The Jellybean Tunes App Report: Volume 17

Welcome to the seventeenth installment of the App Report, our weekly collection of product announcements and news from the members of the Moms With Apps network. We break the list of apps down by topic and app store category to help you find apps that may interest you.

Early Learning: Choose from cute bugs, farm animals, trains or fairy tales to learn letters and numbers with Bug Games (from the makers of Zoo Train), Barnyard Games, Toot Toot ABC, and Lost Alphabet.

Literacy: Learn beginning reading skills with Montessori Letter Sounds, ABC Phonics, and Sight Words 2. Practice forming letters and words with Write My Name by Injinni or L-Dots. Choose a book from our full collection this week including the Green Radventures of Nico, two books from Oceanhouse Media (A Frog Thing and Treasure Island), Saving Grape-Jelly Cheeks: A Musical Garden Tail, and of course the Prisoner of Carrot Castle for those kids that just don’t like vegetables.

Science: For older kids, How to Solve – Molar Mass deals with the chemistry topic of how to calculate molar mass.

Weather: If you live in the northeastern United States and want to predict school snow days, there’s sNOw School by VB53 Ventures.

In our round up of news, Sprite Labs and Quiet Spark both have apps chosen New and Noteworthy by Apple, Garry Froehlich (that’s me!) has an app in the Denver Post, and L’Escapadou and Zen Labs both announce new versions of their popular apps.

Follow the links to find out more about each app and to determine if it is suitable for you. If you find an app you like, remember to write a review.

– Garry Froehlich | Jellybean Tunes

Books

	Green Radventures of Nico: Book 1 HD by Snowball, LLC: Join Nico, his babysitter Hannah, and the kooky Green Minstrel as they pay a visit to the local landfill to learn about the 3 R’s of sustainability – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. The Green RADventures of Nico is a completely immersive experience that teaches respect and love for the Earth by capturing childrens’ attention, emotion and interest. iPad
	A Frog Thing by Oceanhouse Media: Frank wasn’t satisfied doing ordinary frog things. Frank wanted to fly and he was determined to find a way. While the other frogs laughed at his unsuccessful attempts, Frank kept on flapping. He jumped and ran and leapt and dove. . . right into a friendly mother bird and her baby. Can the bird family help Frank accomplish his dreams? iPhone and iPad, Android
	Treasure Island – Enchanted Tales by Oceanhouse Media: When young Jim Hawkins suddenly finds himself in possession of a mysterious treasure map, he sets sail for the South Sea with his off-beat friends, Biscuit the mouse and Dickens the ship’s cat. When trouble arises, the trio barely escape the pirate’s midnight mutiny as they flea to Treasure Island – where they embark on a wild, laugh-packed quest to unearth the buried doubloons before the bumbling buccaneers beat them to it! iPhone and iPad
	Saving Grape-Jelly Cheeks: A Musical Garden Tail by Nicola Furlong and Glynne Turner: Your child’s first interactive musical! Little Grape-Jelly Cheeks needs your help so skip into the garden, laugh, sing along and have fun finding the interactive surprises, songs and animations on every page. iPhone and iPad (Requires Interactive Touch Books App)
	The Prisoner of Carrot Castle by Purple Carrot Books: Grab your cape and join the fun! Aiden is just an ordinary kid-loves costume play, watching clouds pass by, seeing castles in the sky… and he doesn’t like vegetables. In “The Prisoner of Carrot Castle” Aiden’s imagination transports him to a far away place where he finds himself a prisoner in a cell made of carrots. What will he do? Must he face the angry King? Will his hate for vegetables get him in trouble? Come along and help Aiden as he tries to escape from Carrot Castle. iPad

