We are in the home stretch. I’m not quite sure who is looking forward to summer break more, me or JustaBXgirl. As much as I can’t wait to have her home with me full time for two months, there are some concerns. I mean, I’m a single mom that works from home. That means that while I am working my little will be home being a child on summer break. It is no use trying to pretend that screentime won’t be my secret weapon. It is also not a secret that children lose a lot of what they learn in school over summer break. I have written about the Summer Slide before and you can count on me talking about it again.
One of my favorite ways to work against the summer slide is by not letting JustaBXgirl know that she’s actually learning. In other words, I find educational apps that make us both happy and that is how I avoid some serious mom guilt over the hours she spends on her iPad. We recently added three new apps that I wanted to share with you. Cosmic Cubs are cute and they are here to drop some knowledge.
The Cosmic Cubs are designed for ages three and over. And let me tell you that it is hard to find apps that work with the little littles and still can entertain the not so little ones. These apps have found a good balance. The apps are simple enough that the tiny ones can manipulate but they give information that all ages can learn from (including us bigs).
Cosmic Cubs ECO Puzzle – JustaBXgirl did a unit at school this year where they discussed Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and she came home really excited to look at garbage in a new way. She spent the weeks after coming up with ways to reuse items and asking if something could be recycled. She hasn’t quite mastered the reduce component yet. This app is a fun way to reinforce why each component is important while practicing puzzle solving skills. The puzzles themselves don’t change but I like how they can get more complicated by changing the number of pieces. That makes it usable by the littles and the biggers. I can admit that it takes me some time to do the 10 x 7 puzzles myself!
Cosmic Cubs Dress-Up – JustaBXgirl loves dress-up games. This one allows her to dress up ten different Cosmic Cubs and place them in twelve different backgrounds. It is fun to watch JustaBXgirl create different adventures for the Cosmic Cubs. She takes so much time to think about which pattern each Cub should wear and what colors look best together.
Cosmic Cubs Space Puzzles – I think this might be JustaBXgirl’s favorite one of the trio. Her school names the classes by the solar system so she is always looking for ways to fill her mind with space knowledge. This puzzle app introduces littles to all of the Cosmic Cubs and tells us a little bit about each of them. It also introduces littles to information on each of the planets and more. This puzzle app also goes from simple puzzles to more complex. The information that it includes can be read by beginner readers for the most part but they might need some help. It is a great app for littles to work on together. I can admit that the app has taught me a thing or two. This is one of those apps that can be on your child’s for years to come.
One of my favorite things about Cosmic Cubs is that there is an off-screen component to the apps. If you head over to the Cosmic Cubs website you can download coloring pages. This is a great way to balance that on and off screen time. Each app is a free download in the App Store and Google Play. The free version allows you to experience a lot of fun. There are in-app purchases available that allow you to unlock the entire app, and at $1.99 it is well worth it.
