On App Friday February 3rd, many people reported having trouble downloading the free featured apps. When they tried to download, a “price is being modified” message came up consistently throughout the day.

iTunes "unable to download, price is being modified" message

The rumor mill indicated it was a result of an iTunes software upgrade, and the problem was felt universally. As I learn more, I’ll post the updates on the Moms With Apps Facebook page, and in the comments of this post.

Lorraine

The developers are up to something. I heard them rustling around in our forums, planning special surprises for you. If you have time this App Friday, stop by the Apps Kids Love Facebook Page to say hello. I’ll show up at 10:00am San Francisco time, but at this point, I believe it’s worth visiting early. Thanks and enjoy the featured apps!

NOTE: I’m receiving reports that not all apps are available to download due to an iTunes software upgrade. We’ll keep you posted. 

Featured Apps (Click the image to read the app descriptions in iTunes. App Friday promotional pricing lasts until 8pm US PST Friday, unless extended by the developer.)

Princess Pony Jigsaw, by Apps Kids Love, $.99 for App Friday. Choose your puzzle design and solve. This company should be named “Apps Lorraine Loves”, because I am SO EXCITED that there are no buttons that take you outside of the app. The child can focus without being transported to ads, game center, facebook, twitter, email, websites, or anything. All game play is 100% purely contained within the app. Other titles on sale this week include the Matching Dogs Memory Game and the Photo Memory Game, both for $.99.

Magic Sorter by Igromatic, PLANNED TO BE FREE for App Friday, but iTunes is still modifying the price. Very upbeat! You can select which theme you’d like to sort (shapes, silhouette, size, puzzle, color) and then you drag and drop the images into the correct locations. When done correctly the fish do a happy dance. Social media buttons do exist on the home page, so parents should monitor entry into the app. But after you get past those, it’s a nice polished interface.

Plants HD by Sprout Labs, FREE for App Friday. My daughter and I learned the plant lifecycle by dragging each element into order and experimenting by trial and error. Pretty fun. Each stage has Did-You-Know information sheets and pop quizzes. YAY Science!!! There is one email button behind the information screen.

Enchanted Dictionary by Golden Communications, PLANNED TO BE FREE for App Friday, but iTunes is still modifying the price. Pick your topic subject and play by dragging the unscrambled words of the definition into place. There are lots of definitions to learn in here, sorted by educational category. Once you guess the correct placement of the word, it locks into place.

Sarah Little Fairy and Grandma by Sanoen, FREE for App Friday. This story teaches about Alzheimer’s disease, and takes the reader on a family’s journey after Grandma has come to live with them. This app has more than storytelling, but important life lessons also. Social media access behind the envelope and the logo on the home page, so take note.

Funny Alphabet from Ritlabs, $.99 for App Friday. Every letter has items that start with that letter on the same page. Swipe through pages like a book. On this page, kids can tap the grapes to “eat” them up. Version 1.4 just went live with more animations, voice narrations, and a small “bubbles” game. Direct link to Facebook from the homepage, so take note before handing off.

BabyFirst Encyclopedia from BabyFirst Games, FREE always. Select the category of topics you’d like to see (vehicles, sea, harvest, farm, etc.) and then view images of items. Tapping on an item instigates the text and narrated word. There is a ‘more games’ button at the end of the train, but you have to hold down and swipe, so it’s not immediate and gives you some fair warning before exiting the app.  BabyFirst Games successfully funded a new version of this app that will include more facts and iPad support, via an MWA-supported Appbackr campaign. Congratulations!

Princess Pony’s One Year Anniversary on Facebook

We’ll be gathering at the Apps Kids Love Facebook Page for Princess Pony’s one year anniversary. The folks Down Under will be kicking off the party early (Thursday night), but the official start is 10:00am Pacific Time / 1:00pm Eastern Time on Friday Feb 3rd. The page is open to the public, so please stop by to join the fun. If you miss the 10:00am slot, head over to the Moms With Apps page for anytime news.

