French for Kids: On Va Jouer (Let's Play)(DVD) Review #OnVaJouer

French DVD for Kids

On va chanter! (Let's sing!) On va danser! (Let's dance!) On va jouer! (Let's play!) This interactive French immersion program is non-stop language-learning fun. With the help of Fritzi the mouse and a playful group of peers, Marie introduces vocabulary related to different parts of the body. And what better way to get those body parts moving than with delightful sing-along, dance-along songs, including"Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and familiar French folksongs with exciting new twists. From le chapeau (the hat) to la chaussure (the shoe), kids will love trying on their new French vocabulary for clothes in playful, interactive skits. On Va Jouer entertainingly combines colorful illustrated backgrounds, live- action, and 2-D and 3-D animation. Friendly characters and abundant humor make learning a new language as much fun as play time. Vous êtes prêts? (Are you ready?) On va jouer!

This DVD includes an easy-to-use translation guide for parents and teachers who are first time learners of French, as well as French subtitles. Designed for children ages 1-7, On Va Jouer is fun for all ages!

My Review

My four year old is very advanced in his reading, so when we turned the sub titles on this DVD became a lot easier for him to follow along. This DVD is entirely in french, but the host is very expressive so it works for all ages. We love the songs and there is an insert in the DVD case that includes the translations for words used. Overall, a really great french starter tool that really engages our child.

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.

Made by Renee receives products for review purposes, and may sometimes be compensated for posts. Posts may also contain affiliate links. All opinions expressed are solely from Made by Renee and were not influenced by any form of compensation.
 

Reading Kingdom #review

Thanks to Tomoson, I was recently given the opportunity to use and review Reading Kingdom, an online reading program that teaches children ages 4 through 10 to read and write to a third grade level.

This program looks great and I have read some fantastic reviews on it! Here are some screenshots provided by the company:

 

According to the product description, Reading Kingdom is:

a patented curriculum designed by Dr. Marion Blank, the Director of the Light on Learning program at Columbia University and a world-renowned expert on literacy. Reading Kingdom is the only program that teaches children all 6 skills required for reading and writing success. a fully customized, adaptive reading and writing program for each child, and a program that is fun and easy to use.

It looks like a really fun program!

My son can use a keyboard just fine, but was unable to take the assessment test due to the basic requirement of using a mouse. Another thing to note if you decide to use the keyboard: the keys are all uppercase and if they are just starting out, children may have trouble when the program asks them to find a lowercase letter (Zachary has no trouble with this). In addition to the mouse, Zachary would not be able to use the SHIFT key with another letter. Simply put, it takes a motor skill that he has not acquired yet. The great thing is that Reading Kingdom has a section for practicing keyboard and mouse, so we will log in every day to keep working on that.

Zachary could have used this program much easier had it been available on the IPad, which he is quite proficient on. However it requires flash and so you have to purchase a program like Photon or iSwifter. You can read how here. Zachary reads well enough that I just didn't feel like paying the extra $5, at this point, to test the program further. We will wait to try again once he can use the mouse.

The entire program is online, which means there is nothing to download. It is an award-winning program that uses Dr. Blank's patented and research based "6-SIM" (Six Skill Integrated Method) technique that yields incredible results. The program is designed so that children can use it on their own - so all you have to do is create an account and then get them started.


 The bottom line for us: Zachary already reads on a third grade level (he read the first two chapters of Genesis from the KJV Bible to Daddy yesterday). I think this program will be better for him once he gets used to the mouse and I appreciate the fact that Reading Kingdom gave us a year long subscription.

I wish we had been able to get passed the test in order to see how the program works, how Zachary felt about it, and if there are any "quirks" to it. That being said, the reviews I have read are very positive and I would recommend giving the 30 day trial a go if you have a child learning to read.

When you sign up for Reading Kingdom, you receive a 30-day free trial. After that, subscriptions to Reading Kingdom are $19.99/month (with no monthly minimum), or $199.99 per year (20% off). Additional children in your account get 50% off ($9.99/month or $99.99/year). They also offer additional resources and a store with books that complement the lessons.

Connect with Reading Kingdom on Facebook and Twitter for more information and resources!

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.

Made by Renee receives products for review purposes, and may sometimes be compensated for posts. Posts may also contain affiliate links. All opinions expressed are solely from Made by Renee and were not influenced by any form of compensation.
 

Watercolour by Viktoria Maksymova #IPad #app #review

Watercolour by Viktoria Maksymova. Viktoria has 18 years of experience teaching art to children and adults in the Ukraine and Australia. Together with her husband Vyacheslav Frolov they have created an app that looks like it could teach anyone to paint!

