5 Little Monkeys App Review

It is no secret that I love to sing. Noah loves to listen to music and sing along too.  When you are a parent there will come a time when your child is crying uncontrollably.  You might not be able to pick them up and comfort them if it happens in the car.  Just ask me, once I had to sing the Car-X theme song. You know Rattle rattle thunder clatter boom boom don’t worry call the Car-X man over and over again while driving through Virginia.  I am not sure why that particular song worked when no other did, I was just thankful it worked.  His toy had stopped working and I guess he was not happy about it so I improvised.  I sang anything I could think of. I didn’t have a Smartphone back then; I had a flip phone so apps were unheard of for me. Now this uncontrollable crying incident or being bored or just wanting to listen to music can happen anywhere.  I can’t carry a TV, a CD player or a DVD player everywhere but I always have my phone. Now you can share apps with your children to teach them, and to entertain them.

 One of Noah’s favorite songs now has its own app, 5 Little Monkeys.  This app is adorable. I love when mama calls the doctor. It is funny and entertaining too.  The graphics are great, the monkeys are too cute.  It is something your child can spend a lot of time doing without driving you crazy. I know that some apps are very annoying, 5 Little Monkeys is a great educational app that will help your child learn important vital skills.  Some of the skills are cognitive skills, memorization and counting.  It can even teach your child pitch if you dream of having a future rock star. 

Here is more information from the developer:

5 Little Monkeys is available as a universal iOS app (iPhone, iPad, iPod). The app aims to help parents teach counting and language skills to kids while sharing the beloved nursery rhyme with beautiful graphics and sounds.



Featuring adorable animals, 5 Little Monkeys turns counting and language development into a fun-filled sing-a-long for young children. The repetitious quality of the nursery rhyme helps kids develop vital cognitive skills including: memorization, reasoning and comprehension. Additionally, nursery rhyme singing helps kids to learn pitch control, volume, and voice inflection.

Features

- Interact with characters and objects in the background

- Professional audio narration

- Original music designed specifically for this app

- High-resolution artwork for each scene

5 Little Monkeys is  available in the App Store for $2.99 for iPod, iPad and iPhone.

For more information, please visit the Kid's Academy Website

 Be sure to like Kid's Academy on Facebook

 Follow Kid's Academy on Twitter

Learn to Speak Spanish with Gus on the Go App Review

Noah has always been interested in learning different languages. Even when he was three and four years old, he wanted to learn them. He is really interested in other countries and cultures. I think that is a great thing. When I was growing up, I learned basic Spanish, from afterschool classes in elementary school. It wasn’t the same when I was younger, of course people spoke different languages but it was more something you did when you were in high school.  I don’t really remember much of the Spanish I learned in elementary school, besides what my Spanish speaking cousins taught me. They lived in Texas so I didn’t really see them very often, until they moved to Indiana when I was older.  When I was in high school I took two years of French. We really didn’t learn much the first year because my French teacher was out a lot, and when she was there we watched Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  I think it is important that kids learn different languages at a young age, because it enriches their lives. It also helps them communicate with other people who may not speak English.  Noah has wanted to learn everything from Spanish to Japanese. One of his Kindergarten teachers is from Japan, which was just pure luck. He already wanted to learn before he met her.  One of my best friends, that I have been friends with since daycare, took Japanese in high school.  

 I think that since there are so many different shows where they speak different languages now, it has sparked a revolution. When I was little, all there was Muzzy and that was always insanely expensive.  Since Noah is an appoholic, I was so excited to learn about Gus on the Go.  It’s a foreign language learning app for kids. I know when I was a kid, listening to cassette tapes of someone speaking where you are supposed to say and repeat, wasn’t really fun.  I am so glad that Gus on the Go was developed by two loving parents from toojuice, LLC, Yono and Alice have dedicated themselves to helping children embrace their native language and other languages through fun and educational apps. There are 14 different languages including Spanish, French and Hebrew.

More information from the developer:

Little ones can take off on a language learning adventure, discovering new words through engaging vocabulary lessons and reviews, with Gus on the Go on Android. Featuring adorable animations and fun exercises, Gus on the Go teaches children the basic concepts of 14 languages with exciting visual and auditory lesson on numbers, colors, shapes and more.  Any child can now master a second language through a fun, multi-sensory journey on any tablet or smartphone.

Gus on the Go on Android is the latest edition of toojuice, LLC.’s popular Gus on the Go series of second language learning apps. Gus, an animated traveling owl, guides children on an interactive series of 10 vocabulary activities. After completing each lesson, Gus playfully encourages them to unlock the next adventure by reviewing what they have learned. Delightful animal noises, transportation sounds and vibrant animations motivate children to see, hear and touch objects in a simply creative way. Most importantly, Gus on the Go helps children improve their hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and basic vocabulary proficiency.

