QUICKIE GIVEAWAY for iPAD app

Electric Eggplant has just published a new iPad app. "Be Confident in Who You Are: A Middle School Confidential™ Graphic Novel” is for 8-14 year olds. We had hoped to review it here but the folks with the iPad have younger kids and the reviewer with the older kids (that's me, peeps) doesn't have an iPad.  So we have a code for this app that is going to expire tomorrow at 11:59 pm.

Here is more info about the app: http://MiddleSchoolConfidential.com/be_confident.html

There is no mandatory entry for this giveaway.  To enter you can do one of two things or you can do both (make sure you leave a comment for each thing you do):

1. Like Electric Eggplant on Facebook.

2. Follow Electric Eggplant on Twitter.

Only one person per email/household/IPaddress can enter this giveaway. He/she must be 18+ years old and reside in the U.S.  This giveaway ends on 4/29/11 at 12:01AM HST (Hawaii Standard Time). One winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org. I will notify the winner via email and he/she must respond to claim the prize within 12 hours or I will draw another winner.

 *I was not paid for this blog post.  Any and all opinions here are my own.

Quibble Kids iPhone App by Night and Day Studios, a Review

Multiple times a day I have a child ask me, "Mom, can I play a game on your phone?" And most of the time I turn the request down, but now that I have Quibble Kids I can say YES and give them a fun learning game.  First, some info about the Quibble Kids app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad from the Chess Media website:

Quibble Kids

For kids who like games. For parents who value learning.

Just about every young family has a picture match game somewhere in a crowded closet or toy box. With Quibble Kids, the game is in the palm of your hand and it’s never missing a match. Quibble Kids is more than just a standard picture match game. It uses three-dimensional spinning cubes to help develop a child's spatial reasoning, memory and logic skills. In short, Quibble Kids helps children learn to make connections between what they see and what they know.

Quibble Kids features:

*50 puzzle sets with over 200 images for the original picture match game
*Intuitive interface for young kids to easily master
*Fun music for each puzzle
*Score keeping to chart your child’s progress
*Access to additional puzzle packs for kids between the ages 2 and 12
*Each additional puzzle pack is available for only 99 cents

You can see how Quibble Kids works in the video below:



This iPhone app was perfect for my 4 year old and with my help, my 2 year old loved it...almost too much. My 4 year old enjoyed spinning the cubes.  He felt very confident each time he got a match and noticed that his score got higher and higher. He played for quite some time trying new puzzle after new puzzle. As I watched him play, I loved that the puzzles ranged from household items to animals to activities.

I'm always hesitant to let my children play video games and such, and with 5 kids I don't have a lot of time to play the puzzles that I once played with my first. But I feel GREAT about letting my son play Quibble Kids, because I know he is learning and having fun!  Quibble Kids is available for $1.99 in the App Store on iTunes.


I did not receive compensation for this post although I did receive a free download through the Family Review Network to facilitate this review.  Any and all opinions here are my own.

Review of Kindermusik, a Night & Day Studios Iphone App

One of the hardest things about having 5 children & living in the country on Oahu is that EVERYTHING is at least 1 hour drive away. So when I need to go to "town" to get anything I prepare for the long drive with: snacks, books & of course music. AND as of late my kids have really enjoyed a book on tape. I have a few CDs of Winnie the Pooh or FairyTale stories. These stories really keep the kids entertained during our drive.

SO when I heard of the possibility of reviewing KINDERMUSIK I jumped at the chance.

Here is some info about the app from the Night & Day Studios website:

With 5 stations to choose from, the Kindermusik Radio app will give you access to over 100 of the very finest and authentic reproductions of classic children’s songs, nursery rhymes, and stories, as well as Kindermusik originals. Each song includes lyrics and a corresponding activity designed to stimulate early childhood development. The activities, developed by trained and licensed Kindermusik educators, are based on principles defined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). With over 30 years of experience, and inspired by the seminal work of early childhood development experts such as Piaget, Montessori, and Greenspan, Kindermusik is the recognized leader in early childhood music and movement curricula and products.

