iPhone and iPAD both have a build-in “text to speak” function.  It is originally designed for visually impaired people, but I found it very helpful for kids when they are reading a book or anything on iPAD or iPhone.  What does the function do?  When the function is triggered, the iPAD/iPhone will read the text you highlighted aloud to you.  The highlighted part could be a single word, a sentence, or a paragraph.  When kids run into an unfamiliar word… Read more

I had the App “Find my friend” on my phone for a long time, but I did not use it until recently.  All incidences were quite interesting.   I thought I should share with everyone. First incidence: found family members at a busy outdoor event It was a busy event.  My husband and I went to different directions.  He called me on my cell, of course.  However, it was hard to tell where each of us was, relative to each other. … Read more

Summer is a good time to visit some parks.  I found an amazing app about US National Parks – Fotopedia National Parks.  In the app, there are over 3000 stunning photos of the 58 National Parks in the USA accompanied with park information.  What is more amazing, it is FREE.  The only catch: It requires an Internet connection (either Wifi or cellular – edge or 3G) to operate properly. Introduction from the App store: Discover first the diversity of the… Read more

Faces iMake is a creative art app and more.  It lets kids create arts with objects they see every day, such as brush, banana, plates, and buttons.  Kids can re-size, rotate, flip the objects they choose, and then put the pieces together to make a masterpiece.  There is no limit to the imagination. The app was developed with renowned artist, children’s book author and educator Hanoch Piven and is based on the creative workshops he conducted all around the world.  According to Piven, the… Read more

This is an app that helps babies and toddlers understand people all have different feelings and emotions.  By showing various pictures of people (mostly kids) with different emotions, it teaches kids to recognize different emotions. It has a play mode – the flash cards will be randomly shown and read to the kids.  You can also choose the game mode – the kids can play some matching games.  As parents, you can decide which card to be shown.  You can also… Read more

While looking at the App store Top Grossing list, I was quite surprised to see Dragon Vale was at the top as #1.  I was surprised because Dragon Vale is a free app.  In fact the top 5 grossing apps are all free apps.  How can they make money?  Obviously, these free apps get money through In-App Purchase.  This sends a strong message to all app buyers, especially all the parents: free apps are NOT free, be aware of the In-App… Read more

Go to an earlier post to find out how: Two Apps Giveaway – TeachMe GradeK and TeachMe Grade1… Read more

iGameMom has TWO giveaways this time: TeachMe Kindergarten and TeachMe Grade1. These are great apps for the summer to keep your kids up to the academics and ready for school in the fall, yet still have fun. Read iGameMom’s review of the app here. How to win: 1. If you are not following this blog AT THIS NEW SITE, “Sign Up” at the top of the left panel to follow the blog. Make sure to click the confirmation link in the… Read more

MindSnacks Spanish is a language learning app.  It does a great job at building the learning into game play, so the learning is fun. When you first start the app, you will have an option to take a Spanish test to find out your level.  You can also skip the test and start at level 1, which is “numbers”.  You will have a list of Spanish vocabulary to study before playing games.  Each word/phrase has a picture and an audio… Read more