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Cookid Teaching Jar By Juan Pedro Lozano

  • March 6, 2013 7:04 am

Cookid Teaching Jar – Juan Pedro Lozano is a great app for kids to learn reading, hand-eye coordination, matching, counting, and new animals at the same time. Oh. And my 6 year-old thinks it is fun!

I wasn’t so sure when I first started to play Cookid Teaching Jar – Juan Pedro Lozano. Yes I play each app before reviewing it of course – part of the fun! I wasn’t sure if Cookid Teaching Jar – Juan Pedro Lozano was a good app because I couldn’t seem to figure out how to get to the next level or “oven.” Turns out it is easy. I was just being a dumb dad.

Cookid Teaching Jar – Juan Pedro Lozano has three languages. Espanol, French, and English. Since I only speak and read English fluently, that is the language I chose, but I can see the other languages as great learning tools for an non-English speaker or if you wanted your child to learn some Spanish or French animals.

Cookid Teaching Jar – Juan Pedro Lozano is fun, educational, and rewarding. After the video my daughter insisted on playing with the app as she went to bed. Those cookies, the swiping, pinching, and pulling make for a challenge that should last a long while.

Attention – 5
Fun – 4
Learning – 4

Total – 13

iPad only.

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Zuko Monsters By Goodbeans GmbH

  • February 28, 2013 6:07 am

Zuko Monsters – Goodbeans GmbH isn’t really a learning app at all, but rather a fun pokemon type role playing game. The story is well drawn and the game is sufficiently challenging for children 6 years and older.

The basic idea of Zuko Monsters – Goodbeans GmbH is that you are given the chance to fight the monsters who are the bad guys. You get to fight and capture using various little monsters who you need to keep healthy and grow their skills and abilities. You have certain tasks you need to accomplish and levels that you can pass.

Zuko Monsters – Goodbeans GmbH also includes a local challenge and gamecenter battle which is cool.

The fun is in the challenges and the quest. My six year old thinks the game is awesome as does my 12 year old. Fun? Yep? What do they learn? Some money management, some math, and some critical thinking.

The only caution I would give parents is there is the ability to buy credits in this app. Up to $99 at a time! Be sure to immediately require a passcode for in app purchases within your iOS device to be safe.

Fun – 5
Learning – 3
Attention – 5

Total – 13

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Yumby Toss by PlayGearz

  • September 20, 2012 6:41 am

Yumby Toss by PlayGearz is our first app back from a short break and boy were we pleasantly surprised!

Our five year old fell in love with Yumby Toss by PlayGearz immediately. She loves the characters, the game play is familiar, and the story was enticing for her. She has played Angry Birds in the past, but Yumby Toss by PlayGearz has an extra fun twist that can revive the interest in the genre.

Was it fun for just our five year old? No. Parents were playing too. Yumby Toss by PlayGearz is just too fun to pass up.

The developer is awesome and the app is currently free. There are some in app purchases available, so be sure to lock down the device to avoid unintentional purchases by the young ones.

As usual check out the video below of our first glance at the game.

Our ratings:

Fun – 5
Learning – 0 (it is a game!)
Attention – 5

Total – 10

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Cell and Cell Structure By Emantras Inc

  • December 28, 2011 7:37 am

Cell and Cell Structure By Emantras Inc is a very well-done learning applications about cells. I am really impressed how much information is packed into Cell and Cell Structure By Emantras Inc. My ten year old loves to research anatomy, cells, and just about anything related to science and Cell and Cell Structure By Emantras Inc does not disappoint.

Cell and Cell Structure By Emantras Inc includes videos, awesome graphics, and very good descriptions of the science being demonstrated. The navigation of the app is outstanding and we love that we can turn off the background music without losing sound for the videos and other audio in the application. If your child is learning about cells or is interested in science, this is an engaging app that can teach them a lot about that one subject.

Not to say that Cell and Cell Structure By Emantras Inc is limited, but rather that the single subject it tackles is rather large in scope. There is a lot to learn about cells! I certainly learned something by playing with the app and my ten year old has returned to it several times and I still think she has some material to cover.

The quizzes are a great addition just to check your knowledge after each section, because again there is a lot of material in Cell and Cell Structure By Emantras Inc!

Attention – 5
Learning – 5
Fun – 2 (this is a learning app, but engaging while not “fun” it is fun as in Mr. Wizard (remember him?) fun!)

