app reviews Archives - Pea of Sweetness

A Fun Puzzle App with Bible Verses {Planet 316 Review}

April 27, 2017 by Emilee Evans

We love puzzles around here. I don’t always love finding all the missing puzzle pieces, though. So, being able to do puzzles on an app is a great way to enjoy the challenge of a puzzle while also winding down. Daily Bible Jigsaw from Planet 316 offers great puzzles daily that include a Bible verse. The app is available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Facebook and Facebook Gameroom. For my Daily Bible Jigsaw puzzle app review I have been using the app on my iPhone.

Planet 316 believes a joyful heart is good medicine. That is why they offer fun apps and experiences that make the Bible approachable. Families can have fun together while prompting discussion about the Bible. I know my kids love to talk about the games they’re playing, so if they’re playing games that help them learn more about the Bible it’s a win-win!
The Daily Bible Jigsaw app is a free app that offers a free puzzle daily. Each puzzle is presented as a single puzzle piece on the calendar. So not only have we been completing daily puzzles, but for each puzzle we complete we add a piece to the monthly puzzle as well! Although a free puzzle is offered daily, if a previous day’s puzzle is missed, you can purchase the previous puzzles with coins. Coins can be earned in the game as well as purchased.

Daily Bible Jigsaw Puzzle App Review

The Daily Bible Jigsaw app offers puzzles that are fun but challenging. If you connect your account to Facebook you can also challenge your friends which is fun! I admit, I’ve been the one mostly using the app, and I love this feature! I’ve been seeing how I place amongst my friends – including fellow Homeschool Review Crew members! The kids have played as well, but they much prefer to just help me rather than playing it by themselves. My daughter has particularly loved the puzzles with cats!
While working on puzzles, there is soft, relaxing music in the background. I have loved using the app at night to wind down for this reason. Although the puzzles are challenging it’s relaxing as well! The most challenging aspect if the puzzles is that the pieces are rotated. So not only are you putting together puzzles, but you have to flip pieces as well. A couple of times I’ve had an entire puzzle upside down and didn’t realize it until the end!
There are various tools available, though, to help solve the puzzles. Sometimes I will see how good my friends’ times are and know I’ll have to use tools to beat it! Tools include: Rotate (flips all pieces to their correct rotation), Sweep (sweeps all pieces off the board, Edges (leaves only the edge pieces until the border is put together), Magnet (connects two random pieces) and Guide (allows you to peak at the completed puzzle). There have been times I’ve used all of them at once – particularly when I was trying to earn the trophies for completing puzzles within a certain amount of time. Yes, you can earn trophies, too! Fun, right? The tools do cost between 2-3 coins depending on the tool.

Additionally, when a puzzle is finished it reveals a Bible verse which can then be shared easily via social media. It’s a great way to share Biblical messages! Once the puzzles are complete you will always have access to the images with the Bible verses.
Plus, as if daily puzzles aren’t enough bonus puzzles are added ocassionally as well! They have 56 pieces. Sometimes they are free but some have cost coins as well. Overall, I have definitely been loving this app and try to do each daily puzzle!

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Members of the Homeschool Review Crew also had the opportunity to share their Daily Bible Jigsaw puzzle app review. Be sure to check them out by clicking on the banner below.

Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree {Star Toaster Review}

July 29, 2016 by Emilee Evans

We love educational apps. This is especially true when we’re constantly out and about like we have been lately. I love that we can take learning on the go! Our daughter has been using Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree from Star Toaster.

Star Toaster offers interactive books with fun, educational games. Their online interactive book, Orphs of the Woodlands, is used and loved by many. They recently introduced the Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree, an app for iOS. It’s recommended for ages 7+, though it is noted in the app information that it’s made for ages 9-11. It really brings the Orphs of the Woodlands to life right there on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch running iOS 8.0 or later!
Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree offers a 122 page illustrative interactive chapter book. It has 75 lessons that contain a variety of subjects including: science, grammar, math, vocabulary and arts as well as thinking skills and life skills. It is all presented in such a fun, unique way!

