iTrace App Review for iPad and Enter the iPad Mini Giveaway…
When I began teaching my daughter how to write, we went through pages and pages of those practice writing sheets. At a later point, I found a font with dashed letters and printed little booklets with her name and the alphabet in upper and lower case letters. These days, with kids using smartphones tablets as if they had them at birth, using a handwriting app just makes more sense. iTrace is a brand new app that was just released today for use on the iPad.
The best part about the iTrace app is that kids will actually WANT to use it. If they write a letter successfully, they can receive a gold star. I can tell you from experience that getting shiny stars is a HUGE motivator. My daughter used to love them! Three gold stars reveals a mystery word and picture. Then, they can look for the item in the hide-and-seek mini-game. When your child is ready to move onto writing words, they’ll enjoy the themed scenes that have cute animated graphics which move when words are correctly written. Kids will also love that they can practice writing their own name and in a variety of colors.
iTrace provides several exercises to get your child used to forming letters properly. They can begin with using their finger to trace the letters and can switch to using a stylus when ready, making the transition to writing on paper easier. In the practice section, children are given ‘easy’ letters at first and the difficulty increases as your child’s writing improves. Specific letters and numbers can be selected for extra practice if you notice they’re having trouble with certain ones.
The settings have a number of options that I found useful. These can only be accessed after answering a simple mathematical problem (i.e. 3 x 6) though. In the settings, the history of the child(ren)’s sessions is available to see how they are doing. Multiple children can be added, each with their own progress recorded. Alternate writing styles can be chosen here, including options for left-handed users. I love the fact that parents have the ability of adding new words. Each family has different needs that may not be filled by the 500 words pre-programmed into the app. Plus, it may even add a bit of fun when the child discovers the ‘mystery words’.
iTrace can be purchased for $3.99 through the iTunes store and more information can be found on their website. I’d highly recommend it as a great tool for parents teaching their kids to write or giving them a little extra practice. The navigation is easy and the format keeps things fun for the little ones. It was even beneficial for my not-so-little one. There have been certain letters that she has refused to write the way I taught her but, using the app, she had to follow the prompted order and directions to see the next picture or graphic. It also forced her to write more neatly.
I was really taken aback by how clever this app is and so wish it was around when my daughter was younger! It would have saved us money by not having to buy all those lined practice books and made learning to write so much more enjoyable for both my daughter and me. Parents of young children – this is for you!
About TerriAnn van Gosliga
TerriAnn is a SAHM of one, living in California's SF Bay Area. She and her family love sharing their favorite places, activities, and products. 
Sounds like a great app! I’m going to get it for Hunter. Where is the giveaway though? Would love to enter.
I don’t see it either!
Sorry for the hiccup. The giveaway widget is up now and you’re welcome to enter
Replying to myself. I find the ability to be able to trace and help my child write is amazing.
Love this idea! Great app for helping my kids learn to write their letters.
My five year old loves to use the iPads at school – she would love it if we had one. It’s great that parents can add their own words using this app. My girl is always asking me how to spell words so she can practice writing this out. This app would be great!
There are so many options, it looks like it’d keep the kids occupied for quite some time.
sounds like a great app that would be great for my special needs kiddo! please enter me to win the app and the ipad mini please. Thanks for the giveaway.
This would be perfect for my son who is still struggling with his handwriting
I like that kids have to follow the prompted order and directions to see the next picture or graphic. I am teaching my 4 yr old right now and this part is tough. Thanks!
Since my son has autism writing is not easy for him. I would love to use an app to help him want to write. One of the features I like is he could write his name and words.
I like how you can choose numbers and letters
The scene portion should make it so much easier to learn.
you can choose numbers and letters
The feature that lets you see previous days results. Lets you show progress
This would help my nephew write letters
I like that more than one child can each keep their own log.
the fact that the kids get stars for doing good is awesome! i remember when i was a kid and i got a sticker or a star for doing something good i always got so excited! its great that they implemented this in the app!
can choose numbers and letters
I love that kids can change the colors of the letters! Looks like fun!
there it is! thanks! My favorite feature is teaching the kids how to trace letters.
i like the fact it is easy to use for the kids and they learn at the same time and can do it on their own.
I love that parents can go in and check the history and progress their child is making. Awesome!
