Algebra is an important part of math, and it marks a new stage of math thinking. It requires more abstract thinking than the type of math kids learn in elementary school. That is why most schools won’t start algebra till 7th or 8th grade. Does it mean that kids in elementary school can’t grasp algebraic thinking? The answer is no. Younger kids can still gain the type of thinking that’s needed for algebra study. An perfect example is DragonBox Algebra… Read more

Homes by Tinybop is the 3rd app from the developer’s Explore’s Library series. Like their first two apps Human Body and Plants, it is open-ended exploratory app. There is no verbal or written instructions, no set goals. Kids come in the app explore homes from around the world. Through exploring the homes, kids will learn and discover world culture and life. Before kids start using the app, I highly recommend setting up a profile for each child. You can do… Read more

There is never too many math practice for kids. The more they practice, the better they are at it. It is especially true for those fundamental math concepts and math facts, such as counting, sequencing, 4 operations within 20. MathLab is an app designed for kids to practice these math concepts and math facts. The design interface is simple, making it very easy to use. There are two sections for practice in the app. Expedition is to going through a… Read more

LumiKids just launched their 2nd app LumiKids Beach. It is a series of apps from Lumosity designed specially for kids age 5 and younger. I liked their first app LumiKids Park, so once the new app is available, I checked it out right away. It is another wonderful early learning app for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners. It is free right now. As stated by the developer team, the LumiKids series is not intended to be brain training for kids, but… Read more

How good are your children at math facts? How quickly can they solve those math problems of addition, subtraction, division and multiplication? Do they like math facts practice? Math facts are the very basic math skills, upon which more advanced math skills are built. Kids not only need know how to do it, they really should get really efficient at it, that they can do these problems quickly without much thinking. After practice, you want kids be able to solve… Read more

We have been using OverDrive for a while. I really like it. It saves trips to the library and brings the library books to your mobile devices and computers. You can borrow digital books to read or audio books to listen. You can even borrow videos to watch. It is a free app works on almost all devices: Apple, Android, Windows devices, PC and Mac computers. I have mostly used the app on my iPad and iPhone. But you should… Read more

If you have a child who likes sports, this is a great reading comprehension app for him/her to use. It is designed for kids in middle to upper elementary school (age 9 to 11). All articles in the app are about sports, and are specially written for this app. It is currently free for limited time. When you first start the app, you can go the Settings to choose a password for yourself, and then add students. You don’t need… Read more

Have you tried funbrain.com? It is a free learning website for kids from preschool to grade 8. I have not shared the site here because I thought it uses flash and won’t function on iPad and iPhone. But yesterday, I tried it on my iPad and the games and books all worked well. I am so glad that there is one more learning website that is available on mobile devices, so kids can enjoy the fun learning on the go… Read more

ABC Guru just had a new update. It is a fun alphabet app using incidental learning method, which is the best way for young children to learn. Instead of “teaching” kids letters and their sounds, the app just let kids decorate letters. Every time they touch the letter, they hear the letter sound. Kids can color, add all kinds of stickers, and take pictures of their art works. For a full review, please visit Alphabet App for Kids Using Incidental… Read more

I loved gears. We used to play with LEGO and created a lot gear models with it. There are many engineering concepts involved, but when doing it right, it is fun for young children to see and understand those concepts. I am very excited to see now there is an app about gears designed for kids. Crazy Gears is from Seven Academy, who also designed Busy Shapes. The app incorporated many science and engineer concepts in the simple puzzle play… Read more

Four Letters is a free app of fun word games. It is not for young children, but it is a fun one for school age kids who have certain vocabulary already. All words in the games are 4 letter words. Think it will be easy? Try it out. It is fast paced fun vocabulary game that the family can play together. You can even set up a competition among family members. The game play is quite easy. The player is… Read more

Kids Awesome 1st Grade Math Premium is a fun math game app designed for first graders. It covers the content from counting and number order to different operations, to telling time and geometry. Although it is designed for first graders, many kids from kindergarten to 2nd and even 3rd grade can benefit from the games. The app doesn’t allow users to skip levels. Kids have to finish one level to unlock the next. I have not get chance to review… Read more

I loved the app Thinkroll. It is a fun physics science game with tons of build-in science concepts. Kids learn science, critical thinking and problem solving while playing the games. Now the sequel Thinkroll 2 is just launched, with similar game set up, but more science concepts, and more challenges and more fun. There are two sets of the games, one set for age 3 to 5, another set for age 5 to 9. Each set has about 120 games… Read more

Today’s app is a fun problem solving app and kids have to learn and use math skills to solve the problems. It is brought to you by PBS kids and is based off the new popular show: Peg + Cat. Peg + Cat is a show produced by the Fred Roger’s company and is targeted at teaching simple mathematics skills to preschool and early school age children (ages 3 to 6). The show is great at teaching children problem solving skills… Read more