Tag: ipad

iPad Apps for Kids: Park Math HD

I was looking for an iPad app for my daughter that introduced basic addition and subtraction using picture stories and came across Park Math HD (£1.49) by Duck Duck Moose. I’ve come across their apps before and liked them. I do like this one as well; there are activities for counting, adding, subtracting and sorting with 3 levels of differentiation. I wasn’t huge fan of the Swing Counting one but the others are good.

For more of our app reviews click here

Ipad Apps for Kids: Puppet Pals HD

Yet, another fantastic Ipad app recommendation from my mate Danny Nicholson from The Whiteboard Blog.  I absolutely love this app Puppet Pals, it’s also available for iphones but can’t help thinking the screen would be too small and fiddly for little fingers.

Simply choose your characters, a background, resize the images and when you’re ready push the record button, move your characters around and narrate your story.  Within seconds you have an animated story.  My daughter is only four and cracked it right away.  The educational value is limitless (literacy, listening and speaking, drama).

The basic version is free and comes with the Fairytale characters, but I’m tempted to buy the Director’s pass (£1.99), which includes custom content and all the characters, so we can start using our own images; including my daughter so we can plonk her right in the stories.  She’d go crazy!

Here is my daughter’s first attempt.  Do bear in mind she’s only 4 and the concept of a beginning, middle and end to a story is still beyond her.

For more of our app reviews click here

Ipad Apps for Kids: Jellybean Count

I absolutely love this Ipad app, Jellybean Count and to boot, it’s FREE!  It was recommended by my mate Danny Nicholson from The Whiteboard Blog.

Children count the different colour of jellybeans and then use the same number of fingers to input their answers.  For example, if there are 4 green jellybeans, they need to press on the green with four fingers; a very simple introduction to counting.  Plus, when they start to get to larger numbers like 6 they’re introduced to simple number bonds as they have to use 5+1 fingers.  Fantastic!

There is also a mode to have multiple players.

Download it now!

For more of our app reviews click here.

What does your iphone say about you?

My hubby was given a hand me down iphone3, which we were very grateful to receive. However, as usual I was left to sort it out. Bless him, he can barely send emails with attachments.

Long story short after nearly bricking it, we had to have it unlocked and I was told under no circumstance should I update it and guess what I did? Anyhow, I managed to get it sorted. But, what I found interesting was the content of the phone prior.

My mate, who gave us the phone, is a food technologist. The phone was full of food type apps; Waitrose, nutrition calculators, shopping lists etc. It made me wonder what our phones/ipads say about us.

I’m not a huge fan of memes but would love to know what

@dadyougeek

@the_moiderer

@annieqpr

@mattbigg’s

@dannynic

@R2UK

@whitespider1066

phones says about them!  Plus, it’s a great way to share good apps.

According to my phone I’m a social media addict! For Christsake, I have a separate folder for it with 3 twitter apps!

 


I’m a mum! Phone has been a godsend, especially when you want one more sneaky drink in the pub.

Lastly, I’m a Libra, slightly OCD and possibly anal. I have at least 8 folders on the first screen! Check out the categories: travel, entertainment, blogging, social media etc. I do worry myself sometimes.


Even if I haven’t tagged you do join in!  If you’ve never done a meme before, basically you write a post similar to this, link back here and then tag a few friends.

Top Ipad Apps for Kids

Following on from my first guest blog post – Travelling just got easier Part 01 – I thought I would follow up, as promised, with a more detailed iPad review of what exactly my boys like and what works and does work.

Lets start with the oldest, a 7 year old. I am not the kind of parent that throws technology at my kids and let them get on with it, while I sit back with a beer and the newspaper. Although, as I type that it does sound nice doesn’t it. The iPad adds to the experience.

However, there are times, especially when travelling that it comes in very handy. Sometimes traffic or a delayed flight, you need something to take away the boredom. And here are the top 3 things that save the day with a 7 year old.

  1. Angry birds. It is brilliant, fun and very addictive. I have known parents to get hooked. It is also being constantly updated, with recently a “Halloween” edition being launched. If you have an iPad and even an iPhone / iPod you need to get this.
  2. Lets Golf. Now there are 2 additions to this game, but both work great and if your kids are into sport type games, then they will love it. Very easier to play, very colourful and has great features to improve and challenge your golf skills.
  3. Now something to keep the teachers happy. And educational App – Mathsboard. My boy loves this and makes me feel good as a Dad. It looks like a blackboard in design and you go through a series of Maths problems and puzzles to test your skills. You can change the settings, to make it harder and easier, so it grows as the children’s knowledge and confidence grows.

And now on to the 2 year old, which is a different thing altogether. We mainly use the iPad as a replacement for the suitcase full of stuff you normally need to carry as hand luggage. So here are 3 things that will keep the 2 year old from going crazy on holiday.

  1. Game cards. We use ‘Flashcards’or 123 counting. Very simply a series of pictures or images that come up on the screen and you learn to explain colours, sounds, animals, and letters. Pretty much everything. Flashcards has everything. From Sharks to Cars, from the colour orange to the letter G. The added benefit to flashcards is that it comes in other languages. Although we are trying with English first before moving on to Spanish. One downside to these types of Apps is the noise. Remember to turn the volume button down. You have been warned.
  2. ColourPlay Lite is a great App. The Lite version is Free and maybe a little limited. However you can upgrade to the full version for £1.19 once you have exhausted all the drawings. To start with, you get a series of animal’s pictures, pigs, horses and a colour palette. With the touch of the finger you get to paint in the picture. Simple, but my boy loves it.
  3. Videos. The iPad is great for showing movies and TV shows. In the library we have Thomas, Peppa and an assortment of Disney classics. Brilliant. No discs, no DVD boxes. Simple and very useful. We also have a good selection of older stuff for the 7 year old. Football, Top Gear etc.

I hope that helps. I think with the introduction of iPad type technology, Travelling with children just got easier.

Matt Bigg

@mattbigg

matt@thecollectivedesign.co.uk