More App News, With Love

Scott Weiner, the developer who manages our ever-growing forum of almost 1000 app developers, just released a new title this week called Valentines Coloring Book. It’s at a special introductory price of $.99. Enjoy!

Have you noticed Pirate Scribblebeard kidoodling all over my banner? They are a creative bunch. If you’d like to meet a fantastic developer with lots of app ideas in store for you, check out our Banner Program this week.

The Jellybean Tunes App Report, a weekly recap of new releases from Moms With Apps, reaches Volume 15! If you are looking for fresh content, this is the article to grab: http://momswithapps.com/2012/02/01/the-jellybean-tunes-app-report-volume-15/

The Link Exchange

Add links to your favorite apps, blog posts, Facebook pages – or any link that covers family-friendly apps. Please include the app name (or page name) in the Link Title, your email, and a URL. Thanks for participating!

Welcome to the 15th installment of the App Report featuring family friendly apps made by the developers belonging to the Moms With Apps network. Once again, we’re going to group the apps by objective and then list them by their app store categories to make it easier to find the app that fits your needs.

Early Learning: Build word recognition skills with Card Match. Play vehicle themed games with My First App Vehicles. Play with digital stickers and create stories with Buildo Museum Sticker Book. Practice foundational math skills with SimpleSort:Counting.

Literacy: Read about The Adventures of Robin Hood or Rainbow Crow. Practice chinese with easy chinese writing.

Math: Practice basic math skills with Balloon Blast Math.

Apps for Older Kids: Electric Eggplant asks, “Who are my real friends?” in Middle School Confidential 2. Create custom messages with pictures and animation with Doink Express.

Entertainment: Play with sound using BeBob’s Sound Contraption.

Click on the links to find out more about each app and to determine if it is suitable for you. If you find an app you like, remember to write a review.

- Garry Froehlich | Jellybean Tunes

Books

The Adventures of Robin Hood by So Ouat (Chocolapps): In England, a long long time ago, Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham were starving the people with their heavy taxes. Robin Hood a loyal servant of King Richard the Lionheart was outraged by this injustice and became the legendary outlaw of Sherwood Forest. With the help of his band of merry men and Maid Marian, he saves Richard the Lionheart and restores order throughout the Kingdom. iPhone, iPad

Rainbow Crow by Emantras Inc (Punflay): This Native American story is all about beauty, sacrifice, and courage. It tells the story of Rainbow Crow who was chosen to go to the Creator and plead with him to undo the creation of snow. But was it possible for it to be undone? What did the Creator say and what happened to Rainbow Crow’s beautiful feathers? Read the story to discover Rainbow Crow’s courageous mission. iPad

Education

	Buildo Museum Sticker Book by JAJDO AB: The Buildo story continues! The Buildo Museum app is JAJDO’s attempt to turn your kids into cultural monsters. Watch ‘em play around and create their own stories with more than 100 stickers in the Buildo Museum sticker book! iPhone and iPad
	SimpleSort:Counting by KidsAndBeyond, LLC.: Ms. Clever Cloud is back! This time, she needs help counting, sorting, adding, ordering, and comparing numbers! Can you use your math skills and help her? iPad
	Balloon Blast Math by Boden Software: The goal of the game is to answer as many problems as you can in 60 seconds. The more you answer correctly, the higher your score! But be careful, if you answer a problem incorrectly, you lose points. The higher your skill level, the more points you can earn! iPhone
	ABC Phonics Butterfly Long Vowels by Abitalk: ABC Phonics Butterfly Long Vowels includes five different long vowel sounds: A, E, I , O , U. Your child can pick any two long vowel sounds to play. There are two flower pots that represent two different long vowel sounds. The butterfly carries the heart with the word on it and finds the matching vowel sound flower pot to drop the heart. iPad
	Middle School Confidential 2: Real Friends vs. the Other Kind by Electric Eggplant: Middle school social drama can flare up without warning and turn your world upside down. At times like this, you may wonder, “Who are my real friends?” Based on the second book in the award-winning Middle School Confidential series, Real Friends vs. the Other Kind follows Jack, Jen, Chris, Abby, Mateo, and Michelle from the first app as they forge friendships and navigate tough social situations. They run into relationship issues such as making friends, resolving disputes, and dealing with gossip, exclusion, and cyberbullying. iPad
	easy chinese writing by Uniproducts Company Ltd: easy chinese writing is an app designed to show users how to write Chinese characters stroke by stroke and direction by direction. The app is suitable for any beginners from kids to any age who is new to Chinese learning as well as for those who want to enhance their Chinese-writing techniques. iPad – Traditional Writing, iPad – Simplified Writing, Lite
	Card Match! by Sabi: Card match games have stood the test of time as being fun. The game tests both word recognition (matching words) as well as word understanding (matching word with a picture or color). The child builds confidence in word recognition and understanding through play. iPhone

