Old MacDonald

Join Old MacDonald on the farm and develop your child’s listening and language skills!

★★★ Featured in New & Noteworthy by Apple! ★★★
★★★ Take a look at our new app, Row, Row, Row Your Boat! ★★★

Created by Listening and Spoken Language Specialists in conjunction with Early Childhood Teachers, Old MacDonald is a highly interactive learning experience. The app is full of wonderful educational ideas, interactive games, and engaging sounds to encourage the development of listening and language skills in young children. Families of children who have reduced hearing or language difficulties will find the app particularly useful.

Old MacDonald has been designed as a cooperative app for parents and children so they can participate in a variety of shared activities together. Children and parents will be delighted with the beautiful animations, playful dialogue, and fun animal noises. These activities are divided into three sections:

1. Ideas
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This section provides strategies and techniques, including instructional videos on how to use Old MacDonald to develop listening and language skills. This is achieved through interactive play, craft, and ideas on how to sing the song differently. These ideas are grouped together depending on your child’s language level:
• Emerging language
• Putting words together
• Putting sentences together


2. Interactive games
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There are a variety of fun, fully animated games that target different levels of listening and language skills. With help from mum or dad, your child can choose to play a game that either consolidates or extends their current listening and language abilities. The games are:
• Farmyard animals
Introduces different farm animals and the sounds they make. Poke the animals to see them animate and hear what sounds they make.
• Guess who
Reinforces the animal sounds by having your child identify the animal that made the sound. Introduces the names of the animals and the sound words (e.g. quack quack) they make.
• Record your own sounds
Record you and your child making farm animal noises! Then listen and watch your recordings come to life!
• Help Old MacDonald
Help Old MacDonald find the animal he needs, e.g. “Old MacDonald needs the animal that gives him eggs.” Watch the animals spring to life when you select the right answer. The game extends your child’s vocabulary and understanding of concepts relating to farm animals by learning the role of the animals on the farm.

PLEASE NOTE: Games are not compatible with VoiceOver screen reader.


3. Music and karaoke
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Learn the lyrics to Old MacDonald, alternative versions, and related songs. A karaoke style sing-a-long with music and lyrics is a great way to involve your child in singing.


More apps
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Old MacDonald is part of our series on ‘Songs for Listening and Language.'

Also available for iPad:
• Old MacDonald
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat


Contact us
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Email: For feedback and support email – apps@ridbc.org.au

Facebook: Join us on Facebook to keep up to date with upcoming apps – www.facebook.com/ridbc