Olly the Little White Van App Review

I recently saw on twitter that Olly the Little White Van had a free app, so decided to download it to see what it was like.

My son loves Olly so it is great to have something else he is familiar with on my phone for when I need to keep him occupied.

The app features two games, 'Delivery Race' where you help Olly pick-up and deliver packages around a maze in three different locations. And 'Fix It' where some of Olly’s friends have broken down and you have to help Olly put them back together by fitting their parts into the right places.

My son certainly seems to enjoy playing the game and it helps with recognition and co-ordination in a fun and playful way.

The games get a little repetitive with only a few levels but they are fun and keep my son entertained, plus the app is free so you most certainly can't grumble about it.

If you are looking for a free app for your phone to keep your children occupied then this most certainly fits the bill.

You can download the app free from itunes http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/olly-the-little-white-van/id516864646?mt=8

NB We have not received anything in return for this review, all opinions are my own.

City of Friends App Review

My husband is away a lot and before a recent week away we had the discussion of how we could teach our son about the emergency services, should anything happen to mummy or the house whilst my husband wasn't around.

So when we were offered the City of Friends app to review it sounded like the perfect opportunity to introduce my son to the emergency services and what they do.

 

The app has been launched around the kid’s TV show City of Friends which has turned into a global phenomenon and currently broadcasting in over 150 countries worldwide.

Designed for pre-schoolers and their families, the City of Friends app has become the number one app for children in its native Norway and teaches children about the emergency services by interacting with the show’s main characters; Max the police officer, Elphie the fire officer and Ted the paramedic.

There are a selection of games and some videos which are unlocked the more games you complete. This is great as a four year olds attention span can sometimes average only seconds so they can swap and change between games.

My personal favourite was the Put out fires with Elphie game, not only was this fun but as fire is a real killer and also a real possibility I think this certainly teaches them about what happens.

The pairs/memory game is also really good and always goes down well with my son, there is also a helicopter flying game and organize Ted’s first aid kit which are both really fun and also help teach how to match shapes and coordination.

Whilst I'm sure this is intentional due to the number of countries and therefore languages this is played in there are no words or commentary to assist the child in playing the games.  Nowhere does it say what you have to do to get more videos and it would be good if it could talk you through what you need to do and maybe what each implement, character or object is.

The only other thing that did bother us slightly was the addition of a Facebook and Website button, if this is aimed at 2-6 year olds there is really no need for this and our opinion is that it shouldn't take you to an external website from within the game itself.

Other than that though if you are looking for an educational and fun app that teaches children about the emergency services then at £1.49 this is most definitely a winner and we have certainly enjoyed playing it together.

NB: We were given a redemption code in order to review this app however all opinions are my own.

Pictures, pictures everywhere!

So my beloved iPhone decided today that it had run out of room, after some investigation it seemed that some of the 2500 pictures I have on there needed to be culled.

As they imported onto the computer I sat watching them, two years of pictures. From my son as a newly walking toddler to the pregnancy test when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter and then the ever growing bump.

I am so appreciative of my phone and the ability it gives me to capture not always with the best pictures but some of the more important moments in mine and my children's lives.

Moments I don't always get to write down and note but that I can always capture, we back our photo's up onto a SD cards, a hardrive at home and in a secure location away from home to ensure they are (fingers crossed) never lost.