Total – 12

Of course my daughter is curled up with her iPad wrapped in the Big Grips Frame for iPad 2 – Pink. The iPad is so much more comfortable to hold in the Big Grips Frame for iPad 2 – Pink. Other than spills, there is little she could do to hurt the iPad in this frame!

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Operation Math™ By Spinlight Studio

  • December 27, 2011 7:34 am

Operation Math™ By Spinlight Studio a very interesting, fun, and I am betting effective math app/game. Operation Math™ By Spinlight Studio allows for more than one player, automatically pulling in the competition that can drive from some constructive competition among peers. Of course this should be monitored, as in any classroom activity, but this idea makes Operation Math™ By Spinlight Studio really appealing.

My ten year old daughter’s classroom just received 10 iPads and I could see this app being installed on each one. The math isn’t hard, but the timer makes it challenging. You can see in the video my ten year old is making a few mistakes and really wants to get the right answer, but the timer adds some stress.

Can your child learn from Operation Math™ By Spinlight Studio? Sure. It takes your child through addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Your child will need to already know the answers, so Operation Math™ By Spinlight Studio is really a reinforcement tool and not an introductory tool. That is to say you would not use Operation Math™ By Spinlight Studio to teach your child division, but instead use it to reinforce the concepts your child already knows.

The graphics are great, and I mention in the video that this app is really geared towards boys, which is cool because I do not see a lot of that in the stores (I am a boy/dad!).

iPad only.

Attention – 5
Fun – 3
Learning – 5

Total – 13

Of course you will notice that we have our iPad wrapped in the Big Grips iPad Frame. Even my ten year old like the frame. It makes it more comfy to hold in a chair since the iPad can be sort of sharp without the Big Grips iPad Frame on it.

Be sure to check out the video:

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A Charlie Brown Christmas By Loud Crow Interactive Inc.

  • December 24, 2011 7:30 am

A Charlie Brown Christmas By Loud Crow Interactive Inc. is the perfect book/app for Christmas eve! Read another amazingly interactive and almost 3-D book by Loud Crow Interactive with your children right before you put them to bed. Perhaps at lunch since A Charlie Brown Christmas By Loud Crow Interactive Inc. will probably get your little ones thinking about Santa and all excited.

Loud Crow Interactive does an amazing job of bringing stories to life. It is as if the cartoon version of the story is melded with the book and made into an interactive story book movie on the iPad. It really is magical when you see your four year old engaged with Charlie Brown and friends just like you probably were 20, 30, 40? years ago! It is worth it. Believe me.

A Charlie Brown Christmas By Loud Crow Interactive Inc. retains the classic feel of Charlie Brown while taking advantage of the touch screen, gyroscopes, display, and processor power of the iPad. You can read a long with the book or have the volume turned off and read it all by yourself. The characters move, the snowflakes pop, and you can repeat paragraphs or single words if you want.

This is a fun to read book and you could use it as a reading reinforcement book, but it is not something I would consider a learning to read book. The words are just a bit too small. The story and graphics stand out, but it isn’t something I would use to teach my 3-4 year old to read with. That is just fine! I just wanted to point it out.

Attention – 5
Fun – 4
Learning – 3

Total – 12

There is no question you should be downloading this app right as you read this. Here is a link to make it easier:

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The Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree By Oceanhouse Media

  • December 23, 2011 7:22 am

The Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree By Oceanhouse Media is another great book from Oceanhouse Media. We have mentioned this several times this week already, but we love the style of the books, the interactivity, the narration, and The Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree By Oceanhouse Media adds another touch – flaps to open and close.

We all remember the books with flaps as kids. By the time I got a hold of a book with this hidden gems they were all very well worn and easy to notice, some were ripped right off in fact. That is hard to do with the iPad version of these books. The flaps are a fun addition to the story and usually hide something silly and funny.

The Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree By Oceanhouse Media is a neat story of out favorite family of bears getting their tree ready for the holidays!

Fun – 4
Learning – 3
Attention – 4

Total – 11

It looks like the Big Grips iPad Frame is sold out! We love that iPad frame and hope that as you read this you already picked yours up or have one on order for Christmas. Check the other colors if Pink is out of stock. It is a no brainer. Buy the Big Grips iPad Frame.

