Archive: Teachers

Twisted Logic: Brain Boosting Apps for Kids

 
New app producer Twisted Logic produces one-of-a-kind gaming apps for kids of all ages. The small company is family-run and clearly a passion project, based on the business smart and tech savvy  husband and wife team. Together, they create fun, interactive apps that cater to learning as much as they inspire a good time.
 

 
So far, Twisted Logic has released three apps, all compatible with iOS and Android products. Their released gaming apps include:
 

• Monkey Match: Monkey Match is a matching and memorization game with lively illustrations. It helps kids learn by matching shapes, colors, sounds and more. Plus, every level is goal-oriented. It establishes a goal at the beginning of the level and rewards the player after the goal is obtained, all in all making for an engaging game. [itunes download] [android download]

• Monkey Spot the Difference: Monkey Spot the Difference helps little ones hone in on their observation and concentration skills. They look at two images and must compare and pick the differences out of each one.  It’s a great game to play with the whole family.  [itunes download] [android download]

• TicTacToe Monkeys: TicTacToe Monkeys gives the classic game a fun twist. Players must choose their winning monkey and then duke it out on the Tic Tac Toe board. This game of strategy definitely puts a cute twist on the classic we all grew up playing.  It’s a game for all ages.  [itunes download] [android download]

 
In addition to creating fun and educational games, Twisted Logic wants you to feel good about letting your child on their apps.  So far the company sticks to an internet safety code for their kids apps that leaves us wanting more from our other kids apps.  When downloading you can be sure there are:

• NO In-App Purchases
• NO Third-Party Ads
• NO tracking or collection of user data
• NO requests for personal information
• NO links to the web or social networks without entering a Parent Gate

The creative geniuses behind Twisted Logic make up quite a team. The Head Creator is a creative tech guru who tapped his passion for animation and design and turned it into colorful, creative gaming apps. The Chief Strategist heads the business end of the company, making business-savvy decisions and making sure the company and its workers stay on track. The best part? This family-run business knows exactly what kids want because their daughter Mackensie is the “Senior App Tester” for the company. Her bio reads, “From about the age of 10 months Mackensie has been learning the ins and outs of Apple devices. Currently having her own iPad and two iphones (handed down from Dad) isn’t good enough and she’s always after Dad’s newer devices. Now at the age of  2 years old, finding her way around mobile devices is a breeze. She can even teach her Mum a thing or two…”

Twisted Logic brings creative, colorful apps to the market, developed in a family environment and tested by their own daughter and family friends. This team knows what kids and parents want in an app!  Download these apps today!

NEW: Magical, Musical Children’s Book App

You know those interactive books that play sounds or maybe have something fuzzy to touch incorporated in them? Well, the apps that Box of Frogs Media creates takes those to the next level. They create downloadable books for children that allow kids to touch and interact with stories as they read. Pictures move, sounds play and children have the option to read the book themselves or have a narrator read the stories to them. As of now, the apps are available on iOS products, so owners of iPhone, iPads and iPod touches are welcome to download and share Box of Frogs Media’s stories with their children.

Little Lost Note

This book refers to a musical note, not the kind that you scribble on a piece of paper. The story focuses on a note who gets lost and needs to find her way back home. She hops from instrument to instrument searching for her home, not only teaching children about musical instruments, but also allowing them to actually play to each one that the little lost note tries out. If children read it as a bedtime story, they can tap the Zzzz on the screen to activate a quieter, night light reading mode. Reviewers rave about this children’s interactive bookapp, and it’s easy to see why.
Download it here.

COMING SOON: Birgitte Berteldatter

This digital book, soon to be released, focuses on explorer and adventurer Birgitte Berteldatter, who has seen wild animals all over the world. As Box of Frogs Media summarizes, “Slightly confused that these beasts only seem to appear to Birgitte, she makes notes and sketches of all the fantastic creatures she finds on her adventures, where the Rolling Beagle knows no fear, the Urban Flox will nibble your socks, and a trick to befriending the beautiful but rather pompous Royal Crested Tiger is to give him pink sherbet.” The digital book will feature hand-drawn pictures, hidden animations that can be discovered through swiping and tapping the screen, original music and, just like Little Lost Note, the option to read the book or have it read to you. As a bonus, children will even get the opportunity to draw their own animals and wild creatures, just like Birgitte Berteldatter.

