The iPhone Mom

Maddition turns addition and multiplication practice into a game. Bubbles with numbers on them float around the iPhone’s screen. At the bottom of the screen are buttons showing the numbers 1-9.  You have to tap on two numbers that add up to one of the bubble numbers on the screen. When you get it right the bubble pops and you move on to another one. If you get it wrong the bubbles grow bigger and bigger until they pop. When you begin playing you’re only allowed to have three bubbles pop before the game is over but as you do well you’ll earn bonus bubbles. If you want to make the game tougher you can switch to multiplication mode. Then you’ll have to tap two numbers that multiply together to make the bubble numbers. You can adjust both the level of difficulty and the number of bubbles that appear on the screen.  Lastly, there is a practice mode to the game that you can turn on or off.

Maddition is a change of pace from regular flashcards. It would be nice to see a subtraction mode in future updates.

I’ve been given five promo codes for Maddition to give away. If you’ve got a child who could use some math practice leave me a comment. The first five comments win a code. (Promo codes will only work in the U.S. App Store)

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: thrum

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

Flash Bee is a flashcard app that features both math and word flashcards. It will allow you to create different “student” profiles so you can use the app with more than one child and I’m always a big fan of this type of feature.

There are several buttons on the bottom of the screen that will help you navigate through the app. “Words” will take you to the word flashcard section.  Choose your student’s profile and then tap on the button that says “word list”. Here you can choose the grade level for the words that will show up on the flashcards.  The grades go from Pre-K to Fifth Grade and each grade has beginner, intermediate and advanced lists. (Many of them will also have more than one list per difficulty level.) In the options you can get specific about which grades and lists you want to work with.  There are a few additional options that you can choose from including setting a limit on the number of flashcards shown, determining when a “helper phrase” for the word will appear, randomizing the words, repeating the list and some sound options. When you’ve figured all that out it’s just a matter of tapping “start” and you’re off. A word is displayed on the screen and when you’ve read it correctly you tap the “next” button and you’re on to the next flashcard. At the end of the flashcard set you’ll see a summary of how you did overall. You can always view this information on the “history” section for your student (found by tapping the “Students” button). The history will tell you what list your child worked on, how many cards they reviewed and how long it took them to finish. One last thing about the word section – I really like the font that the developers chose for the word flashcards.

The “Math” button takes you to the main math flashcards screen. First thing you’ll want to do is choose between addition, subtraction, multiplication or division problems. Choosing  what you want is as easy as sliding a button on the screen from on to off. There are also options about the number of problems in your flashcard set, the number range for the problems and a time limit for the review. Again, when you’ve completed the flashcards you’ll have a summary of results and you can view those in history too.

I also found that if you tap the button “Word List” at the bottom of the screen you can see all of the word lists available for use with the flashcards. Here’s the part I was surprised about – you can also add your own words to the lists. Great concept! From what I can tell you can’t create new lists, just add in your own words to the existing ones.  It would be nice to be able to create new lists for weekly spelling words.

I like how Flash Bee combines the words plus the math facts. It’s nice to have a combination in one app. I also like how you can choose what math facts to practice and which words you’d like to review. It’s great being able to set up student profiles for each of my children and their different ability levels.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: BizzyTime, Inc.

Math Kingdom combines math facts practice with an adventure game. You are the hero who must save a captured princess and recover the Math Kingdom’s stolen treasures. To do this you’ve got to solve math problems and make your way through the castle. You are asked to solve a math problem and then write your answer on the screen. If you get the answer correct you break though a castle wall. After breaking down ten walls you’ll face a monster. (They’re meant to be monsters but don’t worry, they’re not very scary.) The monster will present you with a more challenging word problem. If you solve this one correctly you recover one of the lost treasures. As you progress through the app the math problems increase in difficulty.  Each time you begin or continue a game you are given five “lives”. When you answer a problem incorrectly you lose a life. When all of your lives are gone it’s game over but don’t worry, this is a friendly app. It gives you the choice of starting over at the beginning or continuing where you left off.

When I was playing Math Kingdom I did have a little bit of trouble with the app crashing as I was trying to load a saved game. I powered off and then restarted my iPhone and after that I had no problems. I like the way Math Kingdom jazzes up math practice. This app is a fun alternative to flashcards. I especially like the way it incorporates actually writing the numbers. This is fantastic practice for kids and the handwriting recognition works very well. It did a terrific job deciphering my sloppy chicken scratch.

