We are in the day and age where everyone is tech savvy, even our children. Both of my girls, have been using either tablet designed for young children, or my husband or my phone or iPads. They have their own collection of apps that they play with, that are not just entertaining, but also educational. And, I continually look for new apps to download and share with them. A recent search led me to the Captain McFinn Swim &Play app, which is unlike any other children's app I have seen. What sets this app apart from all the others (and there are lots of them) you ask? This app has a cool interactive feature, that utilized a live person that interacts with your child as they play with the app.
Here is more about the Captain McFinn Swim &Play app, which you can purchase through the iTunes store for only . The app itself is subscription based, where you have to pay on a monthly basis. For as low as $2.59/month (when you sign up for a 6 month subscription) you can't go wrong for this unique app, that will keep your child entertained and engaged time and time again.
Since downloading this app a couple of weeks ago, both of my girls can't stop talking about it with their friends, and when family comes to visit. If they are using the iPads, they quickly run over to show people this app, and point out the "live" person who journeys under the sea with them.
- "Captain McFinn Swim & Play is the first-ever children's app, aimed at kids ages 3-5, that allows the users to truly interact and communicate back with a live host, who can praise the child’s accomplishments in the game and even call players out by name.
- Swim & Play allows children and their parents to touch content in a way never before done – and all in a secure setting alongside their friends.
- The host helps the parent and child navigate through an interactive experience, learning important pro-social life lessons, such as kindness and sharing, in a fun and engaging way.
- Captain McFinn Swim & Play is the first-ever children's app, aimed at kids ages 3-5, that allows the users to truly interact and communicate back with a live host, who can praise the child’s accomplishments in the game and even call players out by name.
- Swim & Play allows children and their parents to touch content in a way never before done – and all in a secure setting alongside their friends.
- The host helps the parent and child navigate through an interactive experience, learning important pro-social life lessons, such as kindness and sharing, in a fun and engaging way.
- The iPad app, available from the Apple iTunes Store, is based on the popular Captain McFinn storybook character who lives in the undersea world of Sand Dusty Reef with his friends.
- The Captain McFinn Swim & Play app is available using a subscription model. The freemium subscription model offers 10 minutes of free play at the start of the game, with subscription tiers of 1-month, 3-month and 6-month periods. The pricing is $4.59, $3.59,and $2.59 per month, respectively."
Here are a couple photos of my girls using the app --
As you can see, they can't get enough of this app. Bella is only 3 years old, but was able to pick up the concept of exploring and completing tasks assigned. And, when the McFinn Explorer (live host) asks her to tap on the hands icon to clap or show she understands something, she smiles as she shows how smart she is. Savannah, who is now 4.5 years old, shared this app with her preschool class the other day during "show and tell." I loved hearing the kids saying things like "how cool," "wow" or "neat." As Savannah showed the different features of the app and maneuvered through the underwater scene to the kids, they slowly inched forward, until they were right up under her nose. Everyone wanted a turn, and couldn't wait to tell their parents about the app, so that they could download and continue the underwater adventure at home.
Over the years, I have shared reviews of children's apps, and have tried out apps to find ones appropriate for my girls. Like I shared above, I have never seen an app like this. The "live" person feature really makes this a fun app for kids of all ages, even though it is geared towards kids ages 3-5 years old. I try out each app for a little while before introducing it to my girls, and found myself having a hard time putting the iPad down. I couldn't wait to see what underwater adventure I would go on, what mini movie/short story would be shared, or task would be assigned. The app is really engaging and having that "live" McFinn Explorers makes you want to continue on, as you learn.
In addition to the chat box,where kids can interact with the host, younger explorers can use the clap button on the left hand side to respond to the host.
Parents can even use the chat box to ask questions of the host, or share personal info about your child, like their favorite color, character, etc. The chat box, however, is not used for chatting with other participants in the live session -- only the hosts. As a parent, I like this feature as I don't have to worry about my girls chatting or interacting with someone they don't know. The folks behind the Captain McFinn Swim & Play app also monitor the chat logs and will boot users who are being inappropriate, which is also great in offering parents/caregivers peace of mind.
Each day when you child logs into the Swim & Play app, they will be greeted by Captain McFinn and other underwater characters, like Bella the angelfish. My youngest daughter, Arabella, who we call "Bella" loves Bella the angelfish and thinks the fish was named after her. Whenever we log in and an the day's theme is centered around Bella, she gets happy. :-)
While this app may seem like it is simply a fun, underwater adventure, parents will be happy to see that kids will also be learning important life lessons through the different activities. Captain McFinn and the shows will teach kids about things like kindness, taking turns and sharing, preventing bullying and even expressing your emotions. The live component and switching up of hosts makes this app a one of kind experience. Each of the hosts have their own personalities and bring the stories to life in a fun and different way, and share the daily topic or theme in their own.
