21/12/201220/10/2014 by jo

App Time – The Snowman and the Snowdog

I have my Christmas Radio Times, so I am more than aware about The Snowman and the Snowdog (Channel 4, 8pm Christmas Eve 2012 as well as a few repeats) – and somehow I stumbled across The Snowman and The Snowdog in iTunes – it’s free, so I figured it’s worth a download.

It’s a really charming app! It features all of Raymond Briggs’ artwork from the Snowman book – the Snowman flies over various places (including some London landmarks – at The London Eye I pointed out Shaun’s work, and H exclaimed “Why is Daddy’s work on the iPad?!”) – you collect snowflakes to earn more time (I’m not sure how much per snowflake but there’s lots – I’ve managed to do two and a half circuits of the game on them) and you have to pick up objects on your journey to get bonuses and badges.

The Snowman and the Snowdog app

The app is run in conjunction with Channel 4, and there’s plenty of ‘Don’t forget to watch!’ type things on there which weren’t too obtrusive (but enough to remember!).

You can slow down the flying by swiping downwards and speed things up by swiping upwards (which didn’t seem to work for me) – worth knowing as we had no idea until it told us a few minutes in. You work your way through the map, so there’s Hastings, North London, the North Pole, back to South London, the countryside and right back to Hastings – although if you run out of time you’ll have to try again. When you complete all tasks in an area you’ll get three stars.

The Snowman and the Snowdog at the London Eye app

If you want a game you can sit and play with your (younger) child, this is the kind of thing – older children will enjoy it too and probably need less help. Personally, I love it – I can see us going back to this app several times due to the amount of things you need to do!

02/12/201226/03/2018 by jo

Portable North Pole – It’s Back!

Now H is three we’re embracing Christmas big time, even though I try not to spoil her too much. My best memories from childhood were the times we’d see Santa at the Co-Op in the centre of York, so we always try to make sure anything involving Santa is memorable and fun – and Portable North Pole are doing just that.

Portable North Pole are back – we’re in the digital age now, so my lucky girl gets a personalised video from Santa who knows where to come to leave her present (for being good and listening to her parents – ha…), he knows two good events from the last year, and he knows some basic information – and as far as H is concerned Santa is the BEST! (and I’m sure every time she sees him from now on she’ll remind him of the nice video and be a bit confused when he asks her what she wants for Christmas AGAIN…)

Of course, the reality is that I’ve trawled through a years worth of photos and memories while asking the right questions so the video could be created – so that’s a photo from Peppa Pig World, a photo from our Welsh holiday, and a picture of last year’s Christmas tree – but it’s enough to make the video pretty magical; every time Santa asked her a question she answered him when we watched it!

You can have unlimited online views of your video too through the Christmas holidays so plenty of time to watch (the five minute deluxe version lasts until March 2013). The videos include brand new scenes from Santa’s village, new elf clips and more.

The setup of the video took around ten minutes (a lot of that was finding the right photos), the video arrived immediately and loaded within two minutes. Santa looks like a proper santa, a nice long beard and his elves are good too!

This year, Portable North Pole has pledged to donate 5% of all personalized product sales to participating Children’s Hospital foundations in the U.S, UK, Ireland, Canada and France, as part of the PNP Children’s Hospital programme.

In 2012, Portable North Pole is also offering a personalised phone call from Santa himself! There’s also an augmented reality interactive letter, sealed with some magic by the elves! The letter includes a premium video and facial scan feature which Santa uses to check if the child is on his nice list.

Also new for 2012, Portable North Pole has an updated iPNP mobile and tablet app (cost £1.99), which includes the premium video, interactive advent calendar and phone calls from Santa (n.b. you need to buy this separately). Last year the Portable North Pole app was among the top 10 paid downloads on the Apple Store in the UK. Click here to get the App

Santa’s e-shop on the Portable North Pole website is also stocked with a range of new personalized gifts, from letters, colouring books and place mats, to books, puzzles and “Santa’s NiceList” certificates – and I can offer a code which gives you 10% off – just use BLOG10BK – check this video for more information!

We were provided with a code for the Premium Video, all thoughts are our own – H loves it!

26/11/2012 by jo

App Time – Peppa Pig Theme Park

Just in time for Christmas there’s a new Peppa Pig app from P2 Games – and while it’s similar to previous games, we’re liking the choices you have when playing – there’s ten different games in total, which have different levels of difficulty within their own game – so you could have a timed game vs in your own time, number of laps, and so on. This time it’s Peppa Pig’s Theme Park and the games are all related around rides you’d find at the Theme Park – though not Peppa Pig World.

