Caroline’s Camera

App Info

Price: Free
AppStore User Rating:

Overview

Caroline’s Camera is a fun app for kids that uses creative rhythms and music to challenge players to take pictures on cue. With loads of challenging levels, a free play mode, and lots of rewards to win in order to upgrade your virtual camera, this app is one both parents and kids will enjoy. It’s fun, interactive and quite the challenge!

Features include:

• Easy to use
• Increasing difficulty
• Creative rhythms & music

Quality

The quality of Caroline’s Camera is incredible. With crystal clear illustrations, fun music and rhythms this app is great for kids who love musical apps. The user interface is easy to use as the developers have included practice options for new challenges and rhythms so players better understand how to play. They have also included a great way for players to receive feedback via a color system at the top of the screen that tells players if they snapped the picture at the perfect time, too fast, or too slow. Overall the developers have done an excellent job.

Education

One of the great things about this app is that it teaches children a bit about patterns and rhythm. It also helps players use not only their vision, but also their hearing to see and hear the rhythm as they play. The best part is that this app doesn’t come off as your typical education app as children are simply playing and learning along the way. While it may not teach traditional subjects, this app gives kids a bit more creative play as they learn.

Entertainment

The thing I love most about Caroline’s Camera is how entertaining it is! The basic premise is to follow the rhythm outlined and to snap a picture at the right moment based on the rhythm. Seems easy, until there are multiple different rhythms to follow and catch with multiple people included. It’s a game that is partially about reaction time, rhythm, and focus which is great for kids. The increasing difficulty levels make for even more challenging play.

There is also a reward system that allows players to earn coins that they can use to upgrade their camera and other equipment to take better pictures. The developers have also included a free play option that allows children to follow various patterns outside the structured challenges. And if that weren’t enough there are various locations including the forest, lake, and water environments for more play time. Truth be told, this app offers hours of challenging entertainment.

Value

Parents will be happy to know that this app is completely free which might be hard to believe with all that is included. The developers have really gone above and beyond the call of duty with all that this app has to offer and at no cost at all!

Child Friendliness

Not only is Caroline’s Camera a fun app for kids to play, it’s fairly easy too! The user interface is designed for little ones to get a bit of practice prior to diving into the more advanced challenges which is great. The increasing difficulty is also a fun way for children to test themselves and their skills in a fun environment.

While this app has everything you might want in a free app, it also has a few unprotected links and advertisements that are open for children. There aren’t a ton of unprotected links and advertisements and they are pretty deeply embedded and hidden in the app, they really don’t belong in a kids app, even if it’s free. For some parents that might be a deal breaker for this app, which is too bad because it really is a great app to play.

NO social media

NO in-app purchases

YES third-party ads

YES external links

GO Math! GO – Fun learning for grades K, 1st & 2nd

App Info

Price: Free
AppStore User Rating:

Overview

Go Math! Go makes a high-quality math curriculum accessible to parents and teachers. This interactive math __app covers a range of skills for grades K-2. Skills are organized by grade-level and allow parents and teachers to track a child’s progress and he or she works through the app. While most of the questions are multiple-choice or drag and drop, the __app offers relevant, quality math content to help children improve their math skills.

Features include:

• Skills-based math practice
• Multiple problem types
• Positive reinforcement and rewards
• Parent and Teacher portal

Quality

Before using the app, parents or teachers must set up an account. The process is relatively simple, but parents and teachers should be prepared to complete this step before handing the app to children. From there, they can choose which sections of the app to unlock. Each of the three grade-levels must be assigned a child’s name and the same name can not be used for multiple grade-levels, which may be annoying for parents who want children to work on content at multiple levels. Once an account is created and the content is set up, the app is easy to navigate. The main screen displays a button for Grade K, Grade 1, and Grade 2, each labeled with a different cartoonish character. Once children tap on their grade-level, they’re shown a list of skills and can tap on the skill they want to work on. Each skill is labeled with stars that are filled in to show a child’s progress. Every time a child completes a subsection, a star is filled in.

