The iPhone Mom

I’m all for educational apps for my children but I like to keep things fun by having games available too. Each of my children like different types of games. I have a daughter who loves word games, another who is addicted to the Dash type apps (Diner Dash, Wedding Dash). My son likes games that involve action. He wants to tilt the phone and tap and swipe the screen to make things happen. He was in luck when I put Chuck Gnome on my iPhone because that’s just the kind of game it is. Even better, it’s got a healthy dose of silly thrown in too.

In Chuck Gnome you must send gnomes flying from a slingshot type machine. Your goal is to hit as many targets as possible to earn points. The targets move in the background and you can tilt the phone to reveal those that have passed out of your line of vision. To launch a gnome you “pull back” the rubber band with your finger, aim and then lift your finger and watch your gnome go. If you’re lucky he’ll hit the moving target. If you’re like me he’ll either overshoot into the sky or crash into the mountain. My son has enjoyed shooting the gnomes and he’s much better at hitting targets than I am. I like the look and feel of the game. The graphics are layered so you get an almost 3D experience. The soundtrack is catchy and perfectly fitting for the mood of the game. The game comes with OpenFeint which gives you access to leader boards, achievements, forums, chats and more. Chuck Gnome has six different levels plus mini games. It’s a perfect silly game for entertaining the five year old son or killing some time in the car.

*Update 8/31- Chuck Gnome just got an update – new episode and mini game.

Chuck Gnome Lite is available if you want to try out the game for free.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Movable Sprites, LLC

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

Hooray!! I’ve been given three promo codes to give away for Shakespeare in Bits: Romeo & Juliet. If you have a student who could use a little help with the bard this year please leave me a comment and let me know your favorite Shakespearean work. Mine is Macbeth for many reasons, not the least of which is Lady Macbeth’s line about that darn spot. It’s a line that runs through my head frequently while I’m doing laundry. Thank you college Shakespeare course!!

Promo codes are only valid in the US App Store and they are for the iPad version.. Leave a comment and I’ll choose winners Sunday evening.

I’ve gotten word that Color Me will be free for through Saturday. You can see the app in iTunes here.

Jumbled is a new app from Drew, a fourteen year old app developer who is behind several other iPhone apps. Drew has created a word game that’s definitely unique and unlike any other I’ve seen. To solve a Jumbled puzzle you must do two things. The first is to unscramble a string of letters, forming a word. Once you’ve figured that out you must choose one of four words that best matches/relates to the unscrambled word. It sounds easy but Drew has added in a timer and the scrambled words increase in length. No pressure! In the settings you can choose between easy, medium and hard difficulty. There is also a hint option which can be turned on and off. OpenFeint is included with the game so you may unlock acheivments for different accomplishments. There are also online leader boards for the different levels of difficulty.

I found Jumbled to be a catchy game. It would be a good one for older children and parents. I certainly had much greater success with the word matching than I did with the unscrambling!

Price when Reivewed: $.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Drewse

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

iLiveMath Ford Cars is an app designed for helping children practice word problems. “Word problems” was always a dirty word to me. Give me a straight math problem and okay, I can handle that. But start throwing in nouns, adjectives and verbs and you’ve lost me. Which is why I think apps like this are so great. They provide practice outside of the classroom for all sorts of different skills. Plus you’re not tied to a worksheet or website, the practice is completely portable.

In iLiveMath Ford Cars the word problems all center around Ford Cars. Know going into the app that it’s sponsored by Ford so the product placement is prominent. The problems are divided into three different levels. Level one deals with addition and subtraction problems. Level two throws some multiplication into the mix. Level three takes things way up a notch. You’ve got advanced addition, subtraction and multiplication, mean, median, mode and range problems.

Each problem is presented over a background that shows a Ford vehicle. On the problem screen your child can solve the problem or watch a You Tube video from the Ford Company. They can send out the word problem via Twitter and read educational information about Ford. They’ll also have the option of removing the word problem from the screen so they can see the vehicle without any obstructions. I almost forgot – there are also car sound effects to this app.

I liked seeing an app that is completely dedicated to word problems and iLiveMath Ford Cars covers a broad range of mathematical skills. I like the car slant to the content, this would definitely appeal to my son.

This is a universal app and will work on all your devices. I tested it out on my iPhone.

Price when Reviewed: $3.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: iHome Educator

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

My kids go back to school on Monday. I have one who is off to 6th grade and Middle School, one going into 3rd grade and another who has been patiently waiting his turn for Kindergarten. He’s very excited but I’m going to miss my buddy. They’re all ready to go back though and to be honest, I’m ready for them to go back. My kids need their own space and I need my own space. Summer vacation is wonderful but our family is ready for a schedule again. I was hunting around the App Store tonight and I saw that Apple has put together a list of Back to School Apps. There’s something on here for every age and grade and it’s definitely worth a look.

iTunes Back to School Apps

We just discovered that the free Netflix for iPhone app is out! I snagged it and my son is on my phone right now watching Angry Beavers carttons. I’ll just go ahead and say goodbye to my battery life now.

Grab the app here in iTunes.

Highlights recently released a “junior” version of their Hidden Pictures app. The concept of the new app is the same – find hidden pictures in puzzles taken from the Highlights magazine – but the pictures have been tailored to younger players. When I say younger I mean older preschoolers, not toddlers. The puzzles are easier than the original Highlights app but they are still tricky. The list of objects that you must find appear in a row at the top of the screen.   The puzzles are in color and feature silly scenes with bright colors and characters. Using your finger you can zoom in and out on the picture. When you have found a hidden object tap on it and it will turn to black and white. This makes it easy to see where you have looked and what you have found. Hints are available and you can also increase the puzzle’s difficulty by hiding the list of objects. The app has fun catchy music and sound effects but they can easily be turned off. Always a nice feature!

Highlights My First Hidden Pictures comes with eight puzzles and additional puzzle packs are available for download. This is a terrific new hidden picture app and the developers have done another fantastic job of taking a childhood classic and bringing it onto the iPhone.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Mobad Games

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

Thumbelina is a new storybook app from Touchoo. I love that name. It makes me think of what a toddler might do with an iPhone. Touch it and say Ooooh. And the name of the game with the Thumbelina app is touching. Each screen in the story has something on it for your child to touch. The interaction isn’t random either, it actually plays into the story. For example, when Thumbelina finds a cold swallow she wants to put a blanket on top of it. That’s where your child comes in. They must tap, swipe and drag on the screen to make things happen in the story. If they are slow to interact a small finger will appear on the screen, showing them exactly where they must touch. I thought this was helpful and the feature can also be turned off in the settings. One of my favorite things about Thumbelina is the beginning screen where it says “This book belongs to” with a space underneath to type in your child’s name. This is a nice touch that brings to mind books I had as a child.

Thumbelina tells a cute story and the interaction will be fun for older toddlers and young preschoolers.

Touchoo is sponsoring a contest to celebrate Thumbelina’s release. The first 200 people to register for information on Touchoo book releases will receive a free promo code for Thumbelina. Out of those 200 one person will be chosen to receive all of Touchoo’s new releases free for one year. Two people will be awarded free new releases for six months. To read more details and enter the contest visit this link.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Touchoo

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

I’ve been given 10 promo codes for Balloonimals HD that I must give away today. They will expire tomorrow, August 26th so they’ve got to be redeemed in iTunes today. I’m posting the list and if you’d like one please leave a comment stating the code you took. That way everyone can hopefully see what’s already been snagged.

*Codes are only valid for the iPad version of Balloonimals. They will also only work in the US App Store.*

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