Here is a short video I took of the Savannah interacting with one of her favorite live hosts. You will hear everyone clapping and the host calling out Savannah's name. This is what your child will experience when you download and subscribe this to fun app --
I don't know about you, but my girls love stickers and collecting them. And, when they are playing with app that features a sticker book or way to collect things like coins and badges, they will want to play with the app over and over again to see how many items they can collect. With the Swim & Play app, your child will participate in activities where they will collect icons.
These icons represent things that your child likes to do within the app, like drawing, cleaning up trash, showing their teamwork skills, etc.
Over time these icons will accumulate and your child will be awarded with a badge. Savannah just got her Recycling badge the other day after cleaning up trash on the ocean floor and was so excited. She couldn't stop showing my husband and I all the badges, stars and icons she has acquired since she started using this app a couple of weeks ago.
Because this app offers a "live" person interacting with your child, you will want to use this app between the hours of 7AM and 7PM PST, as this is the time that there is a live host available for the Swim & Play app. If you child wants to use this app outside this time frame, they still can to explore the underwater world -- they will just not experience the interaction with the "live" host.
Kids will go crazy when they see their creations shared with the other underwater explorers in their live session. My girls especially love this feature, and hearing all the kids clap for them. :-)
This is app is still relatively new and still in the testing stages, as I was given the opportunity to try out the beta test version, before I ended up buying the app and signing up for a month to month subscription. Because my girls would get so engrossed in the app and the storyline on a given day, I found them wanting to go back throughout the day to continue the journey. The only thing I thought could be improved was that the story and tasks are the same for a given day. So, if you spend awhile on the app, and then go back later, you will find yourself repeating tasks and seeing movies all over again. I wish there was a way that you could choose a story or theme so that the experience could be different with each log in. But, I can also see why it is like this, as they use a "live person" and they don't know who experienced the underwater adventure or had logged off and come back for more. My girls didn't mind this, however, as they were able to point out what they did before and moved quickly through finding for instance trash to pick up, or characters from the story/movie they watched.
Having been using this app for a few weeks, my girls like that when they log in to the app, they are greeted by the same McFinn Explorers hosts. They like seeing familiar friends (as they call the "live hosts ). And, when they hear the McFinn Explorers say "Hi" to them or congratulate them on finding "X" number of items for a task given, they love this praise and can't help but light up with excitement and accomplishment. I am so happy that I was able to try out this app, in its testing phase and see this app becoming a favorite among young children. Some of my daughter's school friends have downloaded the app and will go into school and talk to Savannah about the adventures they went on, or how they were logged in when Savannah was on -- this is their favorite time, when they are all enjoying this unique and oh so fun app together, while at different locations.
And, you will find yourself singing the catchy theme song, shown in the different stories/movies included in this app --
You can learn more about the Captain McFinn Swim &Play app by visiting http://www.captainmcfinn.com. And, like I said, this app is available for the iPad FREE to download through the iTunes store here -- http://bit.ly/1xvFPO6 - but needs a paid subscription. Subscription tiers include 1 month, 3 month or 6 month periods. The pricing is $4.59, $3.59,and $2.59 per month, respectively.
If you want to try out the app first before signing up for a subscription, you will be happy to learn that you and your child will get to experience the Captain McFinn Swim & Play app for 10 minutes, through the freemium subscription. After the ten minutes is up, you will no longer be able to continue play until you choose and pay for a subscription tier.
I can't wait to hear what you and your children think of this one of a kind app, that will quickly make a name for itself and find themselves at the top of app charts for kids. I can't wait to see where this app goes, and what the app developers come up with next.
Stay up-to-date on new app features, to share your feedback with app developers and hosts and more by following Captain McFinn on their social media channels --
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaptainMcFinn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Captain_McFinn
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/captainmcfinn/
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/McFinnandFriends *The app complies with all COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) safety standards, so although parents/children can see the host, the host cannot see them. Through proprietary technology, the host reacts to prompts, responses and creations by the child and texts from the parent (through a secure chat box) to make the interactive experience truly customized.
Disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Captain McFinn. I received a complimentary subscription to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
The colors on this app are amazing and I love that there are three tiers for buying it.
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