For parents and carers
Little Explorers is built around what research says helps young children learn from apps: active thinking, no distractions, meaningful stories, and playing together.
How a day works
- Today's Adventure (10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes, you choose): letters → numbers → shapes → story → science → movement → Rest.
- The session ends on a calm Rest screen. More time needs a grown-up, through the parental gate.
- Default daily limit: 30 minutes. Optional bedtime lock from 7 pm to 7 am. These work alongside iOS Screen Time and Google Family Link.
What we never do
- No ads, no in-game currencies, no loot boxes or random prizes.
- No streaks, countdowns or characters who are sad when your child leaves.
- No push notifications to children and no auto-play of the next activity.
- Children never see prices or "ask your parents" prompts. Plans live behind the parental gate.
How it teaches
- Phonics in a systematic order: s a t p i n, then m d g o c k, and on to vowel teams like ai, ee and oa.
- Mastery: a skill is secure after 8 of the last 10 answers are right without hints, across at least 2 days.
- Hints, never failure: hear it again, then see it shown, then do it together. There is no fail screen.
- Feedback right away: a clear banner and a word from Tiko after every answer.
Curriculum alignment
Activities are designed to support (not certified by) these frameworks, and the in-app Learning Report shows each link:
| Region | Frameworks |
|---|---|
| United States | Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework; Common Core Kindergarten (RF.K, RL.K, K.CC, K.OA, K.G) |
| Australia | Early Years Learning Framework V2.0; Australian Curriculum v9 Foundation |
| Europe (example: Ireland) | Aistear: Communicating; Exploring & Thinking; Well-being; Identity & Belonging |
The parental gate
Grown-up areas (settings, reports, purchases, extra time, adding a child) open only after tapping numbers that are written as words, for example "seven · two · nine". The numbers change every time.
Accessibility
- Every instruction is spoken aloud and shown as a caption.
- Large touch targets (64 points or more), left-handed mode, slow narration, reduce motion, and support for larger system text.
- Colour is never the only cue: shapes, words and icons are used too.