Mermaid Waters HD: A Story-based Preschool Math Game Educator Review

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Common Sense Review

Updated July 2012

This product is no longer available.

Strong early math game with enchanting mermaid story

Common Sense Rating 4

Teacher Rating
Not Yet Rated

Price

Free

This grade range is a recommendation by the Common Sense Education editorial team, not the developer/publisher.

Grades

Pre-K-K

Platforms

iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

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Subjects

Math

addition
counting
numbers

Skills

Critical Thinking

problem solving

Standards

Common Core State Standards

The mermaids must rescue the animals trapped in ice bubbles.
Kids work on pattern completion as well as other math mini-games.
Kids practice addition with the aid of manipulatives.
Kids play with stickers they earn.
Summary reports are available in-app, but detailed reports can be accessed online through the parent account.

Pros

Story-based game reels kids in, makes learning fun.

Cons

No easy way for teachers to view reports for multiple students.

Bottom Line

Engaging games cover a broad range of kinder math CCSS.

Amanda Bindel
Common Sense Reviewer
Classroom teacher

Common Sense Rating 4

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return? 4

Mermaid fans will love playing. The story-based theme keeps kids engaged and adds purpose to the activities. The sticker reward system is a fun touch.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer? 4

Great range of early math skills develops depth in number literacy. Even with the story-based rescue, math is baked in to each mini-game.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students? 3

Parents or teachers can sign up to receive detailed reports about kids' progress. Kids don't receive much feedback about their answers, though.

About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

How Can Teachers Use It?

Use Mermaid Waters as an in-class math station option. Kids drawn to sea creatures or mermaids will be thrilled with the story, but won't miss out on any quality math practice. Signing up to receive reports for each student would be pretty cumbersome for a teacher, but the reports could be an excellent parent-communication tool to show parents what kids are working on, doing well on, and struggling with. If kids have daily or weekly at-home math skills practice, Mermaid Waters would be a good option, one that kids would look forward to playing (and learning) with.

What's It Like?

Editor's Note: Mermaid Waters has closed and is no longer available.

Mermaid Waters: A Story-based Preschool Math Game consists of math mini-games aimed at kids in pre-K and kindergarten. Kids help mermaids Hana and Cory rescue sea creatures as they tackle math problems, such as identifying the ice cube with more or fewer fish trapped in it and popping bubbles with a number in them. Targeted skills include number recognition, addition, comparisons, shapes, and pattern completion. After kids play a game to rescue a sea creature, they earn a sticker they can play with in the "stickery." Parents can sign up to receive progress reports that include an explanation of the targeted skills and games, but there's no teacher dashboard to provide a snapshot of an entire class.

Is It Good For Learning?

Mermaid Waters is a great way to engage kids in math. More feedback would help kids understand when they've gotten an answer correct or incorrect, however activities are aligned with several Common Core State Standards for kinder math and are done in a fun and motivating way. The overall theme of Hana and Cory rescuing sea creatures is maintained throughout the activities and levels, and provides a great way to drive the plot and activities forward. The sticker reward system is a fun addition for kids.

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Counting And Cardinality
K.CC: Compare Numbers.
K.CC.6	Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies.1

K.CC.7	Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals.
Count To Tell The Number Of Objects.
K.CC.4	Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.
Geometry
K.G: Identify And Describe Shapes (Squares, Circles, Triangles, Rectangles, Hexagons, Cubes, Cones, Cylinders, And Spheres).
K.G.2	Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size.
Measurement And Data
K.MD: Describe And Compare Measurable Attributes.
K.MD.2	Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has “more of”/“less of” the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter.
Operations And Algebraic Thinking
K.OA: Understand Addition As Putting Together And Adding To, And Under- Stand Subtraction As Taking Apart And Taking From.
K.OA.1	Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings2, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.

Mermaid Waters HD: A Story-based Preschool Math Game

Pros

Cons

Bottom Line

Key Standards Supported

Counting And Cardinality

Geometry

Measurement And Data

Operations And Algebraic Thinking

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