Playmatic

Playmatic is a shelf of toy machines and games for pre-kindergarten children. The app has 28 activities for ages 3 to 5 that build early skills: hand eye coordination, fine motor control, memory, sequencing, color and shape recognition, and first letters and numbers. Nothing in it has to be read. There are no menus, no captions and no names under the pictures, so a child who cannot read yet can play the whole app alone. Microwave: key in a time and watch food cook through the door, learning numbers and cause and effect. Stove: fry, boil and bake on the rings and in the oven to practice following steps in order. Toaster: drop the bread, push the lever and wait for the pop, a first lesson in patience. Rice cooker: fill it, close it and let it steam, learning that some things take time. Coffee maker: choose a pod, load it and pour, practicing fine motor control by dragging. Tea party: match the flavor in a guest's thought bubble to the right tea bag, for matching. Laundry: load the washer, run it, then move the clothes to the dryer, learning sequencing. Snack machine: press the code for the snack you want and watch it drop, practicing numbers. Computer: tap the ABC keyboard and see the letter and a word appear, for letter recognition. Clock: move the hands and watch the day change, a first look at time. Mailbox: open the flap and see what came in the post. Map: drive a little car along the roads to develop hand eye coordination. Memory game: turn over pairs on a board that grows each time it is cleared, for memory and concentration. Shape game: post shapes through the right holes to develop visual perception. Size game: sort toys from smallest to biggest to understand differences in size. Potion game: mix colors in a bubbling pot to match the one asked for, learning how colors combine. Coloring: fill a picture in color by color, for color recognition and fine motor control. Letters game: trace a letter with a finger, building letter shapes and pencil control. Numbers game: count objects and press the answer on the keypad to learn numbers. Balloon game: pop the balloon showing the right letter, number or shape, for attention. Shopping game: find the groceries on the shelves, for attention and visual searching. Chop Chop: drag a vegetable onto the board and sweep the knife across it, practicing fine motor control. Claw machine: line up the claw and dive for a prize to develop timing. Garden: plant seeds, water them and grow a full box of flowers, learning cause and effect. Dishes: wash the plate under the tap until it is clean, with nothing to get wrong. Vacuum: drive it over the rug and clear every crumb. Copy Me: watch a short pattern of sounds and repeat it back, for memory and listening. Dress Up: choose eyes, ears, hats and arms to make a character, imaginative play with no wrong answer. Every game deals a new round the moment one finishes, and none can be lost. There are no lives, no countdowns and no way to get stuck. For the grown-up: the settings sit behind a small door in the corner, and the door asks a sum before it opens, so it stays shut to the child holding the tablet. The same sum stands in front of the purchase, so a child cannot tap their way to buying anything. Behind it are a play timer of 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes per day or per sitting, sound and music volumes, a speed control for a younger child, color themes, and a record of how long each toy has been played with. Playmatic shows no advertising of any kind, has no links out for a child to find, and asks for no account or sign in. It collects nothing about your child and sends nothing anywhere. It needs no internet connection, so it works in a car, on a plane and anywhere with no signal. Ages: 3, 4 and 5 year old pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children. Eight of the toys are open from the start; a single one-time purchase opens the rest and everything added later. There is no subscription. We are always glad to receive your feedback and suggestions.