I love Face iMake apps, they are creative and fun.  Their newest app is Faces iMake ABC.  It’s an app designed to help kids learn letters in the same creative ways of their earlier apps.  It is free for limited time, so make sure check it out. There are two parts in the app: Learn ABC and Find ABC. Learn ABC: kids pick a letter from the letter tray at the bottom. They will see the letter come up and… Read more

Sid the Science Kid Read & Play doesn’t deviate from its name, it takes the best of book apps with the best of educational games and melds them into a fun and useful tool for preschoolers. It comes with two books (three if you count the joke book) all with the option to have the book be read to child or your child read it.  You can even record your own voice or your child’s to have the book read in… Read more

Language empires is another great language learning resource from Smarty ears apps.  It has the feel of a civilization type computer game for students and in depth data tracking for parents and teachers. All Apps by Smarty ears are produced by certified Speech and language pathologists and teachers. Eight civilizations are waiting to help kids master 8 different language concepts and earn rewards.  Journey to Ancient Rome to practice ‘How questions’ and then move to Ancient Egypt for ‘figurative language’.  6 more empires… Read more

Have you watched the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs?  There is a storybook app from a movie, and now with the 2nd movie coming out, the storybook for the first movie is free for limited time. Storybooks based on movies many times are effective in getting kids to read.  Plus it is good for them to get different perspectives of the story and storytelling via different media. If you are not familiar with the story, it is about… Read more

Biscuit – Dictionary and Flashcard is a vocabulary learning app.  It offers several interesting and unique way to learn words.  It is free for limited time. First, and the function I like the most about this app, it can take a photo with words on it, and the app will take the words on the picture and put them into a list.  So if you and your child saw a cute cartoon picture with a couple words on it, you… Read more

News-O-Matic is a kid-friendly news app. It publishes 5 pieces of news every day Monday through Friday. All news is tailored to kids level (age 6 to 12) and includes various topics from international politics to sports, to new movies. It is free to download with subscription options. Without subscription you can still receive daily news, but can not go back to previous news. School teachers are able to receive free subscription via a link provided below. What I like about the app… Read more

‘She’s a beauty!’ passed through my mind as we slid through the Human Body Anatomy App by Tinybop. What a gorgeous learning tool, especially for a first effort from this new Brooklyn based development company. There were a few glitches, but overall, this company will be worth paying attention to. This creatively sophisticated (and stylish) app allows children and adults alike to marvel in our understanding of the human body without being too scary or too over/underwhelming. Your child can create… Read more

Classical Kids is a music app that tells stories about famous composers in an engaging and fun way.  There are 7 composers’ stories in the app, and one is free with the full story – Beethoven. Beethoven Lives Upstairs tells Beethoven’s story via the voice of Christoph, a young boy living in Vienna, at the time when Beethoven comes to stay in his family home.  It is told through back and forth letters to his uncle with Christoph complaining about Beethoven and his… Read more

When I received There’s a Map on My Lap to review, I was excited. My 6 year old enjoys Dr. Seuss, and we read many of the stories from Cat in the Hat Learning Library when she was younger. In fact, There’s a Map on My Lap was one of our favorites in the series, and we have the print book in our home library. Just like the original book, this app version of the title brings both simple and complex… Read more

Need to help your Kindergarten/Reception, 1 or 2nd Grade/Year 1 or 2 child with their addition facts? Teachley Addimal Adventure involves fun and learning with the help of captain Memo and the Addimals to help your child save the additional day! The app has been created by former teachers and experts in children’s learning to produce an app focusing specifically on the fundamental single digit addition skill. The premises involves the hero Captain Memo and his Addimals, ably assisted by the children… Read more

Kids Picture Dictionary is just like the app name suggested a picture dictionary app for early readers.  It can also serve as a sight word flash card app for younger kids. The layout of the app is very simple.  When kids open the app, they see pictures of words arranged in alphabet order.  Tapping on each letter opens up the words that start with the letter, one by one.  Each word is shown with a big picture illustrating the word… Read more

Toca Builder is another app from Toca Boca. It is a Mindcraft-like building app for kids age 5 and up, slightly older than a typical Toca Boca app’s target age.  It is free for limited time on App Store. Like other Toca Boca apps, it is all about free play, there is no goals or scores.  Kids simply get in the app and start building.  There are 6 builders in the app, each has a unique skill set and own… Read more

Do your kids play music? Or do you plan to have your child learn music or any instrument?  If the answer is yes, Music Learning Lab is a great app to get them started.  It teaches music theory in a fun way and all in bite-size lessons at kids’ level.  I wish we had it when my son started his piano. There are 4 sections in the app: Learn, Play, Create and Trophies. You want the kids start from Learn… Read more

Last year I introduced a multimedia insects encyclopedia: Meet the Insects – Forest Edition. I was very impressed by the app. I am glad to find out the same developer NCSOFT now has another insects app out: Meet the Insects – Water and Grass Edition. This one focuses on insects living near water and in grassland. Not surprisingly, this one is just as wonderful as the Forest Edition, with beautiful photograph and art works, high quality videos, smooth transitions between sections. It… Read more