Learning through Play, with Osmo | Review

If you’ve followed me for a while, whether it’s via my blog or over my social media channels then you’ll know I am all about learning. I’m a bit of a nerd and learning through play and our environment is something I try to encourage my children to do. Whether it is over a board game or through their iPad, as long as it’s fun and educational – it gets a thumbs up from me. So, when Osmo got in touch with me, with their Osmo learning kit. I have to be honest – I’d never heard of them before, but I got excited. After reading up on what it was, I was pretty excited. Osmo is an award-winning game system that changes how your child interacts with their iPad or Tablet.

My bunch usually get sucked down the rabbit hole that is Youtube on their tablets, or TikTok – both are the bane of my existence! So, after hearing about the Osmo learning kit, I couldn’t wait for it to arrive. 

We were sent the Osmo Creative Set which is aimed at children aged 4-12 years. Osmo also sent us the Genius kit which is aimed at children aged 5 years and up. 

The Osmo Creative Set

This handy set, allows your child to transform their iPad or Tablet into a game system. Which encourages everything from drawing, imagination and it encourages creative play. In the Creative Kit, there are 3 creative apps – Monster, Masterpiece and Newton. Each one works via the Osmo Creative board that comes along with this kit. Along with the Yoobi erasable markers and Yoobi fluffy eraser pencil case. 

We received the Monster game with our Creative kit because it’s aimed for children aged 4-9 years old. Making this educationally fun product perfect for my daughter Annabelle, who is 6 years old.

Monster is a creative and magical experience where you have to help Mo, your furry Orange friend to create his world. You can design his house, go on adventures, put on magic shows and so much more. Through the Osmo creative board, whatever you draw, Mo will pull it into his digital world and bring it to life! The basic premise is: Mo asks, you draw and then watch the magic!

Example: Mo asked Annabelle what she would like to do; Go on an Adventure, Design his bathroom or put on a magic show. Annabelle chose to go on an adventure. Mo’s first request was for Annabelle to draw a door, so she did. When Mo pulled it onto his screen her reaction was priceless! “That’s my drawing! That’s my door!” followed by excited laughter. 

I think it’s easy to say that from that moment on, I knew this game was going to be a bit hit with her. 

As for the setting up part? This was really easy. After following a few simple steps, you’re good to go! You can also look into other compatible and not compatible devices over on the what devices is Osmo compatible with page. 

Simply download the Osmo learning kit app, follow the in-app instructions, make an account and you’re basically good to go. All you need to do now is select play and your child can get absorbed into Mo’s world of adventure, design and creativity. 

Annabelle cannot get enough of this game. She loves drawing with Mo and for a child whose attention span for drawing has never been great – I can already see a difference in her. Particularly when it comes to her attention to detail.

It’s exciting to realise that through playing and learning to extend her imagination and creativity – that drawing skill will only get better and that’s pretty exciting. 

The Osmo Genius Kit

This Osmo Genius kit is aimed at children aged 5 years and up and contains 5 hands-on games.

The kit contains:

• Osmo Base for Fire tablets
• 3 stackable games that contain; 40 number tiles, 7 Tangram pieces & 52 Letter tiles

Games included in the Genius kit are;

• Words
• Tangram
• Numbers

The Words Game

This word game is exactly what it says on the tin and we are so here for it. I love Annabelle learning how to create, say & spell out her words.

This game does just that! On the screen, they are given a prompt and a clue. Your kid’s job? Is to simply fill in the missing letters to make up the word – which is where the 52 letter tiles come in. Depending on the difficulty {which you can adjust} full words will be asked to be spelt out and the words get more tricky. 

Another cool aspect of this game is that you can play as a solo player or compete with a family member or a friend. After their latest update, you can even challenge some of your favourite Osmo learning kit characters like Mo or Awbie to a game! 

Lastly, if you play the Words game in the Adventure mode {which Annabelle is currently making her way through} you can unlock new characters, earn points and levels you can unlock.

The Number Game

Again, like the word game, the numbers game is amazing. Annabelle’s really enjoying her maths in school and anything that will aid in progressing her numeracy skills – I am totally living for that.

Using your 40 number tiles {that contain both numbers & dots}.  You can complete sums on the screen to complete the levels. I love this no-pressure aspect of learning Maths because I really feel as though kids learn better when they are able to take their time to learn it. 

You can complete the addition sums by adding tiles, subtraction sums by taking tiles away and the multiplication sums by connecting tiles together. It’s all really simple! I just love how interactive it is as I am a huge believer in learning through play. So, when you can interact with something and be involved – more so than just writing a sum on a page – then I think it sinks in better. 

The Tangram Game

I’ll be honest, I’d never heard, let alone played Tangram! But according to my sources – it’s been around for almost one thousand years! It’s a puzzle game about arranging tangible puzzle pieces together to match the on-screen shape. 

Like the Word game, you can play Tangram as a solo player or challenge a family member or a friend. You can also increase the difficulty as you progress through the levels. Annabelle is now the Osmo Tangram biggest fan! She cannot get enough of it.

How can Tangram be educational?

This game hasn’t been around for almost 1000 years for nothing! This simple yet puzzling little game promotes spatial acuity as well as progressing your ability to visually problem-solving skills. 

The game includes over 500 different puzzles of all kinds of shapes and difficulties. You can make shapes, animals, humans, numbers and so much more. The more puzzles you complete, the more levels you can unlock! 

What are our overall thoughts of the Osmo?

I have to be honest, we love it and we don’t have a bad word to say about it. It is engaging, fun, educational, intuitive, it fuels imagination and creativity, it encourages drawing skills {along with so much more!} and it grows with your child. I mean, what more could you ever want in a product? 

We absolutely love the Osmo learning kit. It’s so much fun, educational and it encourages my kid’s to be creative in ways without it feeling like homework. For that? It gets 5 stars from me. Without knowing it my youngest is developing spatial and visual problem-solving skills with Tangram. My son is enhancing his drawing skills and expanding his creativity with the Monster game. I could go on, but I think you get the message. 

As for what we’d like to try out next? Coding, for sure. This is the digital age after all and before we know it, coding is going to be apart of our children’s curriculum. It’s amazing to know that there are products available on the market to give them basic coding knowledge to give them a bit of an advantage in life. Or even an idea as a career choice!

Have you got the Osmo learning kit? Have you seen it around?

I’d personally never heard of it before being approached for this review. But I’m so glad I was. It’s played daily in our house {I’m chief tablet charger!} and my younger kids adore it.

If you enjoyed this post, then you might enjoy my Springtime booklet printable on the blog. 

PIN IT FOR LATER!

Disclosure: We were sent these two products in return for an honest review on the blog. All thoughts, photos and opinions are entirely my own