I love kids music & stories. I got the app off iTunes and have LOVED it ever since. I plug my phone into my car & the kids can choose the station they like. I especially enjoyed the colors and ease of changing genres of stories and lullabies to different types of music.

The kids like how they can look at the picture of what is playing & chose to play along with the song, see the lyrics, do fun activities or change to a different song if they want. HOW EASY IS THAT?! What a fun & fabulous app.

You can download the lite version of Night & Day Studios Kindermusik on iTunes for free or you can download the full version (which is what I'm reviewing here) in the App Store for $1.99--a musical bargain!

I was not compensated for this post although I did receive a free download of Kindermusik to facilitate my review.  Any and all opinions are my own.

Mathomatix: Measurement by Punflay - an iPhone App Review

There's more to preschool and kindergarten math than counting! Children ages 3-5 may wonder about measuring many things, from how long a stick is to how heavy an apple is. Punflay has developed a new learning application named Measurement which introduces different concepts of weight, volume and length to children. Included in this app are 5 different games with names such as: Crazy Clock, Scale Tale, Fill Me Up, Long & Short and Action Months.

My daughter's favorite game was Fill Me Up. In this game your child learns the concept of volume through easy exercises like filling pitchers with milk or bowls with strawberries and then deciding which container holds more or less. The graphics are very creative with fun ideas like sand in a beach pail, ice cream in a dish, cracked eggs in a bowl and cookies in jar. My daughter loved the variety of pictures and themes this game included.

Another feature of the Measurement app is My Stuff.  Once a round of any game is complete the player receives a "reward" like a bear or basket. These images are stored in the "My Stuff" rewards box in the main menu of the game. When my child realized she could earn an image of a toy and collect even more with every round she would not put my phone down.

To purchase Measurement and other fun Mathomatix games by Punflay visit www.punflay.com or you can find them in the iTunes store for prices starting at only 99 cents.

I was not compensated for this review although I did receive a free download of the app to facilitate the review. Any and all opinions here are mine.

Mathomatix: Alzebra by Punflay - an iPhone app Review

"Can I play a game on your phone? Can I play a game on your phone?" This is what I hear the moment I wake up, the second I come home from work, all day every day. Sometimes this question is hard for me to answer because I want to play a game on my phone myself, LOL... but recently, I was anxious for my kindergartener and preschooler to ask so they could try out the new Mathomatix: Alzebra app by Punflay.  

The app is "designed to teach basic functional algebra to kindergarteners and is based on National and California Standards." After reading this description I was asking, "You wanna play a game on my phone? You wanna play a game on my phone?" Both kids enjoy the Alzebra app with its fun animations and characters and great graphics. And both kids have no idea they are learning the basics of algebra -- it's a win-win situation here. Alzebra helps with identifying, classifying and sorting skills, patterns, sequences, hand-eye-coordination and more. Plus, there are five games in one, all for just .99 cents! You can purchase this app through iTunes or if you don't have iTunes you can download it here. Alzebra is a great app to keep your child entertained (and smart)!

I was not compensated for this review although I did receive a free download of the app to facilitate the review. Any and all opinions here are mine.

Bob Books App Review

“Bravo, Bob Books!”

Have you heard of Bob Books? Developed over 35 years ago by a teacher, these beginner readers have helped over 2 million children learn to read. (Numbers quoted from John Maslen, husband and co-founder to Bobby Maslen.) To quote the Bob Books website, these books were developed to facilitate that ah-ha moment when letters first turn into words. As their website states:

“By slowly introducing new letter sounds, using consistency, repetition and stories that fit short attention spans - your child will quickly find his or her own ah-ha moment.”

The print copies have had a wide range of success and acclaim for the past two decades but the good news is they’ve gone digital! Now you can purchase a Bob Book app for your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The digital version still includes the authentic hand-drawn illustrations and beautiful colors but in addition there is simple drag-and-drop interface that encourages even the youngest reader to sound out words.  Bob Books are known for their simple yet effective style but I think the addition of a drag/drop user interface makes these books all the better!

