kids

Inspired by the shows that air on PBS Kids, PBS KIDS Photo Factory offers a very polished and well-crafted way to make your child's photos into a work of art. This nifty sticker app even features many children's favorite characters, but it won't amuse the older kids.

This app mixes about a dozen different photo frames with some of the most popular characters from PBS Kids. Sesame Street, Clifford, Super WHY, and more can all be pasted to your child's photo. There isn't a built-in camera, but you can snap photos using your phone's … Read more

Math Puzzles for Kids Lite is an app with many good ideas but some major issues in terms of execution that can make it both boring and frustrating for the children who would benefit most from it. With performance issues related to the touch interface and limited gameplay options, it needs some upgrades before it can offer a truly engaging math experience.

Math Puzzles for Kids Lite comes with 36 puzzles including addition and subtraction, comparison problems, and logical thinking. The puzzles are all designed for early elementary and preschool-age children (as they learn math concepts), and the execution of … Read more

Kids English HD is an app that hits the right mark in almost every way for small children. Combining engaging gameplay with a plethora of options and different learning styles, this app will provide a means for almost any young child to start learning English--whether written letters and words or the spoken language.

The design and interface of the app are perfect for small children. Without any onscreen ads to distract from the action, you can choose from five different activities, each of them designed to help children learn in a different way. Drawing cues help children learn how to … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Amazon's Kindle Worlds will pay writers to write fan fiction.

- Hire your favorite musician to write you a song .

- And now a reading from the worst fan fiction I've ever read.

- Follow Russ Frushtick on Twitter.… Read more

Math for Kids is the newest in a line of educational apps that have been flooding the App Store in recent years--apps designed to help children learn basic math concepts in visually attractive or game-based ways. This particular app focuses mostly on the math functions, themselves, but it does so in a way that is both attractive and easy to use, a good fit for many young children.

The style of Math for Kids is the first thing you will notice. This is a well-conceived and designed app, using hand drawn graphics and playful fonts that are fun to look … Read more

Whiz Kid (Android) is one of the few puzzle games, designed to be played between both parent and child, on the Android. This is great because some parents may be wary about handing an expensive mobile device over to a toddler.

The easy installation of Whiz Kid (Android) instantly allows the users to get right into action. A colorful main menu displays several different games that are included in the free version. Other levels are also available for purchase or by completing Facebook tasks. The different levels range from basic matching games to arithmetic. Parents will find this application useful … Read more

Crossword Puzzles for Kids Lite produces a unique, engaging experience that is unfortunately a bit too light on content to last longer than the initial play through.

The concept behind Crossword Puzzles for Kids Lite is very basic. There are two options--classic crosswords or riddle crosswords. The riddles usually just consist of one clue missing from the puzzle. Each clue is a picture shown next to the word that needs to be filled in. The use of pictures is generally good and the word choice, appropriate. The letters all appear at the bottom of the screen and can be dragged … Read more

Way back at CES 2013, Roku announced a slate of new channels to go live in the first quarter of 2013, including a PBS app capable of streaming full episodes.

Roku is a little behind on its deadline, but today both PBS and PBS Kids channels are launching on the company's streaming boxes. The PBS app promises content from prime-time shows (including "Nova," "Nature," "Antiques Roadshow," "Frontline," and "Masterpiece"), arts and music programs ("American Masters," "Austin City Limits," "Great Performances"), plus content from … Read more

Your Android phone or tablet can be a great educational tool for your kids, with the right software. Softdiv's Animals Spelling Game For Kids is a super-easy game designed to help kids just learning how to spell with simple, familiar words. And what better source than animal names, which tend to be short and easy to spell but exotic enough to both challenge young learners and keep them interested.

Animals Spelling Game's main page has three buttons: Play Game, Top Score, and Exit. We started a game. Our first puzzle presented three letters; D, G, and O, above … Read more