I have seen several Duckie Deck apps recently, and they do a good job in engaging kids with apps. When I heard about their new app Sandwich Chef, I was excited to try it out. Plus, I am always interested in ways helping kids learn healthy food choices and eat healthy. I had a lot fun with the app, although it is designed for kids! It encourages kids eat healthy in a fun and friendly way. After playing with the… Read more

The Cat in the Hat is the greatest thing going really. PBS and Random House have turned the Cat into a very smart and entertaining educator. And, naturally, Ocean House Media, in best practices style, has delivered a concise, no frills version of The Cat in the Hat Outside Your Door Collection with 4 apps about nature science just in time for Earth Day. Now this compilation is full of facts: facts about trees, facts about seeds, facts about birds… Read more

While you are enjoying the Easter weekend, I have a FREE egg related kids book for you – Terry Treetop and the Lost Egg is a picture book for kids age 2 to 6, a story about eggs. It has print version and Kindle version. The Kindle version is FREE today. It is a nice little treat for the egg hunting weekend. If you have not downloaded the free Kindle app, you can find a review and download link at… Read more

A while ago, I introduced a Free Science App for kids DIY Sun Science designed by The Lawrence Hall of Science. I explored a little more, and found The Lawrence Hall of Science has a very neat website designed for kids, called 24/7 Science. There are two sections on the site: science activities and online science games for kids.  Science Activities: The science activities can be accessed on both mobile devices and computers. For each activity, you will get a… Read more

Just a Day at the Pond by Mercer Mayer is a book in the classic Little Critter series. Book apps are a great way to promote literacy, encourage imagination, and learn new vocabulary words. A book from a classic series helps kids engage in the story quicker and easier. Although it is designed for children ages 2 to 5, a classic book like this can bring back memories and is great for the family to enjoy together. This book is… Read more

Many people don’t put data plan on their iPad. This means the iPad cannot access internet or send emails without Wifi, or when the Wifi signal is too weak.  Have you ever had the experience sitting at a busy airport trying to send out an email, but you just can’t? Do you know you can use your iPhone as your own Wifi hotspot wherever you go? This means your iPhone can provide Wifi connection to your iPad and computer via… Read more

A Great Day for Pup is another book app from Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat Learning Library. It is based on the original print book of the same title. We have recently become big fans of Cat in the Hat in our household and this book app was an immediate favorite. It has great educational information about various wild baby animals while providing that familiarity that comes with the Cat in the Hat. Book apps promote literacy, word recognition… Read more

Do you have a child full of imagination? Then you should share this book with your imaginative child. 1000 Adventures is a book app that sparks the wildest children’s imagination, taking kids to imaginable places, interacting with imaginary characters, … be ready! A boy wakes up in the morning, his imagination takes him to all different places throughout the day. The morning bedroom turns into a jungle full of wild animals, mom becomes a monkey, dad transforms into an elephant… Read more

Who doesn’t like playful learning ideas? Animal Planet Hide and Seek Pets is a fun learning app for kids around preschool age (3 to 6). Kids learn about animals, letters, practice observation, memory and fine motor skills, all through animal themed fun games. It is free today. When kids open the app, they are asked to spin the wheel for a hamster. The hamster will pick one of the 6 mystery animals for kids to play with. First kids have… Read more

DIY Sun Science is a free science app for kids designed by UC Berkeley Lawrence Hall of Science. It has instructions on 13 hands-on learning activities helping kids learn and explore about the Sun. It also has many amazing sun related images and videos. What is most interesting is the sun observatory showing live images of the sun from a NASA satellite. For those who prefer using computers, you can access the same content on the app’s website DIY Sun… Read more

I recently have been playing the game Monument Valley. It is an amazing game. Combining strategic problem solving, visual art, geometric and optical illusion, it is a game app I have not seen before. It is not for young kids, but definitely a great one for school age kids to gain first hand experience about all the different geometric structures and hone their problem solving skills. As described in the App Store, in Monument Valley, “you will manipulate impossible architecture… Read more

How It Works is a clear, simple, textbook style app.  It visually shows kids how things function and do what they are supposed to do. There are 9 items featured in the app: a car, a rocket, a steam engine, a windmill, a lawn mower, a pump, a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner and a hair dryer. The app displays a transparent outline of each of these items as their insides wait in the wings ready to be placed together to… Read more

We have reviewed a couple CosmoCamp book apps. This is another book app designed for toddlers and preschoolers from CosmoCamp: Picnic Problem. I like the features encouraging kids’ active engagement, as well as different reading options for different age groups to improve early learning skills. The series is about two friends Migo and Pandy’s adventures through space in their CosmoCamper! In this book, they travel to a rainy little planet to meet new friends. Play hide-and-seek in the puffy flower field… Read more

I have seen and read about the early reader series Bob Books a lot and am happy to see they are now offering apps for kids. The apps offer interactive reading games for kids based on the content from the book series. Bob Books is a reading series designed for beginning readers. There are 5 sequential sets in the series, each set has 8-12 books and each book has about 10-25 pages, depending on the level. In addition to the… Read more