I have reviewed so many apps for kids. Most apps don’t require kids to move around. The apps are all educational, but sometimes you still have the concern if they are sitting for too long. Today I found a very interesting app – it teaches math, and in the meantime, it makes kids move around to hunt for the answers. If the idea of scanvenger hunt math game sounds interesting to you, check it out. Fetch! Lunch Rush!  is an… Read more

Timeline Eons is an app that displays major events throughout the history of the world.  All events are organized along the timeline.  You can choose to zoom the timeline to see more events during a certain time period.  Most events have pictures.  Tap on each single event will bring up more detailed information of that event.  If you are connected to the internet, the app will also bring up the auto search results of the event in Google or Wikipedia… Read more

Now kids are back to school.  This means weekly spelling lists started.  I found a great app that can help the busy parents keep track of the lists, and ensure the kids are learning the words with fun: VocabularySpellingCity.  It is free. With the app, your child will be able to learn the words from the list you or the teacher gave them.  You do have to have an account (FREE to sign up) with them and have to create… Read more

After iGameMom introduced the Audubon Birds App, I started paying attention to other bird apps. Thanks for Nigel Hall’s note, I learned about Peterson Feeder Birds of North America. It is a FREE app about feeder birds. Similar to Audubon Birds, you will be able to look up birds with pictures, locations (state), nest, etc. What is different is this app’s focus on feeder birds, ie., the birds you see in your backyards. It covers 160 common North American backyard birds. It… Read more

Zoo Set 1-3 are the 2nd sets of free apps from ABCmouse.com.  The first set Grand Canyon received great reviews from iGameMom, so when I found they had a new set of apps out, I downloaded them all. In each Zoo Set, there are 5 animals.  From the home screen, kids can tap on any one of the five animals to start the learning.  Once the kids get into the session for each animal, they will see a beautiful picture of… Read more

I have been trying to find a good dictionary app for my son. After some search, Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Dictionary.com became the top two choices. Both are pretty good, but I don’t want to load too many apps on the iPAD, so I picked Merriam-Webster (Free). Here are the reasons: Intrusive ads: Both apps have free versions. The main difference between paid version and the free version is running ads in the free version. Dictionary.com has two ads at the… Read more

I recommended BrainPop Featured Movie a while ago. Since then, my son has been using it almost every day.  Now the BrainPop has a similar app for younger kids BrainPop Jr. Similar to BrainPop Featured Movie, BrainPop Jr. offers short videos on topics that is aligned to state education standards.  Instead of a new movie every day, it offers a new movie every week.  It targets kids in kindergarten to third grade.  The videos cover a wide range of subjects, from telling… Read more

Everyone seems is watching the summer Olympics.  Here is a FREE app that can add some music fun to the sports.  Piano Summer Games by JoyTunes is a free iPad app that provides directions and feedback for playing the national anthems of forty countries on pianos.  Kids can play on a virtual keyboard on the iPad, or on a real piano – no wires or adapters needed, the app just listens to your piano. Kids can practice first.  When they feel they… Read more

Does your toddler or pre-schooler like music?  I remember my boy liked playing the toy xylophone when he was little.  He liked beating on different keys and making different sounds.  If you have a little one who likes those music toys, you should check out the app Music Sparkles.  This app provides kids with virtual instruments that they can play and create their own music. After you open the app, you can tap on one of the instruments to play.  There… Read more

NOVA Elements is a free app about the periodic table.  I like it because it exemplifies my envision of how the future text books should be – the science concepts are explained using multi-media materials, such as short videos, pictures, 3D models, short paragraphs of text.  Built-in games with interactive activities are there to reinforce what are learned. When you open the app, you will see three options: Explore: the interactive periodic table. This is a quick reference that defines the unique… Read more

NSF Science (used to be Science 360) is a FREE, high-quality science app published by the National Science Foundation (NSF). It has a wealth of information about science around us.  Users can download and share spectacular science images and videos from NSF and institutions funded by NSF.  All the contents are updated weekly, so you always get the most recent development of science and technology. When you open the app, you get this scrollable 360 degree sphere that is made of thumbnails… Read more

ABCmouse.com’s Search and Explore: The Grand Canyon is the first title of the ABCmouse.com’s Search and Explore series.  ABCmouse.com is a fee-based pre-school/kindergarten website with learning games and books.  The Search and Explore Series teaches young children about geography, national landmarks, and points of interest around the world through engaging stories featuring computer mice named as ABC, 123, and DoReMi. The mice inside the computer decide to visit Grand Canyon.  They travel to a computer in a ranger station near… Read more

Summer is a good time to visit some parks.  I found an amazing app about US National Parks – Fotopedia National Parks.  In the app, there are over 3000 stunning photos of the 58 National Parks in the USA accompanied with park information.  What is more amazing, it is FREE.  The only catch: It requires an Internet connection (either Wifi or cellular – edge or 3G) to operate properly. Introduction from the App store: Discover first the diversity of the… Read more

Does your child like to play in the kitchen, pretending preparing meal?  You may want to check out Toca Kitchen.  It is from the same developer who made Toca Doctor. Toca Kitchen lets the kids explore food and cooking, without mess in your kitchen. When kids start the app, they will see 4 hungry characters: a boy, a girl, a cat, and a bull.  Kids can pick any one of the 4 characters to cook for.  Then kids can open the… Read more