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

Storybook Maker is a book creating app for kids.  I have reviewed several book creator apps, and this one is another great addition to the book creator library. I like this one for its versatility and intuitive kids’ friendly interface. Once kids start a new book, they can choose a template for each new page. There are several templates to choose from, with different picture and text layouts.  They can also choose to work on a blank page and design… 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

Last year I introduced a multimedia insects encyclopedia: Meet the Insects – Forest Edition. I was very impressed by the app. I am glad to find out the same developer NCSOFT now has another insects app out: Meet the Insects – Water and Grass Edition. This one focuses on insects living near water and in grassland. Not surprisingly, this one is just as wonderful as the Forest Edition, with beautiful photograph and art works, high quality videos, smooth transitions between sections. It… 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

Robots for iPAD is a very cool app about Robots. It is developed by IEEE (Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers). It has pictures and videos of 126 robots from 19 countries, with tons of information about each one.  I suggest all kids take a look at it, even you are just remotely interested in robots – it will open your minds up, learn the potential of technology and its impact in our everyday life.  It is currently FREE, and… 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

Ancient Greece by Kids Discover is a fun read for kids to learn about Greece.  It is free for limited time.  The app covers topics such as: Greek Gods, Athens, The Olympics, Life in Ancient Greece, Lasting Achievements, Greek Drama, Literature, and Architecture. It is a great reading experience with the right interactive features.  For example, for the section about Trojan Horse, kids will see the horse move towards the gate, and when it stops, the visual shows soldiers inside… 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

To master Multiplication and Division a student needs to begin with an understanding of the relationship between repeated addition, skip counting and multiplication. Speed! by Highhill Education offers Skip counting practice cleverly disguised as a fun and addictive (physical) card game. We are excited to share the app version of the game where you can now challenge a friend or your iPad. There are eight decks of cards 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 5’s, 6’s, 7’s, 8’s and 9’s. Deck 2’s is for skip counting by 2, Deck 3’s is for skip counting… Read more

Young Scientists and Bill Nye fans get excited! To celebrate 20 years of Bill Nye the Science guy Disney has launched an anniversary App. Open Nye labs by ‘scanning’ your fingerprint and then explore all of the Retro Gadgets and objects on Bill Nye’s desk. The set up of the app is all exploratory. Kids can tap around on his desk to find interesting things.  Some of the fun things we discovered right away: The robot takes kids to a Mini game of artifact digging. The… Read more