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Elf Rescue By Lapland Studio Ltd

  • December 22, 2011 7:05 am

Elf Rescue By Lapland Studio Ltd is a challenging but fun apps for kids and adults. I start playing with Elf Rescue By Lapland Studio Ltd with my four year old and thought right away that it was going to be too hard. I was not completely correct.

In the video you can see we struggled to get accustomed to the controls a bit. Getting the review so close to Christmas we rushed to record the video. Over the following weekend my ten year old and four year old picked up the app many more times and really enjoyed the challenge. I was asked to help my four year old a few times, but that is common with a game of this sort.

Elf Rescue By Lapland Studio Ltd isn’t really Christmas over done. Sure there is an elf, who dies a lot, reindeer, presents, and snow, but that is about as far as the theme goes. It seems pretty appropriate to me.

I wonder if Lapland Studio is actually located in the north of Norway or it is just a name themed on Laplanders since early on that is where St. Nick was supposed to have come from I think. In either case the game play is unique and fun and very challenging. The same experience as an Angry birds, where you are challenged and want to come back for more, but the game play is much more interesting in my opinion and those of my children! I played this game much more than I should have I guess!

Attention – 5
Fun – 5
Learning – 1 (some fine motor skills and the Zelda type of learning too)

Total – 11

Of course we have our iPad wrapped in the awesome Big Grips iPad Frame. We love that frame/case and still recommend it. My daughter can play the iPad in the car, at her grandparents, and just about anywhere else! Instead of worrying about her dropping the iPad we just need to ensure the iPad is charged and we are all set!

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Flight Control HD By Firemint Pty Ltd

  • December 16, 2011 7:30 am

Flight Control HD By Firemint Pty Ltd
 is a fun app for all ages. I am pretty sure that Flight Control HD By Firemint Pty Ltd was not designed with children in mind, but my ten year old sure loves to play the game.

Even my four year old gives it a try, but really it is still a little too hard for her. She can understand that the airplanes are meant to be sorted, that they cannot touch, and that they go away, so it is fun for a four year old, but the game is over so quickly.

My ten year old loves the interactive gameplay. In the video you can see that my wife brings in the other iPad and we start a joined game right there on the “fly” (pun totally intentional). That gives Flight Control HD By Firemint Pty Ltd some legs. Just like another of MY favorite FireMint games: Real Racing 2, when you can have a friend (or even a stranger!) join you in a game, it becomes more interesting.

The gameplay is deceptively simple. You simply land each plan in the matching colored runway or helipad. Do not let the planes crash and you are set. My high score is 44, my ten year old can make it to perhaps 12, and the four year old lands 2-3. Fun!

Attention – 4
Fun – 4
Learning – 2 (some fine motor skills, organization, who cares? It is fun!)

Total – 10

Of course we have our iPad wrapped in the awesome Big Grips iPad Frame. We love that frame/case and still recommend it. My daughter can play the iPad in the car, at her grandparents, and just about anywhere else! Instead of worrying about her dropping the iPad we just need to ensure the iPad is charged and we are all set!

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Where’s My Water? By Disney

  • December 6, 2011 7:40 am

Where’s My Water? By Disney is must have app!

Simply put it is an interesting and fun version of Angry Birds that is appropriate for kids and challenging for everyone. My four year old loves the app and even though she cannot figure out how to pass a level, she loves to watch when I help her out. It puts a bit of thought into the Angry Birds game (I have passed all levels of Angry birds with a 2 star or above and realize some thought must go into getting three stars in that game too).

The point of Where’s My Water? By Disney is to get your poor alligator his water for a bath. Some of the pipes are broken, there is ooze in some places that will contaminate your water, there is moss growing and sometimes many pipes and levers to figure out.

The graphics are very appropriate for a young child and the challenge can go all the way up. It is a puzzle game made fun by the ease in which your chile can start over if they try something that does not work. The game encourages trial and error. We really like Where’s My Water? By Disney in our house and it is a front page, must have app.

Attention – 5
Learning – 2 (it is not a learning app necessarily!)
Fun – 5

Total – 12

iTunes Link!

Remember that we always have our iPad in the Big Grips Frame for iPad2. We love the Big Grips Frame and we are sure you will too. It makes the iPad easy to handle for Dad, Mom, and our four year old.

Check out the video of our four year old getting the water to her alligator.

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