Bitmoji – The Avatar That Doesn't Make You Look Like A Kid

I've been playing around with emojis and avatars for quite some time and most are pretty lame. They make your look like children (probably because they're designed for kids and teens), but what if you're an adult and want an avatar that at least resembles a grown up? Meet my new favorite:

Bitmoji

My Bitmoji

THIS is your own, personal emoji which you can, obviously, customize to look like you. Choose your physical features (I love that they have different body types, including curvy), then dress yourself in designer clothes. 

Your Bitmoji will then be available in dozens of moods and stickers with updates coming in about once a week. And they're not just happy, “rainbows and lollipops” pictures. You can show a range of emotions including embarrassment, rage, impatience, etc. Now, the content rating is Teen because of “Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Language, Crude Humor”, but that's what makes it perfect for adults.  At the moment, the themes include Star Wars, Zoolander No. 2, Terminator, Inside Out (love Rage), and Game Of Thrones. 

Download your Bitmoji for use as a screensaver, with a photo editing tool, and/or share it to Facebook, Instagram, etc.  I've used on on all my social media and even texted my Bitmoji to my kids as a hint to show them how I'm feeling (the surprised one confuses them pretty well).

Confuses the crackers out of the kids!  "What do you mean, Mom?!!"

Best of all, this app is FREE and available from the Play Store or the App Store. 

Give Bitmoji a whirl! 

 This ain't your kids' avatar! 

Thanks for reading!!!

A Fun, Unique Take On An Old Word Game: Meet Wordox

One of the few non-caloric obsessions I have is with word games. Most, however, fall into one of three categories:

1) Scrabble-like where you build words with others' words 

2) Boggle-like where you try to build words out of random letters

3) Word Search-like where, you know, you search for words. 

Whenever I look on Goggle's Play Store for something different, I'm usually disappointed. Until now. Introducing my newest word game obsession:

Wordox

It's a Scrabble-like like game, but with a twist: you can steal the other person's letters! When you make a word out of one of the other person's letters, you get the points for that letter and it comes OFF their score. That means you can flip the game in your favor!  

Here's the video showing how to play:   

Play with friends, through Facebook, and with random players. Participate regularly in the rankings with other players, and finish at the top to earn coins and jokers! 

One of the challenges I really like is that if you make a mistake and a word isn't valid, it's going to cost you either a turn or a joker. That means I really have to be up on my game and certain before I hit PLAY.

The free version comes without ads, but I love Wordox so much, I bought the ad-free version. Give it a try and let me know what you think. This app is available again, through the Play Store or the App Store. For more information, visit http://www.wordox.com.

As always, THANKS FOR READING!

ULTRAFLOW - An Addicting FREE Game Great For Kids & Adults

Okay, old-time gamers: remember PONG, one of the earliest arcade video games? It was a two-dimensional graphics tennis game that was one of the first to reach mainstream popularity.  It was brilliant in its simplicity, yet it was still a challenge. I remember poo-pooing at how easy the game seemed, only to be frustrated when I missed that stupid little ball. 

In perusing the Play Store the other day, I stumbled upon a game just as minimalistic, as complex, and absolutely addicting as PONG.  It’s called (drumroll, please)….

ULTRAFLOW

This free game gives you a limited number of bounces to get the disc through different mazes to the target. There are 99 levels and:

• there’s no score
• no timer

• and the BEST part:  NO ADS or invasive permissions required!

   

I breezed through the first 8 levels and then started to sweat. Sometimes I found it a little difficult to figure out how to navigate the mazes and my disc broke up.  Grrrrrr! It was frustrating, but I realized that the key wasn’t always speed. Sometimes slowing down helped me achieve my goal.


Again, the graphics are simple so you can really concentrate on the game. The music is also inoffensive and more like white noise. The fact that the background is dark means it saves on battery power and the app boasts almost no memory consumption.

This is a great game for anyone! and I have not been able to put it down!

I especially recommend it for kids since there’s absolutely NOTHING OFFENSIVE to watch out for! No ads and no special permissions make it great for kids 8 and up.


Download it, play it, and then hand your device to your child. The game is optimized for a wide range of phones and tablets and plays beautifully on all.



For more information or to play the web version of the game, visit http://ultraflow.net/.

Please note:  This article first appeared on www.thegeekparent.com.

Is 2015 The Chinese Year Of The Sheep Or Goat? Here's The Scoop!

