Math and Word Games for Kids for the iPhone

We tried a bunch of new games recently. Anusen (itunes link) is a small family run company that makes a very nice selection of word and math type games for kids, including a few in Spanish. Their QA team is made up of a selection of preschoolers. Our test team here (a 4 year old and 9 year old) really enjoyed playing them. As of this writing, the games are pretty reasonably priced, at just $.99/each. Definitely worth picking up a few to try.

Here are the ones we tried:

Word Magic
A game that helps teach spelling. You can have the game leave the first letter of the word open or a letter in the middle of the word.

Math Magic
Tests your skills at basic math equations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and rewards your little mathematician with stickers when they get a handful right. With Rachel’s class reviewing math facts at the start of school this year, this was a great way for her to get back up to speed.

Match Magic
“Draw” lines to connect matching pictures, shapes, numbers or colors. Zachary particularly liked playing this one.

Count Magic
In this game you have to catch falling items until you catch the correct number, and then the scene changes and you can play again. The game counts the items as you catch them. This was another one Zachary really enjoyed playing.

Math Series
This game has you fill in the missing number in the series. You can set the level of difficulty from simple to more complex. ie. [1 2 3 _ 5] or something a little trickier [3 6 9 _ 15]

Match ’em up Math
Another game where you draw lines to connect one side to the other – but in this case, it’s math problems to their solution. Equations can be in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. So the age range on this is pretty big.

Running Equipment

Managed to get two runs in this week, so I’m slowly working back up to where I was before I got sick. Earlier this week, I hopped on the treadmill and ran a mile right away without stopping again. I couldn’t do it again after that, only a half or 3/4’s of a mile – but I was really happy that I hadn’t completely gotten out of shape in the week+ I took off for being sick. Yesterday I wanted to run again, but I really didn’t want to go back to the gym. I missed being able to run outside, and my silly issue of not being able to get a drink while running was seriously bugging me. So I ran out and made yet another exercise purchase. Here’s what I’ve gotten to date:

Polar F7 Heart Rate Monitor
This has been instrumental in my being able to understand exactly how many calories I’m burning when I’m working out and how my body is reacting to the exercise. I can see when my heart rate is going too high and I need to pull back a bit, and I can see when it’s gone too low and I need to step it up a bit. My major complaint with it is that I’ve not been able to get it to work in the water. No matter how tight I make the chest band, no matter what I do. It thinks I’m dead in the water and gives me a heart rate of 0. Heh. Otherwise, love it.

iPod/iPhone Armband Holder
Obviously this is very handy. I keep my iphone in it, even though it has the plastic shield, it still registers when I use the touch screen.

Chain Timer iPhone App
When I’m doing my “Run 3 mins / Walk 2 mins” rotations, this app is invaluable! You can set custom chained timers and then it buzzes or plays a sound to let you know when to switch. I play my music in the background and then run this app.

Altec Lansing Backbeat Bluetooth Headset
Originally, I had been using the wired headphones with my iPhone, but the wires bouncing around while I ran really annoyed me. If I had a call come in, I’d have to disconnect everything to take the call. And of course the volume controls were on the phone itself, so to raise or lower the volume meant again, fumbling with the phone. With this headset, all these controls are on the headset itself, and no annoying wire. Take a call, change the volume, pause music play even, all with an easy click on the headset. It also will filter the ambient sound when you have the music paused, so you don’t have to take the headphones out in order to hear when people are talking to you.

And now my most recent purchase:
a Water Bottle Belt
This has been a major issue for me running outside. I can’t run for more than 5 minutes before I need to rehydrate. Not wanting to carry a bottle around in my hand, I hadn’t been bringing any water with me, which would usually lead to me feeling sick at the end of the run. This belt is really comfortable, I actually push it around and wear it on my back. It has a little pouch too so I can put keys etc. in there. I bought this last night and then ran out of the house to try it out. Very happy with it.