H is (as ever) obsessed with the sticker pages – but this time you have to earn coins to pay for your stickers which I quite like – then you head to the ‘shop’ and ‘buy’ your stickers. H has got her head around this, and has been having a good play on certain sections, not even necessarily ones she’ll earn more.

One part reminds me of the old Simon games from the 80s – though this time there’s six colours and you need to remember the sequence. At first I wondered if it would be a bit too advanced for H, as while she has good concentration she does get distracted – but I found she can easily do half of the game before asking for help. If you get a sequence wrong you get a cross (rather than a tick for doing it correctly), but if you then do it correctly it wipes the cross, so as long as you get ten correct you’ll get the coins at the end.

There’s also a driving game which is a bit different to others I’ve seen – in that you turn the wheel and point the arrow in the direction you want to go, which H navigates well. I did the game and found it was tricky enough to dodge the muddy puddles, but again, H picked it up straight away – a bit more challenging but not in a bad way.

There’s the food part – this time you’re making candyfloss (or fairy floss if you come from Australia) in the colour each character asks for. You simply spin the stick around the barrel (as Madame Gazelle) and load it up with the sticky stuff. Do too much though, and it’ll explode and the x reappears – so it’s all about stopping in time. Of course your character then gets to eat it.

Another favourite is the train ride – simple enough but enough buttons to press you can be doing more than one thing – you’re letting people on and off the train (as long as you stop the train in time), and that’s about it – H likes this one as she likes to let me know which characters she’s let onto the train.

Other games are

Water cannon – Peppa loves water games! Can you help Peppa to use the water cannon to hit the objects? There are lots to ducks and boats to hit! Don’t forget to fill the balloons too!

Hot air balloon – Peppa and George are going on a hot air balloon ride. Can you help to steer the hot air balloon and collect the coloured balloons? Collect as many as you can and then count the ones you have collected by popping them!

Peppa Pig Theme Park

Bumper cars – Peppa and her friends really love to play on the bumper cars. Can you steer the car and help Peppa to bump into the other cars? (I like this one, H couldn’t quite get her head around cars bumping into each other)

Tea cup ride – Peppa and George really enjoy the tea-cup ride! Join in the fun with Peppa and her friends!

I’m one of those people who like to read the credits, and spotted a reception level at school tested this app, which I find pretty sweet – and I’m guessing that it’ll have got a big thumbs up too.

Peppa Pig Theme Park is available now at the App Store priced £3.99.

We received a code to review this app – all opinions are our own.

21/11/201224/06/2018 by jo

App Time – Hollywood Photobooth

I was approached and asked if I’d like to review the Hollywood Photobooth app, and after reading the press release I absolutely had to – as it looks like a lot of fun (H wanted to join in too). Several costumes from various Hollywood films, and you can photograph yourself ‘wearing’ them? I’m sold!

My only photo taking gadget is my iPod – what can I say? To choose an outfit, then turn the camera and point it at me, or to point it at someone else is pretty good fun. Also, you get some fun facts about each costume. One niggle, if you scroll too quickly through each costume on my iPod, I found it would often crash the app – so I found loading it then waiting for half a minute seemed to help. My iPod was bought in April so still fairly new – be aware of this.

The press release mentioned Dorothy’s blue gingham dress from The Wizard of Oz, and I was sold – I’m a sucker for that film (see also: The Sound Of Music). Alas, you don’t get that costume to stick your head on, but hopefully soon… I did see Mamma Mia for the first time recently… and I reckon this could be good fun at parties…

The V&A will bring the glamour of the Hollywood Costume exhibition to app users this autumn with Hollywood Photobooth, a new camera overlay app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Hollywood Photobooth will allow anyone to instantly ‘wear’ the costumes as immortalised by some of the most iconic film characters from a century of Hollywood filmmaking.

a spot of Charlie Chaplin followed by Meryl Streep in Out Of Africa…

This light-hearted and playful app features 16 specially photographed costumes ranging from Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp suit, to Viola de Lesseps stunning dress, headdress and jewellery in Shakespeare in Love worn by Gywneth Paltrow. Users can also adorn their costume with essential accessories: from the Blues Brothers’ cool ensemble with the all-important sunglasses and hat to the combat armour of Gladiator’s Maximus worn by Russell Crowe. Right up-to-the-minute, the app also includes costumes from the latest movie releases such as the dress worn by Keira Knightley in Anna Karenina.

Photos taken by Hollywood Photobooth can be shared via email, Facebook and Twitter.

Hollywood Photobooth has been created in partnership with Ribui, a leading digital publisher specialising in the creation of augmented reality and 3D apps and interactive books for smartphones and tablets.