Price when Reviewed: $.99    FREE

Seller: Acoco Interactive

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

Clever, clever, clever and sneaky! Math Bumpies-Adventure on Math Island: Addition & Subtraction had me practicing my math facts while thinking that I was playing a game. And yes, I said me. I tried this one out because I can always use practice with my addition and subtraction. But you better believe I’m going to encourage my girls to try out this new “game” though. They’ll have their math facts down cold after a few go arounds with the Bumpies.

In Math Bumpies you choose a character to take you around Math Island. I chose Mister Chickenpants simply because he has an awesome name.  Next you choose your level, easy medium or hard. You also choose whether you want to play with addition facts, subtraction or both. And now you’re ready to journey around the island. You begin at Easy Street. The idea is to tilt your iPhone  and roll your character from left to right. As  you travel along you’ll see math problems in the sky. Solve the math problem and then tap on the screen when your character is under the correct answer. If you bump the right one you’ll score some points. When you reach the finish line you’re given your final score based on correct answers and the time it took you to finish. Then you’re off to the next round. The app allows you to create more than one player profile and you will select your level of difficulty and area of focus each time. This means that kids with different sill levels can all share the app and as they improve their skills they can continue to challenge themselves with more difficult questions. Math Bumpies also has a leaderboard that will keep track of individual player stats and high scores. Just a bit of friendly competition among siblings, right?

I thought Math Bumpies – Adventure on Math Island was a lot of fun for a math app! I loved the way it combines the math practice with the game. My only issue with the game was the voice over when you  bump into an incorrect answer. It’s really a pretty nitpicky thing too. Sometimes you hear “sorry” and sometimes you hear “whatever”.  “Whatever” is a phrase that I don’t particularly care for. I’ve never really liked it but I think I’m even more aware of it now that I’ve got a ten year old who tells me that with a “look” on a daily basis. I get the look and I can just read the “Whatever” in her mind. So I’m not that keen on having her (or my sassy seven year old) hearing that on a frequent basis. But it’s absolutely not a big enough complaint for me to keep them off Math Bumpies. The app is too fantastic for that and it even comes with a mute button. If you’re looking for a way to make math practice fun at your house this app will do the trick.  I’m hoping that there are multiplication and division adventures soon to come.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Rookie Labs, LLC

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

I love finding apps that can reinforce what our kids are learning in school. I was excited to learn about PennyMe, an app that helps your children practice their money counting skills. Money gave both of my girls trouble. Part of that is genetic, there’s a reason I’ve never worked as a cashier and why I stay far away from the PTO cash box. The other part of the trouble came when it was time for homework and we looked at the worksheets. It’s hard to learn to tell a penny from a dime when you’re working off a black and white copy and my girls struggled trying to remember what looked like what.

Now that I’ve established that we’ve got challenges when it comes to counting money let me say that I’ve given PennyMe a try and I’m thrilled with it. It does a fantastic job offering practice exercises with money and the money looks like real money! There are two ways to play. The first is “Quiz”. Here you are given some coins and asked to select the matching amount of money. The coins can be moved around the screen just as if they were real money. In the easy mode the coins are shown along with their value. (Ex: a penny has 1c on it). In the normal mode there are no hints, the coin is all you’ve got to work with. In “Count” you are given a monetary amount and you need to drag coins into the middle of the screen until you’ve reached the set amount. You can use whatever combination of coins that you like, as long as you reach that total. Again, easy mode displays the coins value and normal mode shows you just the coins.

The only suggestion I have for PennyMe is to create a way to track scores. The games keep a score as you play but when you’re done the score is gone. There is also a timer that counts how long you’ve been playing. It would be nice to see that recorded as well. I wish this app had been around when my girls were in the first grade learning to count money. It’s going to be a terrific tool for my son when he gets there and I think he’s going to have an edge over his poor big sisters.

