Best iPad Apps You Can Play With Your Kids

Since iPads have been released, developers have also released millions of applications for these iPads. Because of all the different types of apps that are available to users now, it has become common to let children play on iPads and even learn from them. They have become a helpful tool in letting kids experience child-friendly games, develop their creativity, and help them to learn basic skills, like reading, writing and more- both inside the classroom, and at home.

The following apps are recommended most highly for children:

Children's Game Apps One game that seems to be a hit with children as well as adults is Angry Birds. It involves critical thinking in a puzzle format so it's a great game for children. Another game fit for children that also has hidden critical thinking motives is Lego Creationary. In this game, there are four pictures given to the child. One of these four creations is built for the child and he or she has to pick which creation will appear before the clock runs out. It helps them project images in their mind and follow a pattern with a time restriction. Yet another game for children with puzzle-related strategy involved is Cut The Rope. In this game, the player tries to get candy into the Om Nom's (the game character's) mouth. Players do this by cutting rope in certain orders at certain times so that the candy swings into Om Nom's mouth and moves the player to the next level of the game.

Creativity Boosting Apps Creating new images as a way to enhance your child's creativity is made easy, mess free, and cheap with Kid Art for iPad. It gives children the opportunity to draw while integrating pre-made images and backgrounds. Another particularly interesting art app for children is Doodlecast for Kids. This allows children to draw pictures and also record their voice. They can then attach these recordings to multiple pictures and string images and voice recordings together to make a three-minute long video.

Learning Apps One of the most highly rated apps for children learning to write is Ace Writer- Alphabet Series. This app lets children see an image of a letter or something that starts with that letter, a simulation of how to draw that letter, and a traceable area for the child to try drawing it. For the older child, try Times Tables: Squeebles Multiplication, which makes multiplication fun with the help of delightful animations and sounds. Or, if your child is learning geography, give them a leg up with Barefoot World Atlas. It makes geography fun with animation, images, and sounds.

Bobby Spieran is an elementary tutor and a contributing author for lifeinsurancequotes.org.

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Colorforms Revolution Review + iPad App Giveaway!

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly kids pick up on using new technology. When I bought my iPhone, I swear it took me a month to figure it out and I still haven't used half of it's capabilities a year in. My kids were very excited and pestered me relentlessly to use it. They wanted to play and I refused on the grounds of it being A) too expensive and B) too difficult.

My son, however, exceedingly enjoys the fact that he has since gone above and beyond proving me wrong, as has my daughter. First came the tablet; I still don't understand that thing at all (it is an android and I am not at all used to it's OS at all!) About a month ago he got an iPod touch (a gift from an amazing friend who no longer used it!) and has been a pro since day two. He has already shown me a few tricks on my phone. He gave his tablet to my daughter when he got his iPod--and she uses it like it is the simplest thing in the world. It pains me to no extent to tell her to ask her brother when she needs help, but I know from experience that I can't do much other than turn it off and on (aside from parental settings--those seem to be the same in most devices. Thank goodness!)

So with kids getting more and more tech savvy, it makes since that there are more and more apps being marketed towards children and families of all ages. With so many in the market--it is hard to choose which ones are appropriate and worth the effort and money to download. Is it simple to use? Glitch free? Age appropriate (which is one of  my biggest questions!)? Is it fun? Lucky for you, we have one that comes with our stamp of approval.

The app is called Colorforms Revolution and it is beyond cool! It is very simple so everyone will be able to use it--very young children as well as grandma! It allows you to use basic shapes and colors as well as backgrounds to create pictures. It's like a coloring book but you get to design it yourself and personalize the pages. You can even add your own pictures as backgrounds! Kids will have a ball creating pictures with their family members or pets in them.

