Son of the Sun and Wizard Lizard is a beautifully illustrated picture book on iPad with a great lesson to teach: Be ready to forgive, and the goodness will fill the world. In addition to the story, kids also have puzzle games to play at the end of the book. Son of the Sun goes out to explore the world. He wants to know about North Pole, and it is his first stop. But he is trapped in ice by… Read more

Are you traveling during the spring break? I remember carrying some coloring books with us when we were traveling when my son was young. They helped to calm him down and stay active. The only problem of having coloring books when you are traveling is to keep track of the crayons, coloring pencils and markers. However, if you have a tablet or phone, that problem can be easily solved. Kids will enjoy all the coloring fun without the worry of… Read more

I came across several homemade Geoboard ideas recently, and they reminded me the wonderful free app Geoboard, which we used recently to play some math games about geometry. It is an app from The Math Learning Center, it is available for iPhone, iPad, Windows tablets, and an app on the internet too, which means you can use the app on your computer with internet access. The app is very simple to use. There are two boards: one with 25 pegs, one… Read more

Come Visit Us is a role play app where kids can learn to be a host, invite guests to tea parties or picnics. There is not much speaking in the app, which is perfect for imagination, story making, or vocabulary and language development. When kids open the app, they get to choose one of the 3 language options. The one in the middle is English. Once the language is chosen, kids can pick one scene to play with: tea party… Read more

Max on the farm is a fun app designed for kids age 3 to 6. There are 4 farm themed educational games in the app, all games have no timers, no scores, kids just play at their own pace. The lite version has plenty contents for you to test it out. The full version has more levels than the lite version. The 4 games in the app are: Find the items: Max made a big mess in his treehouse. Help… Read more

If your child is a fan of dinosaurs then this app is for you! From the popular PBS children’s cartoon show comes a fun, educational app all about dinosaurs and the alphabet. This science app allows your child to take a deeper look at dinosaur facts and interact in a way they can’t with the television show. This app encourages your child to explore science and natural history through learning about various dinosaurs with names ranging from every letter of… Read more

Recently I found a wonderful free resource from National Geographic for kids – National Geographic Young Explorer Magazine. It is available for free on their website, and as apps for both iPad and Android devices. There are 7 issues every year. Each issue covers 3 topics about nature, such as rain; plant roots; animals cover – fur, feather, and scales. Each page is mostly a big image with one line of text. The images are stunning. Kids can choose to… Read more

When I first saw the app name Busy shapes I assumed it teaches kids about shapes, or maybe colors. Once I started playing with the app, I realized it is more than shapes and colors. It trains kids on their reasoning and problem solving skills, with some physics involved. The game play is very intuitive. There are holes of different sizes on different types of surfaces. Kids need move the puzzle objects of different materials into the corresponding holes based… Read more

There is a Polar Bear and a Panda Bear named Migo and Pandy who both love to play dress up.  If your kids are in the 2-3 toddler range or in the 3-5 pre-school range, they’re going to love to play dress up with Migo and Pandy too. What is even better, you won’t see all your clothes spread all over the places. They are neatly organized on your iPad. In this sweet, slow moving app there are fewer bells and… Read more

Over the weekend I was playing with a fun app called Fiete. It is a very different kind of picture book for kids of all ages. As the introduction on the App Store says, it is “an alternative to interactive children’s book: in a playful way, with attention to details”. I call it an interactive game picture book. When kids open the app, they will see a friendly sailor Fiete waving to them and inviting them to play. Scroll the… Read more

Today I am sharing a series of apps from Eye Paint. They are unique coloring apps that open up otherwise impossible ways to bring paintings to life. I have reviewed apps for a while. The biggest benefit for me is the opportunity to explore new ideas. Whenever I found something that I have not seen before, I get excited. The Eye Paint apps are one of these apps that get me excited. We have had the apps for a long… 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

The Sweet Adventure from CosmoCamp is an interactive story book app about a fun hippo who loves cooking. This app is the second in a series of storybooks. Check out a recent review of the first story in this series of books Free Early Reader Storybook App Incredi-Ride. Storybooks are a great tool for literacy development. Bringing books to life through technology is a great way to expand on literacy skills while also covering so many other areas such as fine motor… Read more

Mini Monet is a fun art app for kids. I like the fine artistic taste of the app and its many different options for kids to explore different aspects of the art activities. When kids open the app, they will see a street scene set in Paris. They will see the Eiffel Tower in the back, and many young artists on the street. Tapping on any of the artists leads kids to an art activity. Kids can choose Color, Draw… Read more