Play Osmo - Review

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I have been looking forward to writing all about Osmo and letting you know our thoughts on it. We got sent the Osmo learning base for Lily's fire tablet and 2 games and I have some really positive things to tell you about them.

Let me guess, your children LOVE using technology, especially their Ipads and tablets. Lily really loves using hers to but I usually don't like her spending too much time on it, getting addicted to silly games that teach her nothing. So when Osmo offered me something that can let you child use their tablet but also learn at the same time, I jumped at the chance. 

So what is Osmo? Osmo is an award winning platform that uses an app and tangible pieces to create a hands on learning experience while still letting your child use technology. 

You can get Osmo for Fire Tablets or Ipads, each one having a different base which fits your device. Here is the device below in the image. It comes as a white stand, which also comes with a red piece. The red piece is your camera which gets placed on the top of your device. The cool thing about the base is that the red piece connects to the base so when you are not playing with it, you don't loose it. 

When you own the base and camera, you then are going to need some games. We was sent 2 games from Osmo. I really didn't have a clue what to expect but I was already loving that the games came with things that Lily has to use her hands with, rather than just an app that you touch the screen on. 

I was so glad to find out that it was super easy to set up. You simply go to the website, put in a code that comes with the games, and download the app. When you have done that, the games are ready to play. 

The first game we tried was The super studio Frozen 2. This came with some pens, a pad, and a wipe cloth. Lily and I was both super excited to see how they worked. You also may need to get a cloth or some kitchen roll as you will be needing these for the game. 

When the game starts you will need to make your child a profile. This is great because if you have more than one child they all get to make a profile each meaning they are not playing each others game. After that the game is all ready to go. Simply go to page one of the pad, and push this against the white stand. It is important that the pad stays pushed up against this through out playing the game. 

So the game itself is super creative. You need the volume up so then you can hear the instructions that you are given. You then get instructed on what to do, in this case it is drawing. Lily found this app magical, because what ever she drew, then appeared on her tablet. You get to do all sorts, creating bridges, dresses and scenes. 

A few pointers is that you need to make sure that your drawings are all connected up. For example if drawing a square, all sides must not have gaps. This means that when the drawing goes up on the screen, it will be able to be coloured. After making each picture, the pad will need to be wiped and dried for it to be turned to the next page. 

Lily who is 5 found this nice and easy to do, though at times struggled to understand that for it to work well she needed to first do her drawing inside the white area provided and that it had to be a connecting shape for it to be coloured. She also at times forgot that the pad needed to be pushed right up to the base for it to register the drawing correctly. 

I am really really pleased with this game. Not only did it keep Lily entertained for ages, I was pleased with the amount of pages of drawing activities there was. Plus when you are finished with the pages of the book with the frozen activities there are extra pages where you can draw what ever you like and send them up onto your tablet screen. Lily super enjoyed getting to do 2 of her favourite things. Drawing and playing with her tablet. 

We was also sent Little Genius ABC's and squiggle magic which is 2 games in one pack. These come with a roll out mat and a tub of shapes. Both Little Genius and squiggle magic use these to play the game.

Little Genius Abc's is all about the alphabet and you can use the shapes to make your letter and also pictures that relate to the letter. When you have placed the shapes down on the matt, you can then make them go up on your screen. Lily didn't find this as magical as the Frozen game, but she still enjoyed it. I am really pleased that while she is using her tablet, she is also doing something with her hands. This game as well as helping her with the alphabet, is also helping her fine motor skills and co-ordination. 

The Squiggle magic game is a little more creative and is all about making different shapes to make faces, animals and other pictures. It works exactly like the ABC game with connecting up the pieces to make shapes and then your pictures comes alive on the screen. 

I would really recommend these games and Osmo must be the best thing I have ever owned for Lily's tablet. I am really pleased to have something for her that is educational as well as fun. Lily has played the games loads and will carry on to do so. Osmo has lots of other games which we LOVE the look of so if you would like to see more. Head to the website. 

Osmo have starter kits that come with games as well as the base, or you can buy the base and games individually. 

The games are all a range of prices ranging from $29 to $49. 

What do you think to this new way of learning?