We’ve heard it again and again that the best gift we can give to our children is the love of reading. But what can parents do to make kids enjoy reading and enjoy books? There are so many ways, and every parent is doing it differently. Here are some we’ve done that worked well for us. I’d love to hear your ideas and the books you used. How to Help Kids Enjoy Books at a Young Age Start from a… Read more

We all know today’s kids facing a changing world, that the knowledge base of human being grows faster and faster. It is crucial for kids to have the skills to be a self-learner. They can gather information from different sources and decipher the information, connect the dots, and form their own knowledge base and opinions on subjects they need learn. One big building block in this self-learning process is reading non-fiction materials. Reading non-fiction is very different from reading fiction… Read more

Recently I found some interesting architecture books about buildings and structures around the world. I love the design, and illustration and content of the books. What makes these books special is the ability to “see inside”. They are architect books, science books or STEM books, they are also cultural books, as kids get to see different cities, buildings, palaces around the world to experience and explore without leaving the comfort of home. See inside Great Cities: A fabulous lift-the-flap book… 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

I love historical movies and TV shows. I was excited when I got an opportunity of free set of DVDs to review Little House on the Prairie. If you are in the US, you probably already know the book series and the TV show. If you are not from the US, the Little House is a book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, about American frontiers’ life in the late 19th century. It depicts the life of the Ingalls family, the… 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

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

Highlights is not a stranger to most parents. You can see their magazines in many places, like doctors’ waiting room or other kids places. Now Highlights are bringing their magazines to mobile devices so kids can have the fun on the go, no matter where you take them. I recently had a chance to take a look at the Highlights All About series. It is a magazine-style book series designed for preschool to early elementary school kids. You can have… Read more

Are you comfortable to let your kids watch news on TV or news website? If not, how do your kids stay updated on what is going on around them, in the community, in the country, and in the world? I have reviewed some child-safe news resources, and today I found one more great news resource for kids: Youngzine. It is a free website of news articles for kids. Youngzine is a website created due to the fact that it was… Read more

City Nights is a beautiful picture book for kids on iPad. It depicts the feel of the night in the busy city through a child who is ready to go to bed. Beautifully illustrated and with short rhymes, it is a perfect bedtime book app to read with kids before they going to sleep. The book starts with a child who is ready for bed, and watching the street from the window. “In the city, in the city night, sunset… Read more

Pixel and Parker is a unique adventure story app for kids. It is a story app, and it is also a board game app. Kids explore a different path every time they read the story, and they get to pick the path by playing games. I love the interesting combination of both game and story to make the app intriguing and engaging for the kids. It is currently free, but even it is not free, I still think it is… Read more

We reviewed the first book app in ABCmouse Search and Explore series, The Grand Canyon. Today we are sharing another book app in the series: The Golden Gate Bridge.  Like The Grand Canyon, The Golden Gate Bridge app is also free. In this app, kids will follow the mice ABC and 123, learn the history and fun facts about the famous bridge. After finishing the books, kids will know why it is called Golden Gate Bridge, who designed the bridge… Read more

We love Smithsonian. This institute has done so much in education! Recently I found an excellent non fiction reading program from Smithsonian. It is called Smithsonian Tribune. It collects appropriate news stories that will interest kids and deliver these stories on the website or the free apps, and invite kids take quizzes or post comments. All readings are leveled by Lexile score. The content includes passages, photos, graphics, and audio and/or video materials about current events, history, art, culture and… Read more