Kids learning a foreign language is a serious trend in both parenting and classroom learning methodology. In Europe, it’s commonplace that children speak many languages, and now in America, we’re seeing a rise in teaching children languages starting from toddler age in preschool.

We’ve also seen an incredible development of all sorts of fun tools to help kids learn a foreign language. There are tons of toys and apps that teach kids a foreign language in a way that’s both educational and entertaining enough that kids don’t even realize they’re learning!

So why the recent push for teaching kids a foreign language? We’ve created a short list of our favorite, most convincing reasons kids are learning to speak other languages. And we think by the end of reading this article, we’ll have you saying ‘si’ as well…

1. Study after study suggests that speaking a second language boosts cognitive, memory, and listening skills. Simple as that, learning and speaking multiples lessons build stronger brains.
2. You’ve heard it a million times, but it’s true: toddlers are like little sponges, easily absorbing all the information they’re given. “The older the child gets, certain windows close in terms of language acquisition, but so long as the child learns the language before puberty [age 12 or 13], the child should be able to speak with a native accent,” says Caryn Antonini, creator of Early Lingo. It’s an incredible gift to give a child access to many languages, and the best time to begin to teach children languages is right now.
3. You don’t need to speak a language in order to teach your children. Luckily, there is an infinite number of children’s learning apps, CDs, books, movies, games, and more to give your children the opportunity to learn in a way that simply wasn’t possible for you.
4. Learning another language is beneficial for your child’s future career. Many of the largest companies and corporations have offices all around the world, teaching another language to your kids means opening up infinite doors. Your children will have a serious advantage if they have access to the entirety of the global market.  
5. English grammar and vocab improve when children learn a second language. By understanding how grammar and vocab function in other languages, toddlers learn more about how their own grammar rules through comparing and contrasting.
6. Learning another language expands perspective. Many parents teach children the language of their ancestors in order to give them an important look into their heritage. But understanding another language, any language also means kids feel empowered to explore a more global, diverse life.

The post 6 Reasons Kids Should Learn a Foreign Language appeared first on Cubic Frog® Apps.

When it comes to homeschooling apps, it’s hard to know what to look for and where to find the best homeschool apps that actually teach and that kids are interested in playing.

With millions of educational apps on the market, we are happy to offer our own recommendations, based on of years making educational apps for kids. Our small but mighty team of kids educational experts has studied childhood education, survived tons of kids apps testing, and has created award-winning, best-selling educational games.

Basically, we live and breathe kids educational gaming… which means we know what does and doesn’t work when it comes to the best homeschool apps.

The best homeschool apps: What are we looking for?

Sensory Play

The best homeschooling apps for children include the most sensory stimulation. Kid’s learning games should be colorful (visual), musical (audio), include sound touch commands (tactile, fine-motor practice), and should smell and taste delicious (just kidding, technology hasn’t made it there quite yet…). The more sensory play a game includes, the greater the chances your homeschooler will retain their lesson without even knowing it!

Parent Controls

In homeschool learning, kids need lots and lots of repetition to learn a new concept. It’s important that the educational apps vary between focusing on one particular skill to a wider, broader skill set. For example, if your child is having spatial recognition problems, using only the mini-games that practice this skill.

Kid safe

One of the best benefits of using apps for homeschooling is giving children the opportunity to experience and learn through technology in an independent way. It’s so important that you feel safe letting homeschoolers play the educational app with little supervision.

Here are the best free apps to create a thorough homeschool curriculum for toddlers that covers all the educational essentials:

ABC learning

We recommend EduKitty ABC for clear and easy homeschool alphabet learning guidance.

EduKitty is the fun cartoon cat who guides kids through a series of ABC games for tracing, spelling, letter identification, vocabulary building and much more. After every 3 mini-games are completed, kids earn a flying gift! EduKitty ABC also includes a set of upper and lowercase ABC flashcards and an upper and lowercase alphabet tracing game. EduKitty is an exclusive alphabet teaching app for focusing on letter, vocab, and handwriting building with both the upper and lowercase alphabet. Edukitty ABC is a fantastic free homeschool app for toddlers and kindergartners.

You can find EduKitty ABC by Cubic Frog® Apps here:

Google Play

iTunes

Early Math

Preschool EduMath 1

Preschool EduMath 1 is a kid learning app full of activities to learn to write and count numbers 1-10. 18 Different games help kids master number recognition, number names, numbers in English, addition/subtraction, pattern, and sequence building, sorting, and so much more all while adding confidence and joy to their learning process!

