Category: Math »

MathGirl Addition House is the newest installment in a series of MathGirl apps designed to increase girls' confidence and literacy in mathematics, here specifically addition. Like MathGirl Number Garden, this app has a lovely floral theme which will be of interest to many girls. There are twelve levels to master, each increasing in difficulty as you continue to play, and the faster you get the correct answers, the more points you earn. Redeem these points to decorate your house; you are able to choose paint colors, decorative doors and windows, and other things to make your house personal and special.

I showed this app to my 2.5+ year old son, and he is able to complete the first few levels with a little help from me. I was glad that, although you get more points for speed, he was able to take as long as he needed, working at his own pace to answer correctly and was still able to collect points for his hard work. If he answers wrong, he is able to keep playing until he answers correctly. Once when we went to redeem these points, my son did not have enough to get what he wanted, and it was his idea to play again to earn more. It was nice to see how enthusiastic he was about playing this math game, and I like that with twelve levels to choose from, this app will grow with my child.

The most interesting thing about this app is that if you own both MathGirl Number Garden and MathGirl Addition House, these apps can sync together so you can look at both the garden and house side by side, creating a highly personalized and detailed landscape to be proud of. I am very curious to see what the next app - MathGirl Multiplication - has to offer, and I am looking forward to syncing all three together for an even grander landscape.

This is a great little back-to-school game! Multicolor balloons float across the screen and must be popped based on a variety of factors involving color or math. Math games include odds and evens, addition and subtraction, multiplication and factors. In a game, a problem is given (for examples, factors of three) and only balloons containing correct answers should be popped. Several levels of balloon speed are encountered as the player advances through levels, increasing the difficulty of the game. It's a great game for practicing math in your head and for learning to think through basic math problems on your feet.

Multiple players are allowed, and scores for each player are tracked in the "Grades" section. The player can select difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, and Hard), turn sound effects on and off, and even read a basic lesson under the "Learn" section, where basic and brief written description of the mathematics behind each game are available.

My four-year old enjoyed playing the color game (the math games are beyond his years) and my 2.5 year old enjoyed indiscriminately popping balloons for the pleasure of it. This would be a good game for the toddlers all the way through middle school, though grade-school and middle-school students will get the greatest utility.

"Mr. Hat and the Magic Cube" is a new interactive game for children involving kids being transported to a magical world after playing with a mysterious cube. They can’t go home until they help Mr. Hat find the cube’s stolen pieces.

This app combines both animation and games that help teach spelling and vocabulary, counting, matching, dexterity, and puzzles, getting more difficult each time you play. Being plot-heavy for a kids app, "Mr. Hat and the Magic Cube" contains 3D animated video clips rivaling those of serious adult games.

I do think, however, that it takes too long to be able to go home for a children’s game, and I found it to be tiring and a bit frustrating, even for an adult. I like that the app saves your progress, but when you solve the game, I really wish it would start over from the beginning.

Putting these issues aside, I really enjoy the magical world the developers have created. Part Willy Wonka, part Dr. Seuss, this world is trippy and maybe even a little creepy for some parents. I find this refreshing compared to the other soft and fuzzy learning apps we play. I am curious to see what happens in the next "Mr. Hat" application.

"MathGirl Number Garden" is an application designed to help girls gain confidence in math, specifically counting and beginner multiplication. This app is pleasant to look at and has girls in mind with the garden aesthetic. There are twelve levels that increase in difficulty, and the faster you answer the questions, the more points you get. Redeem your points to buy objects such as flowers or butterflies to add to your garden.

I like the fact that although you get more points for speed, there is no time limit to win the base number of points for a right answer, and if you answer wrong at first, you can keep trying. I think adding objects to the garden page is a nice motivation for girls to go back and practice their math skills.

I showed my garden to my 2.5 year old son, and he was really interested in this until he asked me to add a second pink bunny, but I could not. I wish you could just buy whatever you want with the points that you have earned. I do think that this is a fun app and a nice teaching tool that girls will enjoy using.

Lola the Panda Bear flies through the screen on her choo-choo train, on her way to deliver presents to her friends, making frequent stops to complete letter-matching and reading puzzles. Each time Lola (i.e., your child) successfully completes the puzzle, the train zooms along it's way, and Lola earns five coins which are tallied in the upper right corner of the screen. Every so often, the train stops at a toy store where the child can use the earned coins to buy presents, adding an element of math to the game. The purchased toys are then stowed on the flatbed of the train.

