Cursive Touch and Write vs Main Idea
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cursive Touch and Write
This app teaches children cursive handwriting using fun, tactile textures like shaving cream and frosting. It offers single letter and whole word practice modes, with the ability to create custom word lists for personalized learning.
- 18+ writing textures (shaving cream, frosting, etc.)
- 35+ writing papers with classroom-style lines
- Single Letter and Whole Word practice modes
- Create custom word and name lists
- Real-time letter formation comparison
- Adjustable learning rewards
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Kids love learning to write cursive - especially when they can use shaving cream, paint, and jello! "Cursive Touch and Write" was developed by teachers, and recreates the fun and effective teaching strategy used in classrooms every day: learning writing with shaving cream, jello, finger paint, and more! Practice single letters in "Single Letter Mode" for more support, then switch to "Whole Word Mode" to write entire words with connected letters! (Note: "Whole Word Mode" is only available for the iPad version.) "Cursive Touch and Write" allows you easily to create your own lists of children's names, spelling lists and favorite words so that you can individualize the learning experience! FEATURES: ‣Comes with 18 different writing textures: shaving cream, ketchup, lime gelatin, chocolate frosting, chalk, pencil, blue pen, lemon gelatin, chocolate pudding, syrup, grape jelly, whipped cream, pumpkin pie, red paint, and vanilla pudding! iPhone/iPod Touch version comes with 16 textures. ‣Comes with 35 different writing papers, including different line patterns children are most likely to find in real classrooms, food papers, animal papers, nature papers, and papers for children with visual impairments! iPhone/iPod Touch version comes with 28 papers. ‣Children can practice writing their own names and create individualized lists of spelling words or favorite words. ‣Comes with the following word lists: ABC Countries of the World (and 1 City), 50 States, The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog, ABC Words, Palindromes, Alphabet Letters, Numbers – and of course you may add as many of your own lists as you like! ‣As children write, their actual letter formation is displayed next to a standard letter, so children can compare and work to improve their cursive. ‣Brief reward at the end of each word reinforces learning and motivates children, without becoming a distraction. You may change the length of this reward or remove it altogether on the "Settings" page. ‣Created by practicing classroom teachers – based on best teaching practices! Please contact us at fizzbrain@gmail.com with any questions, problems, or suggestions. We will get right back to you – we listen to our customers! And if you have additional textures or papers you would like to see included in an update, let us know!
Main Idea
This app helps children in grades 2-5 improve reading comprehension by teaching them to identify the main idea of a text. It uses a step-by-step approach with visual guides and a reward system to build this skill incrementally. Designed by educators, it's suitable for both typical and special needs children.
- Step-by-step comprehension skill building
- Incremental learning with unlocked levels
- Frustration-free guided learning
- Engaging reward center
- Parental review and reporting
- Content designed by teachers and researchers
- Timed levels for fluency development
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** Happy Frog Apps are featured on FunEducationalApps.com. TeachersWithApps.com, Appolicious.com, iHeartThisApp.com ** 'Main Idea-Short Texts' helps kids who have trouble with reading comprehension. Identifying the main idea is a key part of reading comprehension as it allows you to figure out ‘what a text is about'. 'Main Idea -Short Texts' builds this comprehension skill step-by-step until mastery. Accolades for the first app in the Main Idea series... ***** 5 Stars - Thank you for this app! Other software I’ve used has moved too quickly for my son. This one worked! ***** 5 Stars - This app is one the best education apps I have used with my little one. It really helps to improve his reading abilities. He is obsessed with passing the levels and it never let him disappointed. One of the few apps that worth to upgrade to premium version. 'Main Idea - Short Texts' is targeted to children in Grades 2-5 who can read the words, but don't understand what they read. Beginning readers in earlier grades can also benefit from the targeted skill development. The focus of 'Main Idea - Short Texts' is teaching kids how to identify the main idea of a paragraph. The skill is built incrementally using visual guides. Key Benefits: - Builds comprehension skills step-by-step until mastery. - Incremental learning. New levels are unlocked only when your child is ready. - Frustration-free learning. Your child will always be guided to the correct answer. - Fun and engaging Reward Center to increase motivation. - Easy parental review. Just check out the stars to see how your child is doing. - Content designed by professional teachers and researchers. - Advanced levels include timers to ensure fluency. Research shows fluency in the foundation skills is critical to reading comprehension. - Can be used independently (just hand it over: your child will know what to do!) or with a therapist/parent for reading intervention. - Provides extensive reporting for up to 10 students to suit the needs of parents, teachers and therapists. Our apps are designed for and tested by typical and special needs children. Testers include children with Autism and other special needs. Our apps work for them! To evaluate the app, download the free version, which has 4 free levels. Additional levels and additional players can be accessed with in-app purchase. If you prefer no in-app purchases, download the School Edition of this app. While you're thinking about reading, check out our other apps at www.HappyFrogApps.com. We take customer service very seriously! If you ever have a problem or find that we've missed something, contact us at our website and we will do our best to fix the problem. We collect NO private information in our app. None! Our apps do not allow unrestricted web access.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Main Idea at 67% against Cursive Touch and Write's 46%. Cursive Touch and Write's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $6.99). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Cursive Touch and Write costs $2.99 and Main Idea $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Cursive Touch and Write ships an update every 18 months, Main Idea every 22 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cursive Touch and Write | Main Idea |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $6.99 |
| Rating | — | 2.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 46.2% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 18 months — better | Every 22 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.2 | 12.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FIZZBRAIN LLC | Janine Toole |
Customer experience
Cursive Touch and Write
Main Idea
In-app purchases
Cursive Touch and Write
No in-app purchases
Main Idea
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cursive Touch and Write free?
Is Main Idea free?
Do Cursive Touch and Write or Main Idea have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cursive Touch and Write or Main Idea?
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