A while back, I had the pleasure of participating in a twitter party hosted by Ruckus Media. In order to be informed and have experience with their apps, I was given 5 apps to use with Logan on our iPad. Okay, actually it's the Daddy's iPad for work, but we won't tell, right?
I was stunned. We got to play with these apps, and see what they did, but our favorite ones? Andrew Answers, Present for Milo, and The Velveteen Rabbit. I have to pause a moment here and just tell you: the illustrations of the narrated stories are absolutely beautiful. Illustrations are a big thing at the Monster House, especially for Logan.
When listening to The Velveteen Rabbit, Logan touched the screen, and said, "Look! Paper!" You can actually see the texture of the "paper" on your iPad, that the illustrations are on. Let's be honest, Logan's attention span these days is not all that great. For him to be attentive and notice the "paper"? Very cool. The screen shots don't do it justice, but it'll give you an idea of the quality.
Andrew gets in big, BIG trouble with his teacher when he doesn't answer her questions as she thinks he should. He visits the principal, the mayor, and finally the President of the United States, who figures out that Andrew IS, in fact, answering correctly. The ending is a pleasant little surprise. But if I told you... it wouldn't be a surprise any more, would it?
This one made Logan giggle, and laugh, and use fine motor skills throughout, as he figured out how to tap spots on the pictures and see what would happen. Logan is a non-seeker, so for him to initiate any kind of play was phenomenal for me to observe.I will admit that I cried about it. But, only happy tears.
I was stunned. We got to play with these apps, and see what they did, but our favorite ones? Andrew Answers, Present for Milo, and The Velveteen Rabbit. I have to pause a moment here and just tell you: the illustrations of the narrated stories are absolutely beautiful. Illustrations are a big thing at the Monster House, especially for Logan.
When listening to The Velveteen Rabbit, Logan touched the screen, and said, "Look! Paper!" You can actually see the texture of the "paper" on your iPad, that the illustrations are on. Let's be honest, Logan's attention span these days is not all that great. For him to be attentive and notice the "paper"? Very cool. The screen shots don't do it justice, but it'll give you an idea of the quality.
This story is narrated by Meryl Streep, in a lovely, British accent that immediately soothed Logan. He loved being able to "turn" the pages of the "book".
Andrew Answers was such a fun story, I had to show ALL the monsters. A brilliant way to teach letters to children, this is a silly little story, with interactive games mixed in. For the record, I couldn't park the car. I had several fatal accidents...
A Present for Milo is charming. Lots and lots of places to tap, which made it an instant winner for Logan. Here's a quote from the website:
With more than 80 tap-interactive objects that initiate more than 125 animations just right for active young fingers and minds, this interactive exciting cat-chases-mouse story is ideal for pre-readers and young readers alike.Is anyone wishing they had these apps for their very own, yet? Guess what! I get to have a giveaway!! One lucky winner will get to have 5 Ruckus Media apps of their choice. How completely cool is THAT?? Here's how you can enter to win. You MUST do the first, and may do others as well for more entries:
- Visit the Ruckus Media website, browse around, and tell me which 5 apps you would like, if you win.
- "Like" Ruckus Media Group on facebook and comment that you do
- Follow @RuckusMedia on twitter and comment that you do
- Tweet about this giveaway, and provide the link
- Post this giveaway on facebook, and provide the link.
This giveaway will be open Thursday, March 17 through Thursday, March 24, ending at midnight, MST. Winner will be announced Friday, March 25 via this blog, @ihave7monsters on twitter, and Living with Logan on facebook. The winner will then have 48 hours to contact me and provide their email address so their prize can be sent to their inbox. This giveaway is NOT limited to US residents. Prizes will be distributed directly from Ruckus Media.
The screen shots and logo in this post are the property of Ruckus Media Group, and are used here with permission.