Gus on the Go features

- New games, unlocked by completing lesson reviews

- Fun interactive animations and sounds

- Access to country and city maps

- Trophy room to track achievements

- Native language audio speaker

We had the opportunity to try out the Spanish app out. It is really cute. Noah finds it very entertaining and I think that is great for him. I can tell he is really learning from Gus on the Go. He has started to grow out of Dora and Diego, where he was learning some Spanish so I am so glad to have Gus on the Go.  Noah really likes that he isn’t just repeating what someone is saying, but he is learning Spanish through games and rewards.  I love that there is a native speaker, because it helps with exact pronunciation. I think it’s important to know exactly how you are to say it, because a change in a syllable can change the whole meaning of what you are saying.  I also think it could be considered disrespectful depending on whom you are speaking to. Noah and I use this app together as a family. I would love to learn more Spanish.  I will also use the app by myself, if I need extra practice. We will probably also try out the French app and some of the other ones. I hope they create a Japanese app soon that would really put a smile on Noah’s face.

Be sure to check out Gus on the Go Spanish and the 13 other languages too! 

Gus on the Go on Android is available for $2.99 on the Google Play Store  HERE

GazziliMath App Review

When Noah was younger, I made sure that I was teaching him basic skills.  I think that education is very important and it is never too early to teach your toddler basic skills like shapes, colors, letters and numbers.  When your child is in preschool it is a great to teach your child a little more.  Most toddlers can count a little, but they have no idea what the numbers mean.  I believe it is your job to teach them what a number is and how it works.  I think that children should be able to do basic addition by the time they are in Kindergarten.  Noah definitely knew some math by the time he was in Kindergarten. He does second grade math and is in Kindergarten. I remember when I was learning math it was boring and we didn’t have cool games and apps to learn from. I remember a game that had basic graphics on the computer, nothing like today’s graphics and games. It was even in black and white.  I used to imagine the critters in different colors.  I think kids learn better when it is fun. There are definitely ways for them to learn vs. sitting at a desk and doing math problems.  

 I learned about a new app called GazziliMath. It is an awesome Math app for preschoolers and even kindergarteners in my opinion. Preschoolers have a really short attention span so it is extra important to make it fun for them.  It’s funny because you can teach a child something and sometimes they don’t even realize that they are learning.  I think with GazziliMath you get that. I really like that you are helping the animals. GazziliMath tells you what to do, so you don’t have to read to your child the directions. Just make sure you have the sound on. 

 .

Here is more information from the Developer:

Preschoolers and parents can enjoy hours of fun learning basic math skills through exciting arithmetic activities with the immediate launch of GazziliMath on iOS. Featuring colorful characters, vibrant animations and engaging games, GazziliMath is a unique interactive learning experience that lets children explore the countless ways that numbers and math play an important role in their lives all while discovering delightful surprises along the way. Children across the globe can now swipe, tap and flick their way through a fun, multi-sensory journey to learn challenging, age appropriate concepts right from their device.

Developed with leading educational consultants from New York City’s The Dalton School, GazziliMath is the latest addition to the renowned GazziliWorld series of edutainment apps. GazziliMath guides children through a series of math-based activities, encouraging them to complete each page to unlock the next adventure and watch the GazziliFunPage come to life. With the support of surprise features and captivating animations, children are motivated to see, hear and touch numerals all while learning to count and subtract in a creative way. Most importantly, GazziliMath helps improve children’s hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and basic math concept proficiency.

“GazziliMath helps preschoolers learn important math concepts with challenging, yet kid-friendly, activities”, said Adam Gittlin, Founder of GazziliWorld LLC. “GazziliMath is great for teaching children through a thoroughly engaging and completely educational environment. We’re excited for both parents and children to play with GazziliMath and learn the vital skills of adding, subtracting and more in a fun and engaging manner.

  GazziliMath Features

- 6 math-based activities

- Successful completion of each activity brings GazziliFunPage to life

- Hearing Impaired Mode’ includes spoken narration of written words

- Interactive animations, music, sound-effects and surprise features

- Improves hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills

I really like GazziliMath. It has really cute graphics.  I of course had Noah try it out. I didn’t say it was for 2 to 5 year olds, and he loved it. I think that just because you already have mastered a skill, you can still practice it. I really like that the gates are locked and you have to go in order. Your child can’t skip over levels and have a real understanding for what they are doing.  Some children like mine like to skip over things in order to get to a harder level in games. GazziliMath would be great to use this summer on long car rides.

You can get GazziliMath for iPad in the iTunes App Store for $1.99