We like to watch movies as a family. When you have a good movie for kids, these movie watching experience can be very educational. Last month we started using Netflix again.  I really liked Netflix movies stream program.  We tried Netflix a couple years ago, but discontinued due to concerns that my son may be exposed to some content that are not appropriate for his age.  Now with the new feature Kids Movie, we decided to give it another try… Read more

PicPlayPost is a photo video collage app.  What makes it different is its ability to have videos in the collage and many editing capabilities right inside the app.  It is free today for limited time. Like most collage apps, PicPlayPost has a good selection of collage frames. You can also change the frame ratio. By default, it is 1:1, but you can change the ratio 4:3, 3:4, etc. Within the big frame, you can drag the edge of each picture… Read more

I am very excited to find a great free app goREACT. It is designed by the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. It lets kids explore the chemical reactions of different elements on mobile devices – safe and fun! It is not only a good learning app for middle and high school students, with the visual and interactive features, it is also a fun exploratory app for younger kids, even kids in kindergarten or preschool, as long as parents are… Read more

Earth 101 for iPAD is a beautiful 3D model of the entire earth, with tons of geographic features and landmark information. Upon opening the app, kids will see the globe. Spinning the globe, kids can visit different areas on the earth. Tapping on any place brings up information of the area or the feature, such as the Atlantic Ocean, the London Eye. The information available depends on the zoom level.  When you zoom in, you can see more features and… Read more

Recently I had a discussion with a friend about games and education. I believe games are not all bad. There are many good games out there. As long as being used wisely, games can help kids learn in many areas. I have discussed this topic in several articles on iGameMom, two of them are How to Teach Physics with Angry Bird and Tiny Tower: What Can You Teach Your Child. Today I share more game apps that are educational and you will be happy kids are playing. 10 Free Game Apps that… Read more

I always like simulation games, because they offer open-ended play, kids gain skills in problem solving and creative thinking. They are usually easier for parents to get involved and play together with kids.  Some of my favorites are Tiny Tower and Oregon Trail. I am really excited to find out Dinorama is free today.  It is a simulation game designed for kids, with no in-app purchase.  In the app, kids will create and manage their own dinosaur theme park: buy land; build buildings… Read more

I find another great free app at Educational Apps for Kids community on Google Plus.  It is a math game called Panasonic Prime Smash, from Panasonic Corporation.  It is a great game for kids to reinforce the concept of prime numbers and learn to recognize them. One the open screen, there are four options: How to Play, New Game, Collection, and Fun Facts. I highly recommend visiting How to Play first.  Read through the instruction, then you are free to… Read more

‘She’s a beauty!’ passed through my mind as we slid through the Human Body Anatomy App by Tinybop. What a gorgeous learning tool, especially for a first effort from this new Brooklyn based development company. There were a few glitches, but overall, this company will be worth paying attention to. This creatively sophisticated (and stylish) app allows children and adults alike to marvel in our understanding of the human body without being too scary or too over/underwhelming. Your child can create… Read more

Fix The Factory is a new free app from LEGO. LEGO calls it a puzzle game, but I view it another cool game app teaching kids about programming. The story of the game features a humanoid robot fixing the factory, where battery packs are dropped in all the wrong places.  The players’ jobs are to write instructions in code blocks to guide the robot move to the right spot, pick up the mis-placed batteries, and put them back to the… Read more

The Book of Holes is what I like to call a ‘progressive’ approach to explaining the way the world works by virtue of its holes. This App is based on a 2006 Children’s Book written and designed by Poul Lange, a Design Firm based in LA who creates among other things, book cover designs. In 2006, this particular book made the top 50 list of best designed books according to the American Institute of Graphic Arts. In other words, this… Read more

I love Dan Russell-Pinson’s apps.  I am sure you will if you know some of his apps: Stack the States, Stack the Countries, Monster Physics.  Tipping point is one of his more recent release, and it is a fun one too. The app instantly became my son’s most favorite game once we downloaded it and what I really like is it became a family game too – we would sit together figuring out the puzzles and solutions together. When you… Read more

The Eat & Move-O-Matic is a free educational app showing kids the relationship between taking calories in and burning them off through activity.  The goal is to help kids make new discoveries about their favorite foods and support healthy decision making related to food choice and consumption. The app was developed as part of the 4-H Youth Voice: Youth Choice initiative, which is a national program that encourages young people to develop and maintain healthy, active lifestyles. It is very easy… Read more

Ultimate Shark Free from Discovery is a great app to learn about shark. It includes information about 10 deadliest sharks: Great White, Tiger, Bull and others. It is packed with stunning pictures and videos, well written texts. Kids and adults will learn a lot about sharks from the app: each shark’s size, habitat, body parts, such as teeth, life span, … I am most impressed with the visual effect of the app. It is not only in the pictures and… Read more

We are crazy about this LEGO Movie Maker App. The reason we love it so much mostly stems from its versatility. My son and I can make a very rudimentary ten second film, or we can pass it off to my husband who might just produce a full length feature soon because he is so obsessed. Your child (or in my case, husband) chooses from just 5 different opening title scenes so it’s not too overwhelming for a little one… Read more