Price when Reviewed: $.99    FREE

Seller: Acoco Interactive

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

Sums Stacker is a fantastic app that will have your kids practicing their addition and subtraction facts without even realizing it. And they’ll have fun at the same time.  The idea is simple – you have three sums at the bottom of your screen and a variety of numbers stacked on top of them in three columns. You must drag the different numbers from column to column until you have a stack that equals the sum it sits upon.  You’re trying to complete the puzzle in the fewest number of moves and because it might take more than one move to get a number where you want it you’ve got to think your plan through before you start.  There are two game modes – solve and race mode. In solve mode you are trying to solve five puzzles in the fewest moves. In race mode you are solving puzzles and earning as many points as you can before you run out of time. You can play with easy or hard puzzles. My favorite part of the game is all of the different options for how you see the numbers. You can see them as numbers on a dice, as fingers on a hand, as numerals, as coins, in Spanish or even as a roman numeral. I’ve even left a few options off my list, there’s plenty to keep things interesting. In a future update I would love to see score tracking built in so the kids can keep track of how they are improving.

I really enjoyed Sums Stacker. It’s got charm and I love the twist it puts on practicing Math. This one is staying on my phone for an alternative to those flashcards that my kids “love” so much.

Price when Reviewed: $.99 – 50% off sale

Seller: Carsten Studios

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

A Kindergarten Pattern Recognition Game focuses on the key Kindergarten skill of working with patterns. At my kids’ school this is a big focus in Kindergarten and 1st Grade. One of the skills they’re graded on is knowing how to recognize a pattern, figuring out what’s missing and then completing the pattern. This app does a great job reinforcing that skill.

The app is very straightforward and your child will have no trouble learning how it works. Depending on how much work they’ve had with patterns you might need to play with them for the first little bit until they get the hang of patterning. A Kindergarten Pattern Recognition Game shows you a screen with a pattern that has a space where something is missing. Underneath this are four different items and your child needs to double tap or drag the item that fills in the missing space. As they work through the different patterns they’ll be timed and will receive points for their correct answers. When they’ve completed a  set of patterns they’ll see a summary of their score and the amount of time it took them to finish. The next time they play they’ll be working with a different set of patterns. In the game’s settings you can select between easy and advanced patterns. You can also choose whether each pattern set will include 10, 25 or 50 different patterns. Lastly, you can choose what you want to appear in the patterns from these themes – animals, colors, geometric shapes or miscellaneous shapes. Select them all or only one or two. It’s up to you.

My son enjoyed this app and it was nice to have something to work on for Kindergarten besides sight words.  My one suggestion for the app it to include a list of scores for the older kids. That way they can see how they’re improving as they practice.  Finally, a tip my son and I would like to share. He was having a tough time getting the patterns right until I had him say the different pieces aloud, in the order they appeared in the pattern. When he went through the pattern that way he could hear what was missing and got it right most every time. We’re going to keep practicing and by the time he hits Kindergarten next fall he’ll be a pattern pro.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Nth Fusion, LLC

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

Percentally was designed as a tool for tracking the progress of special education students as they work towards goals. One of the co-developers of Percentally is a Speech-Language Pathologist and you can tell that this is an app which would be useful in tracking progress in that type of work. Percentally allows you to keep track of tally marks and then automatically turns them into percentages, without having to do the math yourself. Once you’ve created the data the app allows you to copy it onto a clipboard, google spreadsheet or email.

Why would I need an app like Percentally on my iPhone? I have had to keep tallies and figure out percentages when volunteering in the classroom. I have had to keep tallies at my kids’ sporting events. I could see myself handing the app over to my kids and telling them to keep tally of how many blue cars we saw on a road trip. Anything for road trip entertainment, right? This isn’t an app that I personally would use everyday but I could find uses for it.

I’m going to admit that I found Percentally tough to figure out at first. My brain doesn’t do certain things very well and percentages are one of those things. I like to think that at one time I could have easily  understood the concept but four kids later and now I’m operating with a much smaller amount of brain power. But from what I can tell this is an app that those of you with fully intact brains who are geared towards this type of thing will have no trouble understanding. The developers provide a very thorough explanation of the app on their website. There are FAQs, tutorials and screenshots to walk you through the process of using the app.

*Eric Sailers also provided me with a list he’s compiled of apps that can be used in Special Education settings. You can see that list here.

Price when Reviewed: $2.99

Seller: Rinn Apps

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

I absolutely adore KidCalc Math Fun. It is well executed, educational, fun and has an amazing amount of options for a $.99 app. If you’ve got a preschooler or a child in elementary school this is one to buy.  There are five different parts to this app. I’ll give a brief run down of each one and I’m going to save my favorite for last.

