I'm a full-time mummy

It is quite rare that I promote apps which is free and one that I did not get pitched or requested for review. But I just have to share my review of this app because it is so far, so good! It is currently one of the favorite apps on my iPad. Without further ado, here goes my feedback...

* Title: Super Monkey Jr.
* Price: Free (at the time of my review)
* Category: Games
* Updated: Oct 31, 2012
* Version: 1.1
* Size: 36.4 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: TribePlay Limited
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later.

Description from the product page:

"This game is totally free! Join Super Monkey Jr. to help the animal world! There are 5 missions in the game to accomplish such as putting out fire, saving little animals from the water, driving a cool hero van, help Super Monkey Jr. to exit a maze and rescuing poor captured animals. Animal world awaits the help of your child. Get ready for some heroic actions!"

* There are 5 mini games in this app: Fire Fight, Crazy Rescue, Valiant Drive, Corridor Craze and Cage Count.

* The Corridor Craze game is one of the games that I love seeing my 3.5 years old boy play!Take a look at the screenshot below which I managed to capture right after my boy drew the path to help the monkey find its way out. I love seeing my boy's face as he figures out how to help the monkey out through the maze.

* I like the exciting music background and the illustrations are very cute and eye catching too!

* The other 4 mini games are equally fun to play with as well, and I like that my boy is learning things while playing!

* In the Fire Fight game, he learns to multitasks and focus on more than 1 thing at a time - in the sense he needs to help put out the fire as it breaks out in the building.

* In the Valiant Drive game, he learns to maneuver his car and make sure he pays attention to other cars on the road and not get into accidents.

* In the Crazy Rescue game, he learns to differentiate the colors and help rescue the animals of different colors by putting/dragging them back to their respective boat colors.

* In the Cage Count game, he learns to identify with numbers (something which I am still trying to teach him).

You can get the "Super Monkey Jr." app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, the application is free on iTunes Store at the time of my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"

In the middle of Sept this year, I have started teaching my 3.5 years old boy unofficially. Unofficially in the sense that we do not follow any curriculum or schedule. I have tried introducing alphabets to my boy but our progress is still at a very slow pace, he can sings right from A to Z but somehow he is still slow in recognising the alphabets. At the moment, the only alphabet he can recognise is the letter C (which he says as 'kah-kah' in phonics). Hence this review is based on my sole opinion as I did not involve my boy's participation in this app. Without further ado, here goes my feedback...

* Title: Alphabet Plus
* Price: Free (at the time of my post published)
* Category: Education
* Updated: Aug 03, 2012
* Version: 1.02
* Size: 11.4 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Emmy Chen
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later.

Description from the product page:

"Alphabet Plus combines four games into one which provides everything your child needs to learn the alphabet, phonics and the sound and first words associated with each letter. This app includes the "Alphabet Song", a coloring book with a page for each letter, activities for learning the letters in sequence, and fun animated games to teach pronunciation and letter recognition. Your child can click on each animated letter and pictures and objects will pop up on the screen with the sound of the first letter and sound out the words. Learning to associate each letter with the phonics sound is an important first step for kids to learn to read. The entertaining and enjoyable format will keep children focused as they learn."

* There are 6 different games in this app: Coloring, ABC song, Matching, Ordering, Words and Tapping.

* I don't quite like some of the games in terms of its layout and design. For example I am not a black or dark color background person as I find it hard to focus and it's contrast is quite glaring.

* The ordering game is one that I enjoy and think my boy will appreciate once he started recognising the letters.

In summary, this app is OK and I think it can be greatly improved in terms of the designing and layout aspects - to make it more interesting with easy to see coloring scheme.

You can purchase the "Alphabet Plus" app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"

I am very excited to be sharing this book with you guys! I mean, how often do you come across a book that helps you build your child's self-esteem through activities like reading, crafts and cooking? I particularly like that this book is recommended for the age 2 to 5 range and I immediately poured over the book looking for activities I can do with my 3.5 years old boy! Anyway, read on for my review below:

Title: Show Me How! Build Your Child's Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking (Positive Parental Participation)
Author: Vivian Kirkfield
Publisher: MoneyPenny Press, Ltd.; 1ST edition (2010)
ISBN-13/-10:  978-0967014753 / 0967014751
Paperback:  256 pages
Dimension: 9.9 x 8 x 0.8 inches

Description from the product page:
"A must-have resource for busy parents and teachers, Show Me How! pinpoints 100 picture books every young child should hear and provides a story summary, gentle parenting tip, easy eco-friendly craft project and simple child-friendly healthful recipe for each recommended title. The fun-filled educational activities help parents gain confidence in their own parenting skills while building self-esteem, developing pre-literacy skills and strengthening the parent-child connection. Lined spaces on every other page allow parents to utilize this guide as a memory book to record their children's highlights. Library Journal loved the tri-level format of reading, crafting and cooking and so will every parent and teacher who uses this award-winning book. "

This book comes packed with stories you can use or refer to with your child and there are points and notes given on how the stories can be used to nurture your child's self-esteem, moral values and build up their confidence. On the opposite side of the page there are accompanying crafts and recipes you can try out with your child as well.

The following day after I started reading this book, I came across a recipe for German butter cookies shared by a fellow SAHM friend in a SAHM Facebook group I joined in and decided to try this out with my boy. I got him to help me out with the mixing sugar and butter part and then gently coached him to make soft indent on the cookie dough so that there are stripes on each cookies surface. He was so excited to be able to take part in the cookie making session!

Ever since we did the German butter cookie session, I have been looking for more child-friendly recipes that I can try out with my boy so that I can get him to help (boost his confidence as well that he is big boy enough to help mummy out in the kitchen!) so I'm very happy to share that there are tons of child-friendly recipes that you can try in this book!

I do however would like to recommend that future revision or updates on this book to include pictures or illustrations of the end results of the crafts and recipes so that we can have a better idea on how they look like.

Overall, this is a wonderful book packed with stories, crafts and recipes that will definitely help you and your child as you journey along in building their confidence, self-esteem and at the same time guiding us as the parents on how to nurture our child to be an independent individual.

Highly recommended, do get a copy of this book for yourself too!!

You can get this book from Amazon.

Yes! I'll be giving away 2 copies of this book on my blog!

Now, 1 copy which I have been given along with my review copy will go to a lucky winner in Peninsular Malaysia while another copy which the author will send personally will go to a lucky US winner!

OK then, just read below for the giveaway terms and entry form, OK?

To enter the giveaway, kindly read and follow the instructions as stated in the Rafflecopter form below.

• You can enter either via login through your Facebook account or just key in your name and your valid email address.
  
• Please also leave your valid email address in the post comment so that I can contact you if you win this giveaway.
• You have 1 month time from now to join in the fun and try your luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"