I have held off on a phone upgrade for a couple of years, but with my old phone losing power more quickly, it was time. The launch of the latest series of iPhones was the perfect time to upgrade, and I was pleased with the sizing of the Plus version of the iPhone 6 and with some of the apps that came loaded on the device. It will certainly take a bit of time to get a handle on many of them, but iMovie is very intuitive. As a homeschooling mom and former classroom teacher, I really love the potential that the app holds for teaching.

Because the app allows quick addition of photos and video from the device into a movie or trailer, the activity can be completed easily by children in lower age ranges. My youngest is 9, but she’s been loving the iPhone touchscreen action since age 3 when I bought my first device, the 3G. Believe me, a toddler could participate in movie-making with Mom, Dad, or a sibling without much difficulty. The main challenge would be getting the device back out of a young child’s hands. I’ve dealt with that on other apps!

Selecting a trailer or movie theme is pretty easy, but a toddler would be a bit more challenged in editing the text in the movie trailer templates. This might be more appropriately matched to third grade and up. At those ages, children could tell short stories and describe their characters. Older children may produce more elaborate trailers. Whether at a basic or more advanced level, however, the ability to summarize a story with minimal text, a few photo and video clips, and appropriate music and themes makes this a wonderful creative activity that also enhances language applications. Use the trailer to describe a science fair experiment. Create a promotion for a class party. Market an imaginary product or service. Give a book report in a new way. The options are pretty much endless. I now find that I am thinking about how to budget for an iPad so that I can put this technology in my kids’ hands without having to battle to hold onto my own phone.