Britannica Kids: Ancient Rome is such a great app for upper elementary and middle school kids.  It has rich content yet all at the appropriate age level, no matter it is the length of each article or the vocabulary choices.  The games are fun and are tied very well with the main contents.  As an app full of historical facts, it is surprisingly engaging. When kids open the app, they will be at the articles section.  At the bottom of the… Read more

Peterson Birds of North America is FREE for two days only. It is based on Peterson’s comprehensive bird guide for North America, including 810 birds. Usual price is $15. I don’t know when it started being free, so I don’t know when the price will be up. If you are into birds, or you know someone who likes birds, this is a must have app. It is also a good holiday gift. If you don’t want the person see the… Read more

PlayART is a very creative art app.  Using elements taken from the original art works of five master painters: Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet, Henry Rousseau, and Paul Klee, kids can create their own master pieces and save the work in the museum within the app.  Some example elements are the sunflowers from Van Gogh, fruits from Cezanne, lily pads from Monet.  Currently there are over 100 art elements in the app.  Kids can choose the elements they… Read more

For so long, I forgot I had Kindle app on my iPhone and iPAD. With the app, I could download a Kindle book from Amazon on my iPhone and iPAD. In fact, Amazon has Kindle apps for all different devices: iPhone, iPod, iPAD, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Mac, Windows 7, XP, Vista, and Windows8. Here is the website if you need more information on Kindle apps. They are all free. Once you installed the Kindle app on your device, you… Read more

Weird But True is a cool app to have around handy. It is FREE on App Store. Based on the National Geographic Kids magazine and best-selling book franchise, the app has more than 300 Weird But True kid-friendly facts! There are wachy sound effects with each fact. You can also search facts based on your interest: alligator, Mars, waterfalls… Introduction on the App Store: ★Winner of Spring 2012 Parents’ Choice Award ★ New York Times App to Keep Kids Happy… Read more

A while ago, I reviewed three baby-friendly iPAD cases. For babies, the cases must have drop protection and water proof. For older kids, there will be less drools or spills (they still happen, but are more manageable if you set up good house rules, such as no drinks while using iPAD). Today I recommend four iPAD cases for older kids. All these four cases have good drop protections, but offer no water proof. Gripcase: the case is made of shock… Read more

Toontastic is an app teaching kids storytelling by letting them make their own animated movies. Different from StoryKit and Educreation, the little figures in the app have moving parts – you will not only see the boy move around, you will see his legs move while he is walking. Another big difference between Toontastic and StoryKit or Educreation is that Toontastic provides guideline of story telling, and does it in a very fun way. When a child is ready to create a… Read more

The other day I took my son and his friend to their soccer practice.  During the ride, I overheard the two 4th graders talking about who they will vote for if they can vote.  Their discussion triggered my search of good educational materials about election.  Of course, I started with apps.  I found that quite few news companies have election apps.  They are designed for people to keep track of the poll results and election related news.   I only found… Read more

Real Friends vs. The Other Kind is the 2nd book app in the Middle school confidential series. As the title suggests, this book app addresses friendships among middle school kids. What is a real friend? What do you mean when you call someone friend? What do you do if a friend gets her way all the time? What do you do if a friend ask you do something you don’t want to? … These are all real questions from real… Read more

If you kids are into soccer, they will love FIFA Soccer 13.  It is a soccer simulation game using real league names and following real game rules. It features 30 soccer leagues, 500 licensed teams, and more than 15,000 players. In the Quick Match mode, kids play the game as soccer players.  Using a virtual joystick and couple other buttons, players can run, sprint, pass the ball, take shots, and slide tackle opposing team member.  This is a great way… Read more

Solar Walk is an information-packed interactive model of the Solar system and the Milky Way galaxy.  It is developed by VITO Technology, who created Star Walk and Geo Walk.  It is now FREE, for limited time, on App Store.  Featured by Apple as Best Apps for both 2010 and 2011, Solar Walk is a great tool to learn astronomy. To learn more about this app, please visit iGameMom’s earlier post. If you would like to check it out or purchase… Read more

Paris 3D Saga is an educational and entertaining app.  It is FREE for limited time as part of the release of Paris 3D Saga project!  Through interactive 3D models, it takes the users through the history of Paris beginning 20 centuries ago.  If you like history or virtual reality, this is a must have app on your iPAD. Introduction from the App Store: A time-travel through more than 2000 years of history: discover Paris’ most famous monuments, with new 3D… Read more

Learn Times Table is a key stage for kids to get fluent in math. As my son’s math teacher told me, you want the child be able to memorize the basic facts, so he can tell you the answer without even thinking about it. This is not an easy job. Luckily, there are quite some tools helping kids to achieve the goal, MultiFlow is one of them. MultiFlow is an app to drill the kids on multiplication facts. There are… Read more

Scribblenauts Remix is a fun game that the whole family can enjoy.   I like it especially for the open-ended play.  There is no right-wrong answer.  You solve a puzzle in your own unique style. The app has a variety of brain-teasing puzzles.  The solutions to the puzzles are endless, so you can re-play the same puzzle again and again.  For example, the first puzzle is to grab the star on a tree.  The child can choose to cut the tree… Read more