Entertainment

BeBob’s Sound Contraption Pro by Gemstone Technologies, INC.: Includes spooky sounds, cartoon sounds, robotic sounds, whacky sounds, instruments, laughs, screams, sirens, and more! Use BeBob’s Motion Warp to make fun variations of any of the sound effects just by moving your device!! The possibilities are endless! iPhone

Games

My First App Vehicles by appp media: My First App Vehicles includes three games featuring lots of vehicles (police car, truck, horse carriage, loader… ). No language skills are required. Navigate the app by selecting symbols – even preschool children can play without help. Choose from puzzle, matching, and pinball style games. iPhone and iPad

Photo & Video

Doink Express – Messaging with Photos, Animation, Drawing & Sound by DK Pictures, Inc.: Doink Express is a fun, creative way to add life, interest and excitement to short messages using animations, drawings, photos and sound. There are endless ways to create unique custom messages using photos from your camera roll, your own custom art or animations, Doink art “props”, and sound. Then share your “doinks” with friends, family and the world! iPhone

App News

It’s tough to make money in a crowded app store, but that doesn’t mean app developers should give up hope. Today we’re going to address the problem by building apps into brands. Moms With Apps is going to do more than “advocate” for family-friendly apps, we’re going to help fund them.

BabyFirst Games, a developer in Moms With Apps, just launched a campaign to finance their next app in a wholesale marketplace called Appbackr. We’ve spoken about Appbackr on this blog before, but now I’d like to apply the tool across the network.

The Problem

Apps that can financially sustain themselves are usually listed at the top of the App Store charts. But with over 200,000 apps in the educational category on iTunes, it’s tough to battle for those top slots. To make progress, I want to encourage developers to release more titles to establish their brand. A high quality series of apps serving a niche will have more surface area and visibility on the App Store.

Building the developer’s brand

If a consumer finds something they like, chances are, they’ll return to make another purchase. If you find an app that does a great job at reinforcing sight words, you might return to that brand when searching for more content in language arts. App developers should have a vision of the brand they want to build.

• What is the area of specialization: math, language arts, creativity, history, geography, science?
• How does the app present a concept uniquely?
• Can consumers find it easily? Does the app title relate to the content?
• Is the look and feel of the brand recognizable?

It’s tough to compete in a crowded marketplace with just one app

If a developer launches their first app, and finds app development enjoyable, then let’s not give up just because the sales are measly. Think about the overarching brand by answering the questions above, and keep working at it with a few more titles.

Raising the money for your next title

One tool for funding app development is to set up a campaign in Appbackr’s wholesale marketplace. Costs can be financed by giving up some future retail sales once the app goes live. Conceptually, “backrs” buy the app at a wholesale price, and make their money back once the app sells at retail on the App Store. It can be a win-win: a win for the developer who receives assistance while building out their brand, and a win for the backr who makes a profit on their initial outlay.

