App & Tools

Learn about the latest apps, games, software and tools available for kids and teens. Discover the best apps available for kids of all ages.

Best Apps For Kids

by admin April 7, 2017

Kids nowadays consider a smartphone or a tablet as their main toy. Although it does sometimes prevent kids from being interested in playing games and other healthy physical activity, parents cannot deny the fact that kids have an increased interest in these gadgets. While some parents can continue to complain and gripe about this, others try to make tablets and smartphones as kid-friendly educational tools instead. It all depends on the apps you download on these gadgets that will make it an aid for a kids growth and development. Here are some of the best apps for kids that parents may want to consider.

Crayola ColorStudio HD

Make the iPad or iPhone a drawing board for your kids by downloading the Crayola ColorStudio HD app. Downloading the app will transform your device into a digital drawing board for your kids. Simple menus make it easy for kids to understand and use. It is a good alternative for kids to write on the wallpaper or the table when they feel the need to draw. The app is available for free download on iOS devices.

Baby Sign and Sing

This app is unique in that it will help toddlers learn nursery rhymes and sing them while learning the sign language. >The free trial app comes with one song, Old Macdonald’s Farm that kids can sing to and learn sign language. If parents would like for their kids to learn other rhymes, the full paid app comes with 10 more songs for kids to enjoy singing to and using ASL while they sign along. The app also comes with a section for learning about sign language and a tutorial for singing the song with signs. The trial app that comes with one song is free to download on iOS and Android devices.

A Parcel of Courage

This app is a story that kids will enjoy reading. This digital book is an interactive adventure that also comes with educational activities that kids can do along with 4 unique learning games. Not only will this app help kids enjoy reading, it can also help them develop their logical skills, memory, as well as their spatial recognition skills, thanks to the games and activities included with the story. It is available for free download on iOS devices.

Angry Birds 2 Gets One Million Downloads In Just 12 Hours

by admin August 1, 2015

Rovio, the developer behind the hugely popular game app Angry Birds, has made the sequel Angry Birds 2 available for download last Thursday. This is the long awaited sequel to one of the first games ever to become so popular on a portable device platform. And we all know that game apps have grown to become one of the more active and rapidly growing sectors related to smartphones and tablets. This, and the wide appeal of the game with its millions of fans have made it quite popular, so much so that the new sequel was downloaded more than a million times in just a span of 12 hours.

Yes, the popularity of the game still resonates among those who love to play it based on that factor alone. It took Rovio several years to come up with a fitting sequel to the game. Although the game has been made available in many different game themes in the past, it is only this time that the developers have added new features to the game.

Angry Birds 2 comes with more stunning graphics and a number of new landscapes. There are new multi-stage levels that include Boss levels to heighten up the challenge. Players now also have the ability to choose what birds they want to use and when as well as added choices for spells to combat those bad piggies.

The download activity for the game shows promise that Angry Birds 2 and the game in general has remained popular despite all these years. The fact that Rovio offered it as a free download really helped in that aspect. Now, this popularity will trickle down further to other businesses the company operates related to the game such as toys and other merchandise. You can now download Angry Birds 2 for free from the Apple App Store as well as Google Play.

Image Source: Apple iTunes

Explorium: Space for Kids

by admin October 29, 2014

From the successful Explorium: Ocean for Kids created by Puppet Life, comes Explorium: Space for Kids. The Explorium series is a Learn & Play app that combines a quest, mini-games, and facts about space to ensure children never lose interest while learning.

Following the continuing adventures of Alex and Alice in their quest to explore space.

Little heroes travel through the Universe to save a faraway planet, simultaneously learning planets, stars and constellations, playing mini-games and collecting space objects to decorate their own planet.

Explorium-Space for Kids distinguishes by numerous astronomy facts that both children and parents will find both entertaining and educational. The information is presented in a fun and easy way that helps to engage kids and encourages their curiosity and anxiety for space knowledge.

Just like its previous best-seller, the app encourages the development of kids’ fine motor skills, memory and attention training. It helps to boost creativity, improve logic skills and expand children’s vocabulary.

Device Requirements:
* iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
* Requires iOS 5.0 or later
* 215.2 MB

Pricing and availability:
The app will be launched on October 30 and will be available worldwide, exclusively through the iTunes App Store in the Education and Kids categories under Applied Systems Ltd.

