Aria's School Games

Instructions (for grown-ups)

The games. Every game corrects itself. In Build and Letters, a piece that doesn't fit bounces back and the right one wiggles. In Magic, tapping a shape changes it. Space is harder, for ages 5 and 6: kids steer a rocket to collect numbers, letters and math answers. In Music, Mimi the kitty teaches scales, high and low pitch, and rhythm, and replays or lights the way when a child needs help. Paint turns each right math answer into paint for one part of a picture, and the paint stays inside the lines.

Math level. Paint and Space each open on a start screen. Kids can just press Play, which uses Easy until you pick something else. To change it, tap a level on that screen first: Easy (age 4) stays within 5 and always shows things to count, Medium (age 5) goes up to 10, and Hard (age 6) shows only numbers and adds missing-number and plus-then-minus problems. Each game keeps its own level, and in Space it changes the three math missions.

Sound and saving. Soft music plays on this menu only. The speaker button at the top right turns all sound on or off, and the house button comes back here. Progress and the math level are saved on this device.