A few weeks ago I made the greatest discovery: Osmo! Osmo is an award winning kit that takes hands-on learning to an entirely new level. Kids are able to use objects in the real world to interact with the digital world shown on their tablet. Since most children learn faster with hands-on projects, Osmo is designed to turn lessons such as math, spelling, physics, geography and coding into fun and interactive games! There are currently three starter kits available which include the Little Genius Kit for ages 3-5, the Genius Kit for ages 6-10, and the Explorer Kit for ages 5-12. Each kit comes with several games already included as well as a base to fit either iPad or Fire Tablet devices. It also comes with one reflector, which is crucial to the interactive features of the games. The reflector is a tiny mirror that allows the device to read the environment below and in front of it. This is how the device picks up physical movements and translates them into the game. Osmo does require internet during the initial setup, however after the first launch of the app internet is no longer required.

Available Starter Kits:

Little Genius Starter Kit (Ages 3-5): Includes one base (ipad or Fire Tablet), 38 silicone sticks and rings, 19 costume pieces, stackable storage containers, and a silicone play mat. The Little Genius Starter Kit comes with four apps which include ABCs, Squiggle Magic, Costume Party, and Stories. This set is perfect for learning letter recognition, vocabulary, phonics, creativity, pre-drawing skills, cognitive skills, social skills, emotional skills, spatial reasoning, fine motor skills, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.

Genius Starter Kit (Ages 6-10): Includes one base (ipad or Fire Tablet), tangram pieces, number tiles, word tiles, and stackable containers. The Genius Starter Kit comes with five apps which include Numbers, Tangram, Words, Newton, and Masterpiece. This set is perfect for  learning number sense, math confidence, spatial sense, visual acuity, reading, vocabulary, creativity, problem solving, hand-eye coordination, and self expression.

Explorer Starter Kit (Ages 5-12): Includes one base (ipad or Fire Tablet), coding blocks, tangram pieces, number tiles, word tiles, monster creative board, dry erase markers, fuzzy pouch, and stackable storage. The Explorer Starter Kit comes with seven apps which includes Monster, Coding Awbie, Numbers, Tangram, Words, Newton, and Masterpiece. This set is perfect for learning coding concepts, logical thinking, number sense, math confidence, spatial sense, visual acuity, reading, vocabulary, creativity, hand-eye coordination, self expression and problem solving.

Since my daughter is about to turn five and is currently in Kindergarten, we decided to get her the Genius Starter Kit with the Fire Tablet base. When the kit arrived, I was surprised at how quick and easy it was to set up! All I had to do was place my device on the base, place the reflector on the top of the device, and download the matching apps. Within minutes Osmo was up and running! My daughter was instantly drawn to the fun characters and interactive games. One of the first games she played was the Numbers game. In this game, she had to use number tiles to add numbers together to get the sum of the bubbles. Once she got the correct sum, the bubbles popped revealing more bubbles and even some fun little goldfish! She was going as fast as she could to add up all of the different numbers and pop the bubbles! It was like she didn’t even notice that she was learning math skills! She was just excited to be playing a game that “magically” knew what numbers she picked out! While she played on the app exploring all of her different games, I was able to track her progress on the parent’s app. On this app I am able to track her answers, see what she is improving in, and even how long she has been playing! It’s a great way to be involved without having to hover over her every second to see how many she is getting correct!

Another thing I really love about Osmo is the fact that I am able to continue expanding the games as my daughter grows. Osmo has several different game packs that I can add-on such as Super Studio Disney Frozen 2 (drawing), and Coding Jam! The possibilities are truly endless! It is no wonder they’ve been named one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions! Osmo truly makes hands-on learning fun and interactive like never before!