Flash Cards – Simple flash cards. A number is displayed and spoken out loud. Touch the rotation circle on the flashcard and it flips over to display a matching amount of something. Swipe your finger to the left to see the next card. At the bottom of the screen is a picture frame icon. Tap this and the theme of the flashcard changes. The background will change and so do the things being counted. Some of the theme choices are Christmas, Spring, Outer Space. Those are just a few. If you tap on the settings icon (also at the bottom of the screen)  you can change things up even more. You can set the flashcards to count by ones, twos, threes, fours, etc., going all the way up to hundreds. You can even have them display prime numbers, binary numbers and Fibonacci numbers. Whoa! The app lets you pick the lowest numbered card displayed and the highest. You can change the order from low to high, high to low or random.  Plenty of options there! 

Counting Puzzle – Here you will see number cards displayed. If you tap them in order they disappear, revealing a hidden picture. Again you can tap the frame icon and change up the theme. In settings you can select the number of squares that are displayed, how the numbers are counted and sorted. Again, plenty of options that will make the game work for both younger and older players.

Math Puzzle – This is the same idea as the Counting Puzzle except you must solve a math problem to erase the card and reveal part of the picture. Tap on the problem you want to solve and you’ll see it written out and displayed using items. For example 3+2=? would be shown as three Martians plus two Martians equals…and then you tap the correct answer. This is a fantastic feature for those just learning how to do addition and subtraction. You can also tap the rotate button and see the problem displayed without the pictures. In the settings for Math Puzzle you can select beginner or intermediate problems. Problems can be from addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. There is also a review feature that can be turned on (or off). This feature lets you listen  and watch the math problem being completed after you’ve entered your answer. A little repetition always helps.

Count Snowflakes – This is my son’s favorite game.  Snowflakes are falling on the screen and you’ve got to tap them to count them. My son likes to tap as quickly as he can so he can hear the numbers spoken rapidly. You can turn on holiday music and the frame icon will let you choose from three snowy scenes. In settings you can choose the highest number you’d like to count to. When you reach this number a trumpet sounds and you start over again. I am not kidding about this…you can count up to 1000 snowflakes. Do you know how long that would keep my son busy? A good amount of time.

Calculator – This is my favorite part of KidCalc. The calculator has a terrific kid friendly feature. Let’s say you’ve got the sports theme turned on.  You press the number eight, eight shows up at the top of the screen, you hear “eight basketballs” and then the balls appear on the screen. Next you tap the plus sign and see and hear “plus”. Tap the number four, see it and hear “four basketballs” and there’ll they be on the screen. Now tap equals and it all comes together. Eight basketballs plus four basketballs equals twelve basketballs.  The problem is displayed at the top and the pictures illustrating the problem are displayed underneath. The frame icon will let you change themes in this game as well. The calculator only performs addition and subtraction and the highest number you can enter is ten. I’m not embarrassed to admit that I kept trying out problem after problem because the calculator is just so darn cute.

I am amazed at the variety and quality you get with KidCalc. The graphics are adorable, the ability to change themes is great and the options for the games seriously impressed me. I haven’t even talked about the app’s narration. It’s done by the developer’s daughter and she does a terrific job. The way she says things made me smile. Who doesn’t want that when using a math app??  KidCalc is something that my five, seven and ten year old can all use in different ways. Fantastic, fantastic app. Grab this one, I mean it!

*2/6/2010 – The version of KidCalc that’s on my phone is now called KidCalc 7-in-1 Math Fun.  It now features “Number Tracing”.  Here you can use your finger to trace the numbers 1-20. There is also a “Flash Card Champion” game where you complete math flashcards and try to beat your time.  All of the customization is still there and you still get a tremendous amount of content for your money.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Steve Glinberg

*A free version of KidCalc is also available. It doesn’t contain as many features as the full version but it’s got a fair amount. If you look at it’s description in iTunes you’ll see a run down of what is available in the full vs. free versions.

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

Shooting Stars is a math app that just didn’t quite work for me.  In this app stars are falling from the sky. They have positive and negative numbers on them. You’ll be given a goal number and a set amount of time. To play you need to tap the stars that will add up to the goal number. Positive numbers add to this number and negative take away. The concept is good but the stars fall very quickly and they’re grouped close together, sometimes even on top of each other. There were times I’d think that I was tapping on one star only to find that by the time I made my move another star had taken it’s place. It was frustrating for me and even though I know math isn’t my strong suit I think it would be frustrating for a child as well. For me, slower and bigger stars would be a nice improvement to Shooting Stars.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Nth Fusion LLC