The iPhone Mom

My Silly Sounds Farm app has given me the best case of giggles that I’ve had in a long, long time. Let me explain why. When I receive promo codes I usually put the apps on my iPhone or iPad right away, even though I might not get a chance to use the app for a week or so. My kids know to check for new apps and they usually get to the children’s apps before I do. This was the case with My Silly Sounds Farm. It’s been on my iPad for a couple of weeks but I had no idea my son had been using it. He usually tells me when he’s found one that he really likes and I know for a fact he really enjoyed this app. Here’s my proof. I went to test the app today and first of all, it’s adorable. I love the graphics and the animals are completely appealing. The idea is to tap on an animal to hear it’s sound. By default the animal sound is one that matches the animal but the fun comes when you record your own silly sounds and then play them back. Each animal screen has a big red button that you tap when you want to record a new sound. The recording is then integrated into the app and when you tap on that animal you’re going to hear your recording. So unknown to me my son had gone through the entire app and recorded his own animal sounds. But they weren’t really sounds, it was more animals doing monologues and sometimes dialogues. And it was hilarious! His imagination has taken off over the past few months and this was a much needed laugh as I went through animal after animal listening to his random creativity.

When you’ve gone through and played with all the animal recordings you can move them around on the screen to create a farm scene. You can tap on each animal and get them talking all at the same time – it’s quite the ruckus! Reminded me of dinnertime at our house. This is a wonderful app for young children and it’s obviously been a hit at my house!

Just for kicks, I’ve taped a few of my favorite animals as voiced by my son. Keep in mind he’s five and the thoughts are at times random. This is probably a mother’s bias but his recordings made the app a big winner for me. I highly recommend this app if you have a preschooler in your house. The video quality isn’t the best, I put the whole thing together with iMovie on my iPhone and I’m quite certain my settings weren’t the best. I’m also a YouTube novice. So don’t judge the app’s graphics by my shoddy workmanship. One last thing, when he’s talking about the pig nose looking like a “pause” – he does mean pause and not paws. And he’s spot on.

I tested out the iPad version of My Silly Sounds Farm but there is also a separate iPhone version available. I have a promo code to give away for the iPhone version. Leave a comment and I’ll pick a winner tonight.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Sequel Creative, LLC

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review

I am absolutely delighted to let you all know about the app Shakespeare in Bits: Romeo & Juliet. Delighted! This app review is for anyone out there with a Junior High or High Schooler who will be tackling Shakespeare this coming school year. I can’t remember when I first had to read Shakespeare in school but I’ve always enjoyed and marveled at his works. His creativity and ability to shape sentences amazes me. But….I know not everyone feels that way and the thought of dealing with one of Shakespeare’s plays gives many students nightmares. This is why I’m very excited to review Shakespeare in Bits. If you’ve got a student who is going to take on Romeo & Juliet this year this app could be a sanity saver. For parent and child!

I’m not even quite sure where to begin because there are so many wonderful things about Shakespeare in Bits. I think I’ll try breaking it down by the differentbuttons that show up at the bottom of the screen and we’ll go from there.

Play - The Play button takes you to the beginning of the Play, in this case Romeo & Juliet. On the left side of the screen is a movie. On the right side is the play’s text. When you play the movie you’ll be viewing an animated reenactment of the text on the right side of the screen. This text will be highlighted as it is narrated in the movie. The animation includes narration featuring Michael Sheen and Kate Beckinsale. It’s taken from —— You can always read the text without watching the movie.

As you read through the text you will notice that some phrases are highlighted by boxes. If you tap on these phrases the words will change into more modern language. For example, in the prologue the words read “Two households, both alike in nobility.” Tapping on the word nobility will change it to “dignity” so the line now reads “Two households both alike in dignity.” It makes a little more sense that way. In the margin next to the text are tiny circles with the letters “L” and “H” in them. Tap on “L” and you’ll see an explanation about the language being used in that section. Tap on “H” to read about the history that relates to the lines. I think these features are absolutely fantastic.

In the Play section you can read the play’s text or see notes on the section. These notes are an explanation of what is going on it that particular scene. You can also view a synopsis of the scene. All of this puts a modern explanation on Shakespeare and makes the play easier to understand.

