IY7GRbIwNG2hBs0RDhnsk2CxzLMTj_AjfEGqrG3bx4g“Can I play counting?” my 4 year-old friend kept asking me. I was immersed in a board game with his older brothers and thought he wanted to join us. No, he was referring to his new favorite app, “Tiggly Cardtoons,” interacting with the toy rods, “Tiggly Math” an incredibly creative, yet simple beginning counting game that rewards counting 1-5 with the corresponding number of digital cardboard scraps that band together to form the characters and props for one of 25 narrated mini-stories. Kids have the option to use the cool “Tiggly Math”–rubberized counting rods, representing digits 1-5, to place on the iPad for interaction, or their fingers to drag and drop dots that count out and display the number. No prizes needed here. The reward is in the learning as the colored cardboard scraps move to form a dinosaur eating 4 leaves, 5 cute kittens rescued by a firetruck from the top of a building, or 4 flies atop a garbage truck that help the stuck load to dump–“Home smelly home,” as they disappear into a hole in the pile. Kids couldn’t get enough of this app and Tiggly has integrated the hands-on builds as well as a cute story to encourage fun learning. As kids get older they are increasingly required to tell the “how” and “why” of how they got their math answers so why not add the language learning starting at the preschool level? Best yet, the app is free or buy the counting toys to solidify number concepts. Note that Tiggly Cardtoons is the youngest in a series of 3 apps whose siblings,Tiggly Chef and Tiggly Addventure, combine numbers while cooking recipes and crossing bridges!

Available on iTunes. Click here