educational apps

You haven't lived until you've seen a video of your head superimposed on the body of an elf, dancing in a winter wonderland. Such is the magic of Elf Yourself by the hilarious company JibJab , a.k.a. the Spiridelli brothers. Now that the…

I love sharing old storybooks I've saved from my childhood, though brittle bindings and fragile pages mean it's definitely a "look but don't touch" type of story time. But in the case of this charming one-hundred year old, new-to-me stor…

As a mom of a child with a learning disability in reading, technology has been a huge help. But most of the reading apps out there are geared toward young children who are learning to read, not 9 year olds. I just stumbled across the Whi…

It's hard to know when kids are old enough for an email account. As soon as my tween opened her own, my youngest son has been begging for one and I've been stalling about it ever since. But now we've found a brand new and very cool iPad …

I love books. I also love lovers of books. And I particularly love book lovers who aren't too "precious" to also enjoy a little modern technology for their books, (all hail Kindles and iPads). Such is the case with this small new company…

I adore my iPad. Almost as much as my children adore my iPad. Luckily, I've managed to keep my hands on it enough to prevent them from downloading apps like crazed little tech-monkeys. And since Mommy is pretty selective, they've only be…

I understand the appeal of websites and apps that bring a child's favorite character to life, whether it's Seuss or Dora or Yo Gabba Gabba. But sometimes it's nice to find a world in which your kid can ascribe her own attributes and stor…

I must admit, at first I was a bit confused by the Aliens Abducted app . Is it an alien arcade style game? Is it a geography lesson as promised? Then I watched my boys play around with it, and I realized that it was both--and the kids du…

I know it's important to introduce science to your children in a really fun and hands-on way. (Let's call it a parent's antidote to the rote equation memorization called for by current state testing.) If you set the groundwork that scien…

Back in the day, kids used to keep themselves busy with old-fashioned things like wooden abacuses, blocks and felt boards. Now, they basically own our tablets (you know it's true), and can do everything from smash pigs to trace the entir…

Oh Appy Day! gives you the scoop on the coolest apps from some of the coolest people anywhere. This week, we're excited to welcome Jenna Fischer, who's sharing a favorite. When we first traveled with Weston, our almost-one year-old, we w…

With our long drives to and from school every morning, I've been meaning to grab some audiobooks for us to enjoy. Well lucky for me, just yesterday I scored over 20 popular classics as e-books and audio books on both my Kindle and my iPh…

Preschoolers aren't usually very fond of monsters (Elmo not withstanding), what with them hiding under beds and in dark closets. But after your toddler gets a peek at a family of quirky monsters that help them learn numbers, colors and w…

Time for the four Rs: Reading, Writing, 'Rithmetic, and Really Cool Tech. Here are some of our favorite techy picks for Back to School, all in one handy place. 1. Coolest Laptop Bags for Big Kids - If your kid is taking a laptop or table…

When I was a kid, I loved Reading Rainbow . The show promoted reading, and was right up there on my list of faves with Mister Rogers and Sesame Street. If you're not old enough to recognize two out of those three titles, please don't tel…

With so many of our big kids using tech gadgets on a daily basis, it seems only natural that they'd use them school. So for our final installment in our Back to School Tech series, we've rounded up some of the best educational apps for b…

Listening to compelling audio books has been my #1 way to prevent backseat squabbles between the kids as we do everything from a six-hour drive to Maine, to a 15-minute jaunt to gymnastics practice. And one of the best ways to get our ha…

Whenever I take back my iPhone from my kids' sticky hands, I find loads of goofy pictures they've taken. Because if there is one thing my kids love about my iPhone, beyond playing games, it's being able to snap photos of everything they …

It's back to school time as you may have heard (ha) so over the next couple of weeks, we'll be serving up a few mini-guides to help get you ready, keep you organized, and get your kids excited. Today's picks: educational apps for the you…

I am all about tools that transform math problems into games that keep you engaged and thinking. So I am digging this new math app, Go Sum, because it is just perfect for kids that may be a bit math-phobic, while still keeping it interes…

Who invented the alphabet? is my son's latest impossible-to-answer question. I've tried to placate him with some smart talk, but the creators of the much loved ebook The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore have come up with a much …

My kids have used their fingers and toes to help them understand numbers and counting from the days of 10 Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed through basic addition. And now there is a new app that uses technology to help reinforce these con…

My subpar geography skills are one of my husband's favorite things to tease me about. Could I fill in that blank map of the 50 states we had to do in 6th grade? Note to self: 2013 resolution! But I still find our planet completely fascin…

When we go on long car rides, I like to pack a bag of activities of things that keep the kids occupied for as long as possible before they resort to the eventual "are we therrrrrre yet?" One of the things I always throw in is our set of …