iTrace App Updates

A while back, I did an app review of iTrace. If you remember, iTrace is a handwriting app, that helps your child learn to write or help them practice. I am so excited to share with you that iTrace has some cool new features!

 
iTrace — Handwriting for Kids from Michael Bogorad on Vimeo.

They added all three popular handwriting styles. Basically, in most schools teachers are using one of the three styles: Handwriting without Tears, Zaner-Blosser or D'Nealian (the last one is probably less popular than two others). In the original release we used letters similar to Zaner-Blosser. In this release they added all three of them, so the app can be used in almost any US school. I know that iPads are becoming a popular classroom tool for children to use.

 Noah has been asking me how to write in cursive. I honestly have to think about a few of the letters, like Z and Q. iTrace has now added cursive letters. Most US schools don't teach cursive anymore, so parents were asking to add cursive letters to the app. Now with the three styles mentioned and the cursive letters, iTrace now has 300 letters on the app!

iTrace is now available on iPhone. iPhone support was one the most requested features since day one. The reason it wasn’t available for iPhone before was because they thought the screen of an iPhone would be too small to learn handwriting on. The developer redesigned every single screen to make the app really work on the smaller device, and they have been receiving good feedback from our beta-testers.

Now for the coolest and the most unique feature on iTrace is the ability to print paper worksheets. Now I don’t have to spend time looking online for worksheets online that are poor quality or purchase some paper worksheets in the bookstore and spend like ten dollars on one book. Now parents can easily print as many worksheets as they need right from the app. You can choose the letter and the size, and iTrace will generate a worksheet for you. You can either print that worksheet right from the app if you have a device with AirPrint support, or you send a PDF to yourself and print that PDF from your computer.

 I can also make worksheets with words, not only letters. Finally, each worksheet has a maze puzzle at the bottom, so kids can have some fun solving that puzzle after they complete the exercise. The new puzzle is generated each time you open the worksheets page in the app. Noah loves mazes. For those who don't want to spend $3.99 without trying the app, we will also release a free light version very soon. Free version does not allow you to create multiple players, print worksheets, and provides limited access to letters and words. However, it should good enough to feel how cool the app is.


iTrace School Testimonials from Michael Bogorad on Vimeo.

Here are some of the iTrace stats:
The iTrace app has been downloaded over 20K times.

There are several thousands educational downloads, so I guess the app used by at least several dozens of schools.

The apps average rating is 4.5

For more information please visit the iTrace website.

iTrace is available in iTunes for $3.99

 

The Easy way to Decorate your Child's Birthday Cake

I am not a cake decorator at all. I am left handed and it is horrible when I try and decorate a cake. My creations would be on one of those botched cake sites every time. My six year old could do better than I could.  I made his first birthday cake and it turned out cute, minus the writing.  It was a fish cake. Makes sense that he loves them so much. His room was underwater themed.  I am sure I just need practice  and eventually I will get the hang of it, someday, when I am ninety.

I prefer homemade cake to the store bought any day because I make it with love. I have made Noah's birthday cake every year except when he was two and five. I felt obligated to have someone do it at Kroger because she was friends with a friend of mine.  It was cute but it wasn't the same. It wasn't as good and it was really expensive. I decided from then on I would do it.  Except when he was five and we were out of the country.

Since I am not a great decorator I came up with an idea. I can frost a cake no big deal just don't leave any naked spots, and don't make it crumbly. Easy enough.  I think I am brilliant. Every year Noah picks a theme and I buy plastic toys and put them all over the cake. We eat the cake and he gets the toys. It's a win win. When he turned three he had a duck cake. It was really cute. When he turned four he had a flyers cake with planes and helicopters. When he turned five we were on our Disney cruise so he didn't have a special homemade cake. We shared the cake they gave him on his birthday.  When he turned six he had a sea creature cake.  They usually have been blue. I want to have a different color this year. Really for him some beautifully decorated cake doesn't mean anything, once it is gone its gone. I like the way I do it because he can always remember that those toys were on his birthday cake.

What do you do for your children's birthday cakes?