Dormi Baby Monitor Android App

by admin March 15, 2014

Parents are always concerned of their baby’s condition. However, due to other important tasks at hand, they may not always be able to do this. Even moms sometimes can leave the baby unattended for a certain time when doing some housework or other tasks. It helps if parents taking on baby duty to have an aid to always look after the baby even when they are on a different room. The Dormi Baby Monitor Android App is a good tool to have around to help keep watch over the baby.

The Dormi Baby Monitor from Sleek Bit is a useful app to help parents always keep an ear on the baby even while in a different room in the house. It works by pairing up two or more Android devices- one placed on the baby’s room and the other device or devices in the hands of the parents. The child device can monitor if the baby is crying using the microphone of the device. The app automatically adjusts the mic sensitivity to amplify baby cries and reduce background noise. By pressing the Listen button, the app can alert mom or dad if the baby is crying. The app can also alert the parent device with a gentle beep or vibration if the babe device detects the baby crying. The Dormi Baby Monitor also comes with a Speak feature that will allow mom or dad to speak into their device to soothe the baby even while in a different room.

What makes the Dormi Baby Monitor useful and valuable is that it makes use of different connection routes to keep both the child and parent device connected. It can make use of WiFi, Edge, 3G, 4G or LTE to keep both devices connected. It can even pair the devices even when there is no internet connection by using WiFi Direct or Hotspot features of the Android devices. The parent device also provides information about the child device. Parents can check the battery level, connection and whether there were any messages received from the child device. And when both devices lose their connection, the app alerts the parent device as proper notification of the situation. The Dormi Baby Monitor is a good alternative for parents if they have at least two Android devices at home. They can use the app instead of purchasing a more costly baby monitor. It is available at Google Play for download. The app offers up to four hours of free monitoring each week. Unlimited monitoring requires payment, with the rates available on the Sleek Bit site.

Image Source: Google Play

Gro Garden iPad App

by admin February 15, 2014

It seems that our kids nowadays are more attuned to using our portable devices than we adults can. With this in mind, we parents may have in our hands a device that can be used not just for kid’s entertainment but also for learning. You can give kids the type of education that they can enjoy. If you wish to educate your kids more about plants and how to grow them at an early age, you can have them play with the Gro Garden iPad app not just for fun but to learn as well.

The Gro Garden iPad app is one of those popular edutainment applications coming out from the App Store. Kids will find this app fun to play with as a game. It offers a fun way of teaching kids how to grow plants organically and learn about sustainable farming. It teaches kids different environmental issues to keep them more aware of their surroundings.

The game starts with Connie the Compost and her friends the Micro organisms who start to create soil for planting. The more they produce nutritious soil for the plants and trees they live under, magical things start to happen. In the process, fruits and vegetables grow and are harvested. Kids can then start feeding the animals in the cottage. As more plants grow and harvested, players get to collect cool items, good food and badges as a prize for each progress. The Gro Garden iPad app is designed for kids from 4 years old and above. It is available at the App Store for a $3 download.

Image Source: App Store

I Can Name 50 Trees Today! iOS App

by admin February 4, 2014

When it comes to early learning nowadays, tablets and smartphones may be considered as one of the most useful toys to use. My kids just cannot help themselves playing with my iPhone. Even when I bought them a tablet to play with, they still try to use my phone once in a while to play games and do some fun stuff with the app I downloaded into it. What I am simply saying is that, with these devices quite irresistible for kids to play with, parents can use them as an educational tool for some early learning fun. Apps like I Can Name 50 Trees Today! from Oceanhouse Media.

The I Can Name 50 Trees Today! is an educational app for the iPhone and iPad that can help teach kids to read and learn about trees in general. To keep kids interested, it features the Cat In The Hat, that famous Dr. Seuss character to keep the kids engaged. It also uses Dr. Seuss rhymes to make reading more fun for the kids. Through the app, kids can learn about how trees grow, their characteristics and how to identify the different types. But more than that, this app can help kids to practice reading, learn new vocabulary, pronouncing the words properly, and improve their narration skills. The app features a means to record a kid’s narration for playback later. The I Can Name 50 Trees Today! educational app is ideal for kids from 5 to 10 years old. It is available at the Apple App Store for a $5 download.