Three levels of difficulty are available (Hard, Medium, and Easy) which adapts the game for preschoolers through school-age. My 4-year old enjoyed the Easy and Medium levels, and even my 2-year old, who cannot yet recognize letters, liked to touch the pictures and delighted in the panda and the train. The game can be played in English, French, Spanish and German, which adds value to students studying other languages.

This is a cute and engaging pre-k and early reading game. I recommend.

An ingenious mix of the old and the new, the Intro to Math app by Montessorium includes five separate interactive math skill games, recommended for children age 2-6. Within each activity, multiple layers exist to reinforce skills such as proportion, counting, number writing, number recognition, and number order. Topics are presented as fun, intuitive games using sliding blocks, numbers and dots. The games are based on time-tested Montessori teaching methods.

The proportion game scatters wooden blocks of different lengths with a shake of the phone, and challenges the child to place them in the correct order, with a pleasing chime each time the pieces are moved. The counting game challenges the child to recognize the number of blocks. The number writing asks the child to trace a number "in the sand"; a scraping sound is played as the child traces. The number recognition game displays the numbers one through ten and asks the child to touch a given number The number order game plays out the number one through ten then asks the child to scatter them with a shake of the phone and re-order them

Both my 2 and 4 year old enjoyed the game. It is pricey but recommended.

iSee123 - A  Counting Adventure is a nicely animated interactive app that would be a good choice to introduce number recognition. Text, narration, numbers and animation are incorporated together to help kids learn their numbers and count from 1 to 10. The music and ocean sounds make the animated scenes peaceful and relaxing to watch. 

I am really impressed by the unique aquatic animals chosen, making it stand  apart from the usual barnyard-themed  applications.  My son (aged 2 1/2) has known his numbers for a long time but is still engaged. He quickly found the section of this app where he could just watch the animations and went through all 10 of them again, sitting quietly.  

Although great for number recognition as well as being beautiful and creative, many of the animations don't alone lend themselves well to counting. Before the animation begins, I would like to be able to touch and to count each animal as the narrator counts for me and then the animation should start. Having said this, I still recommend this app because of the peaceful sounds and intriguing animal choices. 

This simple but effective app for teaching your child to tell time is a gem. The first mode, "Tell Time", features an analog clock with a jungle animal face in the center, and asks the child to tell the time by converting to digital. If the child answers wrong, the animal's eyes droop and it emits a sad, whimpering animal sound; if the child answers correctly, the animal's eyes widen and it emits a joyous bray. A shake of the iPhone will generate the next problem.

Five levels of increasing difficulty are available, setting time problems in intervals of one hour, thirty minutes, fifteen minutes, five minutes, and one minute. A second "Set Time" mode challenges the child to set the time on the analog clock to a given digital time.

Settings include the ability to change animals; lion, tiger, elephant, hippo, and panda are among the available options. A "Learn" mode includes an interactive tutorial on time-telling. Pre-readers will need parental help with this function. "Score" mode keeps track of the child's score, and also includes other setting preferences for level of difficulty and sound.

The app was tested on ages five and up; my four-year old is still learning to tell time and found it challenging but fun. Highly recommended.

The application "Jam Packed!" is a clever puzzle game with the theme of packing. The object of the game is to find a perfect place for each object so each box is completely jam-packed with items. The game contains three categories - Black Box, Jewelry Box, and Lunch Box - with each getting progressively more difficult as the levels progress. Each category has 15 levels, and the tricky part is that each level is locked until you have accomplished the level prior. Trust me - it's harder than you think to pack things so they all fit! After each sub level is completed, there is a rewarding comment displayed. The graphics and illustrations of items to be packed are realistic and the sound effects are somewhat satisfying. There isn't any music, but there are dragging sounds when shapes are moved. "Jam Packed!" is great to help kids develop critical thinking and problem solving skills and the game is geared for toddlers to age 10. This is a superior app, a great purchase, and there's a whole lot of puzzle fun jammed packed in this game!

My Second and Third Graders needed extra help understanding the concepts of long division and I found the perfect solution; "Long Division" is like a tutor in your pocket! There are several things that make this app special. First, it can be customize to the child's level of learning needs. You can choose between 1 or 2 divisor digits, or 3,4,5 dividend digits. You can customize the theme colored background to black, white, or gold, and the animation can be changed from slow to fast. You also have a lot of choices, like creating your own problems or solving the ones displayed, and choosing if you want remainders or decimals. The biggest challenge when working with division problems for early learners is keeping the numbers in the correct columns and, of course, remembering multiplication facts. What's great is this app highlights the column that needs to be solved. At the bottom of the screen are the answers and when you choose the right answer to the step, it will float to the correct position in the problem. If the wrong number is chosen, it will inform you that you've made the incorrect choice. The app allows the user a chance to keep trying until the problem is solved. Long division is difficult for some students and I like this app because it makes the experience very simple. This simple approach does not overwhelm the learner and that's just what a child needs to be successful at practicing long division. Problem Solved!

