Parents' Guide to

Starfall ABCs

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire Free Education
Starfall ABCs Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Christopher Healy By Christopher Healy , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 3+

Animated alphabet app with fun pictures and sounds.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 3+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Starfall ABCs App: Screenshot #1
  • Starfall ABCs App: Screenshot #2
  • Starfall ABCs App: Screenshot #3
  • Starfall ABCs App: Screenshot #4
  • Starfall ABCs App: Screenshot #5

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 2+

Based on 1 parent review

jamilah1
jamilah1 Parent
October 12, 2016
age 2+

Starfall ABCs is quite fun for Preschoolers...well the parts that are free...

How I used it: I began using Starfall to help my students identify letters and letter sounds. My students use Starfall as an option for computer center. I also use the website as a whole class incentive. I project the program on my Promethean board and students are able to come up and use the touch pen to choose their favorite letters to explore. I also use Starfall as a reinforcement tool for parents to support their children's development at home. Students had no real trouble accessing and navigating the site. The students seem to really enjoy exploring the other games on the website. They especially loved creating and printing jack-o-lanterns from the Pick a Pumpkin game. As the teacher, I loved how the students were asked after each activity how they felt about the game they just completed as this helps them become reflective thinkers. My opinion: Starfall is a fun and easy way for students to have exposure to letters and letter sounds. Thanks to Starfall my students don't even realize that they are learning, they are having too much fun. Students are able to navigate the site with little to no adult assistance. I did find that students got frustrated when they would click on the options on the right side of the page. The options on the right lead to ways to pay for activities beyond the main page. Starfall's website would be more kid friendly if they only displayed options/games that are free on the main page. This would prevent students from clicking on games they can't access for free. All in all, I would recommend Starfall for students ages 2-6 as I feel that they would find the site fun, interactive and educational.
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What’s It About?

Kids select a letter from the STARFALL ABCs main page and watch it make a grand entrance (Vs are vacuumed in, Ts come in on a train). The starring letter is sounded out, and three or four pages follow with objects that start with the letter (pink pigs, pepperoni pizza). Many letters offer games, matching up letters or selecting the letter that doesn't belong (F, f, or x?). Kids can also place letters in the right order to form a word and have it sounded out slowly. Silliness is mixed in to keep interest high, such as turtles playing tunes at the end of a train.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Kids get a great basic introduction to the alphabet with simple songs and fun images. Starfall ABCs offers a mix of prereading skills and decent task variety that should keep preschoolers engaged. Kids will hear the sounds of each letter repeated often and be able to both hear and see how each letter is used within words. There are some cute animations that can be triggered for each word, followed by interactive games (like puzzles and mazes), and chances to see words used in sentences. A separate section nicely highlights some of the variety in vowels, even if it only covers short vowel sounds. Other than that, besides repeating the basic formula for introducing each new letter, there's not a whole lot going on -- which is actually likely to be just right for most young kids. Its simplicity means that Starfall ABCs is super accessible, but also not particularly in depth or interactive. Overall, it's attractive, colorful, and a solid early learning app to help present the alphabet to young kids.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Help build on what kids can learn with Starfall ABCs. Talk about letters wherever you go. Find them in signs or put floaty letters in the bath.

  • Point out simple words in books kids may start to recognize.

  • Encourage a love of books with many trips to the library.

App Details

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