You can find Preschool EduMath 1 by Cubic Frog® Apps here:

Google Play

iTunes

Preschool EduMath 2

Preschool EduMath 2 is part 2 of the colorful educational app specially designed to teach children of every learning style shapes and measurements. Great for parents and teachers to teach basic shapes for 2 and 3-year-olds in the classroom and on the go. Have fun while learning with these shape activities for children.

You can find Preschool EduMath 2 by Cubic Frog® Apps here:

Google Play

iTunes

Early Learning Activity Book for Cognitive Basics

Preschool EduPaint

Preschool EduPaint is unique in its format; a digital workbook full of early learning essentials all organized into one neat free app. Preschool EduPaint is perfect for homeschooling kids to begin to learn cognitive basics, or for those little ones who prefer a more structured format. With colorful, fun cartoons, this game is incredibly welcoming and active in its holistic approach to teaching toddlers. And it’s especially recommended as a tool to prepare children to graduate into the kindergarten classroom setting.

You can find Preschool EduPaint by Cubic Frog® Apps here:

Google Play

iTunes

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It’s been shown again and again that children of all ages learn and retain lessons at a greater capacity if they’re having fun. Which is why learning games are so essential when we begin to teach toddlers math. Math can be a particularly tricky, sometimes scary subject for young learners so finding fun math games for kids in the classroom and at home is totally essential.

Our favorite fun math games for toddlers:

Yup, we don’t mean to toot our own horns, but we’re quite proud of these two award-winning toddler learning apps: Preschool EduMath 1 and Preschool EduMath 2. We spent years thinking about how to keep kids engaged and interested in math basics all while having fun learning math. There’s just the right amount of repetition to ensure kids learn math skills with tons of colorful graphics, cheery music, and cool rewards to keep kids coming back for more.

Besides playing fun math games, the childhood education experts here at Cubic Frog® suggest fun math activities that can be easily incorporated into everyday life. Showing children that math is already part of our world, that it’s normal, and fun is another tip to developing helping children develop a better understanding and adoration for numbers and math.

Our favorite fun math activities for kids:

Cook up some learning fun!

Cooking and baking require knowing important skills like numbers, counting, measuring, size and the end reward is a yummy treat! Try these family-friendly recipes for tiny chefs:

Pizza pizza pizza!

Wild and wacky popsicles!

Sing it out!

There’s no better way to remember than to sing a fun song. Try out The Number Song to sing along and learn numbers.

The post Fun Ways to Teach Toddlers Math appeared first on Cubic Frog® Apps.

Our experience in both the tech and teaching world is the best way to use technology in the classroom is to put it in the hands of your students. This ‘hands off’ approach takes pressure off the teacher to always have the latest and greatest technology that’s always working flawlessly. Instead, give your students the task to find and make the technology work for themselves. Students will learn more by having to figure out and become comfortable with technology than by watching a teacher.

Here are our favorite, easy ways to use technology in the classroom, in every classroom, and flawlessly!

1- Incorporate educational learning apps into lessons

There are tons of great educational apps for kids on the market. Educational apps for children are a great way to join playing fun games, learning, and technology. Match particular games (math, reading, alphabet, mixed) that complement the particular lesson your classroom is learning now. Here’s some of the best kids apps on the market now and you can also ask your students and their parents for their top apps picks.

2-Create a class blog

Sites like wordpress and tumblr make it free and easy to start a class blog. Students can be responsible for updating the blog themselves as well as creating the material in and outside of class. It’s also a great way for students to show off their hard work to friends and family.

3-E-mail pen pals

Pen pals 2.0. Same concept as the old-style pen and paper, but with e-mail. Now-a-days there’s tons of sites that connect classrooms to one another so students can form friendships near and far. You can have students create special e-mail accounts for pen-pal purposes only, to ensure privacy and safety of students. Pen pals are a fantastic way to use technology in the classroom as well as practice formal and informal writing skills!

4-Make your own podcast

Don’t be frightened, it’s much easier than you might expect! There tons of downloadable apps and google videos that make creating a podcast a piece of cake! Podcasts are especially great for more sensory based learning and students who might have trouble participating in writing or reading activities, but flourish in listening and speaking. And, it’s another fun way to share kids learning with their friends and family.

And don’t forget to send us your technological masterpieces! We love hearing from our Frog Fans.

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Yup, there’s an app for that!

What’s the importance of healthy eating habits for children? How can an app help? We’re glad you asked.

Let’s get straight to the facts. Brains work better when they’re fed with fresh, colorful foods. Study after study suggests that students who eat a healthy, balanced meal are generally able to concentrate longer and have an easier time achieving academic goals.

So what does a healthy meal for children look like? Today’s eating guidelines recommend breaking up a plate in the following way: fruit and vegetables: 33% (⅓ of your plate), bread, rice, potatoes pasta and other starchy foods: 33% (⅓ of your plate), Milk and other dairy products: 15%, quinoa, egg, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein: 12%, foods and drinks high in fat or sugar: 7%.

At Cubic Frog® Apps we like to say a meal should look like a rainbow, with all types of colorful fruits and vegetables. Like many things in life, the more color variety, the better. And just in case you need some extra inspiration, here’s our list of brain-boosting ingredients and recipes kids and parents both love. 

Cubic Frog® wanted to dive a little deeper into nutrition for children and nutrition for toddlers so we decided to create an app which teaches healthy eating habits for kids. Preschool EduKitchen is a fun app for toddlers and kids where healthy eating is turned into an interactive game.

Children learn about healthy foods through a series of educational games, which are facilitated by two adorable children guides. Preschool EduKitchen toddler app uses cheery music, voice prompts, visual color stimulation, and touch commands to promote sensory learning by engaging several senses at once. Besides healthy eating habits, kids learn important skills like recycling, counting, vocabulary, matching and sorting with this toddler learning app.

And like all Cubic Frog® Apps, we are happy to offer a free version for families.

Preschool EduKitchen free learning app includes the following educational games about healthy eating habits for kids:

✓Healthy Food – Find Healthy Fruits and Vegetables Among Burgers and Ice Cream!

✓Cook the Eggs – Drag and Drop to Place the Correct Number of Eggs into the Frying Pan.

✓Recycling Bin – Find all the Items That Need to Go Into Recycling Bin and Drop them in.

✓Fruit Pop Toppings – Add Different Fruits as Toppings to Fruit Pops.

✓Vegetable Soup – Find All the Vegetables And Toss Them Into the Pan to Make Vegetable Soup.

✓Set the Table – Drag and Drop Puzzle Pieces to the Right Place to Set the Table.

✓Fruit Faces – Puzzle Game Where Kids Make a Fun Face With Fruits.

✓Cereal Bowl – Have Fun Adding Different Fruit to Cereal.

✓Toaster – Toast and Count Bread Slices.

✓Size Arranging – Arrange 5 Fruits From Biggest to Smallest or Smallest to Biggest.

✓Fruit Memory – Kids Match Pairs Of Fruits.

✓Juice Connect – Connect Each Fruit To Its Juice

✓Refrigerator – Drag and Drop All the Objects That Belong in the Refrigerator While Leaving Non-Refrigerator Objects Including Socks, T-Shirts, Plates, Etc., Behind.

✓Dishwasher – Pick Up all the Dirty Dishes and Put them in the Dishwasher.

✓Kitchen Timer – Set a Timer to a Certain Number.

✓Fruit Pop Match – Match Pairs of Colorful Fun Fruit Pops.

✓Ice Cream Maker – Our Special Dessert Treat! Parents have the option to turn off the ice cream activity

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Here at Cubic Frog® we specialize in making kid’s first interaction with the alphabet a colorful, fun adventure. Cubic Frog® has created a variety of educational games around learning ABC’s and the best news is, they’re free and available on a variety of systems including iTunes App Store, Google Play Store, Amazon Store, etc.

EduKitty ABC

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Playdough has become quite the household necessity for anyone in the hands of a human 10 years and under. There are entire YouTube channels devoted to this clay-like confection, for goodness sake. And for good reason, playdough is a great, fun, clean way to engage fine and gross motor skills while engaging almost every sense.

So, how and why did we all get to be such Playdough fanatics?

