The iPhone Mom

Word Search for iPad – Young Readers Edition is a great way for early Elementary School aged children to practice spelling and sight words. The app gives you a word search and ten words to find. When you find a word use your finger to draw over the it and it’s automatically crossed off your list. When you find all the words you can start over with a new list and puzzle.

I really like the concept of this app and it’s great seeing the word search on the large screen. It’s even better that the puzzles are geared towards spelling words for children. I’m not certain how many different lists are available now but you can visit Word Search’s Facebook page to suggest lists of words to be included in future updates.

I have five promo codes available for readers. If you’d like one leave a comment, the first five I see will receive a code. (Codes will only work in the US App Store.)

Price when Reviewed: $.99 for a limited time   $1.99

See the app at the App Store

Seller: Yadong Liu

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

There are some children’s television shows (they shall remain nameless) that I just can’t stand. My poor deprived children go to school and tell their friends that they’re not allowed to watch them and they’re always at a loss for an answer when their friends ask them why. “Because my mom thinks they’re stupid” isn’t always the best answer. Thank goodness for clever shows that my kids like to watch that I don’t mind sitting through too. Super Why! is one of those shows. I love the colors, the characters and the way they’ve put a twist on classic tales. You can also actually learn something from watching it!

The folks at PBS Kids have been busy putting out apps and they do a good job of making sure they capture the essence of the shows. The Super Why! app is no different. It has four different games, each featuring a different show character.

-Super Why Story Saver: Here you help Super Why finish pages in a story by filling in the missing words based on an illustration.

-Wonder Red’s Rhyming Time: Wonder Red needs your help matching up some rhyming words for her basket.

-Princess Presto’s Wands Up Writing: This game asks you to help Princess Presto spell words. She shows you the letters and tells you the sound she’s looking for. When you choose the correct letter you use her wand to write the letter on the screen. This was my favorite game.

-Alpha Pigs Lickety Letter Hunt: Alpha Pig needs help spelling words too. He tells you what letters to look for and you help him find them on the path home.

While you’re playing the different games you’ll also be collecting stickers. You can visit your sticker book and use them to create sticker scenes. I think that the Super Why! app stays very true to the television show. It runs smoothly and does a nice job teaching preschoolers reading skills.

Price when Reviewed: $2.99

Seller: PBS Kids

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.

The See, Hear & Spell app is a set of flashcards designed to help your child learn animal names and/or how to spell them. I tried out the Wildlife Series, but there are also  Ocean Life, Fruit & Vegetables, and Shapes and Transportation series available. The idea behind the flashcards is simple. You will see a picture of a bird, bug or mammal (wildlife) on the screen. Tap the screen to hear the name of the animal. Tap the small ABC button on the lower left of the screen to see the animal’s name written out. Now if you tap the screen you will see and hear the name being spelled out, letter by letter. Swipe your finger across the screen to flip to a new flashcard. If you tap the filter button at the top right of the screen you can choose which wildlife cards are displayed. The photographs are very nicely done and there is a nice  variety of wildlife that’s represented. I’m also impressed by the large number of flashcards included in Kids Flashcards: See, Hear & Spell.

Price when Reviewed: $.99 – on sale through the end of 2009!

Seller: Moblast Technologies

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

Here’s an educational app that’s put a twist on the classic game of Tetris. The goal is to correctly spell out animal names from letters that are falling onto the screen.  On the screen is a picture of an animal and it’s name is spelled out at the bottom of the screen. Letters begin to fall from the sky and you must use your finger to manuever the letter into it’s correct spot in the word. When you’ve correctly spelled the word you will be awarded points. The picture and word will disappear and a new set shows up. If you have put letters in the wrong spot you’ll lose points once all the letters for that word have fallen. The word won’t disappear and the next one will show up on top of it. Keep making mistakes and the words build up, just like Tetris. There are three different levels to the game. Easy and medium display the words and you must match up the letters. The hard level does not display the animal’s name and has you spelling  completely on your own.

I found abcTris to be a clever app. There are twenty-one animals included and you have the option of using capital or lower-case words. If you’re looking for a different spin on a spelling app this is a cute one.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: gdiplus

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

Here’s another great spelling/reading app for early readers. iCanRead helps your child learn to spell and read by having them work with letter “magnets” on a fridge. The idea is simple, drag the letters into the correct order underneath a picture that is hanging on the fridge. The app can be setup to display answer hints (outlines of the correct letters) or hide them. You can choose whether you want your child to spell the word or have them choose the word from several choices and drag that under the picture. There is also a hint button you can tap to make the correct letter or word shake. Each time you correctly spell a word you’ll earn coins. These coins can be saved in a piggy bank and used to purchase additional words.

The only tricky thing that I experienced with this app was figuring out how to turn the displayed answer hints on and off.  Once I figured this out I also discovered another neat feature that I’ll talk about in a minute. On the main screen there is a button that says “Sign In”. Tap this and you’ll see a screen that says “Sign In” at the top and “iCanRead” underneath that. If you tap the blue arrow next to “iCanRead” you’ll find the options page. Here you can choose whether letters are displayed as uppercase or lowercase or a combination of both. You can set the app to display letters or words and you can slide the answer hints from on to off. Be sure to tap “Update” when you’ve made your changes.  Now for the feature I discovered and really liked. Back on the main “Sign In” screen there is a plus sign at the top right. Tap this and you can create a brand new user profile. Give it a name and then choose the options you want this profile to have and tap the “Create” button. Looking at the “Sign In” screen now you’ll see an iCanRead profile and the one you just created. You can do this for all of your children so more than one can use the app and they can each have their own levels of difficulty. I like apps that work out options like this, it makes it much easier when you’ve got multiple kiddos who use your iPhone.

