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

Parenting tweens and teens is a different challenge than parenting younger kids. Kids this age are more independent, which is good, but sometimes makes it hard for them to accept whatever we are trying to teach them.  It is especially challenging when it comes to social and emotional skills. That is why I am very interested in learning the new app IF… – a game app aiming at tweens and teens on their SEL skills. SEL stands for Social and… 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

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

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

Help kids learn manage time is not easy. Do you ever have trouble asking your child finish a task within a certain time? When you tell a child “you have to get dressed in 5 minutes, or we will be late” and then watch him play toys while getting dressed, what will you do? It is really hard for young children to understand how long 1 minute is, and it is very easy for them to get distracted. I hope… Read more

Recently I find another online learning website offering cool math games with 10 questions free everyday, and it is completely functional on iPad and iPhone. It’s called IXL. It also has a free math app offering the same free math practice service. What is interesting, the website and the app are not connected if you use them as a guest, and you can have 10 practice questions free on each, so you can get a total of 20 questions free every day. What… Read more

Cyberchase Shape Quest is a cool math game app from PBS Kids, with a focus on geometry, spatial reasoning, and problem solving. It’s based on the Emmy Award®-winning series, Cyberchase. When I tried to play my first game on this app, I was told to print out a game board.  At first I was a little perplexed but I simply moved on to the games that didn’t require me to print anything because I wasn’t at home.  Once I did… Read more

Bean’s books are great beginner books and they are now available on the iPad and iPhone, and Android! This series of books was written by Sarah Hines Stephen. Originally released as board books, they are now available in ebook style. These books are geared toward 1 to 3 year olds and utilize simple words and phrases to tell a story. These eBooks come alive and allow your toddlers to explore the pages and learn new words. All books complete with playful… Read more

Preschool Genius Math Booster Zoo is a math app designed for preschool kids to learn fundamental math concepts. With this animal math game for preschool, kids play with the animals in a fun environment, count, compare, and learn. There are 12 games in the app covering various math skills, 3 are free. 1. Counting: kids count the number of animals run into the screen. The numbers range from 1 to 10. 2. Who is Missing: This is a pattern game. Kids… Read more