Star Toaster Review: Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree

Aurora has really been having fun with Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree. Although she is reading a book and answering educational questions, it just feels like fun. It gives her tasks as she has to take care of the orphs (animal orphans) and complete jobs to get supplies for the orphs. I am really impressed by this layout. They include so much learning, and it’s all done in a way that encourages her to keep going and learning new things so she can complete the jobs. As someone who loves animals it particularly resonates with her because she loves helping the animals.
Aurora is 8 and is reading at about the 2nd – 3rd grade level, but this educational app was challenging for her at first. What I discovered, though, is reading the story wasn’t the challenge. She just wasn’t sure how to take the next steps. For example, as she is reading there are links built in to the story. It’s through these links that they are taken to a lesson, which they need to complete the jobs. The jobs contain questions that are based on the lessons.

Together we worked through it to find what the best way is to approach it. Aurora does best when she reads the entire chapter first, and then she goes back and clicks on the links for the lessons. After she has completed the lessons she goes to the town to see jobs that are available to her. She then visits her goals to see if she has earned enough gold stars through the jobs to complete any goals.
Aurora has been using the Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree on my iPhone 6S with iOS 9.3.3. It has run smoothly without any issues.

Parent Features

There are special features available to me as a parent as well, which is very helpful. I can see her progress and work including how many lessons and job she’s completed in the various subjects. Additionally, I can add other users. So, as our other two children are able to read at that level, I can add them as well. In the case of multiple children parents are able to view progress for each child.
Overall, we have really been enjoying Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree. It’s a great app full of fun, educational experiences. It’s presented in a way kids enjoy. Parents are able to keep track of progress, and multiple users can be added. Plus, there will be at least one more book added in the future! Kids get to learn while having fun and feel accomplished when they reach their goals and help the orphs!

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Other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew had the opportunity to share a Star Toaster Review as well for the Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree app. See how they’ve been using it with their families by clicking on the banner below.

Math is Fun and Engaging with Zap Zap Math

April 26, 2016 by Emilee Evans

I am always a big fan of educational apps. Our kids like to play games on their iPad, so why not be sure they are educational? When they’re enjoying what they’re learning it really does feel like a game to them! I love when educational apps challenge them in a way that is fun and engaging!
$Zap Zap Math Educational Apps$
A special thanks to Zap Zap Math for sponsoring this review post.
Zap Zap Math is an award-winning FREE educational app that covers comprehensive subjects from Kindergarten through 6th Grade. It focuses on higher order thinking skills, problem solving, and self-paced adaptive learning. Plus, their team is constantly working on ensuring they integrate the best teaching practices. They work with educational professionals to ensure their games are fun and, of course, effective.
Our daughter, Aurora, who is currently at a 3rd Grade level in Math was the first of our kids to check out the Zap Zap Math App. After downloading the app and creating a free account, we were ready to go. Aurora loved that she got to choose a fun avatar as well as a fun name. Children can choose their avatar and name from the list or they can simply choose “Random.” Student accounts cannot be added on their own, though, so a parent can give them a code to enter to start their account or parents can add a new player from their account online.
$Zap Zap Math Free Educational Apps$
Once a child’s account is set up, you can select the grade, and they’re ready to get started. At first, I couldn’t get anything to load, and I wasn’t sure why. I eventually realized I hadn’t selected her grade level so she could get started with the activities. Once we got that sorted out, she was on her way to some learning fun!
Each grade has two topics (which vary based on grade level), and each topic is divided into four activities: Training, Accuracy, Speed and Mission. Each activity offers a tutorial when first beginning, and if they get it correct they can move on to the activity. Each activity has 5 problems, and as they answer the problem it adds a check mark to the number if they got it right, and an x if they get it incorrect. When complete it will show their accuracy, score, rank and any bonuses they may receive like Speed and Accuracy.
$Zap Zap Math Scoring$
Because I have a parent account I can log in online and see her progress. It shows me what grade level she is working on and how much of a topic has been covered. I can then click on each one to get more information – particularly what the percentage means. I can also see all the game profiles where I can add the game profiles for our other two kids as well. I always appreciate parent dashboards.
$Zap Zap Math Parent Dashboard$
Aurora has really enjoyed the Math challenges. The Zap Zap Math App is fun yet challenging. She likes the activities, and I can see she is motivated to improve – to beat her previous score and move up in level. The graphics are related to space and are a lot of fun. The sound effects are great as well. It really is a lot of fun for her!