I like that it saves the entire history of each child’s progress.
The history feature seems pretty cool!
I love that this is the perfect app for my lil guy. He loves reading, and writing and of course anything ipad related!
Love that it saves the entire history and that it tells the child what mistakes they are making and not just that they wrote the letter wrong.
kport207 at gmail dot com
I love how they can use their finger to trace and draw their letters as well as the stylus.
I like how they can change writing styles.
I love that this app encourages muscle memory by repetition…and that there is a history kept to look at the progress that is made. I SO need this for both my 1st & 2nd grader.
I love that it is practical.
I love that you can track the progress!! So important to me to see the changes and growth.
Wonderful tool for teaching my children!
It would be great for teaching my daughter! I SO want to win an ipad!!!
I like the history feature so you can see what the kids have mastered
I like that they can use their finger to trace and you can see what your child has mastered by checking the history.
I like how it saves the progress of each kid so both my kids could use this and have their progress saved
I like that children can start out using their fingers to trace the letters and gradually move up to the stylus. My son would benefit from this because he still has not mastered holding a pencil correctly.
helping my kids learn to write their letters
I love that this will help my kids learn how to write letters.
I like that my son can begin with using his finger to trace the letters
the coolest thing for us would be the tracing letters. my son is in kindergarten and although he can write all of his letters, he needs to work on the proper form of the letters.
I like how you can change colors, numbers, and letters and keep track of history. I can see how kids would love this and not realize they were learning instead of just playing with Mommie’s toy.
Love that you can track the progress of your children in the app!
I love that kids can trace right on the screen. It would make learning to write really fun for a child
I like the writing of whole words feature.
I like the “history” feature where you can see how much the kids have progressed!
I love that it can save the progress of more than 1 child!
I like the history part
i love how easy it makes it for kids to learn the alphabet!
I like that letters can be different size and color
I love how it stores the history and that you can do letters and then words!
I think it’s cool that it won’ let you go on unless the tracing is done a certain way.
I like that it lets you see what your kid has done and what they need to improve on.
I like the feature that lets you see previous days results
I like that it assures that the child writes the letter correctly before moving on.
I love that you can add your own words to the dictionary!
Like the bobblehead
the 10 prizes you can get for each letter
I think my daughter would love the hide and seek mini game, she loves to practice writing but I think this would be great instead of plain old trace books!
I love how it gives stars, my 5 year old would love that.
I like that it demonstrates how to do it and then lets the kids try
Really loving the handwriting methods.
it;s nice to get your child to start writing the letters correctly
I like that it has options for left-handed writers like my daughter.
I like that more than one kid can use and track their progress through the app.
i like the handwriting methods for kids..
it gives rewards as stars and it has mini games both of which keep her interested. its a great program
Adding ur own words to the dictionary is pretty cool.
I like the reward system because it is very important for my daughter.
I wish something like this was available when I was learning to write my letters. What a confidence builder to help my little grandaugher with her letters. Awesome!
The various games and things to do for children to keep them learning
The gold star “rewards” is a great feature!
I like that you can start with using your finger
it is great that you can add your own words to the dictionary!
Adding new words is great..i just love that you can trace the letters..
i like that the difficulties can be adjusted to your child’s needs so they don’t get frustrated or upset
I really like that is gives the parent the ability to add new words
I like that you can start with using your finger and can increase the difficulty as the child progresses.
I love the history option
Gold stars for me! Wish that continued thru adulthood!
Thanks for the chance to win!
I like the ability to add new words.
I like how extra practice is offered when the child has difficulty with a letter. I also like how there is an option to move from using your finger to using a stylus.
I have always had terrible handwriting so I think that the iTrace app is a good one. I never had proper penmanship lessons.
I like that it also includes numbers
great app! can’t wait to have my 1st grader try it
I like that you can add multiple children.
I like the ABC lower case numbers
I like that you can add new words.
I like that it makes sure your child writes correctly before moving on to the next. It would be great for my daycare!
I like how the kids can trace right on the screen and then be rewarded with gold stars.
Hello, I like the reward feature with the gold star. Kids love these. Thanks for a great giveaway!
yay! So fun.
I think it’s great that you can add words for practice
I love that they can use their finger or a pen with the app.
love the positive reinforcement with the gold stars. What a great educational app
The ability to add new words.
