I still have not purchased an iPad. I’m working myself up to buying one, I really am. I mean, I can only drool over everyone else’s for so long before I finally break down. In any case, I have an official iPad app tester: My mom! She makes the perfect iPad app tester for me because not only does she have an iPad (yes, my mom is cooler than me) but she is also a retired teacher and continues to be a “teacher’s teacher” today. (yes, my mom is a workaholic like me) So it’s great when I have an educational app to have her test out because not only does she review it from the standpoint of how much fun an app is – but also how well it teaches concepts. To make things even better, she has many grandchildren which happily offer their services as test subjects. Here is her review of Number Sense HD:

The creators of PunFlay’s Mathomatix Number Sense for the iPad, outdid themselves from a technical and educational standpoint.  As a child works her way through the 5 different games included in the application, she is having fun while gaining number skills and concepts that build on each other in a natural and pedagogically appropriate way.  I wonder how many other apps have been checked against the National and California Standards for teaching mathematics to kindergarteners.  Very impressive!

Booster Balls focuses on counting from 1 to 30.  The child collects 10 balls at a time and then feeds them to a cute little monster.  A child’s voice gives clear and easy to follow instructions and provides a model for the child to count along with.  The game is simple and fun.  My six year old granddaughter, Kayla, liked catching the balls and feeding them to the monster even though the game was clearly no challenge.  Five year old Joey and 3 year old Leah really enjoyed counting along, and with each repetition of the game became more confident.

Do the Dotty is a “connect the dots” game with sets of 10 numbers up to 30.  Now we are upping the ante.  Not only do you have to be able to count, you have to recognize what the number looks like and follow the instructions, connecting the numbers in sequence to create a picture.  Kayla, of course, breezed through, repeating the game many times, changing the colors of the completed pictures.  Joey declared the game really fun, but required some assistance as the numbers increased.  After a few tries, he began to recognize the numbers on his own.  I could tell that playing the game over a period of time would improve his skills.  Leah loved creating the pictures, but needed a lot of help following the directions and recognizing the numbers.

Recognizing  the numbers in sequence is one thing, but finding them in random groups is another challenge.  Numberella provides this challenge.  The players are asked to pick out a specific number floating in a cloud to create a rain shower.  Easy for Kayla, not so easy for Joey and Leah, but entertaining enough not to discourage repetition which leads to learning.

Now we come to the really conceptual challenge,  using an understanding of what the numbers stand for to manipulate objects.  Fishoonka and Toot Toot Train accomplish that brilliantly.  Fishoonka emphasizes the concepts of ‘more and less’ by having kids move fish back and forth to create the requested pattern.  Toot Toot Train takes it to the next level by requiring the addition or subtraction of cars to create the desired train length.  Joey needed guidance to achieve this but began to get the hang of it.  Even Leah began to get the idea and was very pleased with herself.

All in all, I give this app 5 stars.  As an educator, I appreciate the careful crafting of the games from the concrete to the conceptual.  This is a real learning tool as well as an attractive and entertaining game, a bargain at $1.99.  Bravo, PunFlay!

Number Sense HD: $1.99*

*Price at time of this writing

Disclosure: We received a free copy of this app for review purposes

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Vacation’s over for another year. So to cheer up all the kids who just started back at school, we’re now giving away MemoryMania completely free! This is a limited period giveaway offer.

MemoryMania is the biggest memory match game for kids in the AppStore. In MemoryMania users find 20 different sets of cards to choose from, and each set contains 15 different pictures. That’s 300 pictures – no other memory match game can compare with MemoryMania!

There are two game modes – a classic memory match, where you look for pairs of cards, or a hide-and-seek game, where you try to remember where the picture is and uncover it.
MemoryMania users love the 2 different game modes, the large choice of cards and the cute design that’s just perfect for kids.

Here’s a link to see a video of the app. And if you’d like to read more about the app, you can do so on the developer’s website.

Memory Mania: FREE*

*Price at time of this writing

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If you are looking for a really cool science type toy – this one is a great idea. The site says it’s good for kids aged 8 and up – but it is simple enough I think kids a little bit younger than that could even do it.