Playdough: the ultimate in Coal cleaning

It all started in Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1930s when a man by the name of Noah McVicker was asked by Kroger Grocery to create a special product that could clean coal-residue from wallpaper. Remember, home heating back then was almost exclusively powered by coal and most homes had paper wallpaper– a messy mix. The putty product did well, lifting dark stains from wallpapers, until the end of World War II, when most home heating switched to natural gas and there was the creation of vinyl wallpapers, which were much easier to clean and maintain.

Noah McVicker and his company were at the edge of bankruptcy when the brilliance of his nephew, Joe McVicker saved them. Joe had a friend who taught children and had read about using the putty as a clay-like school activity. So, what’s a person to do with hundreds and hundreds of jars of coal-removing putty? Turn it into a kid’s toy, of course.

In 1956, Joe went to an educational convention in Washington DC to present Play-doh and was immediately received with applause. Teachers loved the idea of its flexibility and color and parents loved its mess-free quality. By 1958, sales reached $3 million and in 1964 Play-doh was exported internationally to Britain, France, and Italy.

After 60 years, playdough remains one of the oldest and most used materials in kids play and education.

Make your own playdough!

Now that you know the history, why not do a little experimenting yourself and make your own playdough! Playdough is simple to make, there are millions of recipes, and the possibilities for color and scent are infinite. Here below you’ll find one of our tried and true favorite playdough recipes…

Playdough recipe:

Basic ingredient ratios:
2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)

food coloring (liquid, powder, or unsweetened Kool-Aid or similar drink mix)
scented oils

1. Mix all of the ingredients together, and stir over low heat. The dough will begin to thicken until it resembles mashed potatoes.

IMPORTANT NOTE: if your playdough is still sticky, you simply need to cook it longer!

2. Keep stirring and cooking until the dough is dry and feels like playdough.

3. When the dough pulls away from the sides and clumps in the center, remove the pan from heat and allow the dough to cool enough to handle.

4. Put the dough on a clean counter or mat. Knead vigorously until it becomes silky-smooth.

5. Divide the dough into balls for coloring.

6. Make a divot in the center of the ball, and drop some food coloring in. Fold the dough over, working the food color through the body of the playdough, trying to keep the raw dye away from your hands and the counter. You could use gloves, a big ziplock bag, or plastic wrap at this stage to keep your hands clean.

7. Work the dye through, adding more as necessary to get the color you want.

8. Enjoy your newest creation!

9. To preserve, wrap in plastic or keep in a glass jar with the lid closed.

Hundreds of activities!

For 500+ playdough recipes, activities, and printables visit out Pinterest Playdough board here!

The post The Incredible Playdough Story and Playdough Recipe appeared first on Cubic Frog® Apps.

Shapes are such a key part of navigating and understanding our world, by helping kids decipher and put a name to these shapes, we are assisting in this comprehension of their surroundings.

Here at Cubic Frog®, we believe when learning any concept, it’s important and most effective to include all the senses in learning. When teaching shapes to kids, it’s important little ones see shapes on a wide color scale, in 2D and 3D, hear the names of shapes, touch shapes in the form of blocks and everyday objects, begin tracing shapes, smell and taste shapes in all the food we eat and cook together.

1. Recognize

Recognizing shapes is the very core of learning. In every moment we are literally surrounded by every and all shapes, meaning endless teaching opportunities and it’s never too soon to start. Begin by simply pointing out the shapes of every day. The clock is a circle, the table is a square. Trace the objects with your finger and repeat the shape, have your little one follow along. Don’t worry if they’re not repeating at first, trust us, they’re listening. It takes lots and lots of repetition for the brain to learn something.

Go on a shape safari! Pick a shape-of-the-day and keep track of how many of those shapes you can spot. Or, go to a park or museum and find as many different shapes as you can.

2. Silhouettes and Shadows

Now that we know our shape names, it’s important we cognitively connect them with their outer shape. This helps the brain establish a memory of a shape, so even when the object is not there, we know what it looks like. Start out by simply observing the shadows different objects make (hello shadow puppet theater!). Using different puzzles is also a great way to develop spatial-shape awareness. And, make sure you let your little one make mistakes, see which pieces fit and don’t fit, it’s a very important part of the learning process.

3. Trace

Tracing phase is a long and always ongoing phase. As suggested above, tracing can start by simply tracing your finger in the air around an object and using your finger to trace the shapes of objects. Then try a salt or sand tracing box, move to tracing worksheets and apps that help kids trace around a shape. What’s important is to connect the tactile fine motor skills of writing and tracing with the shape itself. And like anything, this requires practice, practice, practice.