Education

	Montessori Letter Sounds HD by Les Trois Elles Interactive: “Montessori Letter Sounds” to get your child on the road to reading. Based on the Montessori method, Montessori Letter Sounds works in 4 steps. From the age of 3: “I spy” to play sound games. Around 4 years old: “Letter sounds” to memorize the letter sounds and shapes. Between 4 and 5 years old: “Mix and match” to bring together the two first steps. Around 4 1/2 years old: “Sound it out” to write their first words using a moveable alphabet. iPad
	HowToSolve – Molar Mass by Carl Zorn: Molar Mass is part of a series of self-paced educational apps where we focus on learning how to solve specific types of problems in science commonly presented in middle school, high school, or college. In this app, we deal with the chemistry topic of how to calculate molar mass. iPad
	ABC Phonics Make a Word Free – Short Vowel App for Kindergarten and First Grade kids by Abitalk: Phonics Make A Word includes five different phonics short vowels groups. Each group has about 30 CVC words so there are about 150 words included in the game. The app support multiple user accounts and report cards. There are awards and bonus game to encourage child to play and learn. iPad
	L-Dots by Awesomeness: L-Dots will help your child learn to identify and write letters and numbers in a fun, safe, and intuitive 3D environment. Connect the L-dots to create uppercase letters and numbers. Interactive sounds are played for each letter and number, as well as phonics for the letters so that your child can learn to associate the sounds with the letters. iPhone and iPad
	Sight Words 2 : 140+ learn to read flashcards and games app for kids! by eFlashApps: Introducing Sight Words 2 with word bingo! All new words in this comprehensive sight words app with multiple games. This app is designed to educate and entertain 1st and 2nd graders, Pre-Schoolers, Kindergarteners! iPhone and iPad
	Toot Toot ABC by GamesLabApps: Toot Toot ABC is an interactive learning adventure where young children can enjoy an introduction to the alphabet, numbers and a range of wacky animals as they journey along with the Toot Toot trains. The game features 3 distinct modes, including an alphabet adventure, a counting adventure and finally an exciting train race. Kids can pick their favourite train to use with each mode, or give all three a go! iPhone and iPad
	Write My Name by Injini by NCsoft: Write My Name supports children ages 4 through 6 to learn how to write their name, trace uppercase and lowercase letters, and write over 100 familiar sight/Dolch words. With Injini’s tracing engine, children are given the support they need to learn how to write letters and words using the correct sequence and strokes without frustration or errors. Building motor-muscular memory is a key component to writing and children will enjoy developing their handwriting skills by playing Write My Name. iPad
	Lost Alphabet by FounDreams: “Once upon a time, the Alphabet lived in a mysterious castle in Fairyland. But one day, a wicked witch decided to steal it…” So begins the journey through Fairyland. Your child will travel through this wonderful place, search for the lost letters and return all of them to the castle. The rules are simple: collect all the letters which the witch has hidden all over Fairyland and put each letter in its place. You can find letters everywhere, from Little Red Riding Hood’s glade or at Mermaid Creek. iPad

Games

Bug Games – by Busy Bee Preschool by Busy Bee Studios: From the makers of the hit preschool app Zoo Train! Bug Games is a collection of fun-filled learning games featuring bees, butterflies, ants, worms and all the cute critters that little kids love. Help the ant colony build their underground tunnel, count numbers with the connect-the-dots spider, play a song with the musical cricket trio, build words with your busy bee friends to release the butterfly from its chrysalis, plus lots of sticker rewards to keep kids engaged! iPhone, iPad

Barnyard Games For Kids by Kevin Bradford: Features 8 different mini-games to help kids learn counting, colors, shapes, and also keeps them entertained with fun barnyard animals and sounds. The app is free to download and play the first 2 games; if your kids enjoy it you may unlock the other 6 games through an in-app purchase. iPhone and iPad

Weather

sNOw School by VB53 Ventures: sNOw School is the only app that uses live weather forecasts and historical school-specific data to provide the most accurate prediction of having a snow day at YOUR SCHOOL. Currently, the app predicts for thousands of public schools (listed by DISTRICT), private schools, and colleges in the Boston, NYC, NJ, Philly, Baltimore, DC, and Upstate NY regions. We are constantly perfecting our data adding schools and regions, so if you don’t see your school listed let us know and check back soon! iPhone and iPad, Android, Amazon

App News