Scenes - The Scenes button pulls up a scene index. Here you are allowed to choose an image that will launch a scene in the play. This will allow you to start the play from any point that you wish.

Cast – This is probably my favorite part of the app and I think the developers made a brilliant move here. Tapping the Cast button brings up a list of the characters in Romeo & Juliet. Tap on a characters name and you will see their name, age, main characteristics and associates. Tap on an associates name and you’ll be shown their character information. You will be able to read a summary of that character’s actions in the play. There is also an illustration from the animated movie so you can identify the character visually. In addition to the cast information there is a relationship map. This visually maps out how all of the characters are connected to each other. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

Analysis - The analysis section is broken down into several sections. There is the plot summary, themes from the play, key imagery and notable quotes. Information about William Shakespeare is also included here.

Shakespeare in Bits: Romeo & Juliet is available in an iPhone or iPad version. I tested out the iPad version and it is slightly different from the iPhone due to the screen size. In the Play section I mention the movie appears next to the text on the screen. This is how it will be on the iPad, it won’t show up that way in the iPhone version. The content is the same but it’s presented in a different way. The team behind Shakespeare in Bits is currently working on Macbeth and they’re planning to launch the app around November. I think they’ve created a tremendous tool for students and I hope the app’s do very well so they can continue to develop more plays.

The iPhone and iPad versions both have a free version. They only contain the beginning of Romeo & Juliet but they will give you a look at what you’ll get with the full version. I highly encourage anyone who’s going to work with this play to give the apps a trial.

Price when Reviewed: $4.99 (iPhone) – $11.99 (iPad) – sale prices through September 2nd.

See the iPhone app in iTunes

See the iPad app in iTunes

Seller: Mindconnex Learning, Ltd.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review

There are several things that I very much enjoyed about ABC Wildlife! You begin using the app by choosing a letter from the alphabet. Once you’ve chosen your letter the app will display a photograph of an animal that begins with that letter. The

letter and the name of the animal also appear on the screen. Tap on the letter and you’ll hear it’s name. You’ll also notice a play button. Tap on this button to watch video footage of the animal. I enjoyed seeing photographs of real animals and the video footage. I’d never seen an armadillo in action before I tried out ABC Wildlife.

The next thing that I liked about this app was the way you navigate through it. You can return to the alphabet screen and tap on letters to see other animals. Or, you can tap on the letters that appear in the animal names. For example, if I chose “G” I would find a gorilla on my screen. Now I could tap on any of the letters in the word “gorilla”. If I chose “L” then I would get a picutre of a leopard. If I tapped on the “O” in leopard I’d be taken to an octopus. And so on. There are multiple animals for the different letters (except for Z) so you won’t continue seeing a lion every time you tap the “L”.

The realistic photographs, videos of animals in action and unique app navigation make ABC Wildlife! a great educational app for preschoolers.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Peapod Labs LLC

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

Quintura Kids is a very cool app for children. It works as an internet search engine for your iPhone, but it’s only going to search websites that have been selected as kid friendly. Quintura will allow your children to search for things by key words but it also uses something called a search cloud. The cloud will show common words and phrases that children might search for on the internet. They can tap on one of the words in the cloud to narrow down the search. When they do this the cloud changes, refining the search and displaying a new set of words in the search cloud. Search results will also be shown underneath the cloud. Now if your child wanted to search Quintura by key word they would be shown the search results for the word AND a search cloud that relates to it. In the settings you can determine how many words (between 10-50) you’d like to appear in the cloud. I love the idea of a search cloud. When my children are doing school research and looking for information on the internet they often don’t know how to refine their search. Quintura’s cloud provides ideas and directions for their searches. When they have found a search result they’d like to explore all they must do is click on it to be taken to the website. I’m always looking for any tool I can use to keep my kids safe when they are online and I’m happy to add Quintura Kids to my list.

Quintura Kids is a universal app that will work on all your devices. It is also available as a search engine online at www.quinturakids.com.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Quintura Inc.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

I love Math Bingo! And even more importantly my kids are enjoying it too. To find a math app that my kids enjoy is terrific!

