Monster Physics App – 50% off for a limited time June 6, 2012

Monster Physics for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad on the iTunes App Store.

Monster Physics is on sale right now 50% off. Normally, $1.99. This is another amazing edutainment app from one of my favorite developers who made one of my favorite math apps for kids, Rocket Math (http://wp.me/p1M41l-8i). This is a great app that teaches kids about the basics of physics is a really engaging way.

There are over 50 puzzle problems to solve. I really like how the play and solutions are open ended so that  you don’t have to solve it the exact same way every time. You get to design your own monster as well as the build feature which lets you build your own creations and put it into action. There are dozens upon dozens of parts to manipulate and build. Your child’s imagination can go crazy. Who says that science isn’t fun?

Highly recommended for ages 5 and up. Younger children can play with some parental assistance. My son absolutely loves playing this with his geeky techie dad who likes this app a lot as well. Absolutely worth the full paid app price.

L@WS

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing App – Free for a limited time!

App Store – Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing.

Who doesn’t have fond memories of Sonic the Hedgehog? If you are a fan of kart racing games (we love Mario Kart), you will want to grab Sonic All-Stars Racing for iPad and iPhone while Sega is offering it for free download. Normally, this is $1.99. This games uses a tilt interface as you race through various courses. There are various characters to play and different vehicles to race. There are 25 missions and a 3 grand prix cup races with three levels of difficulty. You can also race online with up to 4 friends or go head to head using Bluetooth.

Recommended for ages 4 and up. Younger children experienced in tilt game play and racing games can also play this.

L@WS

Sprout’s Doodle Dots app – Free

Sprout’s Doodle Dots for iPad on the iTunes App Store.

This free app for toddlers was developed by PBS Sprout. It is a really nice beginner dot to dot app that also helps very young children learn basic concepts like colors, shapes, fruit, and numbers. You just tap on the dot as prompted by the audio to see the dots form a picture of many common objects. You can vary the puzzle by selecting the type of dots used (colors, shapes, fruit, or numbers). There are about 100 images to play with so your toddler will have lots to explore.

Recommended for ages 18 months to 3 years.

L@WS

 

Amazing ABC’s Alphabet Learn and Play – Free for a limited time! June 5, 2012

Amazing ABC’s Alphabet Learn and Play for iPad on the iTunes App Store.

This is a nice little app for older toddlers and preschoolers. The graphics are colorful and kid-friendly. The app includes learning the alphabet, tracing and a simple letter identification game. It is currently being offered for free download. It is normally $0.99.

L@WS

Inspector Gadget’s MAD Dash App – Free for a limited time! June 4, 2012

App Store – Inspector Gadget’s MAD Dash.

Dum da dum da dum, Inspector Gadget, dum da dum da dum DUM DUM, woo hoo! Go, Gadget, go! Anyone watching cartoons in the ’80s remembers this gem from after school programming. I loved this show about the bumbling detective, Penny (niece) and Brain (dog). I remember how we all snickered at how “dumb” the adults were.

XMG studio is offering this endless running style platform style game for free download. It is normally $1.99. It is a fun game where you collect coins and try to master more challenging obstacles. It is pretty fast paced game, so it won’t work well for young children. You can use your coins to redeem additional powers and unlock bonus content which includes 10 full length episodes of the show.

Recommended for ages 5 and up. Younger if your kid is pretty good at platform style games. M plays it at 3 1/2 and thinks it is hilarious. Of course, he is a mini version of his dad which means he is freakishly good at games.

L@WS

Little Things App – Free for a very limited time! Hot deal!

Little Things® for iPad on the iTunes App Store.

Little Things® Forever for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad on the iTunes App Store.

Who didn’t love those I Spy books or those Hidden Picture Puzzles in Highlights Magazine when you were growing up? I suppose it isn’t a very well kept secret that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and playing with those I Spy books with my nieces.

Klicktock has recently released a follow up to their top rated, best selling Little Things App for the iPad called Little Things Forever for the iPhone and iPad. In honor of this, they are offering Little Things for free and have discounted Little Things Forever to $0.99. Both are normally $2.99. This is an awesome deal!

