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

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.

EZ Percent is a very handy app for your iPhone. It allows you to enter in a number and then set a percentage. The app then tells you several things about your numbers. It will tell you the result of your original number minus the percentage. You’ll also see the result of your original number plus the percentage. Finally, you can see what number that percentage equals. I’m not sure I’ve explained that as well as I could. This may be the gazillionth time I’ve said this but math isn’t my strongpoint. Which is exactly why I need EZ Percent on my phone. If I’m shopping and something is 30% off but the sales price isn’t marked I can enter in the original price and the 30% and EZ Percent will tell me what my sales price will be. The app is also great for figuring out sales tax or tipping amounts. It’s a simple, straightforward app that does exactly what it says it will and it does it very well.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Reem Almugbel

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

Over the past week my family has fallen victim to an Angry Bird addiction. I bought the silly game and one by one we’ve been sucked in. Green pigs have stolen the birds eggs and they are angry and ready to wage battle. Using a slingshot you need to fling the birds against the pigs fortresses and try to destroy them. Different birds have different powers and you’ll need to think about physics, timing, flight patterns and more. It all sounds completely ridiculous and it is. But the game is virtually impossible for us to put down. There are 135 different levels and each one is unique and a challenge. A frustrating, twisted and addicting challenge.

The $.99 version of Angry Birds will work on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. We’ve been playing it on our iPhones and iPad. There is also an HD version that will only work on the iPad. That version costs $4.99. Unless you want the HD graphics I’d suggest buying the $.99 version and playing that on both devices.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Chillingo Ltd.

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.

The fabulous library of Dr. Seuss apps has grown again! Oceanhouse Media has released two new Dr. Seuss e-books – One Fish, Two Fish and Oh, the Places You’ll Go! I haven’t tried out either app but based on what I’ve seen from the Dr. Seuss apps in the past I’m certain they’ll be fantastic.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and Oh, the Places You’ll Go are both available for $3.99 in and compatible with both iPad and iPhone.

I just read on the Oceanhouse website that Hop on Pop is coming soon. Now I’m crossing my fingers that Green Eggs with Ham is on the horizon!

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

Most of the matching/memory games that I come across are best for preschoolers and elementary aged kiddos. I just tried out Pairopix and I’m happy to report that this app is best suited for older kids and adults. It’s a tough one! Your goal is to match up different images that are hiding behind different circles. Tap a circle to reveal the hidden image but pay attention!! After they are revealed the images don’t stick around very long. You’ve got to have a quick eye and a quick tapping finger to keep up. When you play in level one mode once you’ve made a match those circles remain open. But when you play on level two matches that you have already made will randomly disappear and you’ll have to find them all over again. So far I’ve been unable to beat that level.

Pairopix comes with four sets of images and you can download up to 17 additional sets for free. OR you can create your own personalized set of images. I gave that a try and it made for a fun game. All you’ll have to do is tap a few buttons and either take a picture with your camera or choose one from your photo library or camera roll. You can move and scale the image to get it to the right size. When you’ve added enough images you’ll be able to play a game of Pairopix with your own pictures.

The complete name of this app is Pairopix-Awesomest matching game….ever. It’s definitely not your preschooler’s memory game and it’s nice to see a grown-up alternative!

I’ve got two promo codes to give away for Pairopix. Leave a comment and I’ll choose two random winners later tonight. (Codes only valid in the US app store.)

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Spinal Apps

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

Last week Duck Duck Moose released an iPad HD version of their Wheels on the Bus app. We gave it a whirl at our house and compared it to the iPhone app. The app is the same in both versions but the HD graphics are more impressive than the iPhone version. The images are brighter and bolder and will absolutely appeal to young children. The iPad version has all of the crazy song options (kazoo or gibberish anyone?) and you can still record yourself singing the song.  In my opinion Wheels on the Bus is one of the best iPhone apps for toddlers and it translates wonderfully to the iPad.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

See the App in the App Store

Seller: Duck Duck Moose

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