6-year old Mats collects trophies and is learning maths - "It's so much fun!"

The Tangvold Lundeby family has tried a wholerange of learning apps for their 6-year old son Mats. The digital maths teacher Albert is the clear favourite.

- This is not just a game, it is maths problems designed in a fun and understandable way. Mats doesn't think about doing maths, he just thinks it's fun to complete tasks, says dad Fredrik Tangvold Lundeby.

Albert is an app specially developed to encourage children to count. You enter the child's age and the tasks in the game are adjusted accordingly.

- Our vision is for Albert to be the world's best digital maths teacher. Albert is developed by experienced educators, teachers and researchers, all with the goal of teaching mathematics to children in a smart, fun and educational way, says Salman Eskarandi, one of the founders of Albert.

Smart function for those who have not learned to read

Mats is currently in preschool and is looking forward to starting school this autumn. The parents admit that Mats has spent more time with the tablet now during the pandemic. That's why they think it's good that he can also learn something and not just play.

- We have no plans for him to learn as much as possible before he starts school, but as long as he thinks it's fun, it's nice that he gets to know numbers and figures, says mum Heidi.

Mats is particularly fond of one thing when he has completed a new task with Albert.

- It's so much fun with Albert, I always get trophies, says Mats.

Mats hasn't learned to read yet, but Albert has solved it through voice control. By pressing the speaker symbol, the task is read out.

- He thinks it's great when we sit with him, because then we can explain during the game. When he plays on his own, he gets help from the voice control, says Heidi.

- Mats knows some letters, but can't put words together. But right now it seems that maths numbers are more fun, says Fredrik.

Natural learning

Heidi and Fredrik say that when Mats first started using Albert, it was 1 + 1 and counting on fingers that mattered. Now he has been given more challenging tasks and he solves most of them in his head.

- He has learned a lot from Albert, it is a very natural progression in the app, says Fredrik.

The parents see the advantage of Mats having a good understanding of maths before the start of school, but also believe that it is important that it should be more play than seriousness. The six-year-old agrees.

- I like plus and minus best! It's fun that I know maths before I start school, says Mats.

The app can be used right down to three-year-olds. But so far, 3-year old Isak has only watched when big brother uses Albert.

- We have created an account for Isak as well, but haven't tried it yet. It's probably best that he learns to speak properly before he starts counting, the parents conclude jokingly.