4. Draw

Ok, so you’re ready for the big leagues. Let’s get to drawing shapes slowly and in all different ways. Because this part can sometimes be frustrating we recommend getting to drawing shapes slowly. You draw two sides of a square and have your little one do the other two. Use things like toothpicks and string to construct shapes, or leave a few sides/parts open to being finished. It’s important to present tasks that are on your kids level, so they can complete them with a sense of accomplishment. Rulers are an important tool here for assisting in making straight lines.

Now we’ve got the combined task of knowing which shape is which and building essential fine motor skills in hands and handwriting. This is a big deal! So remember, be patient and make it fun, and if kids get stuck, go back and use your other 3 steps.

Free, Helpful Resources:

Cubic Frog® is proud of our mobile math games that utilize bright colors, sound and touch commands, and most importantly, FUN to teach shapes.

You can download our games for FREE on iTunes App Store, Google Play Store, Amazon Kindle, Opera, and NOOK® by Barnes & Noble.

Try:

Preschool EduMath 2 a game devoted to teaching shapes, including a shape tracing game.

Preschool EduPaint is a colorful activity workbook which includes shapes and shape recognition.

Preschool EduKidsRoom is a fun learning game that focuses on organization and everyday shape recognition.

The post Teaching Shapes to Kids: 4 Simple Tips appeared first on Cubic Frog® Apps.

Negative thinking isn’t all negative; in fact, it can be useful in very stressful situations. The body is programmed during times of danger to become extremely focused on finding the easiest, quickest, most effective solution. Think about fight or flight; when there’s a lion chasing you, your body is pumping adrenaline, firing neurons all towards survival. For sure you won’t be thinking about what you had for lunch yesterday, for example.

Now the problem with this type of thinking always is that it makes your body able to think of one option and in that one option alone. This type of negative or stress thinking is binary in that it limits creativity.

In an experiment by Barbara Fredrickson of the University of North Carolina, participants were shown pictures that inspired joy and contentment, while another group was shown blank photos and the third group pictures that inspire fear. After, subjects were given an everyday problem and a piece of paper to write down different solutions. The group that came up with the most solutions was that which had been shown the positive thinking pictures.

Positive thinking has the ability to not only inspire a broader mentality when it comes to thinking of possibilities in life but the effect is cumulative. It seems the more one thinks positively, the broader their viewpoint can become and this type of open, creative thinking becomes easier and easier. And, studies show that both positive and negative thinking is contagious from person to person.

For children, positive thinking in play and joy are particularly essential in developing problem-solving and social skills that are useful and valuable in navigating everyday life. Positive thinking is like opening all the metaphorical windows to children’s thinking abilities.

So how do we inspire positive thinking in kids? We’re glad you asked!

1. Meditation

There are lots of resources for how to begin meditating with children (like this one!). Begin with something simple and short, building from this foundation. Perhaps closing your eyes and breathing together or repeating one word over and over again, or even simple reading them a story while they close their eyes and try and envision the story; trying different meditation patterns to see which works best for your child.

2. Writing

Try making a family tradition where each day you write down one (or more!) positive experience you’ve had that day. Keep a gratefulness journal or perhaps paint a family grateful blackboard. And if your children are having a particularly hard time, have them write or draw a list of the things that make them feel the happiest (it can be an object, person, or memory). This simple act is enough to get those positive brain chemicals working their magic!

3. Play

Be it mobile games, board games, sports, music, or whatever type of play gives them joy, make sure kids have designated time to play every single day. Physical movement is also important in getting those happy chemicals flowing!

4. Complain / Gain Rule

Everyone’s gotta complain sometimes, we definitely understand! But try challenging your children when they complain to identify a way in which to gain from this complaint. Sometimes, kids simply need to vent their frustrations or emotions. But often times during a situation they are complaining about, they can turn it around and talk about what they have to gain from the struggle as well. And putting kids in the driver’s seat to turn their negative into a positive is empowering for little ones.

5. Box of Pride

Spend the day creating and decorating a medium to large sized box. Inside the box store notes, graded papers, awards, certificates and other things that make your children feel proud of themselves. Whenever they have a hard moment and need to be reminded of just how special they are, have them go and reach into their box and pull out one of their pieces of pride.

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