We’re expecting lot more from this company in the future…keep track of what they’re doing here.

Why We Love CHALK Preschool Centers

At MomTrusted, we have a lot of favorites when it comes to preschools. We devote our time to spreading word of outstanding programs and helping match parents with child care and education options. One of the preschool programs at the top of our list is CHALK Preschool, available at several locations in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas. Here’s why we love them:

CHALK’s belief in the learning process

At CHALK Preschool, staff strives to appeal to all parts of learning in an effort to provide a well-rounded education and preparation for kindergarten. CHALK supports each child’s emotional, physical, social and cognitive growth through carefully chosen lesson plans. A warm and welcoming environment is what staff members of CHALK work to provide for every preschooler in the program. They stress hands-on activities, including, but not limited to, a wide variety of songs, games and crafts.

CHALK prepares children for the leap into school

Teaching is the main goal at CHALK Preschool, and each center focuses on preparing its students for kindergarten, prepping them for a long road of academic success. While the lessons focus on math, science and literacy, a CHALK education reaches beyond the traditional sense. The preschools also work to help young ones perfect their motor skills and help children acquire social skills.

CHALK offers an online program

CHALK Preschool gets a ton of bonus points for spreading knowledge around the world by offering an online preschool option. Parents can login whether or not their child is already enrolled in preschool. The lessons, which are focused around key points like literacy, math, science and more, can be used as bonus learning material for those already in a tradition preschool, or a unique, digital preschool option for those who don’t go to preschool every day. The online version is even free for parents to enroll their children in and use.

CHALK Preschool has a total of five locations spread between Chicago and New York. The first went up in 2005 and popular demand for the program resulted in more and more preschools. Children between the ages of two and five are welcome and the preschool accepts applications year-round, so don’t wait until next year to enroll. Schedule a tour and see if it’s a good fit for your child. Click here to find the closest Chalk Preschool to you.

See more examples of just one day of their online preschool program below.

UPDATE 1/26/15: Chalk’s free site is now available at www.freeonlinepreschool.com

Online Safety for Kids: Resources to Keep Your Children Safe Online

Kids are hitting cyber space at younger ages than ever before. Of the children under five who do use the World Wide Web, 80 percent of them log on at least once each week. With everything from inappropriate content to online bullying scattering the web, the Internet has become a risky place for little ones. That’s why it’s more important than ever to monitor what kids are searching, where they’re clicking and make sure they know how to keep themselves safe online.

To kick off National Cyber Security Awareness Month, we want to introduce our friends at Savvy Cyber Kids. This wonderful non-profit works to teach children how to be safe online before they sit down in front of the screen.

Savvy Cyber Kids produces books and lesson plans for teaching online safety for kids. Their curriculum covers a wide range of online risks; from cyber bullying to privacy to online ethics.

Online downloads for teachers include both lesson plans and activity sheets, such as “Create Two Trusted Adults” and “Coloring Cyber Princess.” Books focus on a family buying their first computer, strangers online, privacy and defeating a bully, at school, at the playground, and online.

The internet is a wonderful learning tool for kids…just don’t forget to teach your children to stop and think before they connect!

Join Savvy Cyber Kids in helping kids stay save online here: Facebook and Twitter.

Sources:

-National Cyber Security Month: http://www.dhs.gov/national-cyber-security-awareness-month

-Savvy Cyber Kids: http://savvycyberkids.org/

-“How are online issues affecting children?” National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: http://www.netsmartz.org/safety/statistics

-“Statistics on Online Safety” NSPCC: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/onlinesafety/statistics-online-safety_wda93975.html

-Photo courtesy of Clare Bloomfield/freedigital photos.net

Play Based Learning

 
As teachers, care providers and parents, you know better than anyone that kids learn best through hands-on or play based learning. Our friends at Kodo Kids know that hands-on play is not only extremely educational, but also the most fun way to learn. That’s why they produce products that promote investigation and exploration.
 

 
As childhood expert Bev Bos would say, “If it’s not in the hand, it’s not in the head.” At Mom Trusted, we agree with Kodo Kids’ learning philosophy. Open-ended play is an important learning style for children of all ages. It helps create a deep understanding of the material introduced to them. This hands-on, play approach is especially important during early education, when children are just starting to discover and create their learning style, along with the world around them.
 