As many of us prepare to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year on February 19^th, the festival begins with a little confusion:

Should we be welcoming the Year Of The Sheep, as some believe, or The Year Of The Goat/Ram, as others are touting?

The answer?  It really depends on how the Chinese character, yang, is translated. 

The Chinese zodiac was invented by the Han people who raised goats (not sheep), so the image is more likely to refer to a goat. Also, the goat appears on many Chinese zodiac stamps and the goat was one of the 12 bronze statues on the zodiac at the Old Summer Palace where emperors of the Qing Dynasty handled government affairs. Publicly, however, storefronts throughout Asia are showing a mixture of cute sheep, cheeky goats, and majestic curly-horned rams. Many schools are primarily showing images of sheep because they're fluffy and more appealing to little kids. 

So what are the characteristics of those born in the Year Of The Sheep/Goat?

People born in this year are thought to be gentle, stable, and kind. They have strong creativity, are persistent, with strong inner resilience. These are folks who like to be in groups and are thought to come by professional skills easily. Because people born in this year are calm, they're thought to be healthier, with fewer health-related problems. 

Here are three of my favorite websites for kids that will teach them all about this holiday:

1.  ChinaFamilyAdventure

This site explains how to prepare for the New Year and shows celebrations around the world. It gives a great global perspective on the holiday (after all, it's celebrated by millions of people not only in China, but Japan, Singapore, North Korea, South Korea, the United States, and Great Britain to name a few). 

2.  ActivityVillage.Co.UK

Got a preschooler?  Then this is the place for you where you'll find lots of goat printables, including mazes, worksheets, and coloring pages.  

3.  EnchantedLearning.Com

In addition to having some wonderful crafts, you can find printable books here for kids!  There's so much and it's FREE! 

As the mother of a child who was adopted from China, I embrace her culture. I'm so happy that she is proud to be Chinese-American and feels a connection to her country of birth!  I've learned so much about resilience, beauty, and creativity by looking at different aspects of China and what it means, to her, to be Chinese.

 Xin [sing] Nian [nee-an] Kuai [kwai] Le [ler] 新年快乐!

Match 8 Hanukkah Game - You'll Find YOURSELF Playing It!

So I was looking for Hanukkah-inspired games for my daughter when I stumbled upon the free Match 8 Hanukkah Game in Google’s Play Store.  The reviews said that it would help children with their math and, indeed, I can see it doing that for younger kids. However,

I’m actually having a lot of fun playing it myself!

Match 8 Is A FUN Hanukkah Game!

As you can see, the directions couldn’t be simpler: just drag the numbered candles to one another to total 8. You need to do it quickly, before the time ends. And, don’t forget to click on the coins you see.
Sure, this can be used to augment match learning in kids, but I’m finding that it’s also a game of speed.



As you climb the levels, you’re combining the numbers and not always getting the ones you want. In the meantime, the candles are burning down.

Multi-tasking and quick thinking is involved.

The music is unoffensive and the Match 8 requires no special permissions, which I LOVE!  You’re not giving away any personal information and the app doesn’t ask for anything other than for you to have fun.

Download it for your kids, but be forewarned: you just might find yourself playing Match 8 Hanukkah as well!

 

 Thank you for reading!

 

 

8 Fun, Frugal Hanukkah Ideas

I don't get it,” said one of my son's friends. “How come I usually see a Hanukkah menorah at your house along with Christmas lights and Santa decorations on your lawn?” Gather around, my friends, and -

 Welcome To The Wonderful World of Interfaith Families!

You can celebrate Hanukkah without having to take out a second mortgage!

My husband is Jewish; I am not. We are raising our children Unitarian Universalist (or, as my husband calls it, the “I'm okay, you're okay religion” where children are encouraged to develop their own belief systems). We celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, with Hanukkah being what we call, The Literary Holiday. The kids get books the first night we light the menorah and then they get additional presents for Christmas. 

For us, giving books keeps the cost of the holiday down and reminds the children of the value of education. Still, we're a one-income family and don't have a lot of money, so I've come up with these 

8 ideas for a fun, yet frugal Hanukkah:

• First , resist the urge to succumb to the pressure of having Hanukkah compete with Christmas. According to my husband, this is a minor Jewish holiday, so keep it in perspective. Focus on the love and togetherness instead of how much money is spent. Start traditions like “A Night In Front Of The Menorah” where you read books to each other or listen to music while enjoying each others company.  In other words, give the technology a rest.

•  Make a Family Collage to help kids remember loved ones who have passed. Purchase a large, inexpensive frame (Ikea has some great ones) and print out photos; add stickers, ribbon, etc. Tell stories of your loved ones as you make the collage. Or make a Memory Tree by writing the names of loved ones on card stock, punching a hole through the card, and adding a ribbon. Hang from any tall plant in the house.

• Agree to make a small donation to a worthy cause in lieu of gifts - what a mitzvah!

• Shop clearance, online sales, thrift stores, and at the local dollar store. Also look in Big Lots, Amazing Savings, and even drug stores.  A gift is whatever a person might want, not what retailers tell you to buy.    
  
  
  
  

  

  Hanukkah can be a frugal holiday!

  
  

• Check out websites that offer free Hanukkah gift and decoration printables such as Examiner.com;  DLTK-Kids.com; and    Torahtots.com.

• Make a Coupon Book good for things like “taking out the garbage on an extra cold night,” "doing one load of laundry," or "getting up to feed the cat."  People appreciate someone else doing their less-than-favorite jobs.

• Look for free, local Hanukkah celebrations in your neighborhood.  Even if you're not associated with a temple, these events are often open to the general public.  Check your local newspaper or JCC for details.   
  
  
  
  
• Go to your local library and rent some Hanukkah-related movies.  My favorites include:  Lambchop's Chanukah And Passover Surprise, Chanukah On Planet Matzah Ball, and Eight Crazy Nights.
  
  

May your Hanukkah be filled with happiness and peace! 

FREE Halloween Printables

 

Every year, my kids and I have made window decorations for Halloween. The teen, of course, is “too cool” to do that, but I was surprised when the 9-year old declared that she was “too busy” to make pumpkins out of orange construction paper and ghosts from computer paper. Honestly, a part of me was sad. 

Still, the window MUST be festively adorned, so I give you (drumroll, please), these simple Halloween shapes which you can quickly cut out and use for your windows. 

 

Just right-click to copy each graphic, then paste it into a blank document and print it out on white paper.  A few quick cuts and you can tape them to your doors and/or windows to add a scarey (but not too, scarey) element to your house.  I was done in less than 5 minutes. 

Happy Halloween!

Need An Inexpensive, But Personal Party Favor? Here It Is!

My birthday girl, just "horsin'" around!

Update:  This was a big hit at the party today!  The girls loved how practical the gift & contents were!  Just an FYI.  :) 

I wrote yesterday about the low-budget gymnastics party I threw for my daughter this past weekend.  At the end of the post, I immodestly (forgive me - brilliance doesn't come often) bragged about the party favors I'd made.  Well, here they are!


I scooped up a bunch of those Design-Your-Own Cups at the Dollar Store when I saw them there (pictured at the top of the photo below).  Since everyone drinks water out of re-usable bottles, they're a no-brainer gift that all the kids will use.  I discarded the outer insert because the instructions are on the sticker on the outside of the cup anyway.

The parts to the party favors...

I bought some cheap scrapbook paper at Michael's for $.05 a sheet and made a template to fit in the cup out of the side of a cereal box (pictured right above).   I got two pretty inserts from each sheet of scrapbook paper.


After cutting the pretty paper to fit inside the cup, I just rolled it in.  Then I added three pieces of candy, a rubber duckie, and assorted hair stuff (clips, elastics, etc.) to complete the party favor.  Voila!

...and the completed party favor.

There's still a sheet in the cup with a design the kids can color themselves that came with piece, so after the party ends, the kids can go home with an activity.  All in all, I think each cup probably cost under $2 each to make, including candy.  Sweet!


Stay tuned to this blog next week because I had so much fun offering FREE GHOSTING OR BOOING SHEETS (find them here), that I think I'll offer something brand new over the next few days.  And, as always, THANKS FOR READING!!!

Enjoy These FREE "Ghosting" Sheets

"Ghosting" Sheet #1

"Ghosting" Sheet #2

 
The first time we visited by a "ghost" I was afraid.  Not of the ghost, of course, but I wondered who would be ringing my doorbell at 8:30PM at night?!  After I opened the door, my kids were delighted to find a bag of "goodies" along with a note introducing us to that pre-Halloween activity known as "ghosting."

"Ghosting" (also called "Booing") is a relatively new tradition which is done not only in the United States, but Great Britain.  To "ghost" someone, you need a picture of a ghost and a note (PLEASE feel free to download my "ghosting" sheets from above).  Make copies of these, depending on how many people you plan to visit; usually the number you're supposed to go to is three.

Fill three bags (they can be plain, paper bags), with candy/treats.  Then copy the letter and the ghost three times.  Include the letter and ghost with the treat bags.  When it's dark out, take your kids out to "ghost" their friends by placing the treat bag a friend's doorstep.  Ring their doorbell or knock and RUN!  "Ghosting" is anonymous, so don't let anyone see you - that's part of the fun!

If you've been ghosted, hang the attached ghost on your front door so everyone knows you've already been visited and so that you won't be ghosted again. 

Try to be mindful of peanut allergies.  One year, we "ghosted" a little girl we knew was allergic to peanuts and I had accidentally placed a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup in her treat bag.  I had to quickly call her father and explain what I'd just done.  Her father was very sweet, but I try not to include peanut products - just in case. 


"Ghosting" is a very sweet tradition that kids of any age can do.  Even my teen is not too cool to do it! Good luck and enjoy "ghosting."  It's something that you can do with your kids that's lots of fun! 

Thanks for reading!

My 5 Favorite Free iPad Apps

Once upon a time, I had a Kindle Fire. I loved that thing and when it died, the day after the warranty expired, of course, I was quite sad. Unfortunately, it died at the same time that my laptop did, so when forced to choose which device my limited means would replace, I opted to replace the laptop. Junior, who had been the #1 borrower of my Kindle, was also upset, however, he did have the money to get his own tablet but chose, instead, to get an iPad Mini.


Curious about our newest Apple, I stole, errr...borrowed, it the other day while Junior was at school. After playing with it for a few hours and downloading some free apps from the App Store, here are my five favorites:

1. The Kindle App – When I had my Kindle, I downloaded free books from my local library with the added benefit that when the borrowing time was up, they'd just “magically” disappear from the device. The Kindle app gives all the benefits of reading on the Kindle with access to many of the free books Amazon's Kindle Store offers. The app replicates all of my favorite features of the actual Kindle including access to Amazon's Whispersync which “automatically syncs your last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across devices (including the Kindle), so you can pick up your book where you left off on another device.”
   
   
2. Dictionary.com (Dictionary and Thesaurus) – Being a word-a-holic, I love looking up words and this app gave me speedy access to more than two million words and definitions. The best part is that it works offline, so even if I didn't have Web access, I could use it.
   
   
3. Police Scanner + - I really enjoyed listening to police scanners when I was a local reporter and still do even though I'm not writing for our local website. With this app, I can listen to more than 40,000 police, fire, EMS, airport, railroad, comedy, talk, and music stations – FREE!
   
   
4. Soothing Sounds Light – The kids and I sleep with separate noise machines and we always schlep one whenever we travel. Soothing Sounds has a customizable sounds library and the manufacturer boasts that “you'll never hear the same 10 seconds of sound.” That means you won't hear the same bird chips every X-amount of seconds, something that drives me crazy with other noise apps. You can change the volume and intensity of each sound, meaning that you can either hear ocean waves gently lapping on a shore or hear the crashing of those waves on rocks. You can even save the combinations of intensity levels that you've created and re-play those at will. Use it as background noise during the day or while you sleep.
   
   
5. Sticky Notes Reminders & Notes App With Alarms & Sharing – Use Sticky Note reminders without the individual papers falling off your device or marring your screen. Create notes in dozens of styles, add alarms to the notes, password protect them, and share them with others. The best part of this app, however, is that you can add notes to your lockscreen so you don't have to unlock your device to view them.
   

Ok, so since the iPad Mini isn't mine, I had to delete all of these wonderful apps, but it was fun poking around the App Store to see what developers have come up with to make our lives “easier.” It may just be time to start saving up for a Mini.


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Thanks for reading! Please check back in with me in a day or so for more fun!

