Learning Tools: Science, Math, and Exploration

Tally Tots | 2013 Spinlight Studio

Tally Tots is an educational application that is designed to help toddlers learn to count. It is developed by Spinlight Studio. http://www.spinlight.com/apps/tallytots.html

This app is available on iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, Nook HD.

It requires iOS 4.3 or later and32.3 MB of size. Only English language available. The price is $ 2.99. Click here to view on iTunes.

For Android version, 2.2 and up is required. Price is only $ 1.99. Click here to view on PlayStore.

Click here to view on Amazon.

Click here to view on Nook.

Youngsters count along with an onscreen voice on numbers between 1 and 20, then are rewarded with an interactive activity such as pressing the screen to make race cars circle a track or touching a light bulb to turn it on.

Tally Tots makes learning fun for toddlers. Rather than making counting a chore, it walks them through the process, then rewards them with fun, interactive activities that reinforce the number. For example, if the number is 7, kids are encouraged to make a sandwich with seven layers. Kids may want to play it again and again -- but it's not perfect. Once an activity is completed, the app waits for you to pick another number, which requires selecting one from the top or bottom of the screen, then pressing it for 3-4 seconds. That's nothing for adults, but kids may lose interest in having to touch the screen in a single spot for that long. It would be nice to see an option to advance to the next number once the interactive element had been completed (or after a period of inactivity). That's a quibble, though. For parents looking to teach their toddlers how to count, this is a fine tool.

Dora's Cooking Club

Dora's Cooking Club is a game that, on the surface, let kids participate in the preparation and cooking of virtual recipes, but which is really a math game in disguise. For the majority of the "cooking exercises," kids will be presented with challenges that involve numbers and counting. The app is incredibly well-designed for use by preschoolers and kindergartners.

It is available Nintendo DS and NintendoDSi version and the price is $ 13.98 on Amazon. Clck here to check on Amazon.

Kids can play Dora's Cooking Club :Recatas de Pizza (Cook a pizza) free online version here. Cooking Games| 2013 StarSue.Net. It requires Adobe Flash installed in web browsers to play.

Moreover, kids can enjoy Dora's Cooking in La Cucina free online version here. It is available on Girlgamesclub.com | 2010 Girl Games Club. It also requires Adobe Flash installed in web browsers to play.

Dora's Cooking Club lets kids join the young Nick Jr star as she assists the various adults in her life in preparing and cooking delicious dishes for a big village feast. In Cooking Mama style, kids have to chop veggies, stir soups, top pizzas, and so on. In between those more straightforward cooking tasks, there are others, all involving food, that test kids on their early math skills. They may be sorting cookies into numbered groups or measuring out different amounts of ingredients.

Every Body Has a Brain

Every Body Has a Brain | 2013 Morphonix LLC. <http://ebhb.morphonix.com/>

Every Body Has a Brain is a collection of educational songs, animations, and mini-games that teach kids ages 4-6 about the human brain. The characters are all positive role models and help kids to learn through playing games. The game is available as both on CD-ROM for $24.95, or as a digital download for $19.95.

It is not availabe online and it supports Windows and Mac platforms only.

Kids can learn all about the biology of the brain, including the names of its regions and how they work together. Kids also get a peek at the differences between human and animal brains.The game has respectable depth for the target age group (4-6). Kids learn which parts of the brain control everyday activities. Mini-games engage each quadrant of the brain kids learn about.

presents a wealth of information about the brain in a fun and lighthearted package. Kids not only learn about the four parts of the brain, but they actually get a chance to exercise each part by playing specially tailored mini-games. One of the mini-games in the cerebral cortex (the part of the brain that controls creativity), for example, lets players compose rudimentary songs by dragging and dropping instruments onto a grid. Kids should learn a lot without even realizing it since they will be too busy having fun.