Common Sense Media Review
By Mieke VanderBorght
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Manipulate numbers with fun and ease; best in small doses.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Fiete Math - for 1st grade and preschool
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 1 parent review
What’s It About?
Visit the FIETE MATH harbor where kids must load cargo ships with the correct number of blocks to send the ships off to sea. Combine or divide blocks to make them represent bigger or smaller numbers. Levels in six "harbors" in six countries focus on different number manipulations skills. Concepts include simple counting and combining, working with groups of five, and addition and subtraction. Pass each level to move on to the next, and unlock more content such as new levels or silly animal blocks.
Is It Any Good?
Silly animations and appealing graphics round out a creative approach to number manipulation. Blocks that combine and divide to make different numbers give kids a great way to tangibly conceptualize what number and quantity mean and how they all work together. Practically endless levels also mean that kids will not race through the entire app in only a few sessions. As kids play, the numbers on the blocks disappear and the difficulty increases, which helps kids estimate, consider more or less, and subitize (to recognize amounts without counting). However, though each level and each setting focuses on a slightly different number concept, the play experience is always the same. The game can quickly start to feel repetitive and tedious; kids may get the most out of the app if they play in short sessions to avoid fatigue. Each setting is supposed to be a different country -- represented by the country's flag -- but the concept is underdeveloped, which makes it more confusing than interesting. Overall, it's very appealing and offers a fun way to explore an important fundamental math concept.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about rules around screen use and using devices in balance with other activities.
Talk about numbers. Have kids count out loud as they combine and deconstruct numbers. Ask them if there are any other ways they can combine the blocks to make the same target number.
Break out the real blocks and let kids dig their hands into manipulating and moving them around. Challenge them to create groups of a certain number of blocks, combine and divide blocks in different ways, and practice moving things around to match number to quantity.
Talk about number and quantity throughout the day with everyday objects. For example, at snack time talk about the number of grapes kids eat. Practice counting them, combining them into groups, dividing them, and matching the right quantity of grapes to the number you or your kid requests.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Subjects: Math : addition, counting, numbers, subtraction
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning : part-whole relationships
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: June 3, 2016
- Category: Education
- Topics: Numbers and Letters
- Publisher: Ahoiii Entertainment
- Version: 1.1.4
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 6.0 or later; Android 2.3 and up
- Last updated: July 12, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
You May Also Like...
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate