Cool Kids App of the Month: McElligot’s Pool by Dr. Seuss

January 15, 2013 By

mcpool_tagged2McElligot’s Pool, the 1947 children’s book by Dr. Seuss, is now available for your iPhone and iPad! This app is full of features, including professional narration, background audio and enlarged artwork for each scene. Individual words are highlighted as the story is read and words zoom up when pictures are touched.

There’s also three ways to read:

  • “Read to Me” — listen to the narrated story with words highlighted as they are read
  • “Read it Myself” — read the book in its traditional form
  • “Auto Play” — plays like a movie, automatically reading and turning pages. Great for younger children!

mcelligots_poolYoung Marco casts his fishing line deep in McElligot’s pool and imagines the curious sea creatures that might bite. “I might catch a fish with a pinwheel-like tail! I might catch a fish who has fins like a snail!” Follow along as his imagination takes him around the world, seeking wild creatures with unusual habits!

By combining the original text and artwork of Dr. Seuss with features that entertain and promote reading, this omBook appeals to readers of all ages. This app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. This ‘Universal App’ is optimized for both iPhone and the iPad with retina displays.

TTR: My A-Z By Night & Day Studios [GIVEAWAY]

April 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

My A-Z is more than just alphabet flashcards for your preschooler: It’s an exploratory learning project for everyone to do together! Every child begins building their ability to read and write by learning the letters in their name and their surrounding environment: S is for Salt, M is for Mommy, B is for Butterfly. My A-Z provides a fun way to personalize this process for your child. Here are some of the different ways you and your child can use My A-Z:

  1. Let your kid (on their own, or together with the family) create their own, individual alphabet cards. Take a photo of your dog—and record its bark—for the letter D. Photograph and record Grandma saying “I love you!” during her visit for the letter G. Empower your child to explore and document their world, then review and talk about their selections.
  2. If you are teaching your child a second language, sprinkle the language throughout the app. For example, add another dog photo under P and record your child saying “Perro” for Spanish.
  3. Parents of non-verbal children: photograph the people, foods, and important items in your child’s life and use this app as a communication tool with your child.

My A-Z includes a basic set of words and pictures that many early language learners use in their beginning vocabulary, from Apple to Zipper. To add your own card, click on the plus symbol to pull up the camera. Choose a picture from your photo library or take a new one. Click on the microphone to record your voice, or sounds from your environment. You can email the card or change the color scheme to completely customize your card collection! [Source]

PROS:

  • Extremely easy to use
  • Take pictures on the fly within the app
  • Record your own voice for each image
  • Multiple images can be added for each letter. Simply scroll up to switch from DOG to DRUM to DOOR!

CONS:

  • No dedicated iPad version
  • Unable to change color of background per card/ image. Once background color is set, all cards are the same.

OVERALL:

My A-Z is a great way to personalize your little one(s) very own alphabet! With a simple design, it’s easy to send your child off to explore the house looking and snapping pictures of items starting with a specific letter without leaving the app. We’ve enjoyed numerous hours of play with My A-Z and would definitely recommend you give it a try! Enter to Win  your FREE copy below!

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TTR: Coloring Smart by Smart Kids Playing [GIVEAWAY]

April 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Coloring Smart by Smart Kids Playing

Kids love coloring. So why not excite your little ones with a positive and creative mobile app. Coloring Smart has a friendly and intuitive touch interface that’s easy to use by all ages.

Features:

  • 36 beautiful colorful illustrations in 6 categories included!
  • Categories: Nature, Animals, Transport, People, Fairy Tale and Seasons.
  • Intuitive interface that has been tested and refined with children of many ages.
  • Best for kids between 3-8 years.
  • Wonderful music and atmospheric sounds enhance the experience.
  • No more frustrating finger-painting: just touch an area to fill it with color.
  • Touch locator improves touch accuracy.
  • Supports all devices: iPad 1, 2 and 3 with Retina, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 with HD, iPod Touch
  • No banner advertising

PROS:

  • Educational, Fun, & Easy!
  • Fun Categories: Nature, Animals, Transport, People, Fairy Tale and Seasons
  • 3 modes of play - Patterns, Numbers, Math

CONS:

  • Unable to go back and view art after completed – Once you leave and go back into the picture, everything is erased
  • No Landscape orientation

OVERALL:

Great way to introduce colors, numbers, patterns, and math all in one app. With an easy interface and cool graphics, I’m sure Coloring Smart will become an instant favorite with my little one. Cool app to have!


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TTR: Cars 2 AppMATes

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A couple months back we expressed our excitement for Disney’s new interactive toy that uses your Apple iPad as a virtual play mat [original post]. After searching several sites and multiple calls to local stores, we were finally able to get our hands on one!
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TTR: Crayola ColorStudio HD and iMarker

January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Our son, Kameron (shown above), is learning how to write his letters and numbers at school. After going through almost an entire box of paper in less than a month, we decided to look for [ipad/ iphone] apps that will assist and familiarize him with correctly writing his letters/ numbers. We found numerous apps that provided exactly what is was we were looking for. The only downside with majority of the apps were that they encouraged/ or preferred the use of a childs finger to interact with the app. I began to look for stylus (an instrument for writing, marking, or incising) that will allow him to enjoy the app and also provided the feel of a traditional writing utensil. After multiple failed attempts with finding a stylus for myself, I decided to go to Google to specify kid-friendly stylus. That’s were I found the “iMarker” by Griffin for Crayola.

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TTR: Black & Decker Jr. Power Tool Workshop

January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As the father of a 3yr old, I try to get toys that will familiarize and teach him to work and that with your hands you can build almost anything. So this past Christmas, the wife and I decided to purchase a “Black & Decker Jr. Power Tool Workshop.” Sounds exciting, huh?! The packaging (and website) explained  that it made real sounds and included over 50+ pieces. As we assembled the workbench, the pieces became scarce, which lead me to believe that the 50+ pieces included were to assemble the product, leaving only 10-15 pieces to “play” with. After realizing my lack of product, I decided to look online to purchase additional pieces to actually build something with no luck at all. My son still enjoys playing with it occasionally, but overall it was a huge disappointment.

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NEW PAGE: The Tyler Review!

January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This pass Holiday season, we’ve made many purchases and put together many new toys. Some were great – the others… not so much! If only there was a resource to give us a “heads up” before buying…
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