Three "Do Not Miss" FREE Apps

My Samsung Confuse, errr..Infuse, died the other day without so much as a whimper or a cough. That was fine because I was ready for an upgrade anyway. I wanted the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, but settled for the Note 2 because it was much cheaper. Anyway, while I'm still in the trial period of the phone, I thought I'd try out some new (for me) apps from Google Play Store. For my reviews of child-related apps, please visit www.thegeekparent.com. Note: one of the ways I choose my apps is based on what permissions the manufacturers ask the user to give. For more information on why you MUST care, visit http://thegeekparent.com/is-installing-that-app-compromising-your-privacy.

Here we go:

94 Seconds – In this category word game, you are given one category and one letter to use to discover a word. For example, you're asked to find a mammal that starts with the letter C or a car company that starts with the letter T. Four different jokers are available to aid in finding the right answer or set higher scores. It's a fun game that certainly taught me a few things (who knew that zouk was a fast tempo carnival style of music originating from the Caribbean islands – 94 Seconds gave me the word and then I looked it up). I like the fact that I can race against the clock or play in a more relaxed mode. If you're tired of the standard Boggle and Scrabble-types of word games, this is certainly worth a try.


LifeHacker Reader – For some reason, my beloved news feeder, Newshog, no longer carries one of my favorite websites, LifeHacker (www.lifehacker.com). I was dissatisfied by the permissions required of the direct LifeHacker app, so I found this wonderful fan-made, unofficial app for the tech and lifestyle blog I enjoy so much. Thank goodness, because I was really missing those valuable life hacks!


Paper Artist – This was already installed on the phone, but it is available from the Play Store and Diva and I are having oodles of fun with it. Turn any photo into a work of art using different styles of paper and various techniques including pen and pencil, markers, newsprint, pastels, etc. which you can save or share with friends. Above is a photo that Diva took of our cat and which my daughter altered in a matter of seconds; I then uploaded it to the cloud and emailed it to some friends. Paper Artist is amazingly easy to do and a nice diversion when you don't feel like playing a game. Plus, it does things I could NEVER do (i.e. pencil sketch a portrait of Cosy). This is a great app!


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Please check back in with me in a day or so for some tips on how to beat those damn ATM fees which are absolutely disgusting. Pardon me while I calm down....

Come on Spring!

Discover These 8 Free Word Games For Your Smartphone

Hello. My name is L and I'm a word-game-aholic. It's true. Ever since I discovered Scrabble back in grammar school, I've been in love with games that involve spelling (not crosswords, which I detest, probably because I'm just not clever enough to figure them out). It's been my experience that most word games fall into one of four categories:

1. Scrabble – Find as many words as possible from the letters given to you. Then place them on the board, connecting to your opponent's, to maximize the points you'll earn.
   
2. Boggle – Discover as many words as possible, in within a time limit.
   
3. Word Search – Find the words hidden on lettered grid.
   
4. Hang Man – Guess the word by eliminating letters.
   

I'm not a huge fan of word searches, although it's proving to be a wonderful tool for my daughter as a way to reinforce her spelling. If you want to do this, here's a link to Super Kids where you can input your child's spelling words and create a word-search puzzle: http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/search.  I gravitate toward Scrabble and Boggle sorts of games with the goal of finding new and different games to fend off boredom and actually LEARN SOMETHING from my gaming experience. 


I've tried most of the free word games listed in Google's Play Store, depending on how many permissions they ask me to approve (for more on why that's critical, read this article I wrote for the website savvygeekmom.com: http://savvygeekmom.com/2013/12/is-installing-that-app-compromising-your-privacy. Here are my reviews of some of my favorites and former favorites:

1. 

   What a great game! 

   Word Weasel: This game falls under the Boggle category. Find as many words as possible from the 9 in the cube in 50 seconds. What adds a nice competitive element is that you see how you did versus everyone else playing and it shows you which words you didn't find. My only complaint is that some of the words are totally bogus or so obscure that no one in their right mind would know them. For example, they list the word “gwine” which, it turns out, is “the dialectal present participle of go.” Seriously?!  If you're going to list obscure words, as least tell me what they mean! But, overall, Word Weasel is a really enjoyable game and is my current favorite. Warning: Do not play this before bedtime because if you're as competitive as I, sadly, am, it will rile you up.
   
   
2. 7 Little Words: My husband told me about this game where you find the seven words based on clues. It's a nice, relaxing little challenge because there's no time limit and no penalty for incorrect guesses. Unfortunately, it crashed just before I reached the last level. I really, really hate that.
   
