Forrest's New Favorite App: Curious World

This post was sponsored on behalf of Curious World via One2One Network. All opinions stated are my own.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve shared our favorite educational apps, and there’s a reason that I haven’t had any new app recommendations to share . . . we had a long streak of struggling to find great new ones! My kids (especially Forrest) love playing on tablets, and I am happy to indulge that love, especially if the games and apps they use have some sort of educational benefit.

But it can be really difficult to find great learning apps that you, as a parent, will feel really comfortable letting your kids use.

Today, I want to share our experience with a new educational app called Curious World.

The short story: Forrest absolutely loves this app and actually has not wanted to play with any other apps on our iPad since downloading this one. I’m so happy with it and am thrilled that he wants to play with it so much, since I think it is fantastic.

The longer story: Curious World has a huge library of early learning activities specifically tailored to kids ages 3-7. The content is tailored to your child’s age, so you know everything they see will be age-appropriate for them. It can be used on iPads and iPhones, and offers a wonderful variety of games, videos, and books.

No big surprise what my favorite feature is, right? THE BOOKS. The app lets him choose from an
awesome library of books (some older favorites, such as Curious George classics, and plenty of great
newer releases, too!), and it reads aloud to him as he flips through the pages. Honestly, I would get the app for this feature alone!

I love that it reads aloud to him, but we also have the option to turn off the audio and read books together. There are recent books on here that I’ve been trying to track down at our local libraries and haven’t been able to find, so I’m really excited that it has such an amazing selection.

There are also all kinds of wonderful games that teach letters and spelling, language skills, math, animals, science, and more. Many of the games feature Curious George, which is a major bonus for my kids, since they are both obsessed with George.

One of Forrest’s favorite features, and the one I see him exploring most, is the video section. Curious World has all sorts of awesome kid-friendly videos about everything under the sun: stories, crafts and experiments kids can do at home