The children’s application Bumblebee Touchbook offers two main features. The first is “read and book” and the other is “watch a movie.” The book section is interactive and educational, while the movie portion is a 3-D animated short featuring adorable bumbling bees. When my son and I first played this application, I expected a passive book reading experience; we soon learned it was much more of a teaching tool with learning activities focusing on word recognition and counting. The lessons are concise and simple, but exquisitely done with graphics that have Pixar-like quality and charm. We especially enjoy the bumblebee movie, set to Tchaikovsky’s classical tune “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies”, which is reminiscent of my favorite Disney films “Fantasia”.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Counting, Music, Preschool, Reading, Reviews, Toddlers

Count Caddy is an application that teaches fundamental counting skills to very young children. To play, the user must drag various objects one-by-one into the counting circle; after each turn, the corresponding number is spoken and written to reinforce the lesson and to guide the user along the way. The creator – Tickle Tap Apps – clearly and effectively produced this app with the preschooler-set in mind. Count Caddy has an uncomplicated interface and simplistic animation that appeals to young eyes. It uses visual and auditory approaches to teach counting, helps to sharpen fine motor skills, and it does stellar job of wrangling my son’s attention span. Best of all, kids can challenge themselves to learn incremental counting (by twos and threes); this appears to be a unique and distinguishing feature of this educational application.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Counting, Preschool, Reviews, Toddlers

Mathemagics is an application that teaches tricks and strategies for mental math calculation. It’s based on basic math skills and only requires understanding of simple math (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). Users are guided step-by-step through each lesson to solve the problem, then there’s the opportunity to use acquired skills in the practice section. The math calculations steps are easy to follow and logically explained. I was stuck a few times while practicing but I found it easy enough to toggle back to the lesson section to refresh my understanding of the calculation. Seriously, I’m the kind of gal who whips out her iPhone calculator to figure out a restaurant tip – it’s staggering that I can do such complex math problems with such ease and enjoyment. This app would likely appeal to teenagers and adults preparing for the math section on standardized tests, or those looking for a geeky good time.

By Age Range, By App Feature, For Parents, High School +, Math, Middle School, Reviews

Baby Names Finder is a resource tool to help parents select the perfect name for their little bundle of joy. It includes names for boys and girls, name significance/meaning, pronunciation, a popularity index, a search feature, and a “favorites” file. The application is well-organized and it’s easy to navigate through the extensive catalog of diverse, multinational names. One of the finest features of Baby Names Finder is the ability to email a list of your favorite names to your loved ones for their approval…or jeering. The portable format of the iPhone app lends itself nicely to the subject matter; it’s much easier to brainstorm names when the inspiration strikes than to spend date-night with your hubby sorting through a mountain of cumbersome baby name books!

By Age Range, For Parents, Reviews

Poke, tap, and slide the colorful illustrations and the world of the Itsy Bitsy Spider comes alive. This skillfully-crafted application is made by Duck Duck Moose, the award-winning production company who brought us two other preschool songs-apps, “The Wheels on the Bus,” and “Old MacDonald.” This particular rendition seems to top the others with its endless critters and even more interaction to rouse a toddler’s curiosity. It promotes exploration and can facilitate as a learning tool when caregivers and children experience and talk about it together. My favorite feature is the chatty fly Chloe who buzzes around the periphery of each scene offering helpful tidbits of information about nature and the environment. I also like that my son and I can record ourselves singing. What a find! The Itsy Bitsy Spider is epic entertainment!

Animals, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Music, Preschool, Reviews, Toddlers, nature

This application features the talking dog from the PBS Kids television series Martha Speaks. Dog Party is comprised of four games: Chow Time, Doggie Dress Up, Martha Says, and Pop Quiz. All of these games – with the exception of Doggie Dress Up – are educational and aim to hone keen observation, vocabulary, shape recognition, and word comprehension skills. Beyond the multitude of learning opportunities, this app provides a value with four games in one, the production quality is excellent and visually pleasing, and the canine characters are captivating. It’s clever and fun, and makes us giggle. My son and I can’t get enough of the enthusiastic dog tongue that licks the plate clean during Chow Time!

Animals, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Language, Preschool, Primary School, Reviews, Shapes, Toddlers

This song-based application has six popular preschool songs including the ABC song, 12345, Incy Wincy Spider, Three Little Monkeys, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. All of the songs are well-executed with simple animation, pleasant instrumentation, and a lovely chorus of talented young voices. There isn’t much to look at with this application but the audio is so nicely done the visual content doesn’t seem to matter. Many believe that music, especially songs with repetition and rhyme, can help children learn how to talk and communicate. My son benefits from Kidzongs Preschool Sing-along fun two-fold; he enjoys listening to music while sharpening his language skills, and he gets a break from hearing his tone-deaf (though well-intentioned) Mom sing to him.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Music, Preschool, Reviews, Toddlers

In this search-and-find application you must “find yourself” before the timer runs out. To begin, you define “who you are” from a choice of fourteen characters and then you select one of five different scenes. The time allowed for each challenge varies depending on the skill level chosen (from easy to hard). I found this game to be absorbing and challenging, requiring me to exercise my attention, concentration, memory, and strategizing skills. Younger/novice players may benefit from starting with the easy skill level but I found the “hard” level to be the most enjoyable. At this level, there is only one minute to find my character within the crowded and chaotic scene. I must pay close attention because my character might be crouched down, bent over or hiding from me! This app is great fun for all and helps to develop and strengthen a keen sense of observation.

By Age Range, By App Feature, High School +, Middle School, Preschool, Primary School, Puzzle, Reviews

Pediatric SymptomMD is a physician-endorsed reference tool that caregivers can use to identify and treat their children’s health problems. It has five main categories including a symptom identification index, a “seek help” telephone directory, a pediatric medication dosage table, an option to connect with your pediatrician’s phone number, and a section with special pediatric topics. I’m impressed by the intuitive design and wealth of information offered in this application. It thoroughly defines each health problem (sometimes including visual images), then prioritizes each symptom by advising when and what help might be needed. I’ve successfully used this application twice now – each time following the care advice given – and it worked beautifully! Of course, Pediatric SymptomMD can’t replace the guidance of your health professional, but it’s a helpful resource for overwhelmed caregivers struggling to decide “what do I do next?” It’s a small price to pay for such peace of mind.

By Age Range, By App Feature, For Parents, Health, High School +, Middle School, Reviews

The application Preschool Music offers four different activities with various musical opportunities. There are sheep who harmonize, parrots who sing music-in-the-round, aquatic creatures that produce various percussion sounds, and a keyboard labeled with musical notes. Visually, this application is nicely done with lovely bold and colorful artwork but – ironically – I found Preschool Music to be a somewhat unpleasant listening experience. The audio for three of the four activities (all but the percussion section) was difficult to listen to over and over again. It’s truly a shame since I’m a fan of what this app tries to teach, like different musical concepts (harmonizing and rounds) and how to make your own music (percussion and keyboards).

By Age Range, By App Feature, Music, Preschool, Reviews, Toddlers