I recently have been playing the game Monument Valley. It is an amazing game. Combining strategic problem solving, visual art, geometric and optical illusion, it is a game app I have not seen before. It is not for young kids, but definitely a great one for school age kids to gain first hand experience about all the different geometric structures and hone their problem solving skills. As described in the App Store, in Monument Valley, “you will manipulate impossible architecture… Read more

I recently find a great educational app from Smithsonian – Smithsonian Channel. It has many of Smithsonian channel’s videos, some are full episodes, and they are free! It is available on almost all the different devices, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android, Kindle. If you want to watch the videos on bigger screen, it is also available on their website, so you can watch the shows on your computer. I loved Smithsonian, and I simply can’t believe I can watch Smithsonian Channel… Read more

Are you kids doing GeoBee? My child’s school just finished their GeoBee challenge for this year. It is a fun way for kids to learn geography. GeoBee Challenge App is a great tool to help kids prepare for the challenge. If your child has not done GeoBee, it is like the Spelling Bee, but it is all about geographic information. Each year thousands of students in grades 4 through 8 in the United States participate in the National Geographic Bee… Read more

Do you like to read poems? Do you read poems with your kids? Poetry for kids has been my recent interest. The love of poetry is a cultured taste that needs be cultivated from a young age. I found the best way to engage a child in poetry is to find the subject that they are interested in, and share when they are in the mood for at the moment.  I find a free app from The Poetry Foundation can… Read more

Do you play chess with your kids? Do they like it? I know chess is a good game for kids to learn strategies and critical thinking, but I don’t know how to play beyond some basic moves. My son learned chess from school’s chess club, but at home, he has no one to play with. I am very happy to find this chess app that he can use to play at his level. This app is free today, as claimed… Read more

We have been using Explain Everything as a digital storytelling tool for a while. I really like it for its flexible features that allowing us to use it for different projects. Explain Everything is designed to be a screencast, interactive whiteboard, and presentation tool for iPad and Android that allows users to record audio and video, annotate with drawings and shapes, and animate objects all at the same time. Projects can be played back and edited within the app or… Read more

Where’s My Mickey is another fun app from Disney that is part of the Where’s My Water series. Where’s My Water and its’ sequel Where’s My Perry are physics games for kids. Kids learn liquid physics, problem solving and strategic planning while playing the games. Where’s My Mickey is a new add to the series. There are 8 stories in the app, each story has a set of games. The games in the first 4 stories are free, and the… Read more

Shakespeare Pro is a great literature resource app that includes all Shakespeare’s works, that is 41 plays, 154 sonnets and 6 poems, and doubtful works. It is usually $9.99, and is free for limited time. When you open the app, you see a menu on the left side. In the menu, you will see items like Works, Concordance search, Glossary, Facts, and more. For Shakespeare’s works, you will see thumbnails of the works sorted alphabetically by the titles. Tapping on… Read more

iStopMotion for iPAD, as the app name suggested, lets you create stop motion animation on iPad with pictures. The app features make it easy to use and possible for everyone to fulfill their movie making dream. It is usually $5-10, and it is free for one day only. There are many features I liked about this app. I also have some ideas on how to use it with kids at the iGameMom Comment section of this post. 1. Although the app… Read more

Scanner Pro is a very handy scanner app that makes life easy. With this neat app, you don’t need that $100 scanner anymore. Scanner Pro turns your iPhone and iPad into a scanner.  The app is usually $6.99. It is free for limited time. Make sure download the app while it is free, although I think it totally worth it even with the full price of $6.99. The app is very easy to use. You can scan a document like… Read more

The Elements: A Visual Exploration is an interactive app designed to help kids learn more about the elements on the periodic table.  It is based on the internationally best-selling hard cover edition of The Elements by Theodore Gray, Popular Science Magazine’s Gray Matter columnist. But the app provides a lot more than a print book can offer. It is a pricy app at $13.99, but if you are ever interested in chemistry, this is totally worth it. Here is part of… Read more

Christmas is almost here.  While you are busy getting ready for the holiday celebration, make sure kids have plenty to do.  Luckily, with the mobile devices, everything is easy. You can find and instantly download great entertainments with educational values, and you don’t even need get out of the house. To make it even easier for you, iGameMom have picked some great Christmas fun entertainments for kids. You will find great Christmas books, fun holiday games for kids and adults, and holiday movies for the whole family. Believe… Read more

Just 2 Fun is a word puzzle game for kids designed by David L. Hoyt, who is known for his Jumble puzzles on more than 600 newspapers.  It is a fun game that kids can play for long time. It twists your mind, challenges you think out of box, all in a fun way. The game play is simple – kids see two pictures for each puzzle, each picture gives a hint on a word, and the two words from… Read more

Clumsy Ninja is a free app that is very different from typical Ninja games.  Kids are into a mission of training a Ninja – from capable of doing no Ninja moves.  The app is free to download, with In-App Purchase options if you want to move up fast. But we have managed playing it without any In-App Purchase, and I think it is more fun to play it this way, since it gives a little more challenge. Here are some… Read more