Welcome to LearningWorks App Spotlights for Parents! This is a web series where we discuss apps that can help your child develop and practice using their different executive functioning skills. This spotlight focuses on the focus timer app Flora! For your convenience, the script of the video is provided below. For more app and game recommendations, click here!
Hello and Welcome to LearningWorks for Kids App Spotlights for Parents! In this series, we will be highlighting some apps that can really help your child’s executive functioning skills. Like what you see? Then be sure to visit us at learningworksforkids.com to read our educational blogs, and game reviews, and learn more about how to create a balanced play diet for your child.
Have you ever started a new routine or habit, only to abandon it after a few days or weeks? What if every time you gave up on your goal, you lost money? And what if that money went to a good cause, making your mistake something to learn from but also not all for nothing. The task management, habit tracking focus app Flora answers all of these questions for you.
When the user opens the Flora app, they will be asked what they would like to focus on. The user types their task into the text box, sets a timer amount for concentration and break timer if necessary. By clicking on the Tag button on the lower right hand side of the screen, the user can categorize the task, such as whether it is for School, Chores, Work, or Extracurriculars. The user then hits the Start button and begins to work on the task. When the timer finishes, the user is presented with a plant which they have “grown” with their focusing skills. Different amounts of focusing time yield different plants and unlock other regions where more diverse foliage can be found.
If the user breaks their focus and clicks away from the app, even to just check that one text message, they will kill their plant. If you have the basic version of the app, this simply means starting over with the task. But if you subscribe to Flora, it will ask you to set a dollar amount linked to your ability to concentrate. If you break your focus, Flora will charge you the amount of money you selected and use it to plant trees in places such as Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda. These trees help the local farming population while also helping the environment. So if your child stopped stacking the dishwasher to go play Fortnite, at least their learning experience also helped a cause. Having a meaningful discussion with your child about focus and planning out how long a task will take before a break can be taken are important skills that this app can help them practice.
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