Children need constant stimulation to feed their curiosity. With the help of technology, they can gain valuable knowledge while having a ton of fun. Parents can use these kid-friendly resources and gadgets to discuss how news is reported or practise maths in a fun way.
Brian the Brain
This cool gizmo comes with the complete edition of The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, an English dictionary and a world history timeline. Brian will respond to verbal prompts, initiate conversations and build a profile of the user from their responses. The bot can be hooked up to a phone line to act as a telephone. Dialling by voice command or by direct input via the keyboard is possible and inbuilt speakers act as the sound output device during a call. The same speakers can also be used to play back your tunes, by connecting your MP3 player.
Available on Amazon.com
Rubik’s Revolution
The Rubik’s Revolution is an interactive electronic version of the classic toy. It features six games – light speed, rapid recharge, pattern panic, cube catcher, code cracker, and multiplayer madness. Youngsters will be fascinated for hours on end following the instructions and pressing the lights on each side of the cube, turning and spinning it to challenge their memory. The faster they move, the faster they’ll advance to each level. Score and time will be announced during play. Available at Toys R Us stores.
Crazy Gears App
Watch your child kick their learning into high gear with this fun app. Crazy Gears is a New Age digital puzzle game, designed with a real mechanical engine and with children’s critical thinking skills in mind. There are no instructions – kids experiment as they figure everything out on their own. A parents’ guide provides background information, definitions, fun facts and project ideas, though it’s not embedded into gameplay.
Available on iTunes.
Marble Math Junior
Math Junior is an ingenious app that combines a marble maze game with maths word problems. Since this version is for early readers, players can hear the problems read aloud by touching the words at the top of the screen. Lots of customisation options and unique marble rewards make this game effective and lots of fun. Available on iTunes and Android Play store.
Htekids.com
Hone the skills of your little journalist. This website is designed for elementary and older school-aged children. Its purpose is to show kids how they are connected to their world and to introduce them to the people and events shaping it. The news is modified in a way that makes it safe for kids to read on their own without a caregiver.
