Educational Materials Archives

Book Review: EVO Ocean and EVO Bug

July 21, 2017 · 12 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a review of the 3D PopUp Cards that Kidoozi sent over to us. Today, I’m sharing a review of another 3D Augmented Reality educational tool but in the form of books. Kidoozi sent us the EVO Bug and the EVO Ocean 3D Augmented Reality Smart Books.

These two books work similarly as the pop-up cards. They are future-oriented smart books with pages that come to life with augmented reality technology. High-quality 3D illustrations depict the different animals. The only difference between the two books is the theme, one being about insects and the other one about ocean animals.

These books also work with an app that is FREE to download for either Apple or Android devices.

There are three easy steps to use them:

1. Download the app for free in Google Play or Apple’s App Store.

2. Run the app and look at the pages through your device camera.

3. You will see 3D animals coming to life!

I let my son, Ziggy, use both books and their corresponding apps. Watch him demo how to use them on the video below.

The EVO Bug and EVO Ocean books are recommended for kids ages 4 years old and above. They are both hardcover books that measure 280 x 227mm and has 32 pages. All pages include 3D Augmented Reality. Each books costs Php 700.00 on Kidoozi.

The colorful pages of the books are packed with interesting information about each featured animal including facts about their habitats, body parts, lifestyles, food, and more.

Like the pop-up cards, the EVO Bug and EVO Ocean books feature motion control, feeding functions, interactive puzzles, and photograph-taking.

However, we noticed a feature not available in the pop-up cards. These books feature short, animated video clips, too.

The Verdict:

Needless to say, my son really enjoys reading the books and using the app. Both are easy to use. I didn’t need to give him instructions at all since he’s a techie kid who has used several apps already.

We love that the information provided are interesting and fun to learn. It’s good to note that the books are realistically designed and based on the latest scientific research.

Even if you don’t read the info, you’ll be entertained already by the colorful pages. The photos are really amazing. But of course, it’s even more amazing when you see them on 3D because you can make them move around.

If there’s one thing I would have loved for this book to have, it would be to feature more animals on each book. But don’t fret if your kid finishes one book, there are other versions also available such as the EVO Dino, EVO Animal, EVO Bird, EVO Herptile, and EVO Farm Animal books. Ziggy has already told me he wants the other versions as well!

I definitely recommend parents and kids to try these books. They’re highly educational. They’re good supplementary material for your kids’ science textbooks. I, for one, am going to use these books and apps for our homeschool.

For more information about the EVO Bug and EVO Ocean smart books, visit www.kidoozi.com.

Moji Clock Trainer App Review

April 12, 2016 · Leave a Comment

One of the lessons I’ve been teaching our five-year-old son recently is how to tell time. To assist me with this, I bought an educational toy clock made of wood and it has been a great help to us.

I believe that, as parents, we have a responsibility to teach our kids the value of time. Among other things, valuing time teaches our kids how to be respectful of other people, how to avoid being late and how to avoid falling prey to the “mañana” habit.

I recently discovered though another fun way to teach my son how to tell time and it is through an educational app called the Moji Clock Trainer. This app was developed by Mojitime, a company that builds educational apps in Sweden. Popular in the Nordics, they have a library of 150 games including those that teach math and other subjects in a fun and easy way.

The Moji Clock Trainer is specifically a learning game for kids who are about to learn how a mechanical clock works. With a simple yet effective learning approach, the kids can learn to tell the time with the support of encouraging speech and graphics. The application is easy to use and provides a number of different levels of difficulty.

The kids can:

Listen to a voice telling the current time.
Practice to set the clock by moving the watch’s hands to the correct positions, and receive proper feedback on their efforts
Make progress through various levels of difficulty
Have a positive learning experience supported by appealing graphics and animations

Mojitime gave me and my son a chance to try the app and here’s what we think about it.

Clicking on the app will give you this screen, which shows you the present time. Pressing the sound button on the top left portion will trigger a voice to tell you what the time is. Pressing the green play button enables you to go to the 6 different play levels.

This is what the next screen looks like. As you can see below, only level one is unlocked and you have to finish it in order to progress to the next levels, one after the other. However, you will see different settings at the lower portion which allows you different ways of playing the games.

Clicking on the lock settings button allows you to unlock the other levels. If you click on the second settings button from the right, it will allow you to choose whether you want birds to appear on the game when you play it or if you want them to appear later on as each answer is given.

These birds serve as counters. Normally, there are six birds in the game, which means that your kid has to set the clock correctly six times, as prompted by a voice. Six correct answers will allow your kid to advance to the next level. However, every wrong answer will make a bird fly by and poop!

The settings button at the middle, the one beside the lock button, allows you to choose whether you want the birds to disappear each time a wrong answer is made. A wrong answer will make a bird “poof” away. Disable this if you don’t want the “poofing” to occur.

The right most setting button is for the language. There are only two choices though: American English and British English.

Here’s what the game looks like if you select the birds to appear at the start of the game.

As you can see, there are instructions below which tells your kid what time he or she should set the clock. The sound prompt automatically appears, which is helpful for those kids who can’t read yet. You can just click on the sound button beside the instructions in case you need to hear the prompt again.

To make the correct answer, your child just needs to set the clock correctly and press the “OK” button.

This is what the game looks like when you choose the setting without the birds appearing at the onset.

