# Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics for iPad > Interactive app for kids to learn handwriting, phonics, and sight words. (iPhone/iPad app by Blue Mango LLC.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ollies-handwriting-and-phonics-for-ipad/id647784046 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Blue Mango LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1309203645) - Category: Education - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 3.50/5 from 4 App Store ratings · 18 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 8.0 · 60 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2013-08-19 - Data updated: 2026-06-06 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ollies-handwriting-and-phonics-for-ipad/id647784046/reviews.md ## What is Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics for iPad? Ollie’s Handwriting and Phonics helps kids become successful readers – with errorless teaching! Children practice letters and sounds, read custom phonics words, and spell sight words without reinforcing bad habits. Created by a Kindergarten teacher with a Master’s in Early Childhood Education, Ollie is based on the most successful research-based national handwriting and phonics programs. Featured as a top “Classroom Learning” App by Rasmussen College. Ollie helps children improve fine motor and handwriting skills as well as introduce, reinforce, and solidify letter and sound recognition. Kids have fun with colored chalk on a “blackboard” with chalk sound effects! TRY OLLIE FOR FREE – WANT MORE? UPGRADE TO UNLOCK THE ENTIRE APP FOR ONLY $2.99 HOW IT WORKS: Kids learn with Ollie to recognize letters and their corresponding sounds. They practice handwriting and reinforce phonics skills by tracing capital and lowercase letters and spelling and reading phonics and sight words. CAPITAL & LOWERCASE LETTERS: Ollie shows the letter shape, name, sound, and corresponding phonics picture (“P is for Pirate!”). PHONICS WORDS: Ollie shows how to separate and put together sounds to read and spell words with accompanying graphics (“c...a....t.... cat!”). SIGHT WORDS: Ollie shows how to read and spell sight words (the, to, and). MY WORDS: Easily add your own custom words to practice handwriting, reading and spelling - unlimited ability to delete and change words to suit your interests and needs. FEATURES: •errorless teaching prevents kids from reinforcing bad habits •all letters are practiced in traditional handwriting lines •uses multi-sensory techniques (sight, sound & touch) to enhance cognition •visual demonstration (by Ollie the Owl) of how to form letters for all 52 letters (capitals + lowercase) •sleek, engaging, kid-friendly graphics for each letter of the alphabet and phonics word •audio on every page to reinforce letter names and their corresponding sounds •colored chalk on blackboard with chalk sound effects to mimic real life practice •phonics words sounded out letter by letter by Ollie to reinforce beginning reading skills •sight words (high-frequency & irregular words) to handwrite and spell •add custom words up to 5 letters long (your child’s name/nickname!) to practice handwriting & spelling •customizable settings to adjust for level of difficulty (tracing outline on or off) A TOOL FOR PARENTS, TEACHERS & THERAPISTS Ollie’s Handwriting and Phonics was created as a portable, accessible, and affordable way to put the best literacy research and tools into the hands of supporting adults who want to help children develop and master the building blocks of becoming successful readers and writers. WHAT’S FREE? Capital letters A – M Lowercase letters a – m 2 Phonics Words: bug, cat 2 Sight Words: the, to 1 My Word (customizable word you choose!) UPGRADE TO THE FULL VERSION TO GET MORE: One In-App Purchase of only $2.99 to get… All Capital letters A – Z All Lowercase letters a – z All 10 Phonics Words: bug, cat, dog, fin, fox, jet, map, pig, sun, web All 10 Sight Words: the, to, and, is, can, see, my, go, you, we All 10 My Words (unlimited ability to delete and edit words) Download free materials such as the Ollie App Companion Guide (lesson ideas & examples) and Teacher / Student Checklist (record keeping & accountability for individual therapists or classroom teachers) at www.BLUEMANGOLLC.com. Check out www.BLUEMANGOLLC.com to read the free Companion Guide for Parents, Teachers and Therapists and get information, links and downloadable PDFs on literacy in early childhood, lesson ideas and literacy materials. Sign up for our newsletter to get more free materials and the latest updates on Ollie Apps! ## Key features - Errorless teaching for letter and sound practice - Tracing capital and lowercase letters - Reading and spelling phonics words - Spelling and reading sight words - Customizable word practice - Multi-sensory learning techniques ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | upgrade to unlock the entire app (all remaining letters & words) | $2.99 | one-time | ## Recent user reviews (10 of 18) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ollies-handwriting-and-phonics-for-ipad/id647784046/reviews.md ### 2/5 — I want my money back please... *2017-05-08* I tested it for a bit, and decided to spend the $3 for the rest of the alphabet. I was also excited about the sight words. Surprise, there were only ten of them. Meh. Also, the trace function did not work on all of the letters. ### 3/5 — Slow *2017-02-23* If you have a patient learner this will do well. My boy goes 90 mph all the time and won't wait for Ollie to show him how to do the letters first. I was really hoping that he would like it. As a lefty he is going to need more handwriting practice than others. ### 5/5 — Love it! *2016-10-04* My students love this app! AND it has helped them on their handwriting skills and phonics sounds. I love that they can use it independently and are showing progress in their skills! A must for parents and teachers of elementary and preschool kiddos! ### 3/5 — Could be great but ... *2015-09-04, version 1.1* I was impressed when I first tried it. Word sound and letter name and beautiful handwriting demo. Tried to write the letter d , but it did not let me draw full letter . When this bug is fixed , then I could use app ### 5/5 — Great app *2015-05-11* My