Image Source: App Store

Top Free Android Apps For Creative Kids

by admin December 21, 2013

Many kids have creative minds that need to be nurtured early. This will help them develop the skill and bring out the inner artist in them. If not, creativity can also help kids learn how to think “out of the box”, a trait that many adults lose as they grow up. Here are some of the cool creative Android apps available for the kids this year. Don’t worry, you can find them available for free download on Google Play.

colAR Mix

Coloring pictures is always a fun activity for many kids. The colAR Mix Android app takes it another notch by integrating it with augmented reality technology. This unique app can bring pictures that kids color themselves into life in 3D. Kids only need to open the app on an Android tablet and use the device camera to focus on the colored picture. Kids will instantly see the pictures come to life in 3D with the magic of augmented reality. The pictures can then be animated, zoomed in and out, and can be seen from different angles in 3D. The colAR Mix app gives and interesting and creative take on coloring pages and pages of pictures. The app requires coloring pages, which can be downloaded and printed from http://www.colARApp.com.

FableScapes 2

Many kids love listening to stories. Even more kids like to tell them. Our kids love to play with make-believe stuff and they can express it through the stories that they tell. You can help bring out that creativity and imagination from your kids with the FableScapes 2 Android app.

The FableScapes 2 gives kids a chance to tell their own stories based on different settings and characters. The app provides the kids with a different set of characters to use in their stories. There are three scenarios available where their stories can take place. The kids can control what characters to use and what they do in the story. The scenes become animated features that help kids flesh out their stories to parent as well as other kids. The FableScapes 2 Android app provides kids with a way to develop their creativity and imagination when telling stories.

Magic Belles: Magic Music

For musically inclined kids, there are also Android apps like the Magic Belles: Magic Music that helps teach kids the basics of music in a fun and interesting way. This app is full of charming musical background and sound effects in order to help kids create music. Interactive games mix sound and animation to keep the kids entertained as they learn and have fun with sounds. This app is designed for music-loving kids from 3 to 6 years old.

Talking Angela Android App

by admin December 3, 2013

Even elementary kid girls can sometimes feel bored and need something to do to spend the time away. They need something to fill their spare time with. Most of the time nowadays, they have their tablets and other portable gadgets for this. For kids today, having something like the Talking Angela Android app may be a good option to have around when there is little to do. It provides kids with a virtual adventure that they can play with a unique character to interact with.

The Talking Angela Android app features a cat named Angela. This unique cat roams through the city of Paris. Kids can talk back to Angela and she can answer back at them. Kids can also chat up with Angela using text messages and she will answer to them as well. It is always fun when kids try to strike up a conversation with a talking cat.

Kids can also pet Angela to make her happy using their touchscreen device. Kids can also communicate with Angela using their face gestures and she will recognize whether you are smiling or even showing your tongue. But this may require a high-end device with a front facing camera. The girls can even buy her presents and accessories as well as choose her wardrobe for the night. Angela can even read your fortune cookie for you. Kids can talk with her about a lot of subjects, from love, hobbies, travel to even other pets. There are also challenging trivia quizzes for kids to answer in the app. In short, there are a lot of activities available for kids while playing with the Talking Angela Android app. It is available at the Google Play for free download.

Image Source: Google Play

Laugh & Learn Magic Scan Market

by admin May 1, 2013

When I try to look for toys for my kids when they were still babies, I usually do not go for toys that my kids can simply play with. That is the same as saying a simple toy rattle will not do, even it is quite fun for kids to play with. I try to make sure that the toy I choose can provide my kids with something to learn while playing with it, developing certain skills early on. I like toys such as the Laugh & Learn Magic Scan Market from Fisher Price.

Educational toys like the Laugh & Learn Magic Scan Market helps kids learn a variety of skills while having fun. This toy looks like that cash register at the supermarket that comes with its own weighing scale. It also comes with large number pad, rollers and other shapes matched with bright colors to make the toy very visually interesting for kids. It also comes with features that will help kids learn as they play.

