Trace & Play vs Sapling Beats

Trace & Play helps young children learn to write their letters — one happy stroke at a time. A big, friendly letter appears, with a faint guide to trace over. Your child draws right on the screen with a finger or Apple Pencil, and gets gentle, encouraging feedback when they follow the shape. Then it's on to the next letter. Designed for little learners (ages 3–6): • Trace all 26 uppercase letters, A to Z • Smooth, natural letter shapes — including proper curves for C, O, S and friends • Forgiving feedback tuned for small hands — no frustration, just encouragement • Works in any orientation, on iPhone and iPad • Finger or Apple Pencil • Uppercase A–Z is free. An optional one-time purchase unlocks lowercase letters and numbers. No ads or accounts • Settings kept simple and out of little fingers' way Learning to write, one letter at a time.

Sapling Beats is a calm, ad-free drum machine and beat maker for curious kids. Two ways to play: - Play Drums: tap big, colorful pads and explore sound kits inspired by drums, forests, music, robots, and more. - Make Beats: a simple step sequencer where kids tap squares to build a groove and press Play. Beat Idea offers a ready-made rhythm to start from, and speed animals (snail, turtle, rabbit) set the tempo. Add more beats, Half Beats, and more drums as their ideas grow. The parent-gated Recordings kit lets families make six short sounds of their own. Hold a pad to record, release to save, then use that sound in Play Drums or Make Beats. Recordings stay in private app storage and never leave the device. Made for little hands and big imaginations: - Picture-labeled controls for pre-readers - Grow the grid from 4 to 8 to 16 steps, and 4 to 6 drum rows, as kids are ready - A quiet, warm look that's easy on the eyes and ears - Uses the device's familiar volume buttons, plus a parent-gated Half Volume for little ears Made by two professors and parents who were tired of "educational" apps that are really ad machines. So we built the opposite: - No ads, ever - No accounts and no sign-in - No data collected from children - No social features and no links kids can wander out of - Works completely offline Start with a generous collection of core sound kits free. A parent-gated, optional one-time Sound Pack purchase adds more playful sounds, including Silly Notes, Weather, Farmyard, Spooky, and Jingle. There is no subscription, and the free kits stay free. From Sapling Hollow Studios — calm educational apps for curious kids.