To teach children a language, native or second, I find the app My Playhome useful. It’s a dolls house app complete with a family home and a set of characters that you by drag and drop move around the house, letting them do different things. It is simple yet detailed, which makes it suitable for young kids as well as older ones. Sit next to your child and play together; asking the child to talk about what is happening, describing both the actions and the settings. You can also give instructions to the child from easy ones as “put the book on the table” to “go into the kitchen, open the top right cupboard door and take out a cupcake, have the boy eat half of it and put the other half in the trash can”.

Practice verbs by opening the refrigerator door, pour water in a glass, feed the baby and set the table.

Work on prepositions by putting objects or people in different places.

Vocabulary training is obvious, and don’t forget the adjectives! Turn the lights on and off, bring a red apple from the garden into the living room, and find the most colorful necklace in the master bedroom or put on some soft music.

Don’t forget the silly stuff – like putting dad in the fish tank or letting mom jump on the couch!

The app in itself does not contain words, only pictures.

My Playhome is available in a free Lite version and a regular version. It’s also available for Androids.

The regular version comes with characters of different ethnicity – which I think is a plus – more rooms and a garden.

Have fun!