Click here to see the larger Snap Circuits SC-300 set on Amazon.com (you’ll notice it has 5 stars and something like 469 reviews. I’m not the only one that thinks this is the coolest toy ever)

Here’s a video of her playing with one of her circuit projects:

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Sam is already talking about what dog we should get next. And part of me is glad for that because if/when I’m ready to put myself through this heartbreak again, at least I know I won’t have to twist his arm. On the other hand, I am so not ready. No dog I get will be him – it won’t do the things he did, it won’t be the same. Not to mention, we have no idea what our life is going to be like in a few months. Are we moving? Where will we live? If we have to live in apartment for awhile, it would be better for us to wait. Maybe by then the spontaneous crying will stop.

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All this on the eve of my daughter’s birthday. At first we weren’t going to tell her, but I don’t like deception so we told her in the early afternoon. She’s definitely handling it better than I expected, (and certainly better than I am)

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Then:

and now:

Seriously, 10 years?? Who put life on Fast Forward mode?

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Still, I think the game has potential, as it has held Zach’s interest and he likes playing with the letters in the game. Click here if you’d like to see a video of the game.

Lola’s Alphabet Train: $1.99*

Lola’s Alphabet Train is also available for the iPad:
Lola’s Alphabet Train HD: $2.99*

*price at time of this writing.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of these apps for review purposes

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In case you’re not familiar with these titles: in The Big Brag, a rabbit thinks outloud to himself about he thinks he’s the best animal of all, at which point a bear listening nearby disagrees with him and boasts that he is the best of all animals. So they put their skills to test against each other, the rabbit trying to hear as far away as possible, the bear trying to smell as far away as possible. They are then interrupted by a worm who says he can see so far, he sees around the world and back again to two fools who have nothing better to do than argue who is better than the other.

In Yertle the Turtle, Yertle is king of his pond, and all he can see, but he is greedy and wants to be king of more – to do so he needs to see more. So he orders his poor loyal turtle subjects to come and make his thrown higher and higher. They obey, but one turtle complains that it isn’t fair. Yertle ignores his pleas and continues to order more and still more turtles over so he can sit on them. Finally the complaining turtle sneezes and makes the huge turtle tower crumble to the ground, sending Yertle into the mud and freeing all the turtles.

I think you’ll love these stories as much as my kids and I do. Zach happily listens to the stories over and over again.

The Big Brag: $1.99*

Yertle the Turtle: $3.99*

*price at time of this writing
Disclosure: I received a free copy of these apps for review purposes

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That is my poor dog. He’s been on Prednazone for a number of weeks and while he needs to be on it to keep him stabilized (we already tried reducing the amount he takes with bad results) the drug itself is causing all kinds of problems. The more annoying of which is it makes him pee. Endlessly. It’s like he manufactures pee from the air he breathes. I couldn’t keep up with all the accidents and even though he looks ridiculous, I broke down and made him a “doggie diaper”. Basically it’s just band that goes around his belly and I line it with an incontinence pad. Does the job. And this way he can still walk freely around the house.

In other news, I haven’t mentioned it on this blog – but I’m speaking at WordCamp Utah. I’m doing a presentation on using WordPress as a CMS. I finally finished making up all my slides and know what I’m going to say and I think it’s going to come out really well – so long as I stop saying “um” in between every other word. I’ve been doing a few practice sessions (including taping a few so I can see how I sound) and that’s the biggest thing I need to fix. I’m thinking shock therapy. I’ll rig it so it zaps me every time I say “um”. Eventually it should work, right?

I’m almost finished reading Ender’s Game and when I do, I’ll write up a review. I had been so proud of myself for how quickly I was able to read through “The Help” – (it only took me about a week – maybe two – that is definitely a record for me – especially for a book that size!) But that was during my vacation. LOL! Definitely hard to keep up that same pace while “normal life” is going on.

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The game comes with 8 puzzles, and if you register, you get 2 bonus puzzles. More puzzles are available for purchase as an in-app purchase. One thing I really liked that they did was explain how to TURN OFF the ability to purchase items from within an application so if you don’t want this ability freely available to your child, it’s pretty easy to enable and disable.

When I played the game, the pictures were fairly easy to find – although I did struggle on a few. Zach also liked the game and found a few right away, but seemed to struggle on some of the items as well. I would have assumed that the game would have been easier than it was given it’s title, but I still thought it was well done. Also, features like the “hint” button help reduce any frustration a child might have from not finding the item more easily by zooming in closer and closer to the item, each time you lick the “hint” button, to help you find it.

The game is available for both iPhone and iPad (however, and iPad Optimized version is still in the works). Additional puzzle packs cost as little as $0.99. To see a video of the game click here.

Highlights My First Hidden Pictures: $1.99*

*Price at time of this writing.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

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