No better way to tell how your child is doing then checking the history. That’s a phenomenal feature, I’d say.
I like that you can set it for a left-handed child.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Being able to use it to teach your child to write!
I like that you can trace the letters.
I love that my kids can learn their abc’s
I love the handwriting methods.
I like that parents can add new words.
I love everything about this app. Especially the price, 4 bucks!! you cant beat that for this type of educational tool. Im sure my son would have a blast learning how to write.
All of them would be great for my 3year old!!
The learn to trace letters it would come in handy!
i think it is amazing how They can begin with using their finger to trace the letters and can switch to using a stylus when ready, making the transition to writing on paper easier.!!!
This will definitely help kids get more motivated to practice their handwriting!
I like that it’s something that kids would have fun using.
I like that it shows the history of the child’s progress.
What a great idea! I would love to win the Ipad.
I like that it maintains a history. So if my older daughter wanted to use it, we would still have the progress of my youngest. My oldest is 9 but she’s in competition with my youngest over everything.
I like that you can go into the history, to see how the child has been doing.
I love that they can start out by writing their own name and several colors. It is really neat. I am more than willing to try this app out with my kids.
I like that they get a gold star for doing well!
I love that they can trace words and not just letters
I love how you can learn reading and spelling from it
I like that kids can begin with using their finger to trace the letters and can switch to using a stylus when ready, making the transition to writing on paper easier.
I love the 600+ different rewards and that Supports multiple players—– Pauline aka Paol Trenny ….. emscout9 at Hotmail dot com
I like that parents can add new words. It makes sure that parents are teaching kids the things they want to.
I like that a parent can check the progress history.
I love how it’s there to help children that are struggling with penmanship, but adding technology is a surefire way to not only make it fun but draw children into doing something that they are no longer looking at as hard or frustrating and they start having fun
Love that this app can save each child’s work.
I like you can check each childs progress because it saves the entire history of each child’s progress.
I like that it helps kids learn to form their letters. This can be very hard for some kids to master.
Thanks for the chance.
Love the option for left handers, seeing that I am a “lefty” myself!
I like that you can chart the progress they make.
I like how it can increase the difficulty of the writing on it’s own.
my son’s in preschool and he’s having a really hard time with writing and holding a utensil I like the picture background when kids are spelling out words that’s great
My 9 year old really struggles with writing, I love this as a new teaching method for him
dull2000 at cox dot net
I like that you can get a gold star
The gold stars are very smart idea emphasizing positive feedback.
color changing!
Thanks for the giveaway! Janna Johnson jannajanna@hotmail.com Janna@feedyourpig on gfc
I really like how iTrace only allows the writing in the “correct” direction. It’s really great at prompting too.
Thanks!!!
I like that the kids can switch from using their finger to the stylus when they are ready.
I love that multiple children can be added. This would be perfect for my home-schooled grandchildren!
This is so clever. I like that my grandson can use his finger now and graduate to a stylus when he’s ready
Cynthia.Richardson@azbar.org
I love so many of the options like being able to change styles or add your own words. Great giveaway thanks so much
i like ・600+ different rewards
I like that the reward is so motivating!
that it Saves the entire history of each child’s progress
I like the transition from finger to stylus. Thanks!
I like the option for the South Paws! Most companies don’t think about the lefties out there.
I like how you can choose numbers and letters!
you can practice numbers and letters – that’s great
I like that you can add your own words to it and that it lets you restart the letter fresh if you need more practice
it tells them when they are out of the lines
hOW KIDS CAN GET REWARDED
the low price
I love that you can choose both numbers and letters!
I think that tracing is a great way for kids to learn letters and numbers. I also like the option for left-handed kids!
I like that if they write a letter successfully, they can receive a gold star.
i like that different children can use it. Heck, I may even try to use it too!
Wow..very cool….it would keep the kids entertained and help them learn about letters and numbers.
I like that all of my kids can play and have a history stored independently so I can concentrate on their individual strengths and weaknesses.
I love that kids can learn to write there names in any color. My son LOVES blue, he’s 3 1/2 and learning to write a little. Trying to trace, this would be great! Thanks for the review!
I love the gold star motivation once the kids write the letter correctly
I love that it works for more than one child. I have twins so it would be perfect for them to practice their numbers.