Moms With Apps would like to help

Developers in the Moms With Apps network who are interested in trying Appbackr need to 1) let me know, 2) strive to meet the Moms With Apps criteria [as mentioned on the Banner Program page], and 3) work with Appbackr to set up a campaign.  Once complete, send me your campaign link so I can spotlight it on this blog and throughout the Moms With Apps social media channels.

BabyFirst Games, our first campaign

Svetlana of BabyFirst Games is the first to try a Moms With Apps supported Appbackr campaign. Her first app is a free visual encyclopedia for babies, toddlers, or anyone who seeks topical conversation starters. Categories in the app include the zoo, vehicles, farm, sea, harvest and art. Each category has images that represent words and concepts. When you tap on the image, a word is generated with text and audio. Svetlana would like to produce a paid version of this app that includes iPad support, interactive quizzes, more sound effects, and fun facts. The financial goal is $1000.00, and the month-long campaign just went live on Monday, January 30th.

My role will be to make an initial contribution to the campaign to get the ball rolling, let others know about the campaign through the Moms With Apps network, and to work with Svetlana on ideas for building future titles in one overarching brand for BabyFirst Games. I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

Support for the Backrs

If you decide to start backing apps, don’t be shy. Shout out to MomsWithApps on Twitter (@momswithapps) and let us know. We want to build momentum, excitement, and possibilities in this marketplace. If I see you I’ll retweet you, and will do my best to spotlight the backrs involved with MWA campaigns. But beware, there may be a #momshark in those tweets.

Lorraine Akemann | Editor | Moms With Apps

I have a single goal this App Friday… I’d like to see “Alien Buddies” top the iTunes charts. Alien Buddies are early learning experts who landed at Moms With Apps from a planet far far away. They are fun and enthusiastic little martians, who want us to learn about matching, puzzles, stickers and dot-to-dots – for FREE this App Friday!  What do you say, can we do it? I’ll have a fun time trying, that’s for sure. 

Featured Apps (Click the image to read the app descriptions in iTunes. App Friday promotional pricing lasts until 8pm US PST Friday, unless extended by the developer.)

Alien Buddies, by Artgig Apps

Alien Buddies, by Artgig Apps, FREE this App Friday. Join the buddies as they take you on an outer space journey of early learning. App includes matching, puzzles, dot-to-dot, and free play with stickers. And don’t forget to check out the buddies on our MWA Banner up top!

Alpo Finds Alma, by Tapisodes

Bo's Bedtime, by Heppi

Roxie's a-MAZE-ing Vacation Adventure, by OCG Studios

Princesses Learn French, by Early Languages

Color Frenzy by Skudio

Color Frenzy, by Skudio, FREE for awhile. Interesting concept. You start the game, colors pop up on the screen, and you hunt around your environment for colors to match the screen, seeking matches, using the iPhone camera. I wasn’t having much luck because it must have been a gray day, but think the concept of hunting around would be a fun one if we could make this more kid-oriented. Game Center enabled, and apparently some ads but I didn’t see them.

MORE NEWS this App Friday

• Feed the Monster FREE (price change taking awhile)
• Wood Puzzle USA FREE
• Tillie’s Time Shop $.99

We hope you enjoy this selection of apps. Please take the time to leave a review on the iTunes App Store if any of these make a positive difference in your home or classroom. 

Walking the Dog on Facebook

We’ll be gathering at Alpo the Dog’s Facebook Page at 10:00am Pacific Time / 1:00pm Eastern Time – to share app news and deals. Please stop by to join the fun. If you miss the 10:00am slot, head over Moms With Apps for anytime news.

The Link Exchange

Add links to your favorite apps, blog posts, Facebook pages – or any link that covers family-friendly apps. Please include the app name (or page name) in the Link Title, your email, and a URL. Thanks for participating!

Welcome to the 14th installment of the App Report featuring family friendly apps made by the developers belonging to the Moms With Apps network. This week we have apps that focus on a number of classic learning objectives.