I also bought a Camelbak Water Bottle Sara had recommended. Worked ok. I was going to use it with the straw – but it almost immediately fell off inside. Tried to get it to stay – wouldn’t. Not sure if that’s a problem with these bottles in general, or just mine. But I did like the bottle anyway. 😀

(Isn’t it ironic that with all my exercise/running purchases, I still haven’t gotten a fancy pair of running shoes? LOL! The ones I’m using I got from Costco – they were cheap but they seem pretty good.)

15 More iPhone Applications for Kids (Part II)

And now for our next installment of “There are so many kid-apps on my iPhone that the kids think my phone actually belongs to them”… (If you missed the first post – I originally listed 20 games my kids loved playing on my iPhone)

1) Carrie’s Dots (Free version)
Do you remember when you were a kid, and to pass time waiting at a restaurant, you used to draw this grid of dots – each person took a turn connecting the dots with vertical or horizontal lines – when you made a box – you got a point, and also got to take another turn… That’s this game. Kids love it. Still does a great job of passing time while waiting in a restaurant.

2) Koi Pond (Full Version)
I’m kind of surprised I didn’t mention this one in my first listing. I think this was one of the very first apps I downloaded when I bought my phone. Cute little app. Has sound effects in the background. The fish swim around. Touch the pond to scare them away (my 3 year old son loves doing that WAY too much) – shake the phone to feed the fish. The graphics and interaction are well done.

3) Memory Match (Free version | Full Version – Child Development | Full Version – anime match)
A simple memory game with cute little cartoon animals to pair up.  I’m not sure why there’s the different full versions. We’ve been using the free one and have been happy with it.

4) iZoo (Free version | Full version)
This is a cute little app that plays various animal sounds. My one complaint is that some of the animal sounds are quite a bit louder than others. So randomly, my son will be playing with the phone and scare the crap out of me because I wasn’t expecting to hear a Baboon screech at that particular moment. Also – if you start to fumble to turn the volume down – you will discover that the APPLICTAION’S volume is only controllable WHILE IT IS MAKING NOISE. If you start turning the volume down when it is not screeching – you are only turning down your phone’s ring volume. The baboon will still be screeching just as loud the next time you click on the picture. If you are quick, you can turn down the app’s volume while it is making noise. So yea, it would be nice if there were more easily accesible volume controls – and if the animal noises had been processed so that one isn’t whisper quiet – while another is deafeningly loud.

5) Four Free (Free version | Full version)
Remember that Connect-Four game? Same thing – without all the little chips to lose.

6) Morocco (Free version)
Remember Othello? Again, same thing, without all the little chips to lose.

7) Toddler Teaser Shapes (Free version)
My 3 year old son loves this game. It calls a shape, you have to click it – do that enough times and you get a “sticker” to paste on the page. This developer also makes a number of other cute toddler games I’m tempted to download.

8 ) Sneezies (Free version | Full version)
This is a cute and weird game. There’s these little fuzzy guys floating around in bubbles. You get one chance to click in a spot on the screen and it starts a chain reaction. If one of the fuzzy guys is within range – his bubble will pop. His popping bubble will cause nearby bubbles to pop and so on. The goal is to clear as many of the guys on the screen as possible. Like I said, weird. (But fun)

9) Butterflies (Free version | Full version)
You can change your background, and which butterflies will appear on the screen. Touch the screen and some butterflies will “land” on your finger.

10) Dino Mixer (Full version)
Kind of like a slot machine but with different dino parts. You can mix and match and make your own dinosaurs. If you find the correct matching parts to the dinosaur, it will tell you the name of the dinosaur. I could see some ways they could expand the app – like actually SAYING the name of the dinosaur when you get it (sometimes those pronunciations can be tricky!) or giving you a random factoid about the dinosaur. Or for fun – giving you the made up name of your mixed-and-matched dinosaur… But it’s still a cute app even without that.