One last thing that I liked about iCanRead – when you are spelling words you have to place the letters in the correct spelling order. If you are spelling ANT you must place the A first, no starting with the T. I like this because it puts an emphasis on spelling and is about more than picking out the right letters.

There is a free version of iCanRead that is also available however it comes with fewer features. It has only ten words to spell, no options for capitalization and you cannot turn the help hints off.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Star Dot Star Development Studios

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

Look & Spell is a spelling app that uses a dial for spelling the words. (It’s like the date/time dial on the iPhone calendar.) You’ll have the option of spelling three letter or four letter words. Here’s how it works. At the top of the screen is a picture of what you need to spell. Underneath that is the “alphabet dial”. It will have either three or four rows of letters. Using your finger you spin the dial forward or backward until you find the first letter in the word that you are spelling. Then you’ll do the same with the remaining letters. When you’ve spelled the word correctly you’ll hear it spoken. Next you’ll need to use the arrows at the bottom of the screen to advance to the next word. There are ninety-eight words to spell, that’s an impressive number.

I thought that Look & Spell had a clever approach to spelling but there are a few features I’d like to see. First, it would be nice to have a way to reset the dial after spelling a word, maybe by shaking the iPhone.  Right now it stays where you leave it after you spell a word. So if you spell car and your next word is cat, you only have to move the r to the t. Not much of a challenge.  Secondly, if the app could move on to the next word automatically it would feel smoother. Lastly, the alphabet dial stops at Z. If you go too far you’ll need to spin it backwards to find your letter. This felt a little awkward to me and I’m wondering if there’s a way to start again with A after you get to Z. But I can also understand why you might not want to do that. If you’re just learning your ABCs and you see A after Z you might get a bit confused.

Overall, I did like Look & Spell. I’m not so sure about the price tag though, it seems a bit high to me. However, there is a free version of the app that only contains eight words.

*Nth Fusion has let me know that they plan to offer discounts on their apps a few times a year.

Price when Reviewed: $3.99 As of 1/8/10 now only $.99

Seller: Nth Fusion, LLC

Here’s an app that combines learning to read with the fun of the iPhone’s accelerometer.  In ABC Maze you have to help Birdie find his way through a maze and along the way he’ll collect letters that spell a word. To move Birdie through the maze you tilt and turn your iPhone. When he rolls over a letter a child’s voice says the letter’s name and it moves to the top of the screen. Once Birdie has collected all the letters the child spells the word and reads it aloud. Then it’s on to a new maze and words. There are thirty-six words in all and according to iTunes more are planned for future updates. In the general settings for your phone you can switch from lowercase to uppercase letters, or vice versa. You can also turn off the sound effects and switch to an adult voice. When your child has gone through the entire game you can reset it so they can begin again.

ABC Maze is a ton of fun. I love the clever twist of using the accelerometer and so does my son. He’s having fun and learning without even realizing it.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: gdiplus*

*These folks are also behind the terrific app iWrite Words

Word Cub provides three games for early readers. The first game is Letter Match. Here you see how many letters you can tap in a set amount of time. The app says a letter and you find it and tap it on the screen. When you’re done with a set of letters you’re rewarded with a screen full of colorful bubbles to pop.  Word Discovery plays with how words are made. A word appears on the screen and you tap on the letters to hear it sounded out. Swipe across the letters to hear the word spoken.  Finally Sound Match asks you to match letter sounds with their letters. Again you’re working in a set amount of time. The app says to touch a certain sound and you have to tap the letter that makes the sound. Do well and you’ll see the fabulous bubbles again.

I found Word Cub to be very well done. It does an effective job teaching these early reader skills. I asked my son what his favorite part of the app was. His answer- the bubbles. Bubbles without the sticky mess of bubble juice everywhere are a-okay with me.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

Click here to see the app at iTunes

Seller: Learning Cubed

My First Words:animals is a spelling/reading app aimed towards preschoolers. A darling picture of an animal is displayed and underneath the picture are spaces for the letters that spell the animal’s name. Underneath that are the letters needed. Your job is to drag the letters into the boxes where they belong. When you touch a letter you’ll hear it’s name. Then when you’ve correctly spelled the word the app says the letters again and then says the animal’s name. Then you’re off to the next one. There are twenty different animals to play with.

Before you begin spelling you can tap a bar with one star, two stars or three stars. I have no idea what these stars mean. At first I thought they indicated the level of difficulty for the words, but I got the same words no matter what stars I chose. Also, there are animal sounds to go along with the pictures and it would be nice to have the choice to turn these off.

I really liked the visuals with this app and the concept is good. I think that by separating the words into difficulty levels and toning down the animal noises My First Words:Animals could become even better.

*An update on the stars- They do relate to levels of difficulty. The words appear to be the same but what you can do with the letters varies in difficulty.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Alexandre Minard

*There is a Lite version of My First Words: Animals that is available. It features five animals.