Early Learning: TinyGenius helps teach the names of foods, animals and more.  Magic Sorter and Merry Cubes provide puzzles for little fingers.

Literacy: ABC Phonics is back to teach about long vowels.  Fat Cat App and Where Has My Dog Gone support early reading or those that need a little extra help.  This week Oceanhouse Media and Mobad Games provide worthy reading material.

Math: MathLands teaches through puzzle solving.

Special Needs: Learn about cleaning a room with Put it Away.

On a different note, aaSsessMyVS offers a test to see if coloured overlays will improve your reading experience. Stack the Countries is now available to those with Windows Phones.  Alien Buddies, Bo’s Beditime and Feed the Monster have all received updates or new versions.  Finally, Punflay had not one, but two of its amazing apps showcased during Apple’s education event!

Click on the links to find out more about each app and to determine if it is suitable for you.  If you find an app you like, remember to write a review on iTunes.

Garry Froehlich | Jellybean Tunes

Books

	Ellison The Elephant by Oceanhouse Media: Little Ellison just wants to sound like everyone else. He tries to make a big trumpet sound like his friends and his sister, but all he gets is a little toot! With encouragement from Mom and provocation from his imaginary friend, Weasel, Ellison discovers his very own voice – a jazzy sound that charms and entertains all within earshot. Ellison’s proud mom reminds us all that it’s ok to be unusual. In fact, “All the greatest elephants in history were unusual – that’s what made them great!” iPhone and iPad Android
	The Year of the Dragon in 3D – A Peek ‘n Play Story App by Mobad Games: 2012 is the Year of the Dragon! Dominic’s proud parents rule the sea and sky, advise the Emperor, and have high expectations for their son. Meanwhile Dom befriends the boy Bo and the other zodiac animals, who wish to paddle a boat in the village’s annual river race. But when other people and Dom’s parents disapprove, what will Dom do? iPhone and iPad Mac
	And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street – Dr. Seuss by Oceanhouse Media: Marco walks to school along Mulberry Street keeping his eyes peeled for interesting sites to share with his dad. But today all he sees is a boring old horse and wagon. “That’s nothing to tell of, that won’t do, of course”. . . so Marco envisions much more exciting events, each more elaborate than the last. The horse and wagon turn into a zebra and charioteer, then to an elephant with a sleigh as Marco’s imagination goes on a wild ride down Mulberry Street. iPhone and iPad

Education

	ABC Phonics Long Vowel Words Free by Abitalk: A fun game for young children to learn and practice phonics by piloting a spaceship and shooting at planets to identify each word. PhonicsTwo is for children ready to learn the long vowel sounds. The words all have long vowel sounds. iPhone and iPad
	TinyGenius by Gilberto Fernandez: TinyGenius consists of interactive card sets with topics such as foods, animals and others. The contents of these cards include photos, illustrations, names and sounds in several languages, designed by professionals to maximize children’s learning. iPhone iPhone Lite
	Fat Cat App by Children’s Publishing: Fat Cat App is the first in a series of apps for early reading or remediation of reading in an engaging format. With the purchase of Fat Cat App, parents, teachers, and therapists can download a free teaching manual (supporting research and suggested activities and worksheets). Fat Cat App addresses early reading through phonemic awareness and phonics as well as providing auditory bombardment of sounds for speech students. iPad
	Where Has My Dog Gone by Children’s Publishing: Where Has My Dog Gone was written by a retired speech-language pathologist. This app can be used by teachers, parents and speech-language pathologists as a supplement to teach the early prepositions and the early developing sound /d/ through interactive play. The children will enjoy learning prepositions by touching a sign to activate the characters to perform actions like telling the dog on the bike to ride “up” or “down” the slide. Through repeated activation of the signs the child will learn the prepositions the same way they learn that a stop sign means the driver should stop. iPad
	aaSsessMyVS by aardwearing software limited: The purpose of aaSsessMyVS is to allow you to perform a brief test to see if coloured overlays will help improve your reading experience. If so, the sister app aaLuminate(also available in App Store) will help you. In this case, you should also consider arranging a formal test to determine whether tinted glasses/physical coloured overlays would be beneficial. iPhone
	My Book Tree by My Book Tree, LLC: My Book Tree is an interactive app for iPad, iPhone, and iTouch devices that features original stories. Each story is presented in two modes: a “Read” mode in which the story can be read like a traditional book by turning pages (via a swipe action on the screen); and a “Listen” mode with narration. In the “Listen” mode, the words are highlighted as they are read thereby aiding in language development and reading skills. Each story comes with a fun educational game. iPad
	Put It Away by leehsueh: Cleaning a room is an essential living skill for everyone, but can be particularly difficult for children with special needs. Performing this task on the app exercises category sorting and memory, and can help build confidence in kids with autism or other developmental disabilities to complete the task in real life, which is often a challenge. iPad

