Academics
MaskPals
Faces can fib! Meet Dapple the chameleon and learn that a smile is not always a happy feeling. Read the real clues - what a friend's body did, what they said, and what just happened - then guess the true feeling and check by asking. For ages 6-8: big buttons, read-aloud help, nothing to lose, and nothing is ever saved.
#4f9d6b Distributed-narrative cast
Meet the cast
MaskPals teaches a core piece of emotion science for 6-8: a face is only one clue and can mislead (Barrett) - what someone SHOWS can differ from what they FEEL. Dapple the chameleon leads children to read the real clues (body, voice, and what just happened) and to check the surest way of all - by asking. Map-not-log; nothing a child feels is ever saved.
Dapple
Read the real clues (hero) - a chameleon whose own colour is a mask, so Dapple knows what shows is not always what's felt; reads the body, voice, and what-happened, then asks. The see-past-the-mask act IS Dapple.
Sedge
Watch the body - a watchful heron who notices what a BODY does (fists, slumped shoulders, bouncing, a low head).
Perri
Listen to the voice - a big-eared hare who hears HOW a voice sounds (loud and fast, small and slow, sharp, soft).
Elm
Remember what happened - an owl who recalls the thing just before the feeling (the situation clue).
What's inside
Learning goal
Faces can fib! Meet Dapple the chameleon and learn that a smile is not always a happy feeling. Read the real clues - what a friend's body did, what they said, and what just happened - then guess the true feeling and check by asking. For ages 6-8: big buttons, read-aloud help, nothing to lose, and nothing is ever saved.
Question kits
16 curriculum-aligned kits × 25 questions = 400 questions per app, mapped to recognized standards.
On-device AI mentor
FoundationModels-powered hints, feedback, and adaptive difficulty — all running locally.
How MaskPals handles your kid's data
- ✅ All progress, settings, and AI-generated content stays on the device
- ✅ No analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs
- ✅ No ads, no in-app purchases — you pay once
- ✅ COPPA compliant under the 2026 FTC amendments
- ✅ Parental controls + session limits + content filters built in
MaskPals runs on ForgeKit — the open-source Swift Package Manager framework that powers every Spark & Anvil app. ForgeKit ensures consistent accessibility, COPPA compliance, and design language across the portfolio, so your kid's progress and preferences feel coherent across every app they touch.
Coming to the App Store
MaskPals is in active development. Email us to hear when it ships — no marketing, no spam, just a one-shot launch announcement.
Email me at launch