TheO SmartBall Review and Giveaway!!

As the wife of an iOS developer (Apple apps for those of you who aren't in IT), we are always looking for fun educational applications for the boys for early learning. They have our old devices as their own "phones" or "remotes" as Carter calls them.

I recently got to try out TheO SmartBall - For kids pre-school to 5^th grade. Simply put it's a soft foam ball that uses an app on your phone (iphone, ipod touch, or android devices) to initiate learning while they play. You insert your device directly into the ball (easy to follow tutorial is available online) and get started. TheO™ SmartBall comes with 12 free apps to get you started. Additional apps are available on iTunes and Google Play, and they are constantly developing more. Check out my giveaway at the bottom of this blog post for your chance to win your own TheO SmartBall!!

I love the wide range of apps available which help teach the basics from colors and letter to numbers and shapes.  The newest series Discover! includes fun apps such as

• Discover Animals by Habitat
• Discover Bodies
• Discover Careers
• Discover Colors
• Discover Items on a Farm

• Discover Items in a House
• Discover Items in a School
• Discover Objects by Size
• Discover Textures
• Discover US States and Capitals

There are even apps for the older kiddos (through ~5th grade) with things like multiplication tables and US States and Capitals.

Nolan and Carter have both been playing with the SmartBall. It's great in that it keeps Carter's attention more than a simple app would. The ball itself though isn't actually required to use the apps and it doesn't have things like buttons to press to make it work etc. but it's still fun and more active approach to iPhone or Android fun. Together the boys love the free Hot Potato game!! Check it out.

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Children Learning Reading

I recently was chosen to try out Jim Yang's e-book lessons Children Learning Reading. It's a program designed to instill early reading skills for children that can be started at an early age or used once they are school aged. Nolan and I have been trying it out learning basic letter sounds and phonics. I'm not in any rush to teach Nolan but like to explore whatever he is most interested in at the time. He loves books and asks questions so we thought this was a great time to start! I grew up loving reading (still do) and can't wait for both kids to find the joy of books too.

We've been trying it out for a few weeks now and while Nolan isn't suddenly reading Shakespeare, he is now more interested in letter sounds which is a start. He's gone through the first few lessons so far and we're working on putting together and blending a few letter sounds at a time. This program is .pdf file based so the tools you use (flashcards or letter drawings) need to be created by you the parent. There are .mp3 clips of appropriate sounds to help you out and also to use with your child. It's a hands on program that starts with you reading a pretty intensive description and instruction file. I've used an early reading program in the past that mainly involved videos and this is definitely not that. I loved that it gave me reasoning for each of the steps we were doing and was very thorough in describing what I should be doing. They recommend doing the short lessons a few times a day and only moving on once your child has mastered each step. This program is a time commitment but anything that has a chance of working likely is! 

Children Learning Reading focuses on phonics and Phonemic Awareness (PA). I wasn't familiar with what that actually entailed and really only remember phonics from grade school so I was hesitant as I started reading. Basically though, PA entails blending letter sounds and teaching the children to sound out words. No sight word memorization or rote memorization which is a plus.

If you're interested in starting a basic phonics approach to teaching your child to read, you should definitely check out Children Learning Reading!! You can see videos of children who have used the program here too. I'll post back as we continue trying out this program!!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.