I like that my niece and nephew could practice their letters with this app.
Awesome giveaway!
provides several exercises to get your child used to forming letters properly
That it tells my son if he did it correctly
I like that kids can use a finger then switch to stylus when ready:)
jmatek AT wi DOT rr DOT com
i like the simplicity of saving tons of paper
I love that you can trace right on the screen and also get feedback
Gold stars.
being able to trace love that feature
I like that it teaches kids to make their letters the right way.
I love my mini and my kids def want to use one too. I also love this app! Kids can learn so much from iPads.
I like that I can have my son do something entertaining and still educational when he’s messing w/ my ipad!
Neat app! This will help them learn to write!
i love how you can see your progress, and i love you can pick letters or numbers!
The History feature that allows you to see what letters you child needs help with
graywolfpack5@yahoo.com
I like that he kids get a gold star if they write a letter successfully.
Thank you.
I Like That Parents Can Add New Words And Progress Can Be Tracked
I love the learn how to write feature! Very cool!
I like that it has settings for multiple children since we have two preschoolers in the house!
That they can trace right on the screen.
I like that it identifies errors (“too shaky”) and lets the user try again!
I still have to check out the app, but i like that it works with both fingers and a stylus
I like the feature that has history where it will show where improvement is needed
I love that it uses art and letters together for learning.
sounds like a great app, love that it records the progress of your child.
love the motivator thing! same as on school where teachers mark their hands with stars when they achieve something nice!
Cool app. I like how it keeps up with each child’s progress.
like that it can be used with multiple children
I love how great of a learning tool this is an it is only 3.99!
I like the option for a left handed user.
I like that letters and numbers can both be done by one app and that it tracks the progress
i love that they can write names
I love that you can add multiple children and save their progress
I love the concept of this app! I’ve never heard of it before and I know my little girl would love it. Thanks for sharing about it and for the chance to win an ipad mini!!
I love the fact that the same app can be used by multiple children at different ages and levels.
helping my grandkids learn to write their letters and numbers
My favorite features are the individual user history to track progress and the support for multiple methods of writing! Great app!
It’s very interesting how they have an option for left handers.
I like the many options available for all types of learning for both writing, reading and math. You get a lot of bang for your buck with this app!
I like the upper and lower case tracings. My son would need this for some help!
I like that you can do both upper and lower case letters.
I like how it keeps a log and its great for learning letters.
Love that the more difficult letters and numbers can be selected for even more practice!
I love that you can see the history of their lessons…that’s great!
I find it very interesting and appropriate that the settings can not be changed without answering a mathematical question.
I like that you can use it with different children and save their progress
This would be great to help our young children learn to write.
I like that it helps kids learn to write their numbers or letters.
This would be great to help my grandson learn to write.
I love the fact that it gets harder as the writing gets better for the kids. With the kids loving touch screens nowadays, this makes it so much more fun!
I like the mini hide and seek game, my daughter would love that!
I like the history feature
I like that you can choose numbers and letters.
Wow, I love the entire parent’s section. You can actually see the progress in it’s entirety. This is a definite must have app.
I think this app is amazing! Such a big help for learning how to write their words.
My kids love this app!
Awesome to help kids forming letters.
I like that it tracks your child’s history within the app
I like that it keeps track of each kids progress and lets you see which one needs more practice.
I love that difficulty increases as your child’s writing improves! Would be so great for Carter learning to write!
the star feature to keep motivation high
The graphics
My son’s being able to work on handwriting anytime, anywhere, even if I forgot pen/paper!
I like that its so easy to use and so easy to lear and the grandkids would have a blast not even realizing thery are learning
i want to win the ipad mini
I love the full word ability. Not only would it help with writing but also with spelling.
I like that it is so easy to use.
It’s interesting that the letter difficulty gets harder as they learn which would be helpful.
i love that you can add your own words which would be great with spelling words and can help reinforce drawing out words especially for my daughter who struggles with dyslexia and we are always looking for way to help her with spelling
I love that multiple children can be added with their progress tracked individually. Very handy in this three-child household! megancrose@gmail.com
I love that a parent can enter in additional words for their child — great way to customize the app! Thanks so much for the chance to win.
