Many kids in the US are learning Spanish as the 2nd language. I have been trying to collect books and reading resources for kids to read in both English and Spanish. They are great for both English speaking and Spanish speaking kids who are trying to study the other language. Here are what I found so far. I welcome any suggestions if you know a good digital resource for English and Spanish bilingual reading, such as apps, websites. 18 Bilingual… Read more

Now more and more kids are on devices that have internet access. Survey data have shown that majority children are receiving their first smart phones between the ages of 8 and 12. Even for kids who don’t have a smart phone, they have access to parents’ devices or family computers that have internet access, with social media apps that they can use. We have seen many articles about kids spending too much time on devices and posting irresponsible posts on… Read more

Many studies have shown that taking notes by handwriting helps kids better understand the material, better at connecting the dots of what they know, and memorizing more of the content. However, we also know digitized notes are easier to keep and organize. It will be ideal if you can take handwriting notes on iPad or other tablets then easily digitize the notes. MyScript Smart Notes is just an app letting you do that. It is best to go through the… Read more

We are all familiar with the concept of photo editing thanks to the many photo editing tools and apps like photoshop. We can not only change the lighting and color of the picture, we can also add or take away parts of pictures, or combine several photos into one. You might think these photo editing is relatively new, but as I learned from Faking It, photo editing has been used for long time. Faking It is a free app from… Read more

I have heard of SimCity for a long time, and my son has played the game. However I have not really get the chance to really look into the game till now. It is a free app available for both iOS and Android. After spending sometime on it today, I like it. In the game kids will build a city and learn city planning and building. It is another simulation game I don’t mind my child playing. When kids start… Read more

Many kids have free access to internet. As parents and educators, we all know there are many good educational content out there, however, there are also content that are not kids appropriate and we don’t want our children to see. A lot of app developers and educators are working hard to create safe environment for kids, and today’s app WonderBox is a wonderful example. It is a completely free app, where kids can find articles, visual, videos on educational topics… Read more

Recently I met several parents whose kids have different levels of difficulties in handwriting. The poor penmanship is due to some handwriting disabilities, like dyslexia or dysgraphia. It could be very frustrating for both parents and kids when they have to write for the school projects or tests. Today I found a free app that can help kids with handwriting difficulties – SnapType. SnapType is designed by a Occupational Therapist who had a student with dysgraphia, a condition that impacts… Read more

Learning math is fun. It should be. Today we share an app that teaches kids math tricks for algebra: Mathemagics. It is the 2nd app in the series. The first Mathemagics app focuses on math tricks on mental math calculations, like adding and multiplying two digit numbers, or dividing a number by 7. This 2nd app in the series teaches math tricks on algebra. It is a great way to learn thinking differently and encourage kids to find better solutions… Read more

Recently I found another reading resource that is really helpful for kids, especially for teachers. It is a completely free resource, with reading materials, vocabulary sheets, and reading questions. The reading content subjects include science, social studies, original fiction and original reporting. All the reading materials are organized by grade levels. You can also search by keywords, Lexile level, skill and strategy. It is easy to find materials that fit your need. The site is readworks.org. You do need sign… Read more

Can you learn physics through art? Physics In Art is a free app teaching kids physics through art. It is designed by a physics professor at Drexel University. The artworks used in the app are all from Philadelphia Museum of Art, but you don’t have to be at the museum to use the app. The app has pictures of the artworks. Of course, if you are visiting Philadelphia Museum of Art, it will be neat to go to the real… Read more

GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine is a free app where kids can create their own stop motion movies. Kids can draw, color, create the movie screen by screen to see how stop-motion and animation works. It is designed for kids 4 and up, but even younger kids can use it. It is a great free app to have for family fun. When kids first start the app, they will watch a short movie explaining how animation works in a story… Read more

I have seen many math drill apps in different formats, some are simple drills, some are in a game format. It is helpful for kids to get very efficient with these math operations, so when they solve more complex math problems they don’t have to spend time and energy on these fundamental operations, and can focus on solving the more complex problems. Today I have another app not only drill kids on these math operations, but also teach kids tips… Read more

Google Art Project is part of Google Cultural Institute. It is an online world art museum created by Google. It has high resolution images of artworks from more than 150 museums around the world, and many museums also have 3D virtual art gallery tours. It is a wonderful free online tool for art lovers and a free field trip idea for kids to see the master pieces around the world, while sitting at your desk. To access on mobile devices… Read more

Have you seen the movie How to Train Your Dragon? Now DreamWorks is working with Netflix to launch a new extension series exclusively on Netflix Dragons Race to the Edge. It is coming out on June 26. In the same time, they also launched an app School of Dragons. Kids can grow and train their own dragons right on the iPad or other tablets. If you don’t like to play on tablets, you can also play on computer on the… Read more