I think the game is definitely very helpful in teaching kids how to tell time. Instead of setting the time yourself and asking your kid what time it is, they’re the ones who have to set the clock on their own. However, I do wish there was a portion in the game wherein I could set the time or manipulate the clock myself especially since I’m still really in the beginning stages of teaching my son to tell time. There is currently no option for parents or kids to do that here.

I also think the game is very fun for little kids. My son was really excited to use it. He had a ball laughing at the pooping and “poofing” birds. I’m not such a big fan of those features though. I think the game could do without it and could instead use some other feature to give kids some kind of reward for giving the correct answers.

I do like though that there are various levels of difficulty, which allows your kid to progress. The easy levels only asks your kids to set the time by the hour. The more difficult levels already ask your kids to set the time with the “minutes” involved.

Overall, I think the app is definitely worth a try. It costs only $1.99 and is easy to download via iTunes.

Moji Clock Trainer
For more info, visit: http://mojitime.com/moji_en.html
To download: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/moji-clock-trainer-english/id492614142?mt=8
Follow: @Mojitime on Twitter and Extransit on Facebook

Unboxing the October BuriBox

October 22, 2015 · 28 Comments

I’m a homeschooling mom to our 4-year-old son, Ziggy. For now, we are not using any curriculum. We figure it’s not yet necessary given his age. So, usually I just source learning materials online or from our local bookstores. Sometimes I DIY them.

I admit it can be a bit challenging though to look for appropriate and fun materials to use especially since I’m also busy with work and other household responsibilities. So, I’ve been on the lookout for materials that will make our homeschool life more fun for my son and myself as well.

That is why I was so thrilled when I chanced upon the BuriBox. I don’t remember exactly but I think I first saw it from a newsletter sent to my email. Anyway, I did an unboxing of the October BuriBox over on Periscope (follow me there @JaniceLim) last Sunday. In case you missed it, let me tell you what it’s all about here.

The BuriBox was created by Adarna House, the leading publisher of children’s books in the Philippines. If you purchase Adarna books, you’d know that they’re usually bilingual, featuring the English and Filipino language. This is done so that children can easily learn both languages.

I think this is really important for Filipino kids. Our Ziggy is actually not yet fluent in Filipino though we’ve been teaching him more Filipino words and phrases already. We have a long way to go though.

Well, they figured out that it will probably be easier and more convenient to get these books to more families by curating a box of books and other educational materials that parents can subscribe to every month. Thus, the BuriBox was born. They actually launched the first one just this month. That’s the one from the photo above.

Of course, I was super excited to try it that I immediately signed up for their newsletter. However, I didn’t purchase immediately because I wanted to discuss it with the hubby first. A few days later though, I got an email from the BuriBox team saying that I won their raffle and that they were sending me the October BuriBox for free. Yay! I was super happy about that.

Anyway, there are two kinds you can choose from.

Toddler BuriBox (for 3 – 5 year olds)

4 – 5 new preschool books every month
multiple worksheets, activities and art materials every month

Young Reader BuriBox (for 6 – 8 year olds)

5 new storybooks every month
multiple worksheets, activities and art materials every month

The BuriBox has the following features:

Made for the Filipino child – features concepts they can relate to
Bilingual – in Filipino and English
Free delivery for Metro Manila only (for now)
Curated by experts and educators

I, of course, ordered the Toddler BuriBox for Ziggy and here’s what it contains.

It comes with an envelop for the parents. Inside is a Parents’ Guide that gives details about each of the books and activities in the kit.

It had two (2) board books (Sampung Mga Daliri and The World Around Me) and two (2) activity books (Figure this Out and Magkulay Tayo).

It contains several art materials including a clay set, 3 colors of poster paint and a box of crayons.

It also contains eight (8) activity sheets. Adarna made sure that all the activities had something to do with the featured books. That way, learning of the concepts will be further reinforced. Take note that even the activity sheets are bilingual.

As you can see here, these two activity sheets work with the Sampung Mga Daliri book. These were the first activities Ziggy and I tried together. I read him the book, taught him how to sing the song and then asked him to trace his hands on paper using paint. He thought it was really fun! Success!

Sampung Mga Daliri is actually the first Filipino song I’ve ever taught him so he’s still struggling with the words. But I’m sure he’ll get it eventually. I love how just one song/book already teaches him several Filipino words including numbers and body parts.

There’s also an activity that teaches kids how to make their own clay using ingredients that you can find in the kitchen. But the box also contains this clay set that the kids can start with.

Ziggy played with it with the help of older sister, Ziya.

The coloring book, coloring sheet, crayons and paint go together too.

Because we only got the kit a few days ago, we haven’t been able to try everything yet. However, I can already say that it’s a hit with my son and with me too. It makes homeschooling him fun. Plus, it lessens the time I spend online researching for stuff to teach Ziggy. The box already contains activities that I can probably spread out to at least two weeks. Plus, they’re made from good quality materials too.

Another thing I love about it is the fact that it only costs P 799. Considering what the box contains, I’d say it’s a sweet deal! Imagine how much it would cost you to buy similar books and materials somewhere else? It would definitely be worth more than P799. So, this one is really a steal.

Right now though, they only accept Paypal payments and can only ship within Metro Manila. However, I heard they’re working on coming up with other payment and shipping options. So, stay tuned for that!

I highly recommend you guys check out the BuriBox for your kids. Even if you don’t homeschool them, the books and activities will still be great supplementary learning materials for your kids. Check them out at BuriBox.com now!

Book Review: EVO Ocean and EVO Bug

The Verdict:

Moji Clock Trainer App Review

Unboxing the October BuriBox

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