Kiwi-Indian parents preparing to send their toddlers and preschoolers to full-time schools for the first time will have an extra resource available at hand if they chose to take help of the Ready for Big School app, which will have the Hindi language included as one of the languages of instruction.

Ready for Big School is an animated storybook app game, using pretend interactive play (role-play) to explore the idea of going to school for the first time, created by Abel Tutagalevao, founder of CulturalHubb, an organisation that specialises in cultural resource products.

The app aims to help boost children’s academic skills, social skills, self-help skills, self-regulation skills by interacting with the story.

Taking a technological leap in the educational sector, the app depicts multiple social stories in the form of games for smart and happy children to prepare for school by providing a supportive and enthusiastic real-life experience for them to be positive and belong in a new school environment.

Earlier in January, the app has been launched in India on iOS and Android devices and is now available for India’s children as well.

Speaking to The Indian Weekender, Mr Tutagalevao said, “As a Pacific-born parent of four children, I know how important it is to not only keep our languages and cultures alive for our children and to inspire them to reach their full potential.

“I came to realise that I was not alone, and lots of parents from my own and other cultures told me they had also been looking for something like this but hadn't been able to find it.”

CulturalHubb was created with this goal and strives to produce culturally-relevant educational tools and resources for kids growing up in a new cultural environment.

“For our New Zealand-based Indian parents and preschoolers, the app through its multilingual play will encourage Indian preschoolers to also read and play the game in Hindi and English. It’s a great way to preserve and maintain the Hindi language in Indian homes in New Zealand,” Tutagalevao said.

It is available on both AppStore and GooglePlay; audio instructions are available in six languages: English, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese and Spanish.

The app can be purchased for $4.99 one-off cost with no subscription fees.