The Bob Book app includes twelve scenes for a total of 32 words. The feature I liked was the four game levels where I can set the level higher depending on my child’s reading ability. 

As a mother I want to do all that I can to encourage a love of reading in my children and I think Bob Books has created a great app for early readers that does just that.  My daughter had a great time playing with this app as seen below in the video.

To purchase the Bob Book app visit the apps section of Apple’s iTunes store.

I did not receive any compensation for my review of Bob Books app although I was given an application to facilitate this review.  Any and all opinions here are my own.

Review of Kids Math Fun App

I think flashcards are what you might call a “necessary evil” for children while learning math. I’m speaking from personal experience when I say that flipping through card after card is not fun. When I was younger I actually hid my flash cards, one by one, under my mattress. My strategy was I knew that hiding them all at once would be noticeable so I simply thinned out my stack one day at a time. (I’m sure glad my daughters are not old enough to read my blogs!)

Okay, now that you know my dislike for math let’s move on. Through my personal experience I am convinced that learning math is critical to eventual success in any endeavor. It is also my opinion that one of the best ways for a child to learn foundational math (basic addition, substraction, multiplication and division) is through repetitive practice and memorization.  Kids Math Fun has found a great alternative to flash cards! Their development of a fun application for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad helps children learn and practice math with each application specifically developed for an individual grade level.

We reviewed the apps for Kindergarten and 2^nd grade.  One of the features that I liked was “Double Dare” which helps children learn the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction. (Example: Instead of 5+3= ? the app shows 5+?=8) I also liked the “Minute Math” activities feature where my daughter can test her math skills in a set amount of time which can be adjusted from 30 seconds to 10 minutes.

I would highly recommend purchasing this app as a new and exciting alternative approach to your child's elementary math studies. 

These math applications are available here or in the apps section of iTunes.

I did not receive any compensation for my review of Kids Math Fun apps although I was given two grade level applications to facilitate this review.  Any and all opinions here are my own.

Review of PicPocket Books

Did you know the average child in the United States watches 3-4 hours of television every day? Time spent watching television can be entertaining but it can also lead to fewer books read and lower grades in school. (Statistics found at American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry)

I admit I too am guilty of turning on cartoons when I want my child to be busy for a short while. Thankfully I’ve found a fun and educational alternative!  As stated on the PicPocket Books homepage, this product offers a unique and new experience, combining the beauty of quality picture books with audio recordings and interactive visual text.  Additional PicPocket App features include:

• High fidelity, full-color illustrations that stay true to the original print book.

• High quality audio recording.

• Play-pause to start and stop the story at any time.

• Fast-forward and fast-back to replay images and audio.

• Stories downloadable directly to your device, anytime, anywhere, on-the-go.

• Buy it once, play it as many times as you want.

• Patent-pending technology.

It’s really easy to buy these! All you do is download the book you want (it’s an application so look under the apps section) from iTunes and synch your mobile device (iPhone, iPod or iPad) to install the books.  If you’re worried about finding books on iTunes the PicPocket website makes it really easy by including a link next to each book that will take you directly to the store site. Prices start at $1 each. What a great deal!

We really enjoyed reading the books given to us to review.  One of my daughters is an early reader and each day when she gets home from Kindergarten we spend most of our afternoons reading together. The feature that I felt was most helpful for her while using PicPocket Books was the text highlighting included in each story.

I love that this is great fun and educational for my child but as a busy mom on the go I especially like the mobility factor. My toddler is not one to sit quietly for any amount of time but now that I have these books on hand I have a great way to keep her entertained while at doctors’ offices or in the car.

Below is a quick video I made of my two youngest enjoying the book Best Friends Sleep Over by Jacqueline Rogers. By the way, my little one's dancing was completely spontaneous while my older daughter would hardly raise her eyes for fear of missing something.

PicPocket Books are available for purchase here or in the apps section of iTunes.

I did not receive any compensation for my review of PicPocket Books although I was given a book to facilitate this review.  Any and all opinions here are my own.