In addition to shapes, there are also pre-loaded themes with stickers and backgrounds to choose from. These are super cute and fun for the kiddos as well as for anyone else using the app. There are other features as well such as puzzle animators and animated shapes that are sure to please and keep the kids occupied. Here is a look at the app in action:


From the press release:

It’s a bright new day for Colorforms…! The iconic 60-year-old brand from University Games that has changed the way generations of children have played is making its digital debut with the very first Colorforms app, Colorforms® Revolution™. The new app extends the traditional Colorforms experience, giving players fresh and fun ways to play with sound, motion and animation. Colorforms Revolution is now making a colorful splash on the App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

The revolution is finally here with COLORFORMS® REVOLUTION™ HD, the new iPad (and iPhone) app celebrates the nostalgia of the stand-out original and allows the family to experience Colorforms® like never before! Combine shapes, colors, patterns and backgrounds in endless combinations to create an infinite number of exciting designs. Or choose a Play Set with themed stickers and backgrounds, put them in a scene and a story is born. Play a Puzzle Board to build a picture and see it animate. Or go wild with the crazy circle, surprise square, kaleido-triangle and radical rectangle. With simple controls you’ll figure out as you go, Colorforms® is good wholesome fun for everyone. Just pick it up, start playing and join the revolution!

A pop culture favorite, Colorforms was invented in 1951 and more than 1 billion of the vibrant vinyl playsets have been sold to date, with imaginative new styles continuing to captivate families worldwide. Recently, the Toy Industry Association recognized Colorforms as one of the Top 100 Toys of the Century and TIME magazine named it among its “All-TIME 100 Greatest Toys.”

There is a free version of this app for download at the Apple app market, but we want to offer one reader their chance to get the Colorforms Revolution HD iPad App for free!

Here's how to enter:
Do you remember Colorforms? Did you play with them when you were young? Do you like it when your kids can enjoy the toys you grew up with? Why do you want to win? Leave your comments on this blog post, then enter on the RaffleCopter Widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Band-Aid 'Magic Vision' featuring The Muppets!

From the press release:
BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages, a leading iconic brand of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc., recently unveiled BAND-AID® Brand Magic Vision App featuring Disney’s The Muppets. This one-of-a-kind application and platform uses augmented reality (AR) technology to provide parents with an unprecedented ability to entertain their kids during the traumatic moment of getting hurt in a way like never before. By downloading the app, parents and children can scan any of the BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages strips and boxes featuring Disney’s The Muppets to transport themselves through a magical portal into three distinct adventures and performances from the Muppets.

The BAND-AID® Magic Vision app featuring Disney’s The Muppets uses AR technology to merge a child’s real-life surroundings with graphics displayed on the digital screen that unlock a special world where the Muppets characters appear on your device in stunning view. Whether singing along to Kermit the Frog’s serenade, striking a pose with Miss Piggy or aiding The Great Gonzo on his daring act of lunacy, the AR app is designed to entertain and make Muppets fans forget about their boo-boos.  The free app is now available for iOS devices (iPhone 4/s or iPad2+) in the Apple App Store.

“For nearly 100 years, parents have relied on BAND-AID® Brand to help heal their kids’ cuts and scrapes, which means we have also become a part of those special, soothing and nurturing moments,” said Hugh Dineen, vice president, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. “Whether through our fashion-forward bandages or through this new technology-forward app, BAND-AID® Brand is committed to providing unexpected value during the healing process.”

“The incredible success of ‘The Muppets’ movie shows that Kermit, Miss Piggy and gang are as popular as ever,” said Embola Ndi, vice president of consumable goods, Disney Consumer Products. “With the new BAND-AID® Brand Magic Vision application featuring Disney’s The Muppets, we are able to reach parents and kids in a new way by turning an everyday healing moment into a fun, captivating experience.”

The BAND-AID® Magic Vision app featuring Disney’s The Muppets was developed through a collaboration between BAND-AID® Brand and Disney. Through this collaboration, BAND-AID® Brand worked with Disney as well as cutting-edge technologists to create a long-term digital platform that offers a unique channel for interaction between consumers and the two brands. Co-developed by BAND-AID® Brand’s advertising agency, JWT, the app was built on Qualcomm's Vuforia SDK platform, and effectively turns a BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages into a media platform using the power of an iPhone. The app also lets users take and store live action pictures with the Muppets and directly connect to the   BAND-AID® Brand Facebook page.

For additional information about the BAND-AID® Magic Vision app featuring Disney’s The Muppets, and to see a sample of this ingenious product and app, visit www.band-aid.com/magicvision.

Visit www.band-aid.com and be sure to “like” the BAND-AID® Brand on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bandaid, so you stay up to date on all of the fun promotions and never miss a deal!

Special thanks to the PR company representing Band-Aid for sharing this information with us.

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