11) Preschool Arcade (Full version)
3 games are included with this one. A “claw” like game where you have to pick up the shape that matches the silhouette. There’s a toddler space invader type game, and a pinball like game. (The pinball game is weird, and I just don’t get it. My son plays with the claw game mostly) The main reason I got this game is because I liked the next one so much that I wanted to try a few others from this developer.

12) Make a Martian (Full version)
This game is VERY cute and simple. There are various martian body-parts you can change, you can also change the martian’s colors to create your own unique martian.

13) Pet Playpen (Full version)
My (almost) 9 year old daughter liked playing this game. You can pick three animals to have as pets. Feed them, play with them, clean up their poop. Can it get more fun than that??

14) Spazzle (Free version | Full version)
Basically whack-a-mole. The twist with this game is occasionally other animals pop up that you are NOT supposed to whack – so you can’t just go whacking animals willy-nilly. Well almost. Download the game at your own risk, and hopefully your 3 year old won’t bang his hand on the screen in an attempt to whack as many creatures as once. (Disturbing on many levels.) Hey, there’s also an alien version.

15) Colorama (Full version)
I saved the best one for last. This is my favorite of the list. The drawings are adorable, and there’s lots of them. The color picker is really cute. You can save your colored drawing, or go back and edit it (when you complete the drawing, it plays a little fanfare) Definitely worth the mere $.99!

I should also add, that I finally caved in and bought the full version of the Balloon Animals game. The kids have just loved this game, and really wanted to see some new animals. The additional animals you get with the paid version are very cute and the kids have been having a lot of fun with them.

BONUS APP:
Have2Pee (Free version)
So this isn’t a “kid-app” exactly – but if you have kids, you’ve probably been in the situation of needing to find the nearest bathroom as soon as possible!!! I haven’t yet had to put this app to use, but I have it now at the ready should the emergency arise!

There’s still a ton more apps on my phone that I didn’t mention yet – so another iPhone apps for kids review post will be coming again soon. Stay tuned!

Pizza that won’t break the (calorie) bank

While I’m on the subject of reviewing cool yummy low-calorie stuff… I’ve been having a crazy pizza craving that just won’t let up. When that kind of thing happens, first I try to fight the craving, then I try to find some kind of replacement or alternative so that I’m not sabotaging all my hard work exercising and watching what I eat. If all else fails, and I really can’t take it anymore – then, yeah, sometimes you just have to accept the fact that this is life – get ONE slice of pizza, watch your calories the rest of the day, and then try to move on and beyond the pizza craving.

In any case, I’m still at the “find a replacement or alternative” phase of my craving. So I found a frozen, single serving pizza made by Amy’s:

One problem I usually have with  frozen pizzas is that they’ll do a large pie but the serving is only 1/3 of the pizza. I can never slice it just right. And then after I finish my piece, there’s the other two slices staring back at me. So I love the single serving size. Frozen pizza also has a tendency to taste kind of… I don’t know… blah? like cardboard? Not this one!! I’ve had other frozen dinners by Amy’s, and they’ve all been really yummy and low cal. The Margherita Pizza was awesome, filling, and only 360 calories (which is REALLY low for pizza – seriously)

Craving satisfied. (I think… well, if not, I can always just pick up another one of these and have it for dinner)

Greatest Tomato Sauce EVER!

So I discovered a great find the other day. I was poking around Whole Foods looking for yummy low calorie stuff and found this tomato sauce:

It has the lowest number of calories I’ve seen in an off-the-shelf sauce (only 35 calories for 1/2 a cup), probably because it has no added sugar! Of course I had to buy it and try it and it tasted fantastic!! You’ve seriously got to try it if it’s sold near you. (I had it with some polenta – which turns out is much lower calorie than I realized, and it made a great dinner!)

Here’s a link to the company’s website so you can find it near you: Cucina Antica (I got their Garlic Marinara flavor)