I was paid for my time and work on this project. However, all my opinions are always honest and always mine. I appreciate your support in reading this review!
When I was first starting to homeschool, there were lots of decisions that had to be made in terms of how and what we would learn. Math, reading, science, history – these are some of the givens, the ones that first jump to mind. But something that I hadn’t initially considered was social-emotional learning. I thought to myself, well, those things come naturally as a part of life, right?
But as my kids have gotten older and I’ve had more time parenting and also more time to learn, I’ve realized that I really need to be intentional about social-emotional learning in my family. Luvbug Learning is helping me to be intentional and I’m really excited to tell you about how it’s helping today!
What is Luvbug Learning?
LuvBug Learning is an awesome app that focuses on games and videos to help your children with their social emotional skills. Inside the app, your kids can explore games, villages, and videos that are fun and engaging while also learning important social emotional skills. And there’s even a parent play mode!
Why add social-emotional learning to your homeschool?
Social-emotional learning is something that’s referred to as a “soft” skill. Unlike math, where you can write out how it happens on a piece of paper, there isn’t anything to show for social-emotional learning. My philosophy is that academics are important – but academics aren’t the only thing. We are raising full human beings here and social emotional skills will effect them every single day of their lives.
Now, some of this learning happens naturally, but you also have to consider that there are skills within social emotional learning that come easier to some kids than to other kids. Can your child recognize when they are nervous and use tools to help them in that situation? Can your child recognize when another child is disappointed and show them empathy? When I think of my own experience being a human on this planet, I know that not every social skill comes easily for me. If I can help teach my kids social skills early, when they are younger, then hopefully they will be able to head into adulthood with a strong understanding of themselves and the people around them.
As far as I know, no state homeschooling laws require social-emotional learning. My own state doesn’t. However, my state does require health and I believe that learning social-emotional skills is a perfect fit for health! We can learn to have wellness inside us emotionally and not just physically.
Intuitive App Interface
The app interface is very easy to use. It teaches you how to use it as it goes along and the controls are simple. Both my 7 and 10 year old were able to pick it up and understand how it works without any additional input from me showing them how it works. If you’re having difficulties following the instructions, it gently helps you to try again. This ease of use is definitely a plus in my book! When apps are overly complicated to use, it discourages my children, but the ease of being able to jump right into play with LuvBug Learning makes a big difference!
Additionally, there are no ads or in-app purchases or anything that would cause your kids to accidentally navigate to another site. I can trust when my kids are playing LuvBug Learning that they are playing in a safe kid app.
Luvbug Learning Encourages Conversation about Social Skills
One thing that I really love about this app is that it encourages conversation. While my kids were playing, I was sitting nearby and I could hear the questions they were being asked. When my son got an answer wrong, I was later able to bring up that question and ask him about it. We were able to talk through the scenario and at the end of our conversation, I felt like he had come to a new understanding.
Sometimes, we don’t know what our kids don’t understand, especially when it comes to their feelings, because they may not have the words to express what they are feeling. So being able to have these conversations is really important! And one of LuvBug Learning‘s goals is to give kids that vocabulary and I love the way they explain emotion words to kids, instead of just assuming that we all understand what words like “cranky” “generous” and “thankful” mean. Check out this explanation of the word integrity so you can see what I mean!
To encourage conversation, I recommend that they play LuvBug Learning nearby, but if they are playing it on their own, the Parental Dashboard is a really helpful tool as well!
A Parental Dashboard and a Unique Parent Play Mode
When you get LuvBug Learning it comes with a Parent Play Mode and a Parental Dashboard. Both are different, but both are awesome.
The Parental Dashboard is really helpful for seeing where your children are at. You can see what feelings they are struggling to identify and use that to spur further conversations or opportunities to understand those feelings.
In the dashboard you are able to see all the videos and enable or disable them as you choose. You can also set time limits and bedtime hours they can’t play. What I love about setting the time limits is that the app very naturally and gently tells them their time is over. You can even add a custom message if you wish. My kids have responded very well to the app telling them that their time is up. It doesn’t feel restrictive to them. Having control over their in-app experiences helps me to really tailor it to them!
The Parent Play Mode is like nothing I’ve ever seen before – in an awesome way! Not only can you test and see what all the games are like, but instead of asking you the same questions your kids get, it asks you questions about child development! It will help grow your skills as a parent to help you help your kids learn social-emotional skills. Isn’t that awesome?!
LuvBug Learning Provides Choices in Play
In some games and apps, there is one storyline and you have to go through it in order. However, LuvBug Learning is not like that. When you log into the app, you have choices about how you are going to spend your time. You can watch videos or play games or play in a village. My kids really love having options of what to do, instead of being guided through what they have to do. My kids have already picked their favorite villages. My youngest likes Summer Camp the best and my oldest has been enjoying Leprechaun Land, which you can see in this video.
You also can choose between all the available videos to watch. I loved that the videos showcased a conversation between characters, instead of just telling kids this is what a concept is. The characters talk about a situation in their lives and the applicable social-emotional skill.
But is it Fun?
The best and most educational app in the world is never going to get kids to play if it isn’t fun and engaging! I’m happy to say that LuvBug Learning passes the fun test! My kids are so excited and eager to play. My oldest told me that it was “really, really fun.” And my youngest asks to play frequently.
One other thing that my oldest son commented on was the music. He said that it was cheerful and made him feel happy. I have to agree with him. It’s upbeat and pleasant and not annoying. That is a huge plus! Many kids games have music that grates after awhile, but not LuvBug Learning. I also appreciated that when you are playing the music stays upbeat the whole time. Sometimes in games there is music that is designed to make you feel anxious or hyped up during big moments, but LuvBug Learning‘s music is not like that. It helps you stay calm while you are playing. I really appreciate the use of music this way in a kid’s game.
The graphics are also extremely impressive. They are bright, colorful, and 3D. It really helps make the experience immersive and engaging, especially in the short movies. Watching them feels like a treat!
Save on LuvBug Learning
Are you interested in trying LuvBug Learning for yourself? Right now you can get a discount on LuvBug Learning! Use code LUVBUG5 to get LuvBug Learning for just $5 a month on the annual plan. This is a great deal and I encourage you to scoop it up before it ends on October 15th, 2022!
LuvBug Learning is a fun engaging way to help your kids have words to describe their feelings. It helps strengthen their social-emotional skills, which are an important part of being a human being.
Leave a Reply