Valentine’s Day is next week.  I found an educational Valentine app – First Words Valentine.  It is a free app teaching kids about letters, how letters relate to words, and how to spell words.  It is designed for toddlers, with limited words, but all are Valentine related. When kids start the app, they will see letters spread out on the screen.  Their job is to move the correct letter to the suggested spot to make them into a word, such… Read more

Oceanhouse Media released a new Dr.Seuss app – The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.  It is on promotion right now. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins was first published in 1938. It is one of Dr.Seuss’ earlier books.  The story begins in the Kingdom of Didd, when the King Derwin is passing through a street, where a poor boy Bartholomew Cubbins is standing. Bartholomew removes his hat, following the laws, but another hat instantly appears… The king is mad and… Read more

MyScript Calculator is a calculator app. What makes it different is that it performs all the mathematical operations from users’ handwriting. You don’t have to remember what keys to push first to do square root calculation. It is a FREE app. Introduction from the App Store: Easy, simple and intuitive, just write the mathematical expression on the screen then let MyScript technology perform its magic converting symbols and numbers to digital text and delivering the result in real time. The… Read more

I don’t know why I have not shared PBS Kids video app.  Maybe because we’ve been using it too much, I have assumed everyone should know about it.  But if you don’t know about the app, it is a free app from PBS Kids.  With the app, kids can watch any of the PBS Kids videos from the top PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go television series.  Some of the shows included in the app: Curious George, The Cat in… Read more

Rainforest is an encyclopedia from Britannica Kids.  It is designed for kids age 8 to 12.  Like other Britannica Kids apps, Rainforest is a well-designed multimedia reference about world’s rainforests, including types of rainforest; layers of rainforest; the animals, plants and people who live there; and environmental threats and challenges. After kids open the app, they can navigate through the app via a wheel at the bottom of the screen.  The short articles are in sections organized by topics, such… Read more

Do you like the auto-correction function on your iPhone or iPAD?  Did it give you weird words you did not meant to say?  There are ways to control the un-wanted auto-corrections.  Here is how: 1. On your iPhone or iPAD, go to Setting, then General. 2. Scroll the right panel to the bottom, tap on Keyboard. 3. You will see a screen like this.  Make sure Auto-Correction is set to ON.  However, if you hate the auto-correction, and don’t want the device auto… Read more

Today I found two FREE multilingual apps. They are sequels under Journey to the West. “Journey to the West” is a classic Chinese novel written by Wu Cheng-en in the 16th century. The main character Monkey King is a very well know name in China. Kids as young as toddlers can tell you a couple of Monkey King’s stories. The novel is about a famous Chinese Monk Xuan Zang traveled to India to find the holy book of Buddhism. Monkey… Read more

We have been watching the PBS Kids Wild Kratts show almost daily for a long time.  Once I found out Wild Kratts has an app, I know I have to check it out. If you are not familiar with Wild Kratts, it is a TV show series about wild animals on PBS Kids.  It combines science, adventure, and some mystery into fun stories, teaching kids many things about wild animals at an age-appropriate manner.  Kids from preschool to early elementary who like… Read more

Today I want to share another discovery of some free book apps from ABCmouse.com – The Aesop’s Fables Series.  I reviewed a book app The Aesop for Children from Library of Congress.  That one is for older kids, who can read by themselves.  The series from ABCmouse.com are designed for younger kids who have just started learning to read. Currently there are 4 titles in the series: The Tortoise and the Hare: how a tortoise win a race against a hare… Read more

Valentine day is a couple weeks away.  What are you going to do with your kids?  Are you going to give them gifts?  I have two books today that are perfect valentine gifts for the kids and great for reading on Valentine’s Day. Cooper’s Big Bear Hug: A sweet young bear wants to find a way to show his mom how much he loves her. He asks for ideas and finally he found the best way …  This is one… Read more

I reviewed several apps from ABCmouse.com, including the 3 Zoo Sets and Grand Canyon.  Now they have a Beginning Reader Series: Word Families, helping kids learn phonics via word families.  Currently there are 6 titles in the series. All the apps are free. What a great resource of early literacy for kids! This is a series introducing “young learners to the joys of reading through stories that emphasize word families, ie. groups of words with the same ending sound, such as… Read more

After I reviewed Word A Day Visuals and Audios, I found out the developer VocabAhead has some other vocabulary apps.  One of them is SAT Vocabulary Visuals and Audios.  It has over 1000 SAT most common words.  Like Word A Day Visuals and Audios, SAT Vocabulary uses funny pictures and story audios to help kids learn.  I like their full-brain learning approach a lot.  With the combined effect of visuals, audios, and contextual storylines, it makes understanding and mastering tough English… Read more

Puzzingo is a fun puzzle game for toddlers and preschoolers.  There are so many puzzle apps out there, I pick this one out because it is a little different – it incorporates the language learning into the puzzle play.  While playing, kids develop their fine motor skills and learn word recognition at the same time. It is a free app with In-App Purchase options for more theme packages.  Come with the free download, there is one package with 5 themes… Read more

When I reviewed the SplashMath App, I was really in love with the app. Because it provides a comprehensive math exercise for kids at elementary school, with all the contents aligned with school curriculum.  Today I am even more excited to share another app that is also linked with school curriculum, and what is more, it includes Math, Language Art, and Science for Grade 3 to 5, and Health for Grade 5 – this is a total of 10 titles. … Read more