L’Escapadou

HandwritingELACursive HandwritingEarly Math
Written By Manisha Snoyer (co-founder of Modulo)

L'Escapadou, founded by Pierre Abel, emerged as a creative response to the educational potential of the iPad. The founder, leveraging his Ph.D. in Computer Science and extensive experience in app development since the Apple IIe era, aimed to make learning engaging and accessible for children. This venture was intimately inspired by his homeschooling experience with his daughters, making it deeply rooted in practical, real-world educational needs. L'Escapadou has been widely recognized, with its apps reaching millions of users and receiving accolades like the Children's Technology Review Editor's Choice​ (L'Escapadou)​.

Differentiation: What Makes It Special L'Escapadou stands out due to its focus on interactive and fun learning experiences designed using Montessori principles. The apps encourage creativity and are tailored to enhance foundational skills like reading, writing, and math through intuitive, engaging activities. Notably, apps like Writing Wizard have been specifically praised for their customizability and effectiveness in improving handwriting and spelling through interactive features and detailed progress reports​ (Modulo)​.

How to Get Started To begin using L'Escapadou’s educational apps, one can easily download them from platforms like the Apple App Store or Google Play. Initial setup typically involves a simple installation process, after which parents can choose apps suited to their child's learning stage and interests.

How It Works L'Escapadou apps are designed for ease of use, allowing children to engage in learning activities with minimal to no setup. Depending on the app, activities can range from tracing letters to solving math problems, with usage recommendations varying from a few minutes to more structured daily sessions. These apps support both independent and parent-led learning, providing flexibility in homeschooling routines​ (Modulo)​.

Educational Content

  • Writing Wizard: Enhances handwriting through tracing activities, customizable settings, and animated feedback.

  • Montessori Numbers: Introduces early math concepts using visual and interactive methods.

  • Word Wizard: Focuses on spelling and phonetics, enabling children to build vocabulary effectively.

  • Cursive Writing Wizard: Teaches cursive writing, reinforcing each letter with animations and practice sequences.

What’s Good About It Users generally laud the engaging and educational quality of L'Escapadou’s apps, emphasizing the interactive and fun learning experiences they provide. Parents and educators appreciate the apps' ability to be customized to fit individual learning needs and progress tracking, which is crucial for monitoring educational development​ (Modulo)​​ (Learnamic)​.

What Could Be Improved While L'Escapadou is highly praised, some feedback suggests that certain apps might benefit from more varied content to cater to advanced learners. Additionally, technical improvements in touch recognition could enhance the user experience for younger children who are still developing fine motor skills​ (Modulo)​.

Advice from Parents Many parents recommend engaging with children during app activities to enhance learning outcomes and ensure they are making the most of the educational content. They also suggest integrating these digital tools with traditional learning methods to provide a balanced educational experience.

Who It’s an Ideal Fit For L'Escapadou is perfect for young learners who are beginning to develop foundational skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic. The interactive and customizable nature of the apps makes them ideal for children who thrive with hands-on and visually stimulating learning tools.

Who It’s Probably Not a Fit For This program may not be the best fit for older children or those who require more advanced academic challenges, as the content primarily targets early learning stages.

List of Individual Apps and Their Pros and Cons

  • Writing Wizard: Great for handwriting practice; some issues with pace for advanced learners.

  • Montessori Numbers: Excellent for understanding basic math; could use more complex problems.

  • Word Wizard: Effective for learning spelling; more advanced vocabulary could be beneficial.

  • Cursive Writing Wizard: Engaging cursive practice; additional script options could be helpful.

Grades: Primarily targeted at children in PreK to 5th grade.

Cost: Apps are generally free to download with optional in-app purchases ranging from $2 to $5 for additional features.

Ways to Get It: Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play, making it accessible for users across different devices​ (Modulo)​.

Affiliate Disclaimer: Some links on our site are affiliate links, which means Modulo may earn a small commission if you purchase through them (at no cost to you). Rest assured, we only recommend resources we’ve rigorously vetted and truly love—affiliate link or not. Thank you so much for supporting our work!

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Manisha Snoyer (co-founder of Modulo)

For the last 20 years, I’ve taught over 2000 children in 3 countries (of all socio-economic backgrounds). I pioneered an English language program in a conflict region in the Middle East. I’ve worked as a bilingual public school teacher at some of the highest and lowest performing public schools and in all five boroughs of NYC. I’ve tutored 18 subjects in three languages to some of the wealthiest families in NYC, San Francisco and Paris to make up for shortcomings in private schools they were paying up to $60,000 a year to attend.

Since 2015, I’ve helped hundreds of parents start microschools (way before this was a household buzzword). I founded CottageClass, the first marketplace for microschools and learning pods that was part of the Techstars 2018 class. In 2019, I created a virtual learning program to help families through the pandemic, a free online math tutoring program (masteryhour.org), and schoolclosures.org, a hotline developed in collaboration with Twilio and 80 other partners including Khan Academy, Revolution Foods and the Crisis Text Line, that served 100,000 families impacted by school closures.

I’ve climbed trees with children in forest schools in San Francisco, and tested new digital apps with kids in seven countries.

I’ve also coached dozens of families at different stages in their homeschooling journey. Most recently, I founded Modulo with homeschooling dad, best-selling author and tech entrepreneur Eric Ries, to help families curate their children’s education, social and childcare experiences drawing from a diverse array of in-person and online resources.


During the last three years, I’ve devoted much of my time to reviewing and testing secular homeschooling curriculum and other resource. I’ve spent the last three years talking to thousands of secular homeschooling families, and poring over tens of thousands of secular curriculum reviews and testing physical curriculum and digital apps for with hundreds of students to find the highest quality, most engaging, personalized learning materials for every type of learner.

I’ve spoken about homeschooling and modular learning at multiple venues including SXSW EDU, NY Tech Meetup, and on the LiberatedEd podcast.

In 2022, Modulo was one of 8 organizations who were awarded the Bridge Grant from the Vela Education Fund to expand access to homeschooling and modular learning to under-resourced communities.

My experience in education and homeschooling has led me to believe that there is no perfect education for every child, but families have an extraordinary amount of wisdom they can apply to building the perfect education for their individual child.

My goal with Modulo is to make it possible for any family to easily build a customized education that their child will love, and that will empower the whole family to thrive, taking into account, social, emotional and academic needs.

I love to answer questions from parents and receive feedback on how we can improve Modulo, so feel free to reach out anytime! I personally answer all the questions and comments readers leave on my blogs.

In my free time, I like hiking, traveling the world, tasting ceremonial grade matcha, enjoying dark chocolate.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Brandeis University with highest honors, with a double degree in French Literature and American Studies and minors in Environmental Studies and Peace & Conflict Studies.

And I love to learn!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisha-snoyer-5042298/
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