Games

	Little Frog And Ball by Birds of Paradise: This app introduces our beautiful hand-drawn characters of the Little Ace. It is very simple game for younger children. Complimentary app for Little Ace And Ten Commandments. iPhone and iPad
	Magic Sorter by Igromatic: MAGIC SORTER – Sea Tales – 5 in 1 helps develop important cognitive and fine motor skills by dragging & dropping objects to match the silhouettes. With parental assistance it can also develop language skills, for example, by naming the objects, sea animals, shapes and colors. iPad
	Merry Cubes by Igromatic: Toddlers and kids from 2 to 7 will have fun with this cube matching game. Just swipe the cube and tap to rotate it and reconstruct the whole picture. Watch every matched fruit dancing as a reward and a real fruit disco as a grand prix! iPhone iPad
	MathLands by Mamanijo: Kids are too often faced with math exercises that are mechanical and dull. They learn to solve small tasks without any real understanding of the underlying mathematics. MathLands was designed by game lovers and teachers to remedy this problem. In this app kids will be asked to think deeply but in the context of gameplay and puzzle-solving. iPad

App News

About once a month, a group of app developers who live nearby meet for coffee. We’ve met at the Appbackr offices, the YogiPlay offices, and various shops around town. We call this entourage “Coffee With Apps”. Through these meetings, we learn about much more than apps. It’s also led to marketing and press opportunities that would have otherwise been unknown.

Coffee Traveler from Starbucks, about $12. Comes with cups, cream and sugar. Enough for a dozen thirsty developers.

If you are an app developer, an app consumer, an educator, or someone who would like to have a voice in “new media” for kids, I recommend getting involved with your local MeetUps. Here are some pointers, and then I will share some pics.

1. To link up with other app users or developers, go to MeetUp.com, type in “apps” or “iOS” and your city/state, and a list of MeetUps closest to you will come up. If there aren’t any listed, MeetUp.com makes it easy to start your own. In the Bay Area, we’ve been attending the Silicon Valley Apps for Kids MeetUp at Creativity Inc., which is a wonderful and growing group.

2. If you have an “app idea” and want to start networking and building that idea, try Startup Weekend (events are national and international). Startup Weekend is a global non-profit run by volunteers which aims to spark new ideas and powerful networking. Ahmed of GoGoMongo is one of the organizers for bayarea.startupweekend.org, and he is doing an incredible job of keeping the startup energy alive in our area. *NOTE: An education-themed weekend is planned for February.

3. If you are already in the MWA forum, go to the “new member introduction” board, and do a search on your city. It’s possible that others live nearby, but you may have missed their introduction given the volume of daily posts in our forum.

Coffee With Apps in San Francisco. Several developers share their apps, tips, and ideas. Pictured are developers from Speech with Milo, Kidoodle, LearnWithFunApps, and Abitalk.

Startup Weekend in Palo Alto (Jan 20th-22nd) focused on "mobile". So many new app ideas!

Nirupama of the app "Murky Reef", doing a demo for the local news crew.

Who else is out there, meeting up? How did you get connected? What would you recommend?