The Laugh & Learn Magic Scan Market toy set features lights, music and fun responses, all to reward the baby for every scan. This help kids learn about cause and effect. Using their hands to push the buttons, spin the roller and handle the shapes help kids develop their motor skills. Audible sounds teach the kids about language, words and numbers as well as songs and phrases in both the Spanish and the English language. Fun accessories also help the toy set more fun to play with. The Laugh & Learn Magic Scan Market requires three AA batteries to function. It is a toy set that helps jumpstart your kid’s journey to learning. Designed for kids from one to eleven months, the Laugh & Learn Magic Scan Market toy is available at the Fisher Price website for US$30.

Image Source: Fisher Price

Magic Moves Electronic Wand

by admin April 10, 2013

Our kids today need to have physical activities more than ever as part of their daily routine. The reason for this is that there are quite an increasing number of overweight kids in the country. One of the factors known is said to be an increasing number of kids living sedentary lifestyles and with lack of physical activity. Although we might view our kids as healthy when they are a bit on the chubby side, they still need some added physical activity to make sure that they are fit. Toys like the Magic Moves Electronic Wand ensure that they do and enjoy doing it.

Most of the toys available for many kids today seem to promote a sedentary lifestyle that leads them to kids to become overweight. The Magic Moves Electric Wand is not one of them. This toy promotes fun physical activities in kids. I’m sure that my kid would like to have a toy like this since it combines fun with physical activity. It helps encourage them to move about and have fun at the same time.

The Magic Moves Electronic Wand is a simple toy that gives kids fun commands to imitate. There are commands such as “swoop like an eagle”, “stomp like a dinosaur”, “hop like a frog”, along with a host of 90 other creative and fun commands that kids try to act out. The commands are accompanied by music to keep the fun going with the kids. It is a great toy to have for some group physical activity to give our kids those fun exercises that they need to keep healthy as well as develop their listening skills as well. The Magic Moves Electronic Wand will be quite a “handy” addition to a kid’s collection of toys, if you know what I mean. It is available at Amazon for US$16.

Image Source: Amazon

Top 5 Visually Striking iPad Apps for Kids

by admin March 20, 2013

With so many apps for your kids, a few of them stand out from the crowd because of their striking visuals. This week, we are on a lookout for the Top 5 iPad apps our kids will surely enjoy, both as an educational tool and as beautiful pieces to look at.

This week’s list has got you covered–from biology to reading and phonics.

Star Walk HD-5, Vito Technology Inc, $2.99

This app turns your iPad into a virtual planetarium! Just point your tablet at the sky (or ceiling) and let the power of augmented reality come to life. Star Walk HD-5 makes use of your iPad’s camera, compass, geo-location, and accelerometers so your screen displays the close-to-accurate depiction of the night sky. Tap on a star and details about the heavenly body appear on the screen.

Clearly, the Star Walk HD-5 one of the best science apps for kids that even adults can join in the fun.

It’s a Small World, Disney, $3.99

Based on the “It’s a Small World” ride (and the song that plays along with it) on Disney theme parks, this app brings cultural diversity through full orchestrated music and beautiful artwork. Its hotspots provide interactivity for our children, while enhancing the story. The rings of the sun in the African scene, for instance, can be spun with a swipe. As these rings move, a rattling sound comes out of it, which fits nicely in the addicting background music.

Please do note that this app requires a lot of space at 133 megabytes.

Numberlys, Moonbot Studios, $5.99

The Numberlys has been hailed by critics and parents alike as one of the most beautiful alphabet books ever made. Its design is unconventional in a way that it is devoid of color except for white, gray, and black. The app features a comical narrator with a thick, Eastern European accent; an easy navigation system; and the option to switch the help mode and/ or the narrator on and off.

Rounds: Parker Penguin, Nosy Crow, $4.99

This innovative app makes science interesting for young children. “Parker Penguin” is part of the Rounds series of nonfiction apps that features life cycles of different animals. It combines educational content with ingenious music, beautiful animation, and interactive content that is perfect for both home and classroom.

The app features the life of Parker the penguin from birth to parenthood. It lets children get an idea of how penguins like him live in the Antarctic through lots of fun activities.

The Opposites, Mindshapes Limited, $0.99

The premise is simple: players provide the opposite word of what is provided. The catch, however, is when the game reaches higher levels. That is when they encounter words drawn from biology, economics, politics, medicine, and literature. What is the opposite of “efficacious”? Or “bear”? It may seem harsh, but think of it as prepping our young school children for SAT.