Here’s how Math Bingo works. First you’ll enter in your player name and choose an avatar to represent yourself. The game supports up to six different players. Then you’ll choose whether you want to play with addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. Finally you’ll choose a level of difficulty – easy, medium or hard. Now you’re ready to play! Math Bingo gives you a bingo board with a twist. At the top is a math problem, it will be an addition problem if you chose to play with addition, or subtraction, etc.. In the board’s squares are 25 different numbers. At least one of them is the answer to your problem. To play you’ve got to solve the math problem and tap on the square with the answer. Then you’ll be given another problem to solve. When you’ve lined up five squares in a row you get Bingo and you win the game. Strategy comes into play when you have the same numbers in different squares around the board. You’ll want to choose the one that will be most likely to earn you a bingo.

Math Bingo uses “bugs” as markers. They’re cute and animated and they add charm to the game. Each time you win a round of Math Bingo you also collect a different bug. You can view them from your player profile and tilt and tap your iPad to move them around. They bounce off each other and make noises, my son really gets a kick out of this part.

I found Math Bingo to be completely charming and I think it’s a must have app if you’ve got a child who needs a little extra help with their math skills. I’d say the best age range for the app is from late first grade to fifth grade. Love, love, love this one!

**Update 8/13 – Math Bingo now has a bonus game – Bingo Bug Bungee! After you play a round of Math Bingo you can play this bonus game. In Bingo Bug Bungee! you launch bugs onto the screen and they bounce around collecting coins. The bugs are adorable and it’s a fun little break from math. The bonus game is a fantastic addition to this terrific app.

*Math Bingo works on either the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. I tried it out on my iPad.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: ABCya.com

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

I hadn’t gotten a chance to try out the iPad app Maggie and the Trouble of Monkeys so I asked my eight year old daughter to give it a try first. I was in the other room while she was reading the story and I kept hearing her giggling to herself. I figured the app must be funny but I had no idea what she’d found so appealing until I tried it out for myself. Once I’d read the story I immediately understood why my daughter had related so well to Maggie.

Maggie has trouble with monkeys. She especially has trouble with a certain little monkey that jumps, makes noise and plenty of messes. At the end of the story Maggie’s monkey is revealed to be her little brother and that is what got my daughter giggling. She also has a little brother and she completely related to Maggie’s troubles.

Maggie and the Trouble with Monkeys has a delightful feel to it. The story’s text comes in a variety of colors, styles and sizes. At times it’s even animated on the page. The story is accompanied by fun, jazzy music that compliments the app’s original feel. The price seems a tad high but this is a delightful iPad app that is very well suited for young children. Especially those with little brothers.

Price when Reviewed: $4.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Brighter Minds

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

Duck Duck Moose recently released an HD iPad version of their app Itsy Bitsy Spider. This was not my favorite of Duck Duck Moose’s iPhone apps but I love it on the iPad. It felt busy to me on the iPhone screen but everything works very well on the larger iPad. To move through the Itsy Bitsy Spider song you must tap on the spider. She moves from screen to screen along with the lyrics. Each screen illustrates a portion of the song and there are plenty of things to tap on the screen. My favorite discoveries were seeing a banana slug turn into a banana, watching a caterpillar eat a cupcake and discovering how to put hats on the spider. A cute little fly buzzes around throughout the app. If you tap on her she’ll tell you an interesting fact or two. Itsy Bitsy Spider is a short song and there are only four different screens to the app. The developers have kept things interesting by adding in new things to tap and collect as you go through the song again.

Itsy Bitsy Spider features a man’s voice singing the lyrics. You have the option to record yourself abut I missed the different singing/instrument choices that are usually found in a Duck Duck Moose app. All in all I’m very glad to see Itsy Bitsy Spider on the iPad and I think it’s a fun app for toddlers and young preschoolers.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Duck Duck Moose

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Preschool Storybook Piano is an adorable app that’s perfectly suited for the preschool crowd. The app combines the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with a piano that can be played. There are four different modes to explore in the app. In “Learn the Song” you can learn the notes to play Twinkle Twinkle. The music notes appear at the top of the screen and the keyboard keys light up as the notes are played. You can tap the keys as they light up and play along. In “Play & Sing Along” mode you can also play the song on the piano. This time there are no notes at the top of the screen, instead you’ll see illustrations of the song. The keyboard keys still light up so you can play along. “Karaoke Mode” also lets you play the notes on the keyboard but it also displays the words to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at the top of the screen so you can sing along. Finally, in “Free Style Mode” there are no keys to follow, you get to make up your own music.