Educational Apps

Educational apps are great for learning on the go or even to supplement our homeschool curricula. Zap Zap Math is a great educational app. It offers great features for both children (the fun, engaging app) as well as parents (the parent dashboard). Plus it’s FREE! Zap Zap Math is available for both iOS and Android.
Get Connected with Zap Zap Math
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Download the FREE Zap Zap Math App on iOS or Android

Educational Apps from the Creators of Reading Eggs

September 7, 2014 by Emilee Evans

We are always on the lookout for great educational apps. They are perfect when we are on the go and for use when one child is using the computer and I need an independent activity for one of the other children as well. They’re perfect for using in our homeschool, in a waiting room, in the car, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Disclosure: I received downloads of the apps to facilitate my educational apps review. Regardless, all opinions are my own and those of my family.
The creators from one of our favorite educational resources, Reading Eggs, offers a number of educational apps for learning on-the-go! Their apps are now available for a range of devices including the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Whether you have young children working on reading skills or even math skills, there are a variety of educational apps available so you can choose the app (or apps) that are perfect for them! The apps range from Preschool (ages 3+) to ages 6-12.
For our review, we received Eggy Alphabet and Eggy Numbers to 100.

Eggy Alphabet

Eggy Alphabet is an alphabet games app recommended for ages 3+. All three of our children (ages 4, 6, and 8) have been using it. I was able to create a separate account for each of them, which is nice because it saves their information, and they don’t get upset if their siblings do better or worse than them.

There are a variety of activities within Eggy Alphabet. 208 activities plus the Letter Game! The kids learn to identify letters and phonemic sounds. There are different levels available so our preschooler can start at the very beginning, but our 6 and 8 year old (who both have reading delays due to their special needs) can start at a higher level and still benefit from the Eggy Alphabet App.

All three kids really like Eggy Alphabet App. The only activity that I have heard any complaints on is writing the letters because they all have fine motor challenges, so it is challenging for them. Yet they still ask to use this app, which tells me they really enjoy it! I can see how they are enjoying it! I know they are learning more when they are enjoying what they’re doing! Plus, it definitely has come in handy for on the go as well!
I love that Eggy Alphabet not only saves progress, but rewards the children to keep them motivated and has a way for me to see the stats as well! I can see the total time they’ve spent working on the app, how many eggs they’ve earned, how many activities they have completed, etc.

Eggy Numbers to 100

Eggy Numbers to 100 is a math skills app recommended for ages 5-8. Our 6 and 8 year old have been using it. Unlike the Eggy Alphabet App, though, they cannot have separate accounts in this app. For the settings, you can only add one name and then pick the voice accent. From what I can tell, though, it doesn’t have saved progress, though, so it doesn’t really need to have separate accounts.

Our daughter has really taken to this app, but our oldest son doesn’t have as much interest in it. He is very motivated by rewards, so I think the fact that it doesn’t track progress is a big factor in why it doesn’t appeal to him as much. The activities within the app, though, are exciting and fun, which is why our daughter enjoys it so much. Within this app children learn counting, estimation, addition, subtraction and multiples.

We definitely don’t use this app as much as Eggy Alphabet – especially since our preschooler can’t use it as well. He really doesn’t like to be left out! But again, it has come in handy on-the-go! It offers additional activities to give the kids extra math practice in a way they enjoy!
Overall, we’re excited about the educational apps offered by Reading Eggs. We are excited to check out more of them! The kids really love Eggy Alphabet, and we hope to check out more of the apps that are similar to it! These apps are perfect for motivating kids to practice their reading or math and offer parents a solution for keeping kids busy in times when they may be out and about, sitting in a waiting room, etc.

For More Information:

Visit the Reading Eggs App Page
Follow Reading Eggs on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and their blog