I'm a full-time mummy

I have been cutting down on the review of iPad apps lately since we have been limiting the usage of it for our 5 years old boy on weekends only but when I received this pitch, I thought I'd give this app a go as our 2.5 years old girl is a fan of cat and I noticed there are a few features on this app which is worth to review.

* Title: Komaneko
* Price: $3.99
* Category: Education
* Released: May 14, 2014
* Version: 1.2
* Size: 172 MB
* Language: English, Chinese, Malay
* Seller: PixFusion LLC
* Rated: 4+  Made For Ages 6–8
* Requirements: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPad

Description from the product page:

"Komaneko is a clever and creative cat who is planning to shoot a stop-motion movie all by herself. Watch and read the story of Komaneko as she creates her first movie, and the magic that happens after she is done. Developed and directed by Tsuneo Goda, the creator of the iconic Domo character, the Komaneko eBook App is based upon the short film Komaneko—The First Step, which was a finalist at the Melbourne International Animation Festival, the London International Animation Festival, and the 8th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival. The stunning graphics, story and bonus features will appeal to children of ages 6-8. It is the fourth story in the Kideo eTales series of heartwarming, inspiring and educational stories. " 

* There are a few options you can play with from this app: read, watch or play.Under the Read option, you can read the story or record your own version. As for Play option, there are 6 games you can choose: Coloring, Movie Maker, Spot the Difference, Matching Game, Puzzles and Mission Button.

* I like that there are a few languages offered in this app, namely: English, Chinese and Bahasa Melayu. As a Malaysian, I feel it is good for the app to feature the major languages of the country so that it can cater for more children.

* The background music when you play the movie is very nice, catchy and soothing.

* I let our 2 kiddos take turn to go through the app. Our 5 years old boy and 2.5 years old girl both listen and watch as the story plays and take turns to play the games in the app.

* Some things I find weird from this app is there are certain scenes in the movie which features Komaneko cat in 3D version while certain scenes features the cartoon version of the cat.

* Also when I select the Bahasa Melayu option, I can't help but noticed the translated words for 'Movie Maker' is 'Bikin Filem'. I thought the word 'Bikin' is an old word. I think it would be more appropriate to use 'Buat Filem' or 'Rakam Filem' instead. Just my 2 cents.

* Overall a fun and yet educational app for the kiddos!

You can purchase the "Komaneko" 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"

Our 5 years old boy has always been intrigued with our body organ functions, skeletons and etc. The moment I received a pitch to review this new app, I immediately requested for a review opportunity as I can foresee our kiddos enjoying and learning more from this app!

* Title: Inside Your Outside (Dr. Seuss/Cat in the Hat)
* Price: $3.99
* Category: Books
* Released: Apr 16, 2014
* Version: 2.6
* Size: 59.4 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Oceanhouse Media, Inc.
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Description from the product page:

"Come along with the Cat in the Hat in this interactive book app as he takes Sally and Dick for a ride through the human body! Explore pictures, learn new vocabulary, and personalize the story with your own narration. Kids will love learning about the human body as they visit the right and left sides of the brain, scuba dive through the blood system, follow food and water through the digestive tract, and a whole lot more!" 

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

* I used the opportunity to teach our kiddos the importance of our body parts, the five senses and I myself learned something new as well! I'm glad to be able to explain to our boy with an example of how we feel dizzy after spinning or twirling around (we sometimes sit on my office chair and have a wild spin hahahaha)

* Prior to this, our kiddos have been watching cartoon documentaries on human body and its function and with this app, I am also able to explain more to our boy. He seems to be particularly intrigued at the page below, how the bladder empties out the waste water - I can see him getting a better picture of how his pee comes out from his body.

* Overall a nice educational app for the kiddos! We love it!

You can purchase the "Inside Your Outside (Dr. Seuss/Cat in the Hat)" 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"

We are a big fan of Little Critter's apps and I think it is great to be able to review this app as I get to introduce some new things to our kiddos, such as pond, ground bees and more.

* Title: Just A Day at the Pond
* Price: $0.99
* Category: Books
* Released: Mar 19, 2014
* Version: 2.6
* Size: 39.4 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Oceanhouse Media, Inc.
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Description from the product page:

"Join Little Critter in this interactive book app as he heads off for a summertime day at his grandparents’ farm! Explore pictures, learn new vocabulary, and personalize the story with your own narration. Little Critter loves to fish the pond and collect frogs, but he doesn’t really know how to swim. That is, until the help of some bees he's kicking and paddling like a pro." 

* This app 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 used the opportunity to teach our boy to be careful with his surroundings now that he is going for his preK and his class has physical activities at the nearby park. Honestly, this is the first time I learned about ground bees so I make sure our kiddos know there is such insects and to be very careful everywhere they are.

* I also used the opportunity to explain to our boy that we should be humble and not arrogant, to learn new things when there is opportunity given.

* Overall a nice story for the family!

You can purchase the "Just A Day at the Pond" 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"