Tapoodle

Tapoodle turns a phone or iPad into a burst of color and sound. Every tap and swipe fills the screen, so a child can play with nothing to read and nothing to break. THREE WAYS TO PLAY Peekaboo Tap: cause and effect in a painted scene. A watercolor meadow with seven bugs hiding in it, so tapping where one hides brings it out with its own sound. A grown-up setting can say each bug's name out loud. Free play: hand over the screen. Every tap throws confetti, an emoji and a friendly sound. Nothing is scored, and there is nothing for you to mark. Trials and reward: you pick the word or sound being practiced and prompt it yourself. The screen asks the child to say it and shows a row of stars. You mark each try with the buttons in the bottom corners, and enough correct ones unlock a timed play break. FOUR WORLDS FOR FREESTYLE TAP Confetti, space, underwater and bugs, each with its own colors, characters and sounds. Switch between them in one tap. GROWN-UPS STAY IN CHARGE Settings open with a press and hold in the top-left corner, where you set the mode, sound, vibration, how many correct tries earn a break, and how long the break runs. A half-second hold on the speaker in the top-right corner mutes the game. MADE FOR LITTLE HANDS No menus mid-play, nothing to read, and the screen stays awake for the whole session. Anything that leaves the app asks a grown-up question first. FROM SPEECH THERAPIST TOOLS Tapoodle comes from speechtherapisttools.com, where Speech-Language Pathologists find free tools and word lists. The web version plays in any browser at speechtherapisttools.com/tapoodle. The app sends anonymous counts: taps, trials, how long a session was on screen, which worlds, scenes and modes get used, and the app version. There is no account, and nothing sent identifies the child or the device.