Viktoria and Vyacheslav explain the brush strokes, how to load the brush with colors. I will be buying some watercolor paints and paper, because I know with this program I will be able to paint. The lessons are easy to follow and the directions are clearly written. Viktoria paints so that I can follow along.



This book includes seven lessons in watercolor painting with interactive elements and videos:

1. Basic brushstrokes
2. Feather brushstroke
3. Roses and buds
4. Underpainting
5. Deciduous trees
6. Coniferous trees
7. Marine (seascape)

This book will help to develop your basic skills in Watercolor and allows you to feel freely and confident in this art technique. The interactive elements transform the boring process of learning into fun. Videos give you a full understanding of exactly how you must complete the exercises. This book will give voice to your emotions and is suitable for you and your kids.

Buy Watercolour on ITunes

Connect with Viktoria and Vyacheslav on Facebook 

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.

Pet Fashion – A Cute Animal Dress-Up Game #app #review

Pet Fashion is a new game from 65Gb Software that allows you to dress up a bunny and then take of photo of him in his new attire. You can even share it via your social networking sites.

This app is uncluttered, with only three tabs on the Home Screen (wear, store and photo). It is perfect for kids and easy to navigate with happy background music. We really liked that you can take a picture of the bunny as if he was in reality - whatever scene you are taking a picture of, he can be in! It’s definitely a cool feature. My son loves sharing his pictures on facebook (although, being 2, I doubt he understands what he is doing LOL) and this app allows him to do just that.

I love that the app is FREE. It's a fun game, but I'm afraid older kids might get bored of it after a while since you can only choose a bunny (no other pets) and, while there are lots of clothes/accessories to choose from, you can only play dress up for so long.

My son does love though, so I would recommend downloading Pet Fashion for kids PreK-1 while it is still FREE.

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.

Guess Moo! IPad & IPhone App #review {ages 2-5}

I was recently given the opportunity to review the Guess Moo IPad and IPhone App. Guess Moo has 12 animals along with the animals voices, pictures and a poem to help kids remember. It can be purchased through ITunes for $2.99.

Zachary is 2 and loves this app. It has easy navigation and he enjoys the game inside the app too. He was playing with this app at the doctor's office a week or so ago and everyone was amazed at his ability to use it and recognize the animal sounds.

It is a very cute app, but given the opportunity to purchase it I probably would not pay $2.99. That is a bit high and I can download apps for less that do more. Zachary does love it, however, so I was happy to have received it for review.

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.

Interactive iPad book for kids - Elfishki and The Giant Cake : for kids ages 5 to 9

Elfishki and The Giant Cakeis a REALLY cute book that comes with an adorable game! The lesson of the book was great - working together even if we are different or like different things. The interactive part was amazing - touch the characters on screen and they come to life! It was cute and well thought out, I will definitely be purchasing more interactive books in this series.

My son is only 2, but he loved using the interactive book and cake decorating game! The game reminds me a lot of the Easy Bake Oven game - cute & fun and helps with the decision making process. While it is meant for 5-9 year olds, my son LOVED it and had no trouble decorating cakes!

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Description

Once upon a time, on the beautiful Rainbow Island in the middle of the Sparkling Sea lived magical little people called Elfishki.

Some of them could fly like butterflies and some could swim like mermaids. They shared the island with animals who could speak and trees who did not talk, but understood everything. All in all, this was a place where miracles happened every day.

Elfizz was an owner of a gloomy restaurant named Chest of Ghosts where the staff was eager to please ghosts. On the opposite side of the square was a bakery, Gingerbread Nook, run by a pretty plump Elfishki lady called Maggie. The two were at odds with each other until one day they had to work side by side...


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Here's what you find in the iPad application (Elfishki and The Giant Cake):

1. Original, not found anywhere else captivating texts, designed to develop your child’s conscious reading skills - according to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

2. Stunning interactive art, classic animation and videos.

3. Professional Audio Voice over of the story, so your child can listen along with the text.

4. THREE (3) Questions on every page of the book specifically designed to help your child analyze the text, boost their imagination and make predictions about the story.

5. A bonus game specifically designed to boost your child’s imagination - Decorate the Cake - where you can save and share your child’s fantastic creation.

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Here's a 1 min Promo Video of the application on YouTube: Elfishki and the Giant Cake iPad Book for Kids

Elfishki and The Giant Cake

Here's the application in the iTunesStore: Elfishki and The Giant Cake

For more information about more stories, please visit their website where you can find a list of fairy tales all based on the Elfishki characters.

Also be sure to visit Elfishki on Twitter & facebook!

You can view this Interactive Book on YouTube : Eflishki iPad Kids Book Video and find Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends of Elfishki at their Website : http://www.elfishki.com.

I received a copy of Elfishki and The Giant Cake for the ipad through Tomoson.com for review. However, all opinions in this post are mine alone & I was not compensated in any other way.