A classy classic puzzle game that never gets old. It has been around for centuries and is still used in our educational systems today. "Lets Tans..." is a visual spatial puzzle game that makes people of all ages use the ole' brain. This app has 3 different puzzle modes - Classic, Replica, and Arcade. There are 7 brightly colored shapes called tiles and they fit together to make a perfect square “the basic Tangram.” The 7 shapes assembled can form thousands of different shapes. There are 110 different shapes to form in the “Classic” puzzle mode. Drag the shapes inside the large shape, tap once to turn the shape in the direction you want it to go or tap twice to flip the shape to it’s other side. After each shape is assembled, the player is rewarded with an applause or some type of celebratory sound and then on to the next puzzle. Whether you're in the car, waiting room, restaurant, or just hanging out and your child has their head buried in your iPhone playing "Let Tans..." - RELAX... they're learning!

Over the past week, I’ve been pondering my school days trying to recall what would’ve made my life easier as a student. I recall hours spent pouring over stacks of books to retrieve math and science formulas to make flash cards and study sheets that I would carry with me everywhere. With this in mind, I started searching around for apps that would serve as a pocket dictionary for math and science… and I discovered “Math Ref”. This application offers reference information on an impressive breadth of math and science-based topics, and includes formulas, definitions, examples, figures, tips, and concepts. Instead of leafing through text books to retrieve a formula, you just type what you’re looking for into the search function and – if it’s available – it will appear. If you’re trying to create a customized study sheet, you can save topics and formulas under the favorites tab so they are easily organized and referenced during your cramming session. “Math Rep” has a lot going for it, but it could be improved by giving more specific examples supporting the formulas and definitions provided. As I look back at my scholastic career, I believe – if it was available – I would have used this app from middle school to grad school. You must admit… that’s a lot of value for a 99 cent app.

“Numbl” is one of those special applications that provides both heart-pounding game play and learning fun. To play, you’re presented with a 4 x 5 board of number tiles and you’re asked to sum numbers to equal the total listed on top of the board. The goal is to add all the numbers and clear the board as quickly as possible. There's the option to play against your own high score, or play against another opponent; you can even access your “world-wide ranking” to challenge yourself even further. Beyond “Numbl” being a pleasure to play, the production quality is top-notch with sophisticated graphics and captivating sounds. Further, the interface is responsive, inviting, and easily engaged by single or multiple players. Primary school-aged kids+ will certainly have a ball with this addictive, brain-bending game.

This education-based app introduces children to the world of math through word problems. Each word problem has a photograph and scenario that includes a different animal found in the wild in Africa. iLiveMath has three levels of difficulty that are geared toward kids in kindergarten through 6th grade; the math problems focus on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and percentages. The app has a distinct approach to instruction that applies concepts to real life situations rather simply performing numerical drills. As a result, learners are exposed to the language of math and are able to build confidence and understanding in a less conventional way. Another unique feature allows kids to get help with problems or share with others via blog, email educator, or tweet to followers and friends. iLiveMath is a fun, educational app that offers something different to those learning basic math. My only gripe is the cumbersome interface to log each answer (you must scroll to find the right number, tap to select, and then advance to the next problem). Maybe I’m getting lazy in my old age, but I think fewer steps would enhance the app experience.

This math-based application joins arcade game fun with simple addition and subtraction problems. To play Math Bumpies, you pick your tropical superhero likeness, and then tilt the iPhone/iTouch to navigate your way through the ten destinations on Math Island. Along the way you’ll see math problems; when you see a choice of answers, tap on your character to jump and bump the correct answer to acquire points. The game can be played in three modes (easy, medium, and hard) and is geared for kids age six and up. It appears best suited to children who already have a working knowledge of addition and subtraction and are looking to improve their math proficiency. It truly offers adventure, with challenges including shark infested waters, snow storms, walls of fire, and quicksand. Of all the math apps I’ve experienced, Math Bumpies feels much more like a heart-pounding video game than a means for learning. It’s no doubt this game will appeal to a child’s desire to have fun… and a parent’s ambition to enrich their child’s intelligence.