I love how this app offers up a different game every time you play which is refreshing when most puzzle apps for young children a fairly repetitive. You solve each hidden picture puzzle and earn puzzle pieces to collect to solve when you collect enough pieces. When you solve the puzzle, you earn badges. For younger players, the hint feature is really helpful. They darken the screen and highlight a circular area when the hidden object is located. As time passes, the circle grows smaller and smaller so that your child can easily find the hidden object. This is really great for avoiding undue frustration when your child gets stumped. I thought that the puzzle that you collect pieces for a pretty tough for a younger player to solve since you have to rotate, slide, and flip pieces. I had to do a little thinking in order to solve it myself.

This app does a really great job of engaging children with interesting and dynamic puzzle play while really helping them with their observational skills. Highly recommended for ages 3 and up! Grab both of these apps before this deal is gone.

L@WS

More free Chinese Apps for Kids. June 3, 2012

宝宝识字1 for iPad on the iTunes App Store.

I found these Chinese learning apps a few months ago, and just remembered I never posted about them. I have no idea what the name of the developer is since it is only in Chinese. These learning apps are developed for the Chinese educational app market, so keep in mind that there is little or no English support for these apps. Currently, these app are free for download.

The first set of apps (1 of 8 linked above) are good vocabulary apps aimed at the advanced beginner/beginning intermediate level learner. I would estimate aimed at 1st through 3rd grade Chinese students. Each app contains 9 lessons each of which covers a set of 12 characters. Each lesson has a character overview which includes the pinyin, pronunciation, picture, words/phrases that use that character, and sample sentences. Keep in mind, there is no English translation. There is also a multiple choice quiz where you are asked to select the correct character when shown the pinyin, audio and picture hint. The proper stroke order is demonstrated and you can practice tracing over the character. If you are not fluent in Chinese, you can easily find the definitions of the words online.

宝宝识水果 for iPad on the iTunes App Store.

These are some of the best and most comprehensive free Chinese flashcard apps that I have found which can be used with young children. So far, there are current 17 flashcard sets. Each app includes 3 sets of flashcards on the subject matter. Every flashcard has a picture, the word in Chinese, pin yin, and English, pronunciation in both Chinese and English and an accompanying text and audio about the object. The final page of each set has all the pictures from the set which can be tapped on to hear the audio naming the object. For most of the apps, there is also a listening game where you have to match the audio to the correct image. What is nice about this is you can increase the difficulty of the game by increasing the number of images from 4 to 6 or 8. I also like that the game does let you keep trying to match the correct answer. There is also a hint button if you need help.

These are the current vocabulary sets being offered:

• Vehicles
• Car Brands
• Military Vehicles and Weapons
• Food
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Furniture
• Household Electrics
• Common Household Items
• School Supplies
• Weather/Nature
• Flags and Countries
• Common Signage
• Games and Sports
• Animals
• Dinosaurs
• Insects

I have linked one app from each series for you. From there, you can get to the developer’s page to see all 100 plus apps. They have a lot of Chinese e-book apps as well that you can browse through as well which you have to weed through since not all of the stories are good. For the vocabulary, just look for the icons with the bug with the pointer and a number. For the flashcard apps, look for this phrase at the beginning of the app name 宝宝识 and tagged as education. There are four of the vocabulary apps where the game feature is not embedded in the app. You will need download the matching app that has the i人 pictured on the icon.

The flashcard apps are recommended for children 2 and up. The vocabulary apps are recommended for advanced beginner/beginning intermediate learners ages 5 and up.

L@WS

Let’s Color! and Squiggles! Coloring Apps – Free! June 1, 2012

Let’s Color! for iPad on the iTunes App Store.

Squiggles! for iPad on the iTunes App Store.

Whenever I see coloring apps, I usually yawn because inevitably most coloring apps are pretty much the same after a while. However, Lazoo has two awesome coloring apps that are geared for toddlers and preschoolers that made me sit up and take notice! These apps are free for download with optional in-app purchases for additional scenes.

Just simply select a picture and scribble and draw away. Tap the Go! button and watch your picture come to life. Watch your cars zoom off the screen with your scribbled “exhaust” or the water hose shoot out your scribbles as “water”. This app is so much fun to play for little ones. These are two really excellent apps and even better, there are no ads!

Highly recommended for 2 to 5. Can be used with older toddlers with parental assistance.

L@WS