My Gnome on the Roam

What is My Gnome on the Roam app?

My Gnome on the Roam is an inspiration and ideas app to connect kids and parents as they carry out fun 15-minute activities without a screen in sight. Every day the app provides an easy-to-understand activity idea that uses minimal resources or ones that are easy to obtain.

As well as the daily notification of a new idea, you can also look at past ones. If you like an activity and want to keep it in mind for the future, you can bookmark it.

After the activity is complete, kids can use the in-app journal to write up what they did and build up a log of the happy times.  

What we love about My Gnome on the Roam.

When you see the first few suggestions in My Gnome on the Roam, you might think, "I could have thought of something similar." You'd likely be right.

But again, the next day? And the next?

Ask any teacher; it is not so easy to think up new activities and ideas each day. And that is the strength of My Gnome on the Roam and what we love about it: your kids will have a daily activity to add variety to their days, and you are free from the pressure of dreaming them up. Instead, you can concentrate on and enjoy sharing the time with your kids.

It isn't screen time either. Once you've gained inspiration, your device can go away, and you and your child can concentrate on the moment together.  

The time that these activities take is short, but without the prompting and routine provided by the app, it is easy for busy parents to forget to put it aside. Those that do won't regret the time that they spend connecting with and learning about their child.

It is during these fun and distracted times that kids talk freely. You might learn more about their personalities, interests, hopes and fears. At the very least, you'll build shared memories. 

What skills does it improve?

The suggested activities in My Gnome on the Roam cover all sorts of activities. Some might lean towards thinking skills, while others encourage creativity. Skills, though, aren't the primary focus of the app. Connecting parents and kids while promoting spending time doing something different are its aims.

The in-app journal is a good place for kids to practise extended writing as they can record each activity they have enjoyed with you.

What age is it appropriate for?

To some extent, it might depend on the suggested activity, but many of them suit kids between 3 and 10. The instructions are often open-ended enough that the complexity or scope of the task is easy to conform to a child's maturity and abilities.

Is My Gnome on the Roam easy to use?

My Gnome on the Roam uses a self-explanatory app layout. You choose a section at the bottom of the screen, and above it, you find the activities, journal, settings and anything else appropriate to the main option you have chosen.

How will students benefit?

Young kids love to have some one-to-one time with their parents, but busy lives can mean that this doesn't happen as often as is ideal. Having this app notify you daily with a new idea is the perfect prompt to get you to make the time.  

In the long term, kids will benefit from the growth of their social and behavioural skills, which will help them in many aspects of their lives.

How will teachers benefit?

While this app is aimed at parents, teachers can also draw a blank on new activities. My Gnome on the Roam will provide teachers with a vast array of varied ideas. These activities only take a short time to complete, so they would make an excellent daily activity for one or two kids to complete each day and write up in the app journal.

How will parents benefit?

Parents often feel guilty that their responsibilities don't leave enough family time. My Gnome on the Roam won't change the time that life in general takes up, but it will help you make the most of the spare time you do have. If you can find 15 minutes each day, My Gnome on the Roam will turn it into quality time for you and your kids.

What can My Gnome on the Roam improve on?

The app could sometimes be a bit slow to respond during the review as it communicated through the internet. This may have been a geographical issue or just a bad day, but ideally, the app would work offline a bit more gracefully. For example, you cannot save journal entries without an internet connection, whereas it would be preferable to save locally and then synchronise with the cloud when connected.

How much does My Gnome on the Roam cost?

When you download My Gnome on the Roam for the first time, you can have 14-days free access to all of its activities and functions, like the journal.

What is included with the free version vs. paid?

A subscription lets you continue to receive new activities and view the past ones. You can choose to pay monthly or, for a lower overall cost, annually.

Is My Gnome on the Roam safe to use?

My Gnome on the Roam does not contain any content that is inappropriate for young kids. The activities it suggests might require the help of an adult, but that is their purpose.

The journal entries made in the device are saved to the cloud, making them easy to access and update on any device logged into My Gnome on the Roam. This save process means that the journal's contents and any personal information added will leave the device, which is not in itself unsafe, but you may have a preference on whether this is acceptable. Teachers who use this feature should ensure that it meets their school policies.

The app encourages kids and parents to share their activities with its social-media communities. As the kids at which this app is aimed are below the age at which they should have such accounts, this is something that adults should lead and ensure that they have appropriate security/data settings on their social media accounts.

Overall rating of the app.

Apps that address underserved topics and encourage kids to do practical activities are always welcome, and My Gnome on the Roam app does both. How useful it is for you will depend on your ability to come up with creative ideas for parent/child time and your self-discipline in making the time available.  

My Gnome on the Roam does precisely what it sets out to do and does it well. The app is easy to use, and the activities are quick and straightforward to set up. With a 14-day trial available, there is no reason you should not take a look at what it offers and see if it gives you the inspiration you need.

You can download My Gnome on the Roam on your iOS or Android devices from the app stores. Download the My Gnome on the Roam app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.