   
3. Pressed For Words: This is an anagram game where you try to spell as many three, four, five and six letter words with the six given. I like the fact that you can see what you've already spelled. Fun.
   
   
4. Words With Friends: Sure, playing this Scrabble-like game against your friends is oodles of fun, but like most Zynga games (Hanging With Friends was another favorite), it eventually crashed on my Samsung. Yes, I did report it and received no response from Zynga. No wonder they're laying people off. (Interestingly enough, according to usatoday.com, Zynga has been replaced as the number one maker of games played on Facebook by king.com whose apps also historically crash on my cellphone.)
   
   
5. Word Drop: This game is a curious, enjoyable take on Boggle. The letters keep falling from the top of the screen and you've got to find as many as possible before they build up. The graphics are wonderful and it's got a nice leaderboard.
   
   

6. 

   Lost Words - Gotta give this one another go.

   Lost Words: I had this on my phone and deleted it because it was too hard, but after reading the directions properly (my bad), it's back on. You've got to six tries to find all of the hidden letters of a given word. Correctly placed letters are shown in green, while misplaced letters are shown in orange. Maybe I'll take an aspirin before I play again. I love the fact that this app doesn't ask for a boatload of permisssions. You shouldn't have to grant a software company access to your contact list before you play a game.
   
   
7. Bonus Wordz: Another newbie to my Samsung, it's a Boggle-like game with really cool twist where you get bonus points for using color patterns. I just started playing so I haven't made any of the leaderboards (it would be really nice if you could see beyond the top 100 players), but I will!
   
   
8. Words By Post: My favorite alternative to Scrabble and Words With Friends, this -known game has all the charm of those other two games without the intrusive permissions required by the others. Love it and the developers are responsive when you have a problem.
   
   

   

   The BEST Scrabble clone ever!

And now my FAVORITE new website which I'm finding very helpful for helping me find new words: wordhippo.com (www.wordhippo.com). Man, what doesn't this site have?! You can look up word meanings, find opposites, discover rhyming words, see examples of words in sentences, find translations, see different tenses for words, hear their pronunciations, and more. The site is very clean looking and easy to navigate. It's a great reference tool that I find myself using every day.


Do you have any word games that you adore? PLEASE share them with me. I love playing new games and learning new words.


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Thank you for reading! Please come back again soon. Hopefully, the groundhog will predict an early Spring on Sunday and I won't have to eat him...(kidding, kidding...) Have a great weekend!

My 9 Favorite Free Apps Right Now

A Bubble Mania screen.  I feel so sad when the Mother Cat cries because I couldn't save her kittens!

If you've got a smartphone, chances are that you spend a good amount of time on it. I heard Dr. Oz on the radio this morning saying that most of us are within 5 feet of our phones at all times. There are a few apps that I'm having quite a bit of fun with these days and I just want to share them with you. All are free, require a minimal amount of permissions, and since I have an Android phone, they're available in Google's Play Store. (Note: for more information on why permissions are critical when you're downloading an app, visit this article I wrote for the website savvygeekmom.com: http://savvygeekmom.com/2013/12/is-installing-that-app-compromising-your-privacy.)


Anyway, here they are:

• Bubble Mania – I love the apps made by King.com (Candy Crush, Farm Heros Saga, etc.), but they invariably crash on my phone. This app is similar in the sense that you can buy power ups and have to wait a set amount of time for new tokens to play the game, but so far it hasn't crashed on my Samsung Confuse. To play, you have to pop three bubbles of the same color to save the Momma Cat's kittens. Obviously, the levels get more and more difficult, but I'm finding that if you play a certain level often enough (meaning I haven't been able to figure it out), eventually, I can break through. I think that's because the programmers know that if it's too hard, you're going to delete it. Bubble Mania is made by Team Lava, a firm I'll look out for when I invariably get tired of this game.
  

• 

  The icon for News Hog

  News Hog – This is where I get my news. Their menu of “sections” is broad an includes top news, science, health, etc. I can get my favorite Lifehacker updates on here as well. News Hog is updated often, even on the weekends, which I especially like.
  
• Gym Pal – I recently wrote about my daughter's passion for gymnastics and the fact that she's started competing. Since our family is focusing on her competing against herself, rather than others, Gym Pal provides a handy way to keep a record of her scores. I can enter the day of her meet and her numbers in various events. It then tabulates her final score. It's a nice way to chart your young gymnast's progress.
  
