Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics for iPad 1.3

Ollie’s Handwriting and Phonics is an educational application designed to facilitate children's reading success through a method known as errorless teaching. This approach enables children to practice their letters and sounds, engage with custom phonics words, and work on spelling sight words, all while minimizing the risk of developing bad habits.

Developed by a Kindergarten teacher holding a Master’s in Early Childhood Education, Ollie draws on effective research-based methodologies prominent in national handwriting and phonics programs. It has been recognized as a top "Classroom Learning" app by Rasmussen College.

This application not only enhances children's fine motor and handwriting skills but also reinforces letter and sound recognition through an engaging interface. Kids can enjoy the experience of using colored chalk on a virtual blackboard, complete with chalk sound effects, which adds an interactive element to their learning.

How the App Works:

• Children learn to recognize letters and associate them with corresponding sounds.
• They practice handwriting by tracing both capital and lowercase letters and reinforce their phonics skills through reading and spelling exercises.

Core Components:

• Capital & Lowercase Letters: Each letter is introduced with its shape, name, sound, and an associated phonics picture (e.g., “P is for Pirate!”).
• Phonics Words: The application teaches children how to deconstruct and reconstruct sounds to read and spell words, supported by illustrative graphics (e.g., “c...a....t.... cat!”).
• Sight Words: Ollie instructs users on recognizing and spelling common sight words such as “the,” “to,” and “and.”
• My Words: Users have the option to incorporate custom words for further practice, allowing flexibility to suit individual learning needs.

Features Include:

• Errorless teaching that prevents the reinforcement of incorrect habits.
• A focus on traditional handwriting lines for practicing all letters.
• Multi-sensory techniques that stimulate sight, sound, and touch to enhance cognitive learning.
• Visual instruction by Ollie the Owl on how to form all 52 letters (both capitals and lowercase).
• Aesthetic, engaging graphics accompany each letter and phonics word for enhanced visual appeal.
• Audio support across the app reinforces letter names and sounds.
• An immersive experience simulating real-life practice using colored chalk on a virtual blackboard.
• A systematic breakdown of phonics words delivered letter by letter for foundational reading skills.
• A selection of sight words covering high-frequency and irregular terms for handwriting and spelling practice.
• The ability to add custom words up to five letters long for personalized learning experiences.
• Customizable settings that allow adjustments in difficulty level, including the option to toggle tracing outlines on or off.

A Resource for Parents, Teachers & Therapists:

Ollie’s Handwriting and Phonics serves as a portable, accessible, and economical solution for adults eager to support children's literacy development. It aims to provide the necessary tools for nurturing successful readers and writers through skill mastery.

Free Content Offered:

• Capital letters A – M
• Lowercase letters a – m
• 2 Phonics Words: bug, cat
• 2 Sight Words: the, to
• 1 Customizable My Word

Full Version Upgrade Available:

A one-time in-app purchase of $2.99 unlocks:

• All Capital letters A – Z
• All Lowercase letters a – z
• 10 Phonics Words including bug, cat, dog, fin, fox, jet, map, pig, sun, web
• 10 Sight Words covering a broader range of high-frequency terms
• An expanded selection of 10 My Words with unlimited customization options

Additionally, free resources such as the Ollie App Companion Guide (which includes lesson ideas) and a Teacher/Student Checklist are available at www.BLUEMANGOLLC.com. This website also features valuable information on early childhood literacy along with downloadable PDFs for various educational materials. Interested parties can sign up for newsletters to receive further resources and updates related to Ollie's applications.