Why Under 4 Games?

Under 4 Games is a play-based learning app for ages 1–4, designed for children to explore with a parent or caregiver. Through guided games and shared moments of play, it builds early literacy, numeracy, and motor skills together.

Why co-play matters?

Children under the age of 4 learn best through relationships, not screens alone. When a parent or caregiver plays alongside a child, learning becomes social, emotional, and meaningful.

Co-play helps children understand instructions, build confidence, and stay engaged while giving adults a window into how their child thinks, moves, and communicates.

Why early-learning matters?

Early learning builds the brain's foundation for success. In the first four years, the brain forms 80% of its neural connections. This critical period lays the groundwork for lifelong learning, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

So simple activities like listening, identifying objects, counting, sorting, and moving help strengthen neural connections that support attention, language, problem solving, and self control later on.

These skills compound quickly, and the child soon is able to begin more complex learning such as reading with phonics, writing practice, basic math, and more, even before they start formal education.

Design philosophy

under4.games is designed for:

• guided play, not passive tapping.
• short activities that respect a preschooler's attention span.
• no overstimulation, no ads, no dark patterns.
• progress happens through repetition and encouragement, not pressure.

What children learn with under4.games

Children grow quickly between ages 1 and 4, so under4.games is designed to structure learning by levels to meet children where they are.

There are 5 learning levels:

• Level 1: Beginner
• Level 2: Explorer
• Level 3: Builder
• Level 4: Thinker
• Level 5: Advanced

Level 1: Beginners - discovering cause and effect

At this stage, children are learning that their actions make things happen. Tapping, shaking, pointing, and moving all help them understand cause and effect.

Activities focus on:

• Exploring sounds
• Simple movements and gestures
• Recognising and identifying colours, shapes, animals, and fruits
• Making basic choices
• Playing with phonics and number keypads
• Tracing foundational shapes (introducing writing)

These experiences build attention, curiosity, and early coordination, while helping children feel confident exploring their environment.

Level 2: Explorers - naming, matching, and early control

Children at this level have a good grasp of cause and effect, and are starting to connect words to objects, actions, and ideas. We are able to introduce more complex activities at this level.

Activities support:

• Recognising and identifying:
  • letters,
  • digits,
  • tens
  • 2-3 letter words (introducing reading)
• More complex spelling activities
• Matching and sorting
• Early counting in 1s via tapping cards
• Tracing composite shapes (writing)
• Comparing numbers (digits) to find the biggest or smallest one (math)

This stage helps children build vocabulary, recognition, focus, motor skills, math, and the ability to follow simple instructions, especially when guided by a caregiver.

Level 3: Builders - building confidence and early learning skills

Children at this level are ready for more structured play, while still learning best through fun and repetition. They begin to recognise patterns, sounds in words, and simple sequences. They are also able to follow more complex instructions.

Activities encourage:

• Tracing digits and uppercase letters
  • The child has learnt all the rudiments of writing, so we can now introduce tracing:
    • digits.
    • uppercase letters.
• Blending sounds to form 2 letter words
  • The child has learnt the phonetic alphabet, so we can now introduce blending sounds to form words (reading).
• Adding numbers (digits)
  • The child has learnt counting in 1s, so we can now introduce adding numbers (introducing math).
• Counting in 10s
  • The child has learnt counting in 1s, so we can now introduce counting in 10s (introducing math).
• Recognising 3-4 letter words
  • The child has learnt to recognise 2-3 letter words, so we can now introduce recognising 3-4 letter words (introducing reading).
• Comparing numbers (digits and tens) to find the biggest or smallest one (math)

These skills prepare children for reading, writing, and math later on, while helping them feel capable and proud of what they can do.

Level 4: Thinkers - reading, writing, and math

Children at this level are able to blend sounds to form 2-3 letter words, add numbers (digits), count in 10s and 100s, and recognise 3-4 letter words.

Activities encourage:

• Tracing lowercase letters
  • The child has learnt tracing uppercase letters, so we can now introduce tracing lowercase letters.
• Blending sounds to form 2-4 letter words
  • The child has learnt blending sounds to form 2 letter words, so we can now introduce blending sounds to form 2-4 letter words (reading).
• Reading 4-5 letter words
  • The child has learnt to recognise 3-4 letter words, so we can now introduce reading 4-5 letter words (reading).
• Adding numbers (digits and tens)
  • The child has learnt counting in 1s and 10s, so we can now introduce adding numbers (digits and tens) (math).
• Counting in 100s
  • The child has learnt counting in 1s and 10s, so we can now introduce counting in 100s (math).
• Comparing numbers (digits, tens, and hundreds) to find the biggest or smallest one (math)

These skills prepare children for reading, writing, and math later on, while helping them feel capable and proud of what they can do.

Level 5: Advanced - reading, writing, and math

Children at this level are able to blend sounds to form 2-4 letter words, add numbers (digits and tens), count in 1s, 10s, and 100s, and recognise 4-5 letter words.

Activities encourage:

• Tracing character sequences
  • The child has learnt tracing lowercase letters, so we can now introduce tracing character sequences:
    • digits 0-9
    • vowels A, E, I, O, U
    • consonants
    • the child's own name e.g. "Michael"
    • words like "mum", "dad"
• Blending sounds to form 2-5 letter words
  • The child has learnt blending sounds to form 2-4 letter words, so we can now introduce blending sounds to form 2-5 letter words (reading).
• Adding numbers (digits, tens, and hundreds)
  • The child has learnt counting in 1s, 10s, and 100s, as well as adding numbers (digits and tens), so we can now introduce adding numbers (digits, tens, and hundreds) (math).
• Comparing numbers (tens, and hundreds) to find the biggest or smallest one (math)

These skills prepare children for reading, writing, and math later on, while helping them feel capable and proud of what they can do.

Recommended (Fluid) Learning Path

We understand that children learn skills at different rates, so while we have these learning levels, we also provide a recommended learning path, based on the child's learning progress through the activities, that is more fluid than sticking to the learning levels.

How recommended (fluid) learning path with under4.games works?

under4.games maps out a learning path for children based on their age and development stage.

More on this coming soon in another post...