Someone I really like a lot is going to be reaching the grand old age of 58.

Can you guess who it is?

It’s MIFFY!

Sweet little Miffy, Dick Bruna’s creation, has been around for nearly sixty years – isn’t that incredible? It brings me no end of joy that the same simple, brightly coloured books that I loved as a little girl were also enjoyed by my Mum before me, and are now being enjoyed by DorkySon too.

We were delighted, then, when we were asked to help celebrate Miffy’s Big Birthday by reviewing the Miffy at School iPad App.

School is on DorkySon’s mind a lot at the moment, as he and most of his nursery friends are due to start after the summer, so we have been making the effort to read a lot of books about it. The Miffy at School App has provided another great opportunity to talk about starting school in a positive way, and to try and reassure DorkySon that it will be a fun and exciting experience rather than a scary one.

The App consists of three games – building with blocks, a memory game, and creating your own e-card – and an interactive book. There is the option to record your own (or your child’s) voices reading the story.

DorkySon’s favourite part was the interactive book. He would listen to the narrator read the story on each page, before moving onto the activities which included tracing a path for Miffy to take to school, counting with an abacus, drawing a picture, and shape recognition using bricks. All the activities were instinctive and he could do them without my help.

Of the three games, he most enjoyed the memory game, which involved tapping cards to turn them over and trying to match up pairs. The make your own e-card option was fun, but as we have removed email from the iPad that DorkySon uses, it would be nice if there was an option to just save the card that you’ve made rather than having to send it right away. We ended up taking a screenshot because he wanted to keep his creation to look at later.

Overall I’d say this is an App worth buying for a toddler or pre-schooler, especially if your children are already fans of Miffy, or if you’re looking for an opportunity to talk about school in a fun way. There is enough to keep them occupied for a good amount of time, and to make this an app that they will return to again and again.

The Miffy at School iPad App costs £2.99 and can be bought in the App Store.

You can also say hello to Miffy on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: I was gifted a copy of the Miffy at School app for the purposes of this review. I received no other payment, and all views are my own.

Because we are in the car so much this week I decided to download some new apps for the kids, and I discovered some gems that I want to share with my readers. The first app that I found is Mystery Math, and I have to say this is my son’s new favorite math game. This is a wonderful game that combines a fun story with math problems. The basic idea is you are trying to save all the fireflies that have been captured, and along the way you collect numbers and solve problems.

Mystery Math keeps my son’s interest, which is no easy accomplishment. Because he is interested he readily solves all the math problems. The graphics are wonderful, the game is fun to look at for both kids and adults, and the math problems can be set to make it challenging for your student. The game is recommended for ages 6-12 and is $2.99, and I think this is a good price for the quality of the app. Any child who needs to cement their math facts in a fun setting would benefit from this game.

The next app that I found this week is a poetry app that I got for the twins called Poems By Heart from Penguin Classics. It is a free app, but to get any real use out of it you need to buy a poetry pack. Each pack includes four poems, and the poems are rated for you from easy to very hard. Each pack costs $0.99, so they are not too expensive. We started out with the adventures pack which includes Jabberwocky, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Owl and the Pussycat, and The Charge of the Light Brigade. Later we added the Gothic pack.

The idea of this app is to memorize these poems. There is an overview of each poem which you can read, or you can have it read to you in either a female or male voice. After listening to the poem you can move on to learning it.

This is a great app to use for memorization work and poetry studies. The only drawbacks to this app is that there is not too many poems to choose from and that the voice readings, while perfectly acceptable, are lacking somewhat in their interpretation  Otherwise we all love this app. It is a fun way to learn poetry whether you are at home or on the go.

Another great app we discovered this week is BBC Earth Wonders. My youngest son loves nature and animal videos, so I decided to buy this app for him. This app, priced at $3.99, is beautiful, and I find myself watching the videos and looking at the pictures as much as him. The clips come from various BBC shows such as Planet Earth, and they are all in HD, as are the photos.

This app looks great, and it’s interface is wonderful. My son is especially fond of Explore the Globe where you can rotate the globe and pick on areas of interest. You can also search by theme.

The only downside to Earth Wonders is that you have to download the video files, and the files take up a good deal of space. This app is probably best used on a newer iPad or iPhone because of this. The reviews for this app seem to be either positive or negative, and I am guessing the difference in opinion is caused by whether you are using it on a newer iPad or not.

Finally, just for fun, we all downloaded the app Action Movie FX this week. What can I say about this app? Well it is not educational, it is somewhat violent, the kids are wasting a good deal of time on it, and we all absolutely love it. It is nice to make videos together and to laugh about it together. The app is free, if you want to buy additional packs it is an extra $0.99 per pack. It is recommended for ages nine and up due to mild cartoon/fantasy violence.

]]> http://snakeriverbbb.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/mobile-apps-targeted-at-young-children-seldom-disclose-privacy-policies-study-shows/ Fri, 18 Jan 2013 22:48:08 +0000 snakeriverbbb http://snakeriverbbb.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/mobile-apps-targeted-at-young-children-seldom-disclose-privacy-policies-study-shows/ http://fun4learning.wordpress.com/2012/12/22/kids-learn-antonyms/ Sat, 22 Dec 2012 05:58:25 +0000 fun4learning http://fun4learning.wordpress.com/2012/12/22/kids-learn-antonyms/

An antonym is the opposite of a word. It is often used to show the difference between two things. Our cute cat is going fishing. Let’s help him get more fish in the shortest time.

★★★★★ Features ★★★★★

✔ Educational games with the fun, best for kids

✔ Fun ways to motivate your kids learning English antonyms

✔ Clear pronunciation in gentle human voice with beautiful graphics

✔ Interactive practice by an interesting game

✔ Optimized for both phones and tablets

✔ Parents love to see their kids being both educated and happy

★★★★★ How to use ★★★★★

✔ Touch the menu to select the a pair of antonyms

✔ Touch the picture to hear pronunciation of the antonym and example sentence

✔ Choose the correct pair of antonyms and help Qcat get more fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7BG2UfnX1o&feature=youtu.be

http://www.appsurfer.com/apps/18092-kids-learn-antonyms

Enter Zoodle’s Kid Mode.

