Montessori Preschool, Kids 3-7 in IOS

★★★★★

★★★★★ Trial to subscription is misleading

I downloaded this for my 3 year old to do at home. He usually attends a bilingual Montessori school. I figured I’ll let the trial period transfer to the monthly subscription if he liked it. Much to my disgust, I discovered that the trial automatically transfers to a $65/year annual subscription instead of the monthly subscription. I wasn’t even given an option to choose monthly or annual. Totally unethical! Who does that? Now that I’ve already been charged I know they won’t want to refund me at all even though I cancelled it. They count on people not noticing this so they can charge you the full amount. I wouldn’t mind the $65 charge so much if I thought the app was worth it, but it’s not. It’s not very intuitive on what are the actual activities vs what’s random stuff in the classroom that just makes sounds. Also, why is there not cursive hand writing lessons in this app? That’s part of the core Montessori learning experience. My friend recommended Kahn Academy Kids to me as a 100% free alternative (no trial). It loads faster, has better content, and has a more intuitive layout. I would rather pay $65/year for that than for this Montessori Preschool app. If I was refunded the annual fee less a 1 month subscription fee I would consider changing my review to 4 stars.

★★★★★ No thanks

This is not a free app as advertised. You can’t do a single thing without subscribing. The subscription cost is absurdly high when you consider how many apps offer at least SOME of this type of content for free. The preview they offer isn’t enough to entice me into doing a free trial, especially when it seems “free trials” for apps are meant to dupe people into paying the subscription. I didn’t see ANY promise of continued content being produced, so why would someone do a monthly or yearly subscription? That’s like a textbook book, with a finite amount of content, coming with a monthly subscription rate. Umm, no thanks. I might pay a flat rate for it if the preview made it look worth it, but it definitely doesn’t seem worth subscribing. My daughter is 2.5 years old and she’d be done with all the matching, sorting, color, shapes and a couple other things in the preview after about an hour. If there’s more to explore for her developmental range, I didn’t see it in the preview.

★★★★★ Refund request denied

My older daughter downloaded this for my younger daughter without my knowledge. I was charged before I realized it but when I did (the next day) I cancelled and requested a refund. I was denied twice. I have been told the only resolution is to file a dispute with my bank, after which point I will be locked out of my App Store account. Customer service with Apple provides no resolution and I was told it was an automated system that denied my refund request and that there is no human process to override it. What horrible customer service from Apple, but also how on earth can a kids app not come with understanding that kids might make an accidental purchase and quick refunds not be provided in that instance? This feels so scammy to me and I don’t know if the app is behind it or Apple or both but I am not happy.

★★★★★ Perfection!

My son started using Montessori Preschool when he was 2. He is 3.5 now and I am continually amazed by how much he has absorbed from using the app on a regular basis. I love that it gives him freedom to explore concepts independently, just like in an actual Montessori classroom. I also love that there are plenty of opportunities for the two of us to play together. He loves pretending to teach me about different concepts. We reinforce concepts when we teach others, so it is a joy to see him doing that at such a young age. If I could suggest *anything*, it would be the addition of Spanish and French. Or at least on of them :) Also, more simplified games around learning the actual music scale. If developers happen to read this, the music learning portion in the ‘Endless Learning Academy’ app could provide some cool inspiration. We have a subscription to that app as well, but mainly use it for their ear training game. Thank you, Edoki Academy for a beautiful app! You are an integral part of my son’s early education! 😊

★★★★★ Absolutely love it!!!!

It’s the only game we let our toddler play. It’s fully educational and yet it keeps his engagement. It has enough parental control option and with apples guided access mode it works perfectly for our 3 yr old since he was 1. I didn’t want him addicted to tech but I feel like knowing tech is going to be important moving forward and this is a great step in the right direction without all the bright colors and annoying/super rewarding sounds. Has been a great game for at least my son age 1-3. We all love it thus far 2 years.

★★★★★ Good app, lots of variety

The app is very good with a lot of variety, my daughter really engaged with it for the time we had it-she’s just turned 7 so we aren’t keeping it simply because she’s growing out of that stage. BUT I would say it’s a very good app for kids up to 5 or 6. Covers a lot of different subjects without the kids noticing. It’s similar to PBS cute-ness. I had trouble cancelling the subscription now that it’s usefulness is past, but they have sent information to help me contact them directly, so it seems they value customer service as well. Another plus.

★★★★★ Misleading subscription

This app designer displays very unethical behavior unbecoming of a company who produces content for CHILDREN. I Downloaded this app in search of educational content for my 4yr old during the pandemic. I was aware of the trial period however the way that it is pitched is very misleading. I was automatically enrolled into the one year subscription that the app provides at an absurd price for what is offered. I was not given the opportunity to select the one month subscription prior to paying $64. I also see that this app is very active in responding to its customers. I put in a request for a full refund and have canceled the service. I expect and hope to hear from your company soon as well as a prompt return of the money that was taken!