 
Products from Kodo Kids range anywhere from Digger Kits, designed to encourage outdoor play and learning by digging, burying and sifting through sand and soil, to Kodo Clay, an all-natural product meant for art and expression. There’s a magnetic filling kit that teaches kids about magnetism and iron particles. Kodo Kids even has Pump Works, a kit of water tubes that lets children test out their engineering and water pumping skills.
 

 
How do we know Kodo Kids’ products are great? They sent us some and we loved them! With a wide variety of tools, toys and gadgets, any teacher, child care provider, or parent is sure to find something right up their alley that suits their individual teaching or parenting style. Visit Kodo Kids’ products for yourself today to see just how great hands-on learning can be!

What First Aide Necessity is Missing From Your Freezer?

Kids get bumps and bruises faster than you can keep up with. Before you know it, one of your kid’s has slammed their finger in a door, jammed it on a basketball or gotten a nasty rope burn from tug-a-war. That’s why everyone should have at least one Cold Cast available in their freezer at all times.

 
Cold Cast is an ice pack that fits snugly on the injured finger. Children don’t like to sit still long enough to hold an ice pack in place, but the Cold Cast has its own sling so your kids can go on playing while they’re icing. The cast helps treat finger injuries immediately, speeding up the healing process and helping eliminate any complications down the road.

 
The Cold Cast is safe for kids of all ages. It’s soft and easy to strap into place. Plus, it’s latex-free so as to avoid any allergic reactions.

Injury care is essential to ensuring the fastest healing and avoiding any future problems. Cold Cast provides all five features of P.R.I.C.E., the five main principles of injury care. They include: 

• – Protection: Cold Cast cradles tender fingers in a padded cushion.

 

• – Rest: Wearing the handy product works as a constant reminder to the injured child to let the finger heal.

 

• – Ice: Cold Cast’s design will allow it to stay cold for 20 minutes, which is the maximum time recommended to ice injuries. Even when frozen, it remains soft and pliable, making it easy for little ones to keep on playing.

 

• – Compression: The cast can be wrapped around a finger as tightly or as loosely as possible. Wrap it snugly to provide support and compression.

 

• – Elevation: Cold Cast’s wrist strap will ensure it stays in place even on the busiest kid, letting them carry on with their playtime while they heal!

 
At Mom Trusted, we want to make sure that our care providers stay well prepared so we’re offering our users an exclusive discount:

Click here to ORDER NOW and save 25% off the retail price!

Just enter the discount code before you checkout.

Code: Mom Trusted

Buy one before you need one so that you always have at least one Cold Cast on hand!  If you have a few you can get creative when injuries arise.

Ant and Worm Activities for Kids

Mom Trusted put together a few fun ideas for critter-crazy children. These will help them expand their scientific knowledge and have a great time. Here are some bug activities for kids. Some are educational and others are even tasty:

Invest in an ant farm. Your kids will have fun for hours watching the ants dig mazes.

Eat dirt for dessert! Make some chocolate pudding, following the instructions on the box, and pour it into small, plastic cups. Then crumble chocolate cookies on top of the pudding. Stick a few gummy worms in each cup. You can even add green coconut shavings (dyed using a few drops of food coloring) for grass if you want to get extra fancy.

Make a worm hotel. All you need is a big glass or plastic jar and some worms. Fill the jar with dirt, stick a few worms in and watch them wiggle through it. Note: the worms will be happiest if you alternate dirt and sand every few inches. Make sure to return them to their natural habitat after a few days.

Make compost in your own backyard. Gather veggie kitchen scrapes, some leaves or cut grass and place in a large pale with a lid. When it starts to decompose into dirt, add a few worms to help the process along.

Feed the ants and watch how much they can carry. Be sure to do this activity far away from your home! Grab some lunch leftovers and take them out to a field with a few ant hills. Drop the food in large chunks and watch as tiny ants come to take away pieces many times their size.

Sources:

-“Bugs and insect activities for kids” Pinterest

-“Creepy crawly activities for kids who love bugs” education.com

-Photo courtesy of antpkr/freedigitalphotos.net