. I’ve saved 5 Ooka Elves so far. I like making cakes for the elves. To make a cake you listen for sounds and click on them. You go to the library to read books. I go to the mountains and I learn A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, X, Y, Z. (Mom note. Yes Ooka Island has helped her to become fluent in letter order!). I learn the alphabet. I play with Ooka Elves.”
Ooka Island Adventure is intended for Pre-K through 2nd grade. Both family pricing and school pricing are available. Family pricing begins at $12.95 for one child with several options though 4 children for 1 year for $129.95. According to the FAQ page, if you are a home schooling family and wish to use this with 5 or more students, you need to choose school pricing. (for 5-30 students it is $20 per log in for one year.) Click here to view the pricing options. Ooka Island also offers a 14 day Free Trail. To begin the Free Trail process click here.
I need to point out that this is a download product and it is HUGE. The file is over 2 GB. From the FAQ page: “It is normal for the download to take 2 hours or more to fully download. The game download is over 2GB in size and includes full 3-D graphics, 85 digital books, all instructions in audio format, and 9 original OokaTunes. Because of it’s size, the game can take some time to download - we appreciate your patience while the game is downloading.”
Click on the banner below to read what my fellow crew mates had to say about Ooka IslandAll information is correct and accurate as of the date of this review.
Disclaimer: As a TOS Crew member, I received a 6 month subscription/license free of charge to review. This review is my honest opinion with, hopefully, enough detail as to why I liked or did not like a product so that my readers can make an informed decision. I received no compensation.
Trina loves making cakes for the elves too... I think that is her favorite part. :)
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