All your child’s favorite Android apps in one place. With our Child Lock feature, kids stay safely in Kid Mode! No more accidental in-app purchases, deleted texts, or confusing ad clicks. – Kid Mode

Here is a photo of some of the technology I have collected over the years. The dictionary was very popular in my work with children with dyslexia in the early 2000s. Harvest Moon on the DS dominated my life for several months and I currently have 4 email addresses which I keep track of with the ipad. Technology was not often spoken of by Montessori who lived mostly in the early 1900s or by Erikson or Vygotsky or any of these people, for obvious reasons. It is quite a free-for-all in this area so it definitely credits a post. A few links for websites with information mentioned in this post can be found at the bottom. Much of the discussion is credited to X Media Lab events and talks I have attended. Have a good week everyone.

Technology and you child

How does your child learn? We have all heard and nodded our heads at ‘multi-sensory’ and ‘learning styles’. It makes perfect sense to acknowledge that each child, each person is an individual and will pay attention to different things and approach each of them in her individual way.

Where do your eyes turn to when you are thinking? Up, down, to the side? I was told that I am primarily an auditory learner. Lucky for me, auditory learners are great at mainstream schooling. We don’t require a great deal of anything else aside from the knowledgeable droning of the teacher.

Very few people are one kind of learner or has just one style of learning. Supporting learning in a multi-sensory way can be very straightforward. Learning a letter and its sound?- Feel a letter shape (usually sandpaper these days) while saying the sound at the same time. More tactile than kinaesthetic? Do it more jolly- phonics like; move your whole arm to form the letter in the air while saying the sound and imagining what it looks like. Learning to spell a word? – Copy it while naming the letters at the same time. It’s not particularly interesting but it is visual, auditory, tactile and kinaesthetic at the same time! A multi-sensory approach does not have to be complicated, noisy or involve chaos. In fact, it should not be. It is an approach emphasising the importance and effectiveness of using one’s own natural life-given tools of learning.- one’s senses. The idea, is to encourage one’s effort at exercising them, regardless of the stimuli. And of course, like any exercise or learning of a sport, it seems like a good idea to suggest we start with basic training, learning certain skills before throwing in the music, audience and judging.

What senses come to mind when ‘Technology’ is mentioned? If I had to name one, I would say, probably ‘visual’.- Highly visual. Perhaps to the extent where it dulls the untrained mind and senses instead of supporting its development. So if you are considering offering it to your child, do have a read below. Perhaps it may be useful in helping you sieve out some really good efforts from the plethora of technology out there. In a lecture I did in 2007, I divided Educational Technology into 3 groups, based on its function.

a) Content-Free:

which allows you to create your own content, such as a mind-mapping software, a word processor, paint!

b) Didactic/ Recre-educational

For example, Word Shark for spelling, often used to support children with literacy difficulties, or Food Force, where you have to organise food delivery for humanitarian aid programmes. These are games that inform and reinforce knowledge.

c) Assessment

These are games which test. .

In my early exploration of iphone-pad apps for children, I bought an iphone app for toddlers… It was a bit like a book, with a picture of an animal on each page and when you touched the picture, it made the sound that that animal made. So, if it was a cow, I could tap on the cow and it went ‘moo’. This is a game which serves none of the educational purposes of technology and is solely for entertainment, and probably very short-term. So if it is about giving yourself that 5-10 minutes to reply to that important email, then I am sure you know that your child could go on for quite a while with a very well-made piece of play dough or some paper and glue.

Another very popular kind of app for very young children is a dress-up one and depending on the quality of the program, some could make the content-free category which allows the player to be somewhat creative and put ideas together.

The last kind of app-game which is increasingly popular these days, is the kind where you have to keep watching the screen and tapping at the right time so the ball/man/character does not fall into the depths of unknown. What do you think of these?

Links as promised

http://www.xmedialab.com/

An international think-tank event

http://www.wfp.org/how-to-help/individuals/food-force/

A game by the World Food Organisation

Parenting is one of the best things that you can experience in life and there is nothing better than educating your own children.  Yet, teaching kids has never been an easy task, as children these days are always distracted by the things happening around them.

One of the best practices by parents is that keeping their kids entertained while educating them in the process. That way, parents and their children can also bond.

Armed with the proper tools, parents can pacify any child by amusing them with Android applications. Here are some of the best Android applications for kids and children that will keep your child happily learning for the rest of the day.

Kids Preschool Puzzle Lite

Kids Preschool Puzzle Lite is an educational and entertaining game for kids aged three to six. The app is great for teaching kids the art of solving puzzles. The lite version contains 20 puzzles to solve, with more puzzles in the pro version. The game is simple to play and kids will love how each picture or puzzle is beautifully rendered in colorful detail.

To complete a puzzle, kids need to figure out what shapes go into the designated places and arrange the pieces in a way that resembles the picture. Children who play the game often will boost their cognitive skills, visual spatial skills, shape recognition, and their motor skills. Unlike other kids’ games that are more complex and have so many distractions, Kids Preschool Lite is simple and easy to understand.

Kids Connect the Dots Lite

If your kids love connecting the dots, then this is a game well-suited for them. From the developers behind Kids Preschool Puzzle, here’s another educational and fun game for kids aged 4 to 7. Kids Connect the Dots Lite will let preschoolers have a chance to play a connect-the-dots game in full digital format. Kids who play the game occasionally will learn how to pronounce the numbers and letters in the dots.  They will learn to count and learn the letters of the alphabet.

The game is easy to play and children just need to tap on a series of dots that outline an animal or object that a child may or may have not encountered. As the child taps on the dots, the numbers and letters of the alphabet will be pronounced. When children succeed in connecting all of the dots, the image will automatically transform into a colorful picture.

iStory Books

iStoryBooks is a free story book application that brings to life all of your favorite stories. Each storybook is composed of fun pictures, text, and audio to bring a story to life. Parents can even set the application to read the story out loud for their kids. This app has all the necessary tools to make storytelling a fun and worthwhile activity.

Books are continuously added and once they are published, they will automatically appear in the app complete with pictures and audio. The app also supports numerous book types such as children’s books, story books, bedtime stories, classic stories, folk stories, and fairy tales, just to name a few. Kids will enjoy these books, especially if their dads and/or moms read the stories to them, or if they discover the joy of reading the stories themselves.

Dinosaurs Coloring Book

Spoil your kids and let them have fun coloring pictures of all shapes and sizes with Dinosaurs Coloring Book. Unleash your kids’ imaginations and let their creativity roam free as Dinosaurs Coloring Book has all the tools they need to start coloring.

The app provides over 90 dinosaur stock images to choose from. The more the kids spend time with the app, the more time they will enhance their coloring skills and learn more about dinosaurs.

Kids can choose from a variety of colors from the color picker and color their favorite images as they please. They can even zoom in and out of the picture to color even the tiniest of details. There are multiple brushes to select from and a paint bucket for them to pick and match their desired colors. Parents can even share their kid’s work instantly via email, Twitter, or Facebook.

 Dinosaurs Coloring Book for Android on AppBrain

Angry Birds is not just an application for young adults who want to have fun but it is also a great game for kids to enjoy and learn physics. The ever-popular game has branched off into different themes, from the original to the more futuristic theme in Angry Birds Space. The object of the game is simple: to defeat the pigs by using a slingshot and hurling birds to destroy them.

The gorgeous graphics and funny sounds of the birds and pigs are hilarious, and kids at early ages will surely enjoy hurling birds from a slingshot. With over 300 unique levels, Angry Birds is a great application for sheer pleasure and enjoyment.

Game for KIDS: KIDS Match’em

Exercise your child’s memory with Game for KIDS: KIDS Match’em. Boosting your child’s memory could never be easier and more fun than with this interesting application. The addictive game can improve your kid’s short-term and sensory memory skills with just a few days of use and practice.

The game supports different resolution sizes, has high quality graphics, and includes nice sound effects to make it more engaging to play.

The object of the game is simple: pair matching tile cards. Tapping on a tile card will reveal a picture, and getting a pair will permanently reveal it. Match all the tiles and the game is won.

The app supports 2 difficulty levels which will affect the number of cards shown on the screen. There are over 6 different card sets to choose from: cute furry animals, hats, cartoon vehicles, Halloween characters, and a Christmas theme.

Kids Socks

Here’s another matching game that will make your kids definitely throw their socks off — literally.Kids Socks is a matching game that employs an alternative twist of the traditional tile-matching game. Instead of matching tile cards, kids have to match socks hanging from a wire.

The objective is to match the sock shown with socks that you have. Just drag the same-colored sock and do a match. This is a great application to enhance a child’s creativity and keep their memory fresh. You can even change the socks and activate underpants if you feel bored with just matching socks. Memorizing has never been so fun and so addictive than with Kids Socks.

Talking Kids Math and Numbers

Talking Kids Math and Numbers is the number one math and learning application for kids to try and test their skills in mathematics. If you’ve always wanted to boost your kids’ mathematical skills, then Talking Kids will be a great app to keep your children entertained while educating them on the basics. What’s even better, the app supports TV output if you feel that your phone screen is too small.

Numbers will be flashed on the screen with the funny penguin asking your child for the answer. The app is also a great way to learn mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. If your kids are smart, they can use the app’s built-in Quiz Mode to test their basic math abilities.

DK The Human Body App – £4.99 for the iPad 

Human Biology was one of my favourite subjects whilst studying for my GCSEs.  If the whole tablet / smartphone phenomena had been around then, I would definitely have bought this award-winning app.  It explores the amazing human body, offering hours of learning, entertainment and enjoyment.  It is in the form of an interactive book containing in-depth material, including articles, videos and 3D graphics.  Many teachers and educators have recommended it as a “must-have app” for anybody studying the human physiology.  DK The Human Body App isn’t available on Android, but I felt that Human Body Anatomy was a suitable option from Google Play for £1.23.

Shakespeare in Bits:  Hamlet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth – £10.49 per book from iTunes.  This is a universal app – pay once and it’s on all your Apple devices.

This app brings Shakespeare to life for youngsters studying the Bard’s work.  The developers wanted to make Shakespeare’s plays more accessible, which I feel they have wholly achieved.  Each play is divided into easily digestible parts, with fabulous cartoon animation (don’t be fooled into thinking it’s childish, it’s not) and voiceover acting for each scene.  The Shakespeare in Bits series feature the full un-abridged works with the original text.  There is in-line translation to help readers understand some of the difficult words and phrases.  The app is a combination of text, coupled with side-by-side animation, with the facility to access biographies of the characters and to see a character relationship map.  I only wish that I’d had access to something as brilliant as this whilst I was studying Romeo and Juliet, as I’m sure I would have aced my GSCE with an A* instead of an A!  Julius Caesar will be released shortly.  Unfortunately this app isn’t available for Android and there wasn’t a suitable alternative.

Slice It! – £0.69 from iTunes and free on Android

This is a challenging puzzle game, with a maths-geometry slant to it.  The basis of the app is to slice different shapes into a specified number of parts, but to complete it in the required number of slices, making sure the pieces are all of the same size.  It starts off very easily:  slicing a square into two halves and splitting a triangle into three and so on, but as you progress through each level it gets more difficult.  There are 200 stages within the game and as you progress, you’ll encounter different types of obstacles.  A perfect score is achieved if you slice the object exactly into equivalent pieces; after each slice, your slicing abilities are graded one to five stars.  Stars earn Hints that can be used to unlock tips at any level, and these can be banked for use when you get stuck.

Revision App – The Ultimate Revision Tool – free from iTunes

This app covers the following levels:  University, GCSEs, A-Levels and SAT.  GCSEs and A-Levels are UK exams, whilst SAT are US ones.  It is a great revision aid, especially since it’s free!  Each level contains different subjects and within those subjects are flash card questions.  Having this kind of app on your iPhone, iTouch or iPad is a great way to be able to revise when out and about – no more wasting time on the bus!  There are University, A-Level and GCSE revision notes pre-installed within the app and there is the facility to get many more at just the tap of a finger in.  Students can create their own flash cards and can track their progress to see how they’re doing versus previous answers.  All in all, a great little app to support the revision process!  This app isn’t available for Android and there wasn’t really a suitable alternative – sorry!

Exam Prep by Andrew Johnson – £1.99 from iTunes and £1.90 for Android

If you read the post on Health & Fitness apps, you’ll know how much I love the Deep Sleep app by Andrew Johnson.  So, when I discovered he had an app called Exam Prep, I was extremely intrigued.  The Domestic King will tell you I was a basket case when studying for my exams (and the Domestic Prince can corroborate that nothing changed 6 years on and the same applied when I was taking my investment management exams.)  So, had this app been available during these testing (no pun intended) times, I would have been a definite buyer of this app.  This app will help the listener focus, improve concentration and overcome test or examination nerves.  You’ll still need to put in the hard-work with revision, but if his “Relax” and “Positivity” apps are anything to go by, they should help anybody studying for a test or exam to feel much better going into the exam room.

This post concludes the series on apps for children.  I hope you’ve all enjoyed it and found some useful ones for the little and young people in your lives.  There will be more posts in the app series over the coming weeks, but I’d love to hear from you if there are any categories you’d particularly like me to cover?  Or, if you’ve downloaded an incredible app!  Please share!

With much love

The Domestic Princess

xoxo

Whale Trail – £0.69 from iTunes and £0.99 for Android

This is a great game, with gorgeous animation featuring a cute whale called Willow.  You have to guide Willow around the skies, whizzing through a magical rainbow trying to escape the evil clutches of Baron von Barry.  The user manoeuvres Willow by tapping the screen to make him fly upwards, following a trail of bubbles to sustain his flight, all the while trying to avoid the angry clouds that weaken his energy.  He can collect stars on the journey that allows him temporarily to attack his enemy clouds.  The game flows well and has wide-appeal, and like most of these games is extremely addictive.

Music Theory for Beginners – £1.99 from iTunes

This is a great app for making learning music theory fun!  An owl guides you through 22 lessons that cover the major theory concepts or ideas:  reading notes, rhythm, harmony and so on.  Each topic comes with an interactive quiz, so you can test your knowledge of what you’ve learnt.  If you do well on the quiz, you’ll receive an achievement badge, which allows you to progress to the next level.

This app will help youngsters acquire the knowledge of music theory that may be part of their schools’ curriculum, as well as becoming a better musician if they’re learning to play an instrument.  Unfortunately this is only available for Apple products and I couldn’t find a suitable alternative for Android.

Body Organs 4 Kids – £0.69 from iTunes

If your children are starting to show an interest in how the human body works, this app is exactly what you’re looking for!  It covers 18 different body organs, with each section beginning where a particular organ is located within the body.  They’ll learn lots of interesting things including facts about each organ, how to keep the organ healthy, and what problems can arise if the organ doesn’t function properly.  This is a fairly basic app, but it does exactly what it says on the tin!  Again, there’s not really an app for Android that comes close.

Inside Nature’s Giants – £1.99 for the iPad

This app is the official companion from the Channel 4 show of the same name.  It explores the anatomy of some of the largest animals on our planet, revealing how these incredible creatures truly function.  The app is beautifully presented with interactive elements, lots of video clips, including some pretty gruesome ones!  Using this app, you’ll find out why giraffe’s don’t faint all the time, despite having very high blood pressure and a heart the size of a human’s, why crocodiles are terrible at chewing, despite having the strongest bite of all animals and why a squid has three hearts and passes food through it’s brain!  By exploring these giants, you’ll discover answers to these and many more questions!  The photographs and video are not for the faint-hearted, so it’s definitely an app more appropriate for older children.  You probably won’t want use this straight after supper!  This is not available for Android I’m afraid.

Scrabble – £0.69 for the iPhone & iTouch, £1.49 for the iPad and free for Android

This is a great app to help children build vocabularies and improve their spelling, whilst having fun!  The app is a true replica of the traditional board game with great graphics.  The app has many tools that make discovering words an enjoyable experience for youngsters.  You can play against the computer or choose the pass ‘n’ play option to play against friends and family.  The “teacher” feature is excellent and can be clicked on after each turn to recommend the word which would have achieved the highest score  – so the more you play the better you’ll get!  And just like the Monopoly championship, I’m up 3-1 against The Domestic Prince in the Scrabble series!

Do you have any suggestions for apps for the 9-12 year old age groups?  Have you got any of these apps?  And if so, what do you think of them?

With much love

The Domestic Princess

xoxo

Cut the Rope - £0.69 for the iPhone & iTouch and £1.49 for the iPad; £0.62 for Android

This game involves a cute, but ugly monster called Om Nom who you have to feed by solving puzzles using tools such as pulleys and catapults.  It starts off with a mysterious parcel arriving that is labelled “feed with candy”.  From then on you have to figure out how to catapult the candy into his mouth by cutting the rope!  Along the way you gain stars for the fastest time, minimum rope cuts and to gain access to new levels.  It’s a physics based puzzle game, which is straightforward but can be challenging and is incredibly addictive!

Rocket Math – £0.69 from iTunes.  This is a universal app – pay once and it’s on all your Apple devices.

This is an award winning educational game app based on arithmentic and basic maths, requiring children to undertake 56 maths missions.  The object of the game is for children to earn money by completing the different maths missions to build rockets.  This app covers:  numbers, fractions and decimals, counting, telling-time, dealing with money, 2D and 3D shapes, patterns, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square roots and much more.  The app has quite a long age span, and would probably appeal to 10 / 11 year olds (depending upon their ability), as well as younger children .

Since this is a US designed app, the money element of the game is in US Dollars, but the concept of working out how to deal with money is still relevant.  This app really turns learning maths into a game and is suitable for both boys and girls.  Rocket Math isn’t available for Android, but I found Math Number game as a possible alternative and as a bonus, it’s free from Google Play.

Barefoot World Atlas – £5.49 for the iPad (quite pricey, but so worth it!)

This is a fabulous, interactive children’s world atlas.  Although designed for children, I have really enjoyed playing with it over the last few days.  This app is a delight to use and explore, and has wonderful animation that brings the world alive for little ones.

