I'm a full-time mummy

In the middle of Sept this year, I have started teaching my 3.5 years old boy unofficially. Unofficially in the sense that we do not follow any curriculum or schedule. I have tried introducing alphabets to my boy but our progress is still at a very slow pace, he can sings right from A to Z but somehow he is still slow in recognising the alphabets. At the moment, the only alphabet he can recognise is the letter C (which he says as 'kah-kah' in phonics). Hence this review is based on my sole opinion as I did not involve my boy's participation in this app. Without further ado, here goes my feedback...

* Title: Alphabet Plus
* Price: Free (at the time of my post published)
* Category: Education
* Updated: Aug 03, 2012
* Version: 1.02
* Size: 11.4 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Emmy Chen
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later.

Description from the product page:

"Alphabet Plus combines four games into one which provides everything your child needs to learn the alphabet, phonics and the sound and first words associated with each letter. This app includes the "Alphabet Song", a coloring book with a page for each letter, activities for learning the letters in sequence, and fun animated games to teach pronunciation and letter recognition. Your child can click on each animated letter and pictures and objects will pop up on the screen with the sound of the first letter and sound out the words. Learning to associate each letter with the phonics sound is an important first step for kids to learn to read. The entertaining and enjoyable format will keep children focused as they learn."

* There are 6 different games in this app: Coloring, ABC song, Matching, Ordering, Words and Tapping.

* I don't quite like some of the games in terms of its layout and design. For example I am not a black or dark color background person as I find it hard to focus and it's contrast is quite glaring.

* The ordering game is one that I enjoy and think my boy will appreciate once he started recognising the letters.

In summary, this app is OK and I think it can be greatly improved in terms of the designing and layout aspects - to make it more interesting with easy to see coloring scheme.

You can purchase the "Alphabet Plus" app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"

I am very excited to be sharing this book with you guys! I mean, how often do you come across a book that helps you build your child's self-esteem through activities like reading, crafts and cooking? I particularly like that this book is recommended for the age 2 to 5 range and I immediately poured over the book looking for activities I can do with my 3.5 years old boy! Anyway, read on for my review below:

Title: Show Me How! Build Your Child's Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking (Positive Parental Participation)
Author: Vivian Kirkfield
Publisher: MoneyPenny Press, Ltd.; 1ST edition (2010)
ISBN-13/-10:  978-0967014753 / 0967014751
Paperback:  256 pages
Dimension: 9.9 x 8 x 0.8 inches

Description from the product page:
"A must-have resource for busy parents and teachers, Show Me How! pinpoints 100 picture books every young child should hear and provides a story summary, gentle parenting tip, easy eco-friendly craft project and simple child-friendly healthful recipe for each recommended title. The fun-filled educational activities help parents gain confidence in their own parenting skills while building self-esteem, developing pre-literacy skills and strengthening the parent-child connection. Lined spaces on every other page allow parents to utilize this guide as a memory book to record their children's highlights. Library Journal loved the tri-level format of reading, crafting and cooking and so will every parent and teacher who uses this award-winning book. "

This book comes packed with stories you can use or refer to with your child and there are points and notes given on how the stories can be used to nurture your child's self-esteem, moral values and build up their confidence. On the opposite side of the page there are accompanying crafts and recipes you can try out with your child as well.

The following day after I started reading this book, I came across a recipe for German butter cookies shared by a fellow SAHM friend in a SAHM Facebook group I joined in and decided to try this out with my boy. I got him to help me out with the mixing sugar and butter part and then gently coached him to make soft indent on the cookie dough so that there are stripes on each cookies surface. He was so excited to be able to take part in the cookie making session!

Ever since we did the German butter cookie session, I have been looking for more child-friendly recipes that I can try out with my boy so that I can get him to help (boost his confidence as well that he is big boy enough to help mummy out in the kitchen!) so I'm very happy to share that there are tons of child-friendly recipes that you can try in this book!

I do however would like to recommend that future revision or updates on this book to include pictures or illustrations of the end results of the crafts and recipes so that we can have a better idea on how they look like.

Overall, this is a wonderful book packed with stories, crafts and recipes that will definitely help you and your child as you journey along in building their confidence, self-esteem and at the same time guiding us as the parents on how to nurture our child to be an independent individual.

Highly recommended, do get a copy of this book for yourself too!!

You can get this book from Amazon.

Yes! I'll be giving away 2 copies of this book on my blog!

Now, 1 copy which I have been given along with my review copy will go to a lucky winner in Peninsular Malaysia while another copy which the author will send personally will go to a lucky US winner!

OK then, just read below for the giveaway terms and entry form, OK?

To enter the giveaway, kindly read and follow the instructions as stated in the Rafflecopter form below.

• You can enter either via login through your Facebook account or just key in your name and your valid email address.
  
• Please also leave your valid email address in the post comment so that I can contact you if you win this giveaway.
• You have 1 month time from now to join in the fun and try your luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

My 3.5 years old boy loves animals! Everytime we walked past a pet shop, he will stop us and dragged us in to have a look. Fishes, rabbits, dogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, cats, everything! So when I received an email pitch on this app, I immediately requested to review it. Without further ado, here goes my feedback...

* Title: Oh, the Pets You Can Get!: All About Our Animal Friends
* Price: $3.99
* Category: Education
* Released: 08 December 2012
* Version: 1.09
* Size: 47.7 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Oceanhouse Media, Inc.
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Description from the product page:

"Playful puppies, purring kittens, and flying birds bring the pages to life as children learn about animal behavior and how to keep pets happy and healthy. Look for information cards from Thing 1 and Thing 2 which teach pet safety, and find out more about each animal by tapping on instant glossary words throughout the story. 

* It is engaging and interactive and I love that we can also touch the objects in each page on the screen and the words pop out to tell you what it is!

* I like the storyline where it teaches us how to care for animals and pets, in fact, there are some pages which I particularly enjoyed as I feel the tips given can be apply to our daily life as well.

* For example, at the picture below (top right), it says that we should not let any pets play with string as it can get tangled. I used this opportunity to remind my boy that not just animals, little children and us adults should not play with strings and ropes without practising cautions and safety.

* Another example is the picture above (bottom left) which mentioned that we need understanding and patience when our pets make mistakes. I feel this particularly rings the truth even for us as parents that we should be understanding and have patience with our own children especially when they make mistakes! I totally love this app!

* I also used the opportunity to educate my boy on how we should handle our pets and what type of foods they eat everyday. I also enjoyed the extra tips and facts about the animals as I find myself learning new things too!

You can purchase the "Oh, the Pets You Can Get!: All About Our Animal Friends" app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"