Lorraine Akemann | Editor | Moms With Apps

After watching the Apple Keynote about how textbooks arrived on the iPad, I was eager to download “Life on Earth” so I could talk to you about learning biology. But I can’t – because it’s still downloading. Then, I wanted to unleash my inner writer, and create a story using iBooks Author. But I couldn’t, because I write on Windows. Then I checked the courses on iTunes University, which look very cool. Multimedia curriculum, delivered via iPad, now available for teachers and schools in grades K to 12. I’ll deliberate further before I call today’s announcement a revolution, because there is work to do to accommodate gigabyte transfers and open platforms. But envisioning “iTunes School” as way to supplement our public school, with lessons (which will hopefully integrate apps) that map to our grade – well, that makes an impact. Enjoy this App Friday, we’re happy to have you!

Featured Apps (Click the image to read the app descriptions in iTunes. App Friday promotional pricing lasts until 8pm US PST Friday, unless extended by the developer.)

2BME Firefighter, by 2BME Studios

Smart Speller English HD, by Lemberg Solutions

Visual Math 1, by Weily Apps

Spanish Verbs, by Lux HQ

NoodleWords, by NoodleWorks & KwiqApps

We hope you enjoy this selection of apps. Please take the time to leave a review on the iTunes App Store if any of these make a positive difference in your home or classroom. 

Firefighters On Facebook

We’ll be gathering at the 2BME Firefighter Page on Facebook at 10:00am Pacific Time / 1:00pm Eastern Time – to share app news and deals. Please stop by to join the fun. If you miss the 10:00am slot, head over Moms With Apps for anytime news.

Startup Weekend Bay Area

Friday January 20th marks the beginning of Startup Weekend in Palo Alto, with a theme focused on mobile. Go Go Mongo is one of the event organizers and sponsors. We can’t wait to check it out Ahmed! Here are the details: http://bayarea.startupweekend.org/

The Link Exchange

Add links to your favorite apps, blog posts, Facebook pages – or any link that covers family-friendly apps. Please include the app name (or page name) in the Link Title, your email, and a URL. Thanks for participating!

Welcome to the 13th installment of the App Report featuring family friendly apps from the developers that are a part of the Moms With Apps network. This week, we have a focus on literacy and learning. ABC Phonics Rhyming Sorting provides practice with recognizing words that rhyme. Compound Words Montessori helps students combine root words into compound words. Trunky Puzzles focuses on shape recognition for young children, but also includes letter recognition. Lil’ Braniac helps kids associate spoken words with pictures from a variety of subjects and age levels. Finally, practice those reading skills with some books like Goodnight Safari and learn about the ten commandments with Little Ace.

Click on the links to find out more about each app and to determine if it is suitable for you. If you find an app you like, remember to write a review on iTunes.

- Garry Froehlich | Jellybean Tunes

Books

	Goodnight Safari by Polk Street Press LLC: Children are at the center of the story as they help the giraffe eat her dinner, the monkey climb to bed, and the elephant kiss goodnight. Simple vocabulary and intuitive interactivity will engage young children while building their comfort with nighttime preparations. A perfect bedtime or storytime accompaniment for young children. iPad
	Little Ace and Ten Commandments by Birds of Paradise: Based on the Ten Commandments from the Bible, this book is an interactive tool for parents to help them easily and amusingly introduce biblical principles to their children. Come and explore the Ten Commandments together with Little Ace! iPad

Education

Compound Words Montessori by MontessoriTech: Montessori Compound Words makes matching root words to make compound words fun and challenging! Using a chain/step puzzle format, children (and adults!) enjoy making compound words to unlock the beautiful, original photos of real objects matching the words. iPad

ABC Phonics Rhyming Sorting by Abitalk: Phonics Rhyme Sorting is a fun app for learning to recognize rhyming words, and sort them by sound. A bee carries a heart with a word on it, and your child selects which of two flower pots has a word that rhymes. The bee then carries the heart to the flower, and if correct, a new petal is added to the flower. After each group of rhyming words is completed, the animated flower will review the words. iPad iPad Lite