The app works as an interactive 3D globe, where the child can spin, zoom or fly around the globe with a swipe of their finger, zoom in and out on countries, or search for specific continents, oceans and countries.  The app shares with the user some amazing information about our world including wildlife, landmarks, famous buildings, live data for every country and the most up-to-date weather readings!  Using this app, children of all ages will love learning about the world they live in!  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an alternative for Android that came anywhere close to this app at all – sorry!

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore – £2.99 for the iPad

This is a fantastic, creative and interactive book that evolved from an award winning short-film.  The app is part story, part animation and part game.

The story is about Mr Lessmore’s love of, and obsession with books, which is always a good thing to celebrate!  The app has beautiful artwork, and children will enjoy having the book read to them, or reading it themselves as well as exploring the interactive element.  Children of all ages will thoroughly enjoy this book; avid readers will struggle to put this down.  The reviews on the iTunes store are overwhelmingly positive, and as one reviewer of the app says: ”a revolutionary use of the iPad!” – I couldn’t agree more!  Since this is such a unique book, there really wasn’t a suitable substitute available for Android.

Monopoly - £0.69 from iTunes and £2.99 for Android

I’m pretty sure everybody is familiar with the Monopoly board game that has universal appeal.  This app is a great translation of the traditional game into an electronic setting. You can play in single-player mode against the computer or play against up to 3 other players and can adjust the difficulty of the game depending on the age group of the players.  This app hasn’t strayed too far from the original game and the familiar pieces and board look great in digital form.

We love this game….well actually, I probably love it more than the Domestic Prince, whom I bankrupted during our last two games!

Do you have any of these apps for your children?  Do you think they’d like them?  Would you like to see more posts on app suggestions for children?  If so, any specific categories that you’d like me to look at?  Appy downloading!

With much love

The Domestic Princess

Xoxo

Well, in light of this growing trend, I thought I’d turn my attention to the apps that have been designed specifically for the younger generation.  There is a plethora of apps available for children, so I’ve restricted my choice to the ones that I would be happy for any little ones in our lives to use.

The decision on whether to let your children use electronic gadgets is such a personal one, and not for one moment am I advocating that you should be allowing your children to use smartphones and tablets.  It’s your choice, and your choice alone.

The focus of my most favoured apps, is definitely more educationally orientated than games focused, as most children are already more than familiar with the games available, such as Angry Birds etc.  However, most of the educational apps, are structured as a game.

I’m splitting today’s post over four posts (yes there’s extra posts this week!), as I was struggling to only select one or two per age group.  So today will be apps appropriate for 6mths – 5 years and tomorrow will be for the 5 – 9 year olds.  With the 9 – 12 and 12+ age brackets following on Friday and Monday.

Peekaboo Barn – £1.49 from iTunes and £1.89 from Android

This is a very sweet app, aimed at the 6-month+ age group.  It’s a cause and effect app, whereby the child touches the screen and something happens.  The premise of the game is for the child to touch the door of the red barn, which opens the door revealing an animal inside that then, barks, moos or quacks etc.  It’s a pretty simple app, but is great for helping little ones hone their fine motor skills.  There are other “Peekaboo” apps that use different animals:  Peekaboo Wild, Peekaboo Forest.

Peppa Pig’s Party Time – £2.99 from iTunes

As Clare mentioned in her post on Rainy Day Activities for Toddlers, her two little ones love Peppa Pig, so I’m sure they’d enjoy this app.  The app offers either single player or multi-player mini-games.  Your little ones will get to help Peppa design the party invitations, create the party bags, bake and decorate cakes and play traditional party games.  A must for all Peppa Pig fans!  Peppa Pig’s Party Time isn’t available on Android, but Peppa Pig – Polly Parrot is available from Google Play for £1.99.

Wheels on the Bus – £0.69 for iPhone & iTouch and £1.49 for the iPad; £1.27 for Android

This is a great entertaining and very interactive app, based on the popular nursery song and created by parents.  Each screenshot shows a different part of the song.  The child touches the arrows at the bottom of the screen to move forwards and backwards through the song.  They get to swish the wipers, open and close the doors, spin the wheels and so much more.  One of the great features of this app is the ability to record your child signing the song and then play it back. 

My Very First App – £1.49 from iTunes

This app is based on Eric Cale’s artwork from his series “My First Books”.  I love Eric Cale’s books, especially The Very Hungry Caterpillar, so when I discovered this app, it absolutely had to feature on the list!  The app is separated into three levels of difficulty:  Easy (ages 1-3yrs), Medium (2yrs+) and Difficult (3yrs+).  The Easy level requires the child to match the colour to the items of the same colour.  The Medium level is a memory game where the child turns over to cards to match-up colours.  The Difficult level combines the two previous levels, whereby you have to match the colours on the cards with the objects.  A great app, showcasing Eric Cale’s gorgeous artwork.  Unfortunately My Very First App isn’t available on Android, but a good alternative for the memory element of the app would be Animals Memory Game available for £0.60 from Google Play.

Pop Out! The Tale of Peter Rabbit – £3.17 from the US iTunes store and £3.09 from Google Play

I adore the charming Tale of Peter Rabbit, which is so reminiscent of my childhood and was thrilled when I found out it was available as an interactive book on Apple and Android products.  It takes the beautifully illustrated original book and brings it to life in digital form with brilliant clarity.  Your little one may find wheels to spin or tabs to pull and some images seem to leap out at you.  There are over 50 pages of text in this app; nothing has been omitted from the original story and the narration fits perfectly.  Definitely worth buying in my opinion!

A tip from the Domestic Prince:

The Domestic Prince has an app called Free App Magic on his iPad that gives you the option of downloading three free apps everyday.  It’s hit and miss with regards to the quality of the app, but some have proven quite good.

Have you got any of these apps?  Is there a fight in your household over the use of your smartphones and tablets?  What are your children’s favourite apps?  And do you agree with children using smartphones and tablets?  I’d love to hear from you.

With much love

The Domestic Princess

xoxo

MORE via Apps to Keep Children Happy – NYTimes.com.

Moshi Monsters has always reminded me of that brightly coloured Japanese kitsch that I found when travelling in Toyko. In short, it appealled to my vinyl toy, graphic novel, anime-loving side and you can easily see why:

Image from the Moshi Monsters Buster's Lost Moshlings app released today

I intend to download this app when I get home to a wifi connection this evening, but I have had the fortune to play the game whilst it was in development. Simple concept and terribly addictive – like any good iPhone game I guess. Find the moshlings, collect them in your moshling zoo and marvel at all the pretty colours and cute characters (not to mention Mr Bumblechops’ chops!).