EDITED TO ADD – the latest update is now compatible for iPad 1 – you can use photos in your library – so everyone can play!

Hollywood Photobooth is available at the App Store now – for only 69p!

We received a code to review the app, all opinions are ours and honest.

20/11/2012 by jo

App Time – Mog the Forgetful Cat

Mog the Forgetful Cat is a wondeful Judith Kerr book – and one I’m sure most people are familiar with. Back in the summer I decided to buy this app, as while it’s nice we read to H, she is left on her own from time to time (like when I’m cooking), and it’s nice for her to be able to read books rather than just play games. This app is fabulous – as you can record your own voice to the Mog book, so essentially you are reading to your child and of course there’s Judith Kerr’s illustrations.

Each page is interactive, and as well as being read by you (or Geraldine McEwan if you’d prefer), there’s some fun extras too. There’s a game – although that’s suited to a child that can read (or learning to) as it doesn’t speak the words (which would be handy!) – you have to match Mog’s expression (sad, happy, surprised, cheeky, sleepy) and if your device supports it, you can take photos or add one from your library.

We don’t own the first Mog book (shame on us!), although do have several Judith Kerr books – so know that H enjoys reading them. She has been known to sit and read the book several times on this app!

The app is available for £2.49 from the App Store from Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.

08/11/201226/03/2018 by jo

Giveaway – DC Super Friends: Haunted Heroes

We reviewed the excellent ‘Trick Or Treat – Halloween Peekaboo‘ from Night and Day Studios just a week ago, and now we’ve a super quick giveaway – it’s for an app – DC Super Friends : Haunted Heroes – which we’ve not tried as it’s probably just a bit too old for H (it’s suitable for 4+), though it follows plenty of familiar themes – jigsaws, colouring and sticker activities – and it’s iPad only. Now I know Halloween was last week, but this looks pretty cool – look – Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and more! Proper retro DC Superheroes too, I have to add.

DC Super Friends: Haunted Heroes

The local Halloween festival is underway but the children think the haunted house is full of real ghosts! It’s up to the Super Friends to investigate, but are these heroes haunted by something more sinister? This is a Halloween themed story with child-friendly versions of some of DC’s superheroes!

Experience the adventure in this DC Super Friends Reader App!
► Word highlighting for younger readers.
► Read along with professional narration.
► Record your voice reading the story, or have your child record theirs.
► Customize your experience: Text display, audio, and autoplay mode can be turned on and off.
► Easily jump to your favorite page or activity with the visual index.

FEATURES:
► Personalize Your App! Use the camera to take a photo with the DC Super Friends. iPad 1 users can import a picture from Photos.
► Collect DC Super Friends Points! Throughout the story, look for opportunities to earn DC Super Friends Points. Collect them all and receive an in-app reward!
► Interactive Pages: Watch animations unfold and tap mysterious hot spots for surprises.
► Stickers and Sounds: Choose an animated background and use digital DC Super Friends stickers to create your own scene with fun audio to match. Use multitouch to spin, shrink, and grow the characters! Share by email or save to Photos.
► Puzzles: Tap the puzzle icons and turn pages into jigsaws to solve.
► Coloring: Get creative with the DC Super Friends palette. Share by email or save to Photos.

From ScrollMotion in partnership with Night & Day Studios.

I have one code for this, which runs out on the 17th November – if for any reason the code doesn’t work, Night & Day will honour the winner – so not long to try win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

30/10/201206/01/2015 by jo

App Time – Peekaboo Trick or Treat

Peekaboo Trick or Treat is a fun app – and comes from Night & Day Studios. It’s simple too – you’ve a set of doors, with some ghosts in the windows behind, you tap on the door and you’ll be surprised with a halloween character behind the door.

Peekaboo Trick or Treat

Get to the end, and you’ll find everyone’s there having a party – with a nice little ending!

Peekaboo Trick or Treat

So nice and simple, really nice graphics and it’s also helping H learn words as each creature appears (it spells the word on the top right) – they all appear randomly too.

Peekaboo Trick or Treat

Plus it’s a Halloween app – available now for only £1.49 in the App Store

We were sent a code for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own.

29/10/201206/01/2015 by jo

A Reading Eggs Update – and a Brand New App

We reviewed Reading Eggs recently, and while we’ve had a busy last week or so and haven’t used it as much as before, we did have a session tonight together.

Tonight we progressed onto two letters together in the game sections – AM – and it was interesting to see how H played – she recognised both letters, but occasionally they’d be reversed to MA – and she’s not quite spotting the difference yet.