• Most Popular Ringtone – There aren't many ringtones in this package, but I like many that they offer which include two “romantic love” songs, a few Christmas songs (that I'll probably use in the summer just for the irony), and some “beautiful music” tunes. I'll probably, at some point,use most of them...except for the Exorcist tone. That's just creepy.
  
• Kaleidoscope Magic Draw – I just reviewed this app for savvygeekmom.com, so I won't go into it in depth, but for mindless fun, give it a try. It makes even the most inept person an artist.
  
• Pressed For Words – I am a word game-aholic and this one is really good. You have to spell as many 3, 4, 5, and 6-letter words as you can before the timer runs out. I love it when a game shows you the words you didn't get, as this one does, so I can try to learn from my mistakes.
  
• Word Weasel – Match your word-finding wits against others in this take on the game, Boggle. I love the ranking feature that shows you where you are against other players. My best rankings come at odd hours when no one else is playing. Yeah!
  

• 

  The icon for Twilight

  Sketch Guru – This really nice sketching app, by the same people that brought us Kaleidoscope Magic Draw, allows you to either make your own drawings or you can grab one of your own photos from your phone's gallery and draw on it. I've taken photos of my kids and created pencil drawings from them that look as if I'd paid for a portrait. An easy app that is quite enjoyable.
  
• Twilight – There's a boatload of research that suggests that exposure to blue light from phones, tablets, etc., before sleep disrupts the body's natural, or circadian, rhythm. This makes it harder to fall asleep. Twilight makes your device screen adapt to the time of day by filtering the blue spectrum and protecting your eyes with a softer red filter. Since I installed it, I have been sleeping better...until the hot flashes wake me up. 
  

Got any apps you'd like to share? Comment below. And check back in with me in a day or two for some easy Chinese New Year recipes in honor of the Year Of The Horse which starts on January 31^st.


Thanks for reading!

Our Favorite Free, Low-Tech Math Game Of The Moment

The 8-year old loves to play games and I'm always grateful when she finds one that doesn't involve a video screen. Her teacher recently sent home a sheet explaining the game “Shut The Box” that I'd like to share with you because it's doing a marvelous job of reinforcing her math skills. Note: I would credit the game's source, but the sheet doesn't list one.


Here's what you need to play: a sheet of paper, pencils or crayons of different colors, and a pair of dice. Yep. That's it. Don't you love the simplicity?


Here's how you play:

1. Write the numbers 1 through 12 on the sheet of paper.
   
2. Player 1 rolls the dice. They cross out one or more numbers that add up to that roll. So if a player rolls an 8, she can cross out the 8, or the 6 and 2, or the 7 and 1, or the 3 and 5. Each player should use a different color of pencil or crayon to keep track of their turns.
   
3. After the numbers 6 and up are crossed off, the player can choose to roll just one die.
   
4. If the player manages to cross off all of the numbers, she's “shut the box.” If she can't match a roll to the remaining numbers, her turn ends, and any uncrossed numbers are tallied up. Then the next person goes.
   
5. The person with the lowest number wins.
   

We played this 10 times yesterday and 20 times today! I could see playing this game in a restaurant, but instead of carrying dice around, I'd use this free app I just found for my Android phone called Dice 3-D which is available in Google's Play Store. You merely shake or tap the phone to roll the dice. Obvious hint: choose the tap option with smaller children so the phone doesn't go flying.


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And speaking of an awesome little game you can play in a restaurant, I'm reminded of this great homemade variation of the game KerPlunk my son and I played when he was little.  I think we saw it on the long-defunct PBS show, Zoom.

I loved this show! 

Here's what you need to play: a cup, a rubber band or hair elastic, a few pennies, a toothpick or pencil (the handle of a spoon works, too), a napkin or paper towel.


Here's how you play:

1. Stretch the napkin over the cup and secure with a rubber band. It will look kind of like a drum.
   
2. Place a few pennies on the napkin.
   
3. Players take turns poking a hole in the napkin. The object of the game is to avoid being the one who lets the pennies fall in the cup.
   

I used this game as a catalyst to discuss gravity and tensile strength. We experimented with variations on this game using paper towels, napkins, and toilet paper to see which paper products were the strongest. We've even tried using different brands of paper towels to determine which was the strongest; in our tests, Bounty killed the other brands.


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Thanks for reading! Please come back in a day or two, won't you?