Get the Moshi Monsters app on the UK app store (69p on the day of release).

Either way, I have it on good authority that the small annoying people (that would be children) love technology and often borrow their parents’ devices to ‘play on’ (read keep them quiet while Mummy tries to stave off the fourth migraine of the week). The guys at the Samsung Mob!lers obviously aren’t aware (and why should they be?) of my disinterest in all things kiddiefied (unless you include cartoons, stuffed animals and brightly coloured sweets which, for some strange reason, seem to be aimed primarily at kids – I quite like all of those things) and have asked me to come up with app ideas for under 5s (They’re the one’s that are about *holds hand a couple of foot above the ground* this big, yeah?). If I haven’t made it clear before, children and all the surrounding hoo-hah, do nowt for me. But hey, I like a lot of stuff that kids like, I get on pretty well with most of the ones I meet, so I’m possibly better placed to complete the mission than I first thought.

So, what did I like when I was a kid? Pretty much the same things as I like now – food, animals, films, reading (yes, I could read very early on – thanks to Mum for making me a precocious little madam). With that in mind, I think I’d like to see something that entertains and educates. I basically learnt everything I needed to know in life from watching Sesame Street, though I do now lay the blame for my fat ass squarely at the door of the Cookie Monster! I think something that allows the child to express creativity would be a great addition too. So perhaps a selection of basic words (illustrated by pictures) that can be selected (by the child) and arranged (by the app) into a story which is then spoken back to the user, while they read along. The user could illustrate the story (perhaps following a guide) and the app could animate the pictures (similar to the fantastico Draw A Stickman that seems to be doing the rounds on social networks this week). The story could be saved and/or emailed.

Cute huh? I bet something like it already exists. Unless I’ve just blogged, and given away for free, my million dollar making idea. Ach well, consider it a gift. And if anyone asks about my generosity, we’ll tell ‘em I did it for the kids.

Do you have any opinions on children using technology? Do you allow your kids to play on your gadgets or do they have their own? What are their favourite apps and do they know more about how to use them than you? Or would you prefer that kids were out in the fresh air?

Childsplay performs a a musical adaptation of P.B. Eastman’s “Go, Dog. Go!” at the Tempe Center for the Arts Jan 29-March 6

Telling and reading stories is one of the most enchanting parts of childhood. But today’s kids have additional options for enjoying their favorite tales — including movie and stage adaptations of classic and contemporary children’s books.

Consider the case of P.D. Eastman’s “Go, Dog. Go!” The book comes to life this weekend as Childsplay presents a preview at Tempe Center for the Arts.

I’m told the preview and opening night are already sold out, so don’t delay if you’re eager to take in the show.

Childsplay’s “Go, Dog. Go!”– recommended for ages 3 & up – is adapted by Steven Dietz and Allison Gregory, with music by Michael Koerner. 

It runs Jan 29-March 6, with 1pm and 4pm shows both Saturdays and Sundays. An ASL interpreted performance takes place at 1pm on Sun, Feb 27.

Take the kiddos to Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe Sat, Jan 22, at 10am if you’d like to enjoy some charming “Go, Dog. Go!” moments with Childsplay.

Changing Hands notes that children will be “exploring the world of story using dramatic play to guide kids through an exploration of scenes from P.D. Eastman’s Go, Dog Go!” and promises that “They’ll even create some of their own!”

Another book for children was literally “on the go” last weekend as the cast of Cookie Company’s upcoming “Unstoppable Me!” took a bit of the show on the road — performing selections at Desert Ridge Marketplace.

The cast of Cookie Company's "Unstoppable Me!" performed last weekend at Desert Ridge Marketplace

Cookie Company is affiliated with Phoenix Theatre, which offers more mature fare in “No Way to Treat a Lady” through Jan 30.

“Unstoppable Me!” runs Jan 28-Feb 6 at Greasepaint Theatre in Scottsdale. It’s based on the book by Wayne W. Dyer with Kristina Tracy. It has the shortest run of the shows noted here so you have just a small window of opportunity to see it.

This iPhone "app" is proof that some stories have moved to both stage and super-small screen

Though “Unstoppable Me!” is best for K-grade 4 students, I’m eager to see is myself — having recently seen one of its cast members, Walter Belcher, offer a moving performance in the Black Theatre Troupe production of August Wilson’s “Fences.”

Many adult actors who perform brilliantly here in the Valley in works for children also can be seen in works for older audiences (by older, I mean no longer required to do homework).

I’m especially excited about seeing Childsplay’s Yolanda London appear in an Actors Theatre production titled “This” which opens at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix this Friday. And Kristen Drathman, a Valley actor frequently seen in Phoenix Theatre productions, performing in “Go, Dog. Go!”

Youth Works, which is part of Theater Works in Peoria, brings “James and the Giant Peach” to the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts Feb 3-20.

Enjoy "James and the Giant Peach" at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts next month

It’s based on the book by Roald Dahl — which recounts the adventures of James as he finds a way to escape from two odd aunts who take him in after his parents die in a tragic rhinocerous accident.

The adventures of "James and the Giant Peach" exist in book, stage and movie form

Theater Works presents “The Desperate Hours” on another stage Jan 28-Feb 13.

I’ve always been a fan of reading books before seeing them portrayed on stage or screen (whether big screen or handheld device).

Childen who read these stories before seeing them performed have a chance to imagine the setting and characters free of someone else’s images.

But once your child reads or listens to a book, there’s nothing more fun than seeing it come to life on stage. Unless, of course, you finish off an afternoon at the theater by cracking open another exciting book.

– Lynn

Note: Childsplay and Cookie Company productions feature adult actors performing family-friendly works, while Youth Works features young performers presenting family-friendly fare.

Coming up: Theater cats (no Andrew Lloyd Webber required), Musings on “mature content” theater as ASU Gammage presents a touring production of “Spring Awakening,” Valley veterans participate in a national arts contest, It’s a jungle (and farm) out there!

