There are a lot of ways to learn as a kid these days. There’s the things we grew up on like picture book and PBS as well as educational video games for computer, consoles, and the tablets that most children under 5 can navigate better than we even can. There’s virtual home assistants that can spout out facts whenever a kid feels like asking, so you don’t have to table that question about if the cat can eat strawberries or if pigs are smarter than dolphins.
With all those options though, what makes an educational aid worth adding to your household (or to the household of your favorite nephew/niece/grandkid). It has to be something wholesome, heavy-duty, full of features and options and most importantly, appealing to the kids who’ll be the target audience.
Enter the Storypod. This screenless interactive audio device is there to help children learn to read, test their skills in all academic areas, develop their creativity, establish good bedtime hygiene and even help them connect with relatives. It’s a lot to pack into one small device that looks like a slightly heartier Echo or Nest Hub.
But, the Storypod manages to be a pretty solid learning device with a whole lot of appeal for kids of a broad range of ages, from newborns to 7 year olds. It features a great library of its own, as well as access to some truly classic stories, trivia, and even access to classic characters and stories like Daniel the Tiger and the Gruffalo.
Storypod is designed not simply as a reading aid, and not just for one age group, and this is where it really shines. It’s got a diverse range of functions, from stories and songs to trivia and even nighttime routines. It can encourage early language skills in babies, help with naptime with a soothing nightlight and lullabies, and at later ages help children express their creativity, reinforce what they’re learning in school and help them deal with social issues and big emotions.
As for its form factor, it’s a hardy, slightly hefty speaker system with a cuddly knit wrap that is of course changeable to almost any color in the rainbow. It features interactive lights, and a huge range of accessories that includes Crafties. Crafties are adorable little yarn animal friends that magnetically attach to the top of the Storypod and have their own individual programming. Each cute little animal or character has its own curricula, from emotions and healthy eating to subaquatic adventures or even some great topics like inclusion, diversity and history.
You can purchase storybooks which you can read along with the Storypod, or have your child read along with. These storybooks become interactive using the scanning device on the top of the pod and have a page by page pace that’s not hard for children to keep up with or control. There’s even a special type of Craftie that allows you or anyone you allow to access the Storypod environment with can use to record up to 100 minutes of audio on, meaning out of state or country relatives and friends can say hello, send messages and tell special stories from a world away.
Storypod works via a phone app and charges via USB. Parents can control the library and programming from their phone and it’s easy to set up. Audio is loud, crisp and clear, and the device itself is sturdy and attractive. Crafties, the beanie-babyesque friends your kids will likely want to acquire in droves, run about $20 eachqs and involve a good amount of content for the money, with most books running about $12 a piece. Unlike some of the other literacy tools we’ve tried out l feel like this is the most bang for the buck, the easiest to use and the most fully featured, and I heartily recommend it for your own kids or as a gift this holiday season.
For more information on the Storypod, visit their website here.