Keep the children entertained and encourage them to use their little grey cells by downloading for free the SparkleFish app.  As claimed by the developer, it is “a hilarious audio story completion game for the iPhone, iPad and Nook Tablet that will have you laughing uncontrollably.” It is like a Mad Libs with voice.   The free version comes with the choice of five stories: A Fairy Tale; Infomercial; The Cold Remedy; The Greeting Card and Yearbook signing. In-app purchases… Read more

Pattern recognition is an important skill for early math learners.  Patterns by EdNinja is a perfect app for this purpose.  With the app, kids have to quickly analyze the pattern, relate and select an image to fill in the blanks at the beginning, middle or end of the pattern.  Depends on kids ability level, teachers or parents can add contours, colors and shapes into the patterns.  What is neat is the app has a way to make sure each child… Read more

Do your kids like pizza?  Do they like to make pizza?  We have a local pizza restaurant where kids can watch, through a big window, how pizzas were made.  Every time when we eat there, my son has to go watch and there are always many kids line up at the window waiting for their turns.  Now kids get the opportunity to make pizza themselves – on the iPAD.  Bamba Pizza is the app that letting kids be the chefs. … Read more

Since I posted best science apps for kids, I received several recommendations on Bobo Explores Lights, an app teaching kids science of light.  I contacted Game Collage, who designed the app, for a review copy.  I am so grateful they sent me one and I am very impressed with the app – the art, the interface, the content, the animation, the flow of the content, … everything! Designed for children ages 4-12, Bobo Explores Light covers 21 light-related topics, like… Read more

Guess How Much I Love You is an app based on Sam McBratney’s ever-popular book of the same title Guess How Much I Love You. I remember we read the book again and again with my son. I am sure your little one will like the book and this app. It is FREE for limited time. When I first saw the title, I though it is an interactive book. I was wrong. It is actually more like a movie. When… Read more

If you are looking for an app to teach your children about culture and various parts of the world, this app is for you. The folks over at The Melody Book have recently released Jazzy World Tour – Musical Journey for Kids. They have developed several music themed learning apps, such as Jazzy 123, Jazzy ABC and A Jazzy Day.  This app focuses on teaching about music and instruments through the exploration of a world tour. The opening screen takes… Read more

I remember reading fairy-tales as  a child. I could read or be read the same story over and over and find so much enjoyment. I love reading and hope I can pass on this passion to my children. The children’s book and app publisher, Nosy Crow, has taken the classic fairy-tale of Little Red Riding Hood to a new level. This interactive book app allows children to become part of the classic fairy tale. They have turned the story into a type of choose-your-own-adventure… Read more

Another Monster at the End of This Book, sequel to The Monster at the End of This Book, is set to FREE today, as a result of sponsorship. Now when you open the app, you will see a sponsored ad at the beginning and the end of the story as a way to support the app. There is no way to stop the ad showing up, but you can turn it off after it appears. If you don’t want your… Read more

While it is getting warm, I start collecting ideas on activities we can do outside.  I found a FREE app called Curiosity School. It has instructions on making a water wheel with egg carton. We did it over the weekend.  It is very easy to make and we all had a good time making it. While running the water wheel, we had opportunity to talk about how energy can change its form, and how we can change the natural energy into… Read more

Oceanhouse Media have pulled out another Dr Seuss app from their creative hats. Everyone’s favourite cat in a hat makes an appearance, along with an astoundingly large extended rhyming family including I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today, King Looie Katz about the king of cats, The Glunk that Got Thunk about a little girl who likes to think, as well as The Big Brag about a couple of show offs, The Zax where we meet two stubborn characters, Too Many Daves-in… Read more

A while ago I discovered a digital kids magazine on iPad called Timbuktu. You access it as an app, and each month you receive a new issue on the app. I like the app a lot, the design is bright and the delivery of the learning is fun and engaging. I invited Francesca Cavallo, Co-founder & Creative Director at Timbuktu Lab give iGameMom readers an introduction about the app magazine.  Here is what Francesca shared with us: Timbuktu Magazine is an interactive educational iPad magazine… Read more

Jake’s Never Land Pirate School App from Disney Jr. is really cute. It offers itself (tongue in cheek I think) as Pirate ‘School’ borrowing from other school themed Apps, it has various leveling games laid out in a school room structure. Your child can take classes in: Sailing: a motion activated game where the iPad is tilted from side to side to navigate a ship’s path. Pixie Dust: a maze game where kids collect little clouds of pixie dust along the… Read more

Montessori Numbers is designed to help build sound mathematical foundations in children aged 3-7 by using a concrete, visually significant material inspired from the Montessori methodology.  I love the visual association they used in the app: for 100, it is a 10×10 square; for ten, it is a rod with 10 units sticked together.  We used a toy called “Big Ten” when my son started learning numbers, it had similar visuals, and it helped him greatly in understanding the real meaning… Read more

Finally, an app ALL of my kids love!  What a joy as a parent to find a place, toy, activity, or game that all of your kids can enjoy together.  Well, I bring you an app the whole family can enjoy.  What makes Toy Story: Story Theater so great is everything your kids bring to it.  It requires you as a parent to be an audience member.  But getting to see the vastly different stories each child created is a happy… Read more