So nice to win one of these, thanks for the chance
the ability to practice handwriting – and it’s an app for the iPad (my kids have basically ninja’ed the iPad from me)
Thank you for hosting this giveaway
Louis
pumuckler {at} gmail {dot} com
I like the whole idea of how practical it is. The history feature seems very useful.
i like the multi user!
I like how they are in a book form so they wont get lost
i love the awards. helps promote a desire to continue and get better!
This app looks great! I wish they had this back when I was in elementary school.
I think that this app looks awesome! I would totally buy it! I think the best part of the itrace app is that parents can add the words that they want. Thanks for the opportunity!
its easy for kids to use
That you are rewarded with a gold star, gives the child something attinable to achieve.
I love that it give suggestions for how to fix mistakes
can choose numbers and letters
I love that it corrects like “too shaky”
Wow-this would be wonderful for me to help a little boy from Japan , English
I like that you can track progress!
I like that my daughter would think of this as a game instead of a homework lesson, and that you can add words in addition to the ones provided
I like that the navigatio is easy with the iTrace
I like how the app will track their progress. You can check on how they are doing!
I love the gold stars.
I love that they get gold stars when they get them right
Really like the fact you can transition from using your finger to the stylus – seems great for kids just starting to learn to write!
I think the options for left-handed users and the gold stars are most interesting!!
This would be perfect for my niece, she is just learning to write in her nursery and half days in school – she would love this!
I love that it awards my children with gold stars when a skill is mastered.
That’s a big incentive for my children at their age.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
Kids will also love that they can practice writing their own name and in a variety of colors.
This is a great way to help with handwriting
I like that they have the math problem password for the settings. Clever!
how the app tracks their progress
Glad that you can make up your own words to add to this app!
I like that you can change the color of your marker.
kids have to follow the prompted order and directions to see the next picture
This app looks awesome! It would be great for my daughter as she gets a little older!
I like the ability to reward with a gold star – positive reinforcement is where it’s at.
Options for left-handed users.
I love that it tells you where you have made a mistake
I love that kids can trace right on the screen.
That there is a variety of colors to trace
pedidentalasst at yahoo dot com
I love that it can save the progress of multiple children.
Thank you for the chance!
It will help them write their letters and numbers
I love that each child has their own log
Looks like an excellent way to keep kids engaged, which is always hard!
I like that there are 10 unique prizes for each letter
i like parents can add new words and can check the progress history
the mystery words thing sounds like a lot of fun
The children can practice writing with this ap
I love the progress record!
I like the fact that kids get “gold stars” for doing it right!
I like that they learn their alphabet and numbers
I like that you can add new words. As my son’s vocabulary expands, I would want to add more words. Great app!
Sounds like a cool app.
I like the words with scenes
I like that alternate writing styles can be chosen, including options for left-handed users. I’m left handed and know the challenges it can present so I’m glad that feature was included. Thanks.
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
I like that the history of the kids sessions are available to see how they are doing
I like that you can see a record of the mistakes and successes.
The finger trace is a nice start
I like that it not only teaches handwriting but gets the kiddos interested in technology.
I love that it awards my children with gold stars when a skill is mastered.
I like the fact that it advances the program as the child advances in skills, and can be adjusted to different styles of writing.
I love all the options to add problem letters and to make left-handed if necessary. Very neat! I would love to use this to enhance my homeschooling options.
I like the fact that the app saves the child’s history so you can go back and look at improvement over time. Would love to win this – what a great giveaway!
I love that you can take it with you anywhere. Kids love ipads, iphone etc. so they would actually want to use this product. Plus the fact that it is so customizable (right and left handed) is great!
you can use your finger or stylis to trace.
I like that the difficulty increases as your child’s writing improves.
I like that you can choose numbers and letters
The learning to write
I like that you can use both fingers and a stylus. My daughter sometimes has trouble with a stylus so this would be perfect for her to learn on.
I like that it maintains a history of each child’s activities
I like that it is a great tool for parents to help their children to write
history
writing!
Thanks for the giveaway…practice both upper & lower case letters.
I like being able to use a stylus
I love the format
love the three gold stars idea
the fact that it lets you keep track of your progress
jenhedger at hotmail dot com
I like that it gives the child awards
Love how the kids can trace within the bubble letters…thanks for the chance to win!