Do you know why birds have white and dark meat? How about human? Can you prove that the Moon Landing isn’t fake? Do you know basketball teams with teammates touching each other more often perform better? I learned all these with the free app Curiosity. It gives 5 fun facts with pictures and videos everyday. If you want to, you can also use their website on your computer. I love how broad the topics are. You will find interesting topics… Read more

A while ago a teacher friend told me she lets her students do KenKen in the classroom and spoke very highly of the program. I checked it out, and agree it is a very helpful math game for kids of any age, as long as they have learned single digit addition. It not only develops kids’ math skills, but also logic thinking and concentration stamina. It is available on their website or via the free app. What is KenKen? It… Read more

Recently Amazon launched a new service Amazon Underground Apps. With Underground, you can have over thousands of apps for free, including the parts via In App Purchase. I believe many people will like and use the service. But why they are giving all these apps for free? As a consumer, you need know what you are losing before using it. I tried to use the service after it is launched. This is what I found out. First you have to… Read more

I have reviewed the first 2 MathLab apps. I like them being so simple and easy to follow, and the math activities being so diverse and different so kids won’t get bored easily. The first two MathLab apps are for kindergarten and first grade. Now they have a 3rd one in the series: MathLab for 2nd grade. Although it is designed for 2nd grade, any kids in early elementary school or kindergarten should find it helpful. Like the first two… 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

Learn sight word is essential to a child’s reading skill development. It is also hard to many kids, as many kids felt it is boring. The more fun you can add to the learning process, the more and faster kids will learn these words. Today we have a fun app for kids, where kids will learn sight words while solving mysteries. If your kids are into detectives and mysteries, this will be a great sight word app for them. The… Read more

Do your kids like dinosaurs? How about trucks? and How about combining both into one? Dinotrux is a new Netflix show by DreamWorks for kids age 4 and up. It is based on the picture books of the same title, but the show has expanded the stories from the book tremendously. To accompany the show, DreamWorks also launched a free app of the same title. If you have kids like dinosaurs and trucks, you don’t want to miss Dinotruk. Netflix… 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

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

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

Sweet Baby Girl is a series of apps designed for preschool to kindergarten girls. Recently the series launched a new app Sweet Baby Girl Summer Fun. The app has fun summer themed activities that girls like. Through playing these games, girls will have fun and learn some basic life skills. The app is free to download, with some activities free, and additional activities available via In-App Purchase. The activities in the app include: Hot Dogs This is one of the… 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

Human anatomy is a fun subject, and no matter what the kids want to do when they grow up, it is always good to have some knowledge about your own body. There are many good apps about human body, from anatomy to biology. The wonderful things about apps are the capabilities of 3D visuals and the combination of interactive multimedia materials with sound, video, text, and picture. Here are some wonderful apps that are great for kids to learn about… Read more

We all want our kids to grow as readers. But teaching reading, especially to beginning and developing readers, can seem a little tricky. There are lots of “moving parts” that have to come together for reading to occur. That’s why I was so excited to be a part of developing some apps that can help kids grow as readers! The ultimate goal of reading is to make meaning. After all, it’s hard to enjoy a book or learn something new… Read more