The questions in the app are well-written and function well. Kids will find plenty of opportunity to interact with the questions and will also enjoy the bright colors and animated elements.

Education

Questions in the app are organized by grade-level and skill. For example, kindergarten is broken down into skills such as Count 0 to 5, Compare 0 to 5, Count 20 and Beyond, 3-D Shapes, Measurement, and Sort and Group. Each individual section is also broken down into subsections. For example, Count 0 to 5 is broken down into Model 1 and 2, Read 1 and 2, Ways to Make 5, Order to 5, and so on. To complete a subsection, kids must answer a set of questions in the practice round and then answer a set of questions in the challenge round. Most questions are multiple choice or drag and drop. In kindergarten and first grade, questions are read aloud to help students. All questions also contain visual images, such as counting cubes and number lines.

Entertainment

The main focus of the app is to help children build their math skills. As a result, there are not a lot of fun elements. However, the content is presented in a way that is engaging to kids. Each set of problems is accompanied by a tracker at the top of the screen, so children know how many problems they must complete to get to the end of the set. After completing a set, children are also given the chance to participate in a challenge round, which encourages them to continue answering questions. Throughout the app, children will also get to interact with animated characters and will receive positive phrase and small rewards, such as watching an animated character play an instrument, for answering questions correctly. The questions themselves are also highly visual, making it easier for children to stay engaged with the content.

Value

Parents and teachers can create an account and download a sample set of problems for each grade. The sample set contains a full set of problems in one skill area. Access to the full set of problems can be obtained through an in-app purchase. Each grade must be purchased separately and the price is fairly high compared to similar apps. If parents or teachers opt to purchase all three grades, the price can add up. However, parents and teachers should consider that they are gaining access to high-quality content produced by one of the leading educational companies and also note that the content is full of visuals and other features designed to help students improve their skills.

Child Friendliness

Parents or teachers must create an account to access the content. Creating an account requires an e-mail address and other personal information. Birth date verification prevents children from creating an account on their own. However, children may find a way to purchase full access to the problems if parents/teachers don’t have their device set up to require a password when attempting to download items from the app Store.

• NO social media
• NO 3rd party ads
• NO more apps
• YES in-app purchases
• YES account required

World of Liberty: Paintings, Planes, and Pioneers

App Info

Price: $0.99
AppStore User Rating:

Overview

World of Liberty: Paintings, Planes and Pioneers is the third in a series of ebooks designed to ignite interest in learning about history, geography and connections between peoples. The main characters, eleven-year-old Liberty and her imaginary friends Truman the magical airplane, Ellie the sheepdog, and Georgie the toy eagle, use a computer to access a world where they can go anywhere and do nearly anything and research ideas, events and people that interest them.

Features include:

• Includes read to me, read to myself, and autoplay modes
• Includes four jigsaw puzzles
• Includes reading comprehension questions and activities
• Highlights words as they are read
• Uses professional narration and sound effects

Quality

World of Liberty: Paintings, Planes, and Pioneers is an outstanding __app that is well-designed for the target age group of early elementary students. The developers included an intuitive set of controls, the ability to choose pages, several modes of play, and many other features that make the app easy to use. The narration is high-quality, and the sound effects are well-conceived, complementing the story rather than overpowering it. Most pages include appropriate animations that are connected to the story.

Education

This app is very educational. It is part of a larger series focused on various social sciences/social studies skills, including geography, history, inclusiveness, and more. The main character, Liberty Lane, has adventures in the real-life world as well as in her imaginary world inside of her computer. In this episode, her school class visits the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, prompting a closer look at Amelia Earhart. Connections are made in the story between Earhart, pioneers, Kansas, Mexico, a Mexican artist named Frida Kahlo, and more. Throughout the story, the interconnectedness of our shared history and society are emphasized. Other values stressed include the value of visiting museums, the fun of imagination, and the sheer joy of learning.

The story ends by including a number of comprehension questions for children to consider verbally or mentally, but has the option of checking the answers as needed. Developers also encourage readers to find locations from the story on maps at home, and provide four different jigsaw puzzles showing scenes from the story. All activities are well-designed and fun to use.

Entertainment

World of Liberty: Paintings, Planes, and Pioneers is quite entertaining. Each page of the rather lengthy ebook includes appropriate sound effects and animations that will keep children’s attention much more completely than simply reading the text would. The questions at the end of the book are very non-threatening in nature, simply encouraging users to access the information again mentally.

My one concern is that the opening sequence (which can be skipped if adults feel it would be better) tells the story of how Liberty’s toys Truman the airplane and Georgie the toy eagle, came to be inside the computer. It involves a lightning strike into Liberty’s bedroom, and while most children will realize the fanciful nature of the events described, some more sensitive kids or those who have not yet fully separated fantasy from reality may become unduly upset by the thought that such things might really happen. It would be important for parents or teachers to be aware of children who may have uncomfortable feelings about things like this, and who may need to be sheltered from or guided through this part of the book.

Value

This app is an excellent value at $0.99 in the app Store. There are 125 pages in the ebook, and to go through it in the “Read to Me” mode takes approximately thirty minutes. In addition, there are puzzles and questions about the story. The app is also included in a three-app bundle of other stories about Liberty that is available for $1.99 in the App Store.

Child Friendliness

This app is very child-friendly.

• Parent area (contains protected external links & social media)
• NO 3rd party ads
• NO in-app purchase
• YES “more apps” (protected, but visible)

Rose Milany at the Beach

App Info

Price: $2.99
AppStore User Rating:

Overview

Rose Milany is your typical kid and, like most kids, she enjoys going to the beach during the summer. In Rose Milany at the Beach she invites kids to join her on her trip to the beach and interact with her as she enjoys beach-related activities, such as building a sand castles and collecting sea shells. Along the way, she also introduces them to some cute beach creatures. This beach-themed story combines a likable main character with short sentences to create a fun summer read for kids.

Features include:

• Interactive illustrations
• Narrated story
• Fun games
• Available in three languages

Quality

Rose Milany is French, which means kids might have some trouble understanding her, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be friends. That’s how Rose Milany introduces herself at the beginning of this animated story. It also understands why, when kids open the __app for the first time, they may not understand any of the words they see – they’re all in French too. Kids can change the language by tapping on the languages button – the __app is available in English, French, and Spanish. Once they’ve chosen their preferred language, kids can get started with the book. The main screen features clearly-labeled icons that direct kids to the story and the related games. They’ll also find icons for the credits and a help section which highlights the different icons used to move about the app and briefly summarizes each of the games kids can play.

Education

The story features very short scenes and simple sentences, which makes it great for early readers. While the text isn’t highlighted, it is narrated clearly and displayed in small chunks on the screen, making it easy for kids to follow along. After reading the story, kids can also play games related the story. The Memoread game asks kids to identify objects used in the story, while The Stickers activity has kids place pictures in a rebus-style version of the story. Both activities help build comprehension and get kids more involved in the story.

Entertainment

Thanks to the interactive illustrations, kids will also find the story to be very entertaining. Each short scene is accompanied by a screen where kids can uncover creatures and help Rose Milany complete activities. They can pick up sea shells, find a crab, and even turn on the shower so she can wash off after a day at the beach. After reading the story, kids can continue the fun by playing three mini games and by listening to a song about Rose Milany.

Value

The app is priced comparably to other interactive eBooks for kids and offers a lot of features to help justify the price. It’s definitely a great read for kids, particularly during the summer.

Child Friendliness

Unfortunately, developers did not spend as much time on the child friendliness portion of the app. In the credits section, the app contains unprotected links to social media and to the developer’s website. All of the content in the story, however, is appropriate for children, although more conservative parents may not appreciate Rose Milany’s skimpy swim suits in some of the scenes.

• NO in-app purchase
• NO 3rd party ads
• YES social media (unprotected)
• YES external links (unprotected)

Andy Helps You Read

App Info

Price: $3.99
AppStore User Rating:

Overview

Andy Helps You Read offers focused reading help for kids with ADHD, dyslexia, and special needs. While not as flashy as many early reading programs, the __app does a solid job of helping kids learn how to read. The 20 lessons combine word recognition, letter formation, and reading practice opportunities to give kids a strong background in many of the fundamentals required to help them learn to read.

Features include:

• 20 reading lessons
• Word practice
• Flashing practice
• Reading practice
• Developed by teachers

Quality

When kids first open the app, they’re prompted to tap on “Andy’s Helpers,” to get started. This short video tutorial features kids explaining how to use the __app and offering their takeaway. It’s a solid way to introduce kids to the different components of the app. Parents are directed to the “Parent’s Place” where the creators of the app outline the overall structure of the app. This helps parents understand how the app is designed and how the design helps kids learn to read. It’s easy for kids to access the lessons. When they do, they’ll see three different activities: Word Practice, Flash Practice, and Reading Practice. The Reading Practice features narrated texts, but the narration could be improved by using an actual human voice rather than a computer. Each activity is also accompanied by calming piano music which kids can easily turn off.

Education

The creators of the app have put a lot of thought into the app and they take the time to explain their thought process to parents. With an initial purchase of the app, kids can go through the first five lessons in any order. Parents can then opt to purchase the additional lessons through a bundle. Each lesson contains three different sections: Word Practice, Flash Practice, and Reading Practice.

In the Word Practice section, kids see a common word, and then tap on it to hear it. This section largely relies on kids to motivate and practice the words themselves. The goal is simply to help kids learn to read and pronounce common sight words.

The Flash practice section shows kids different lines and letters to help add a visual component to reading. This is one of the most entertaining sections and one of the best sections for kids with special needs. Kids see an object or series of letters or numbers on the screen and must copy what they see from memory. After kids have drawn a series of images, they can compare what they drew with the actual images. Kids can then go back and try to improve upon what they just did. If they did well, they can increase the speed to challenge themselves more.

In the Reading Practice section, kids read along with a short, high-interest text, and then answer some cloze reading style questions at the end. All of the activities move at a good speed for beginning readers and are designed to help kids feel successful from the beginning. The only real downside to the app is that the narrator for the reading passages is just a computerized voice, so a lot of the inflections and emotion that could help kids understand unfamiliar words is absent from the narration. This leads to a few awkward sentences.

Entertainment

This app is designed to be more educational than entertaining. However, the app does have some entertaining components of its own. The entertainment factor starts with Andy the Airplane flying around as kids move through the different lessons and the calming piano music that sits in the background. It continues with the high-interest reading passages and the positive reinforcement kids receive when they fill in a blank correctly during the cloze reading activity. One of the most entertaining activities is the flashing word practice. Kids can choose from three different speeds and must draw the shape, numbers, or letters that they see. The faster the speed, the faster they have to process the image before it disappears.

Value

This app is priced comparably to similar apps. Contained within the app are quality reading passages and lessons that prove to be highly beneficial to kids. It also offers plenty of unique opportunities to help kids practice their writing skills and word recognition skills. An initial purchase gives kids access to the first five lessons. Parents can purchase lessons 6-20 as part of a bundle. While the price of the bundle is higher than the initial price of the app, parents get a lot of good content. They’ll also know by that point whether or not the purchase will benefit their children.

Child Friendliness

All of the content in the app is child friendly. Kids can access the Parent’s Place and hear how the app is designed to help them, but they likely won’t sit through the entire video. The app also offers a short video tutorial that features actual kids to help motivate them to use and enjoy the app.

• NO external links
• NO social media
• NO 3rd party ads
• YES in-app purchase (protected)