In each mode you can change the instrument that you hear when you play the keyboard. Choices include xylophone, piano, guitar, banjo, bells, flute, harp and (my favorite) farm animals. Each mode will let you record your playing and then listen to it back. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Preschool Piano is extremely well done and it’s a steal at $.99. I really enjoyed this app!

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Kiboomo

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

Confession time again. I don’t like taking my kids to the zoo. No matter whether we spend two hours or the entire day at the zoo I come home feeling dirty and tired and ornery. My kids are generally feeling that way too. It’s a fun outing but one we only do about every 18 months. Am I the only mom out there who can call herself a zoo scrooge??

So when I received an email about Pocket Zoo with Live Animal Cams I thought that I just might have discovered a way to give my kids a zoo experience without having to visit the actual zoo. Now that I’ve tried the app out I can say it’s pretty darn nifty. The app contains information and photos about animals from all over the world but it also connects to live zoo webcams located in zoos across the world. You can peek in on the zoo animals whenever you like. I watched penguins waddle around for about ten minutes today.

Pocket Zoo is divided into three main screen sections – Zoo Map, Animals and Live Cams. The Zoo Map is a graphic map of the Pocket Zoo and it shows all of the animals that are featured in the app. You can scroll around the map and zoom in and out. When you tap on a graphic for an animal you’re taken to an information screen about it. You can see the animal’s picture, hear a recording of the noises it makes and read some information. The Animals screen shows you an alphabetical list of the animals that you saw on the Zoo Map. Finally the Live Cams will show you a list of all the animals that can be seen on zoo webcams. Tap on the one you’d like to watch and you’ll be connected to the webcam. Whatever is going in on at the zoo will show up on your screen. You can also get to the Live Cam views from the animal information screens. If the animal that you’re reading about has a Live Cam then a button will appear at the top right of the screen. Tapping on that button will take you directly to the web cam view.

Pocket Zoo with Live Animal Cams is a fantastic app for children. It contains great educational information about the animals and the web cams are a treat. If you have children who enjoy animals and/or the zoo they will get a kick out of this one.

Pocket Zoo is compatible with an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad. I tried it out on my iPhone.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

Seller: Tiny Hearts

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

Pocket Zoo™ with Live Animal Cams from tiny hearts on Vimeo.

We have an amazing children’s department at our local library. During the summer all of the libraries in our area join up for summer reading and the kids can earn prizes for daily reading. One of my children’s favorite prizes is the rodeo tickets and let me tell you it is quite the experience to take your kids to a rodeo on the same night that everyone else in the area takes their kids. The plus side is you know yours won’t be the only ones crawling over and under the bleachers. It’s a loud and long night and we rarely make it through to the bull riding but the goal of earning those tickets keeps my kids buried in books for the first two months of summer. Unfortunately the program ends before summer does so we usually have one last month where no one is reading much at all. I’m sure I’m not the only mom who struggles to keep her kids reading during the summer. We’re blessed with a great community program but I know that not everyone has access to something like that. About a week ago I was sent an email about a free app called The Reading Game. It works as a reading tracking/incentive program and I thought the email was perfectly timed for summer so I wanted to try it out.

The Reading Game has a beautiful feel to it. The illustrations that are displayed in the background look like they’ve come straight out of a fairytale. It’s very simple to use the app. Your child enters in the title of the book that they are reading and it’s number of pages. The next time they return they can record the page number that they are on. The screen tells them how many pages they have left and what percentage of the book this is. As they use the app they will be unlocking rewards. The rewards are silly animations and sounds and there are oodles of them to earn. I thought they were crazy and borderline annoying but my kids felt the complete opposite way. Surprise!

I really like the concept behind The Reading Game and I am all for anything that keeps kids reading. I like the way it keeps tracks of the pages that you have read and how many you have left. My only suggestion for this app is to add in a way to keep track of different reader profiles. I can’t figure out if there’s a way to do this or not. Right now I see all of our books in one list and my kids share the unlocked rewards. It’d be nice to have separate profiles but that’s just a minor quibble. Overall I think this is a fantastic free resource for parents.

Price when Reviewed: FREE

Seller: Legend Apps