Games

Trunky Puzzles by Serious Games Interactive: Kids can choose from 27 puzzles and learn how to improve motor skills and shape recognition skills. All they need to do is drag and drop the right shape in the right slot. The puzzle scenes all come from Trunky’s magical world full of goodies and fun characters! Some puzzles even practice spelling and letter recognition! iPad

Lil’ Brainiac by GetBonkers, Inc.: Lil’ Brainiac helps children of all ages learn language by stimulating their visual, auditory and tactile senses. The game board presents a range of visual images matched with audio clues. When your child hears the audio clue, they touch the corresponding picture and receive positive reinforcement as they learn. Game packs range in age and skill level; from basic shapes and colors to advanced geography. iPhone and iPad

App News

Our guest post this week is written by Ann Potter of JANES Works Company, who is focused on creating products to instill a love of reading. This post resonates well with the spirit of Moms With Apps. As parents, developers, technologists and educators explore educational materials for kids, I hope we can all agree that LOVING reading is a timeless and fundamental element for learning. 

Reading was one thing I knew would have a profound effect on our children’s development and their futures. Our first child was at the ripe age of 12 hours when his dad read him his first book, “The Going-To-Bed Book” by Sandra Boynton. So began the tradition of reading in our family.  Once a child learns to read, and even more importantly, learns to love to read, the possibilities of how it will affect your child will be endless.  Reading has opened the minds of our children to new worlds and ideas in ways little else ever could.

When our children became old enough to read by themselves, we set the rule that every night they would read by themselves for 20 minutes and then we would read as a family for another 20 minutes.  Over the years, the boys have been read countless classics such as “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien, “James and the Giant Peach” by Roald Dahl, “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman (a classic in our house at least), currently “The Lord of the Rings” by Tolkien, and countless other tales and even poems such as Tam O’ Shanter by Robert Burns.

So why share this?  Because this is one of the reasons we started JANES Works Company.  We wanted to create apps that would give kids a solid foundation to start reading.  We also want to do our part in helping to reduce illiteracy.  Were you aware that over forty-two million American adults are unable to read?  It is an astounding fact. Moreover, fifty million American adults are limited to a 4th or 5th grade reading level and the number of illiterate adults increases by 2.25 million every year.

JANES Works Company is on a mission. JANES Works wants to help kids learn how to read. More importantly, JANES wants to help kids learn to *LOVE* to read. As a first step, JANES Works developed JANES ABCs 123s, a set of phonetically-based interactive flash cards, developed to teach children their ABCs and letter sounds to prepare children to learn how to read.

Educators nationwide have come to realize the most effective way to teach children how to read is to start phonetically. Each of the alphabet words in JANES ABCs 123s is interactive. Touch a letter in a word and it pronounces that letter’s sound. Touch the picture, and it will pronounce the whole word with a fun interaction. The app also includes Numbers, Colors, and Shapes, and is available on iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, and Nook devices.

As the next step after JANES ABCs 123s, we are currently working on the Jim & Ann Books. The Jim & Ann Books will be a series of phonetically-leveled, beginning-reader books similar to the popular Bob Books, except they will follow the adventures of Jim & Ann and their friends. Each Jim & Ann book introduces a set of new sounds and builds upon those sounds already introduced in preceding books. Sight words and more complex pronunciation and grammar are introduced gradually, after the basics are established. They will be available in both print and eBook versions as well as interactive book apps. Look for the Jim & Ann Book to be released in the beginning of 2012.

Lastly, to do our part in fighting illiteracy, JANES Works Company has started a non-profit organization, JANES Works CARES, dedicated to reducing illiteracy by donating books, iPads, and time to help children learn to love reading. Our hope is to be able to offer our services to parents who may be struggling with literacy. If you would like to learn more about our organization, check our website and Facebook Page for updates.