twin granddaughters (3 1/2) really enjoy this app. They love the owl and cheer sounds. They are learning to write letters in a very fun way. I taught kindergarten and give this app high marks for both content and creativity! ### 3/5 — Not 100% Accurate with the way they are taught *2015-05-03* The capital Y isn't correctly shown. Many of the lowercase letters have "trace over" the lines instead of pick up the "pencil". Which perhaps that is taught somewhere but not where I live. And lastly I'd love to add my son's name to the My words section however you cannot make a capital letter to start those words. My son is enjoying making letters. I hope these things can be fixed. :) ### 1/5 — Tries to Upgrade Itself *2014-11-07* Every time the app opens, it gives the pop up "Can't make payment". I'm glad I have in app purchases turned off. ### 5/5 — Intro to letter formation *2014-08-26* This ap is perfect for introducing your child to letters, sounds, and letter formation. My daughter is 3.5 and loves it! In regards to the review about a bug that won't let you get past letter m--it's not a bug, buying the full version gives you access to all the letters and sight words. Totally worth $2.99 to me! ### 3/5 — Good but has a bug *2014-02-04* The app is great except that it won't go past the letter M on the tracing portion. If they fix this bug, this app would be top notch. ### 3/5 — Good app but needs to fix *2014-01-27* Thought the app was great until I got to the sight words. The orientation kept switching back and forth between seeing the word and writing it. That was frustrating for me as a parent, can't think how it would be for my kids. The other issue I had about sight words was that there was no where to practice writing the word together. You can just write each word as individual letters. Really Wanted to like it. If those issues ever change I would download it again. ## Frequently asked questions about Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics for iPad ### What is Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics? Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics is an educational app designed to help children learn letter recognition, phonics, and handwriting skills. It uses errorless teaching and multi-sensory techniques to make learning engaging and effective for young learners. ### What content is free in Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics? The free version includes capital letters A-M, lowercase letters a-m, two phonics words ('bug', 'cat'), two sight words ('the', 'to'), and one customizable word. This allows users to try out the core features before upgrading. ### How much does the full version of Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics cost? The full version of Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics can be unlocked with a one-time in-app purchase of $2.99. This purchase grants access to all letters, additional phonics and sight words, and unlimited custom word practice. ### What learning methodology does Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics use? The app employs errorless teaching, which prevents children from reinforcing incorrect habits. It also utilizes multi-sensory techniques involving sight, sound, and touch, based on research-backed national handwriting and phonics programs. ### Does Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics have ads? No, Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics does not contain advertisements. The app is free to download and offers a full version unlock via a single in-app purchase, ensuring an ad-free learning experience. ### What devices is Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics compatible with? Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics is currently supported on iPads. Users can download and utilize the app on their Apple tablet devices. ### How does Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics track progress? While specific progress tracking metrics are not detailed, the app allows for custom word practice, enabling users to focus on specific words for handwriting and spelling. The errorless teaching method inherently guides children towards correct formation and recognition. ### What is the age rating for Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics? Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics has an age rating of 4+. This indicates that the app is suitable for children aged four and older, aligning with the typical age range for starting formal literacy education. ## Version history (last 4 releases) ### 1.3 — 2017-07-06 This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon. Supporting new OS updates ### 1.2 — 2016-08-24 Bug fixes and added rate us option ### 1.1 — 2014-01-16 iOS 7 compatibility changes ### 1.0 — 2013-08-19 No release notes. ## Apps similar to Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics for iPad | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [iWriteWords](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iwritewords/id307025309) | 4.8 (12) | $2.99 | Education | | [ABC Writing & Animals Coloring](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc-writing-and-animals-coloring/id1343065886) | 1.0 (4) | Free | Education | | [Sequencing Tasks: Life Skills](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sequencing-tasks-life-skills/id669629293) | — | Free | Education | | [Ready to Print](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ready-to-print/id513780564) | 4.7 (33) | $19.99 | Education | | [Keyboarding Without Tears](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/keyboarding-without-tears/id895423963) | 4.2 (5) | Free | Education | | [Handwriting Heroes](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/handwriting-heroes/id1624248315) | — | Free | Education | ## More apps by Blue Mango LLC - [Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ollies-handwriting-and-phonics/id647775236) - [Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics for Schools](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ollies-handwriting-and-phonics-for-schools/id779453713) All apps by Blue Mango LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/1309203645 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-06.*