The games are still the same, and she’s having a good time playing them, and most importantly of all, she’s learning. I chatted with my sister about Reading Eggs, as she independently recommended the site to me (tsk, she doesn’t read this site!), especially with H being the youngest when she starts school next year.

We received an email in our inbox this morning – Reading Eggs have a new app available, Tap the Cat – it’s currently iPad only and available at a low price initially – we’ve bought it but haven’t had a play with it yet, but hurry as it’s only at this price for a few days! I think we’re still a little way off H being able to use this, but if you use Reading Eggs and have an iPad, then grab the bargain quick.

As ever, you get the three accents to choose from, US, Australian or British (which I like as H is confused enough having an Aussie dad and a northern mum, while being at nursery in South London) and having a quick look at the app, I think there are sections she’ll discover and enjoy – and learn with at the same time.

In Tap the Cat there are 9 different activities for your child to enjoy, ranging from rhyming words, to drawing and colouring, to speaking and handwriting. Tap the Cat provides lots of variety to ensure that your child will get many hours of enjoyment and learning from this app.

An extra special feature of the app is that it makes an ebook out of the completed work of the child (such as coloured in pictures and voice recordings). This ebook is then unlocked and played back to the child when they have completed all 9 activities. Tap the Cat is suitable for children who know some 3 letter words.

As a special launch offer you can download Tap the Cat for £1.99 until 5 November (7 days) after which it will revert to its normal price of £2.49. Tap the Cat is only available for the iPad.

14/10/201226/03/2018 by jo

App Time – My PFF – My Pelvic Floor Fitness

“Don’t forget your tight schedule.”

A random link on a Facebook group of new mums and I’m on my way to recovering my overall wellbeing by exercising my pelvic floor via iPhone App (there’s an app for Android too!).

My PFF
My Pelvic Floor Fitness (PFF) might sound like a joke, and its tongue in cheek reminder certainly has a sense of humour, but pelvic floor fitness to a new mum or in my case a second time mum, is top priority if we are ever going to sneeze and stay dry down there again.

Of course the last thing on a the post natal mind is exercise – we are too exhausted to think about much other than those precious little people who have turned us into wobbly jiggle bits. Having a toned pelvic floor is important: you may not feel like getting frisky with daddy now, but you will, and you’ll want to know that everything is still in good working order. You may think that holding your wee for hours on end devoted to a demanding baby is enough to keep you dry, but what happens when you sneeze?

My PFF
Pelvic floor muscles are not just important for wee wee and nookie; your overall health and wellbeing is at stake. Since downloading this awesome FREE app – there isn’t a day that goes by that I forget my “tight schedule”. Tutorials to help you do it right as well as daily reminders, this app is genius!

Review by Tracy – thankyou!

05/10/201224/06/2018 by jo

App Time – Around the Clock by Wombi

H is a bright little girl and wants to learn, which is great. We’ve been doing lots of learning how to tell the time but couldn’t find anything which could give it a context – she’ll look at the clock on the wall and work out the time, but doesn’t quite get it yet – mainly the time of day.

Then ‘Around the Clock’ came into our lives – a really charming app which has plenty of fun as well as learning in there – you’ve a clock which has a window next to it, so you know if it’s day or night – and a little activity once you hit the ‘play’ button which will also relate to the time of day. The app is an introduction to the clock and how a day can look, rather than teaching your child to tell the time (though it helps!)

The tasks are really simple, but clever enough to be fun so H was never bored – and given there’s 24 hours in the day, that’s 24 different parts of the game. Each game has a fairly simple straightforward task for the bear to do and once a challenge is completed you get a happy bear.

The Guardian listed Around the Clock in their Top 50 Best Apps for Kids too!

Here’s a YouTube video so you get a proper idea of how it works –

Around the Clock gets a thumbs up from us – anything which is educational and fun is a good thing – and this fits exactly where we are with learning right now – I’d highly recommend if your child is starting to learn to tell the time.

Around the Clock is available from the App Store and costs £1.99

We received a promo code to review this app, all opinions are our own.

Mum Friendly

the things we do, the things we like

Category / App Time

App Time – The Snowman and the Snowdog

Portable North Pole – It’s Back!

App Time – Peppa Pig Theme Park

App Time – Hollywood Photobooth

App Time – Mog the Forgetful Cat

Giveaway – DC Super Friends: Haunted Heroes

App Time – Peekaboo Trick or Treat

A Reading Eggs Update – and a Brand New App

App Time – My PFF – My Pelvic Floor Fitness

App Time – Around the Clock by Wombi