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 is the two benefits it offers: get kids interested in reading, and help kids learn about things happening around the world in a kids-safe and kids-friendly way.
When kids start the app, they will see the highlight of “today’s news”, with fun and colorful titles and images inviting them to click on. Each article is short and includes some more clickable elements. Like definition of a word, related fun facts, and things you can do. An example action for the fall season is to play in a pile of leaves.
For each news article, kids can also learn more about the author, send a letter to the author, or draw a picture with the built-in drawing board. There are also trivia games for kids to play. Do you know which year the Congress picked the rose as the US national flower?
The teacher’s guide coming with the daily news is a nice help on how to incorporate the news into classroom learning.
I like the fact that all articles are written by experienced educators, and are reviewed by a teacher and a child psychologist before publication to ensure emotionally safe content. There is no ad in the app. It is really a safe environment for kids to learn about the world.
News-O-Matic works on iPAD. It is free to download with 3 issues free. After the free issues, you can access via subscription by week, month, or by year.
There is a free option for school teachers, that you can sign up for here.
If you would like to check it out or purchase it, please use the App Store link provided below. The cost is the same to you, but iGameMom gets a small percentage. Thanks for your support! Note: The link works for all countries.
For more news resources that are safe for kids, check out this Free Website of News for Kids
