Do you like flashcards? I had never been very interested in flashcards, and have not used them much. I think they are just for memorization work, and kids usually can remember what they are interested without using those cards. So for me, most of our work with kids are talks, discussion, with the goal to spark their interest and to encourage them to explore. But recently I have seen some interesting flashcards. When combined with apps, you can see the… Read more

I recently find a fun app for kids that you can use to keep young kids entertained when you are busy or when you are too sick or tired to read for kids. It is an app with over 50 short stories and songs for kids, and you can check it out for free. Moving Books Jajajajan is designed for baby to preschool age kids. There are over 50 children’s favorite stories and songs. You will find stories like The… Read more

Are you children good at spelling? How much time do they spend on remembering the spellings of the words? Depends on children, it could easily turn into a boring task and the kids can quickly lost interest in learning anymore. In this case, it is necessary to making spelling activities fun, so kids will be interested in learning again. SpellNow is a fun spelling game app for kids that not only fun but also match the design with school schedule… Read more

ROP is a fun game app. It is very easy, yet intriguing. It helps to enhance players visual and dimensional thinking capability. It is on free app of the week on Apple App Store, and it is also available on Google Play. It is a great way to help kids be familiar with different geometry shapes and key features of the shapes. When you start the app, you are given some “ropes” with nods on them, and a pattern to… Read more

If you have kids learning algebra and geometry, you will love this free app. Desmos is a graphing calculator, it can show you on the screen the graph based on the equation you wrote. The graph will change instantly if you make changes on the equation. I just love how intuitive it is to use. What is even better, it is free, as apps on Apple app store and Google Play. It is also available on their website if you… Read more

Phrasal verbs are interesting. A phrasal verb has two parts: a verb and an adverb or preposition or both. The meaning of the phrasal verb is usually different from the meaning of the verb in it. Some phrasal verbs are idioms, and many are informal ways of saying something that people use in their everyday conversation. Most kids learn phrasal verbs naturally by listening and talking everyday. Since the construction of phrasal verbs don’t follow grammars or any other rules… Read more

Storytelling gives kids opportunity to express themselves. Even young children who have not mastered the language itself can express themselves in many ways other than language. Today’s app CreAppcurentos is a wonderful tool for kids to do that. It is a free app letting kids create and tell their own stories with stickers. In addition, kids can record sounds, play puzzles based on their own stories. CreAppcurentos is free to download. There are several themes for kids to create stories… Read more

I love Avokiddo apps for kids, they can always find the unique angle to make the learning fun. Today they launched the app DNA Play. DNA is a hard concept to grasp even for some grown ups. How to explain what is DNA for kids? Avokiddo designed a nice interactive game to do that. DNA Play is an entertaining app designed for kids age 6 to 10 to learn the concept of DNA. It is a language free play, so… Read more

Have you visited Instructables.com? Every time I stopped at the site, I find something amazing and interesting. Even if I am not looking for something to make, I can always get cool creative ideas from the designs on the site. I am so glad to find out that they have free apps for Apple, Android and Windows devices. It just makes search for ideas a lot easier. If you have not used Instructable before, it is a website with tons… Read more

Do you know why birds have white and dark meat? How about human? Can you prove that the Moon Landing isn’t fake? Do you know basketball teams with teammates touching each other more often perform better? I learned all these with the free app Curiosity. It gives 5 fun facts with pictures and videos everyday. If you want to, you can also use their website on your computer. I love how broad the topics are. You will find interesting topics… Read more

A while ago a teacher friend told me she lets her students do KenKen in the classroom and spoke very highly of the program. I checked it out, and agree it is a very helpful math game for kids of any age, as long as they have learned single digit addition. It not only develops kids’ math skills, but also logic thinking and concentration stamina. It is available on their website or via the free app. What is KenKen? It… Read more

I have seen some apps using augmented reality to turn ordinary coloring pages into 3D pictures on mobile devices. Today I am sharing an app that can do that and more. DreamWorks Color is a free app that brings coloring pages to life into 3D pictures. Additionally, kids can collect the objects they colored, and put them into a 3D setting and interact with their colored animals or other objects in the new 3D settings. When you first start the… Read more

I have reviewed the first 2 MathLab apps. I like them being so simple and easy to follow, and the math activities being so diverse and different so kids won’t get bored easily. The first two MathLab apps are for kindergarten and first grade. Now they have a 3rd one in the series: MathLab for 2nd grade. Although it is designed for 2nd grade, any kids in early elementary school or kindergarten should find it helpful. Like the first two… Read more

Many studies have shown that taking notes by handwriting helps kids better understand the material, better at connecting the dots of what they know, and memorizing more of the content. However, we also know digitized notes are easier to keep and organize. It will be ideal if you can take handwriting notes on iPad or other tablets then easily digitize the notes. MyScript Smart Notes is just an app letting you do that. It is best to go through the… Read more