Photos provided by Childsplay (photo by Heather Hill features cast members from a previous run), Phoenix Theatre and Theater Works.

• Faithful prayer is spoken and lived
• The essence of spoken prayer is trust
• The essence of lived prayer is good work, magnanimity, and thanksgiving
• How to talk to children about this passage

In the 4^th century St. Anthony of the Desert heard Paul’s words to “pray continually” (1Th5:17) and withdrew from society to sequester himself. Is that what we have to do today? Daniel provides an alternative. He was thrown into the lions’ den for faithfully praying while holding a non-religious job in a society where his religion was marginalized. That sounds like something we can relate to.
According to this famous story, faithful prayer can consist of both (1) prayer the way most of us think about it, that is, talking to God; and (2) a living a life that bears the fruit of such prayer.
Daniel was a man of prayer in the way most of us think of when we hear the word. Daniel had a regular and ritualistic prayer routine. Three times a day he would enter his upper room, open the windows toward Jerusalem, and pray in such a way that those on the outside knew exactly what he was doing (see verse 10). And when King Darius decreed that such was illegal, Daniel was easily found guilty of violating the law.

The story also tells us of the content of Daniel’s prayers. He was mostly concerned with dedicating himself to God. What does it mean to be dedicated to God? In one sense, it means acknowledging one’s dependence on God. This Daniel does in verse 11. Another way to think about this is revealed in verse 23; dedicating oneself to God, acknowledging one’s dependence, is simply to trust God.

Daniel’s trust in God was uncompromising, which is why when the King made it illegal to pray, Daniel maintained fidelity in his prayer ritual. God’s law was of greater import than the laws of the land. But his trust in God went further. Even when the consequences of his fidelity led to suffering and death, Daniel submitted to the laws of the land. Amazingly, trusting in God’s law meant trusting in the law of the land; Daniel did not protest his punishment.

Here is an important lesson about faithful prayer and the life characterized by it. It trusts God even through the negative consequences of law. In the story of Daniel, the civic law required his punishment. Daniel embraced it (verse 16). His example applies in another court as well—that of natural law. Each of us will suffer and die through the fortspinnung of natural law. We can pray for healing and deliverance, but faithful prayer still depends on and trusts in God even when natural laws claim our lives.

A life characterized by prayer is a life of excellent productivity. In the opening verses (3-5), Daniel is commended for his professional ethic in service to King Darius. You don’t have to pray to be a good worker, but honest prayer produces a character that results in good work. Daniel is one such example. Like Joseph before him, Daniel was blessed by God with success in whatever endeavor he had in service to a foreign governor. Part of that blessing came as Daniel prayed faithfully.

The life characterized by prayer magnanimously allows for the potentiality of other peoples’ prayers. Daniel and Darius were friends, and King Darius was distraught when he realized Daniel’s fate. The story tells us that Darius refused to be entertained and fed, and worried for Daniel all night long (verse 18). In other words, he fasted and prayed—maybe not in the manner and to the God Daniel was, but it was spiritual angst and concern nonetheless. The book of Daniel never judges Darius for this. The life characterized by prayer recognizes the desire of God to listen and respond to all people. IOW, the prayerful life recognizes grace.

Finally, a life characterized by prayer ascribes deliverance to God. This is only to be expected. If one has dedicated oneself to God, acknowledged one’s dependence and trust upon God, then when God’s faithfulness is manifest, one will naturally give thanks to God. Daniel gives thanks to God for his deliverance, and even for his faithfulness to begin with (verse 22). His attitude here is consistent with his prayer; he depends on God.

To summarize, faithful prayer today consists of both the spoken prayer of dedication, dependence, and trust, and a life characterized by such prayer—a life of acceptance, excellence, magnanimity, and thanksgiving.

Questions for Deeper Reflection

• What “lions’ den” are you in right now? Daniel could have been bitter about being faithful then being punished. Instead he was faithful, was punished, and needed more faith. How has your faith landed you in a position requiring even more faith?
  
• What is the content of your prayers, and how is the way you live your life consistent with that content? If you wanted to change your life, should you consider changing your prayers?
  
• Here’s the hard questions: Are you praying for success, or are you submitting to God? How will the answer to this question impact the way you respond to adversity?
  

Talking About this Passage with Children

• Daniel in the Lions’ Den is one of THE most popular children’s stories. Probably it’s the lions. My 5 year old loves lions, especially after Disney’s the Lion King. As in the story of Joshua and Jericho, most of us shield or underplay the demonic side of the story; in this case, the killing of the wives and children of those who set Daniel up. As with Joshua, parents might try to talk about the image of dedicating everything to God. If your child is mature enough, you can speak of this part of the narrative in metaphorical language. Otherwise, we’re bound to say it is indeed terrible and not God’s will that the innocent suffer for the guilty.
  
• This story must be considered in tandem with the story of Daniels three friends in chapter 3, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. There the three friends say they will be faithful to God even if God does not deliver. Of course, God does deliver the three friends and Daniel in his time. But the cold hard facts of reality which our children will face sooner or later, in small or tragic degrees, is that the people of God suffer and question whether God will deliver or has abandoned. This is a story told in Exile to bolster the faith of those whose patience is running thin. It really is a children’s story, meant to exalt one’s nation, one’s national God, and one’s fidelity to nation and God. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that (think of honest Abe or Washington). But even the chosen people can become idolatrous and presumptuous in their election to salvation, without being as trusting and magnanimous as Daniel was. My daughter’s narrative paraphrase Bible (Sparks Story Bible, which I whole-heartedly recommend) includes the line, “God always keeps me safe.” That’s just not true in reality. But it makes the kind of story that keeps faith alive, and that’s the point. No matter what happens to me, God helped Daniel, and God can help me. And so I will pray.
  
• Of course, there’s nothing wrong with letting children take the story and run with it—literal, nationalistic, whatever. As long as when the time comes that the other shoe drops, we are prepared to help them dig deeper into the narrative of God’s people and find the faithful and faith fulfilling meaning. We can only do that if, as adults, we have made that journey ourselves.
  

The Faith Connection Card responses were, “This week I will:”

• Pray without ceasing
• Find and tell of God’s deliverance
• Practice submission to God

Personally, I’d be more likely to use Outfit7′s Talking Tom Cat, a guilty-looking alley cat that yowls and sings (if you do).

I could envision this as a really different way to send someone a birthday message.

Outfit7, based in Slovenia, also offers Harry the Hedgehog, Larry the Bird…and a trip planner for visiting Iceland.

• Remember the “third day”
• Remember your dreams
• Remember your Redeemer
• Questions for further reflection
• Talking points for discussing these passages with children (helpful for adults also!)

Joseph was the second youngest son of Jacob, also known as Israel. His older brothers were jealous of him because Jacob favored him above everyone else. So the brothers sold Joseph into slavery. Later, while a slave in a household, Joseph was falsely accused and unjustly imprisoned, where he was left to languish.

Sometimes it feels like life has forgotten us. The words of Job 3:20-26 accurately reflect this feeling: “Why is light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,²¹ who long for death, but it does not come, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures; ²²who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they find the grave?²³ Why is light given to one who cannot see the way, whom God has fenced in?²⁴ For my sighing comes like^* my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water.²⁵ Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.²⁶ I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes.”

Job’s words could have been Joseph’s thoughts after the Cupbearer forgets Joseph. The Cupbearer was supposed to advocate for Joseph before Pharaoh, but instead he forgets and Joseph remained in prison. But timing is everything. The Cupbearer remembered Joseph at the most strategic time for the narrative—when Pharaoh needed a dream interpreter like Joseph. When life forgets us, we have to be patient with God’s timing.

Some things are better left “forgotten” until life brings them around again. We can force issues prematurely when we hurry. We can even create anxiety or make mistakes if we push too hard to “remember” some things. This is the message of the “third day” in passages like this one. The third day says: Things are tough today, have hope for tomorrow, but if things are tough tomorrow, have hope for the third day. This message and such hope are best symbolized by the biblical testimony that Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day. God calls us to wait faithfully for the third day when life has forgotten us.

When life forgets us, we must not forget our dreams. Joseph had dreams as a young man, then life forgot him in prison. But he remembered his dreams, as incongruous as they were with his reality, and he had to become an interpreter of dreams. The Bible takes dreams seriously. Joseph had dreams. So did his dad Jacob. One night Jacob dreamed about a ladder reaching heaven, and awoke aware of God’s presence. Joseph the father of Jesus also had dreams that, taken seriously, spared Jesus’ life and positioned him for his ministry. Dreams are to be taken seriously because, as Joseph told the Cupbearer, their interpretations “belong to God” (40:8).

God knows about dreams. God had a dream. And to realize that dream God created all that is. When the dream was threatened by disorder and chaos, God sent Jesus to reconcile all things once again. From that intervention to the final reconciliation, the Holy Spirit is working out the redemption of God’s dream. (Some of you will recognize this perspective as that of the greatest 20^th century theologian, Karl Barth.)

God also has a dream regarding each of us. You may replace “dream” with “vision,” or if you want to be theological about it, “vocation.” God is working in each of our lives, creatively, reconciling all that is wayward in our lives, redeeming all the time we feel forgotten by life. But like Joseph, we must remember our dreams, and look to God for how to interpret them.

Job had a vision which sustained him through the time he felt forgotten by life. He said in 19:25-27: “²I know that my Redeemer^* lives, and that at the last he^* will stand upon the earth;^*26 and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in^* my flesh I shall see God,^*27 whom I shall see on my side,^* and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!”

To paraphrase: I will endure this God-forsakenness because I know in faith I will be redeemed. At the end of the day, after whatever terrible things happen to me, I will see my Redeemer victorious over all the earth. I myself will be the one to see him—it will not be hearsay—despite the fact that now my heart withers in abandonment.”

When life forgets us, and we are left in the “second day,” the story of Joseph reminds us to wait patiently and faithfully for the third day when our redeemer realizes God’s dream, and we will be delivered from death to life.

Questions for Further Reflection

• If you are in a “forgotten” place, which day are you in? Day one may be a time of confusion. There may be no hope at all, or there may be hope for day two. Day two is a place of spiritual fatigue and even despair, as one realizes that redemption is yet to come. Day three is the day of your redemption.
• Do you know what your role is in God’s dream? Do you know your calling? It is conviction of call, that is remembering our place in the dream, that makes it possible to endure the second day. Listen to your life, and discern your dream.

Talking Points for Discussions with Children

• Why did Joseph’s brothers want to get rid of him? There are two reasons; jealousy and pride. Small children may have a hard time understanding these concepts, so try to repackage them into their language and experience.
• Everyone experiences jealousy, which is wishing we had something someone else has. The problem comes when we value the thing more than the person. God is more interested in people than in things, which is why Jesus tells us to give our things away to people who are in need. One way we can help our children to manage jealousy is to make a habit of giving things away.
• Everyone also experiences pride, which is a positive feeling of ownership for what you are, have, and do. This is why we say we are proud of our children. Some Christians avoid a misunderstood notion of pride and fail to live up to what God has gifted them to be, have, and do. Joseph’s brothers had pride in themselves, but did not appreciate what Joseph could be proud about. Their pride didn’t allow them to celebrate Joseph’s unique calling. We can help our children have a healthy sense of pride by valuing them and helping them find value in the diversity of other people.
• What did Joseph do in prison (chapter 40) that helped him later on? One of the greatest lessons about Joseph was that he chose to serve people wherever he was. Even when he was unfairly imprisoned, he served his fellow prisoners. It was characteristic of Joseph that he served others, and by doing so, he was given better opportunities. As you read this story with children, help them see this dynamic at work, and remind them when they are down that they can still choose to help others and that God can use that to help your children back up.
• Did you know that God dreams about you? What kinds of things do you think God dreams about? Kids have dreams, and they have nightmares. I never say, “It’s only a nightmare” when my kids wake up upset. I say, “The nightmare is over now.” The difference? I want my kids to honor their dreams, visions, concerns, and fears, and not to dismiss them. But they need to be put in context, and that context, according to the Bible, is what God dreams for us. So listen to your kids’ dreams and nightmares, and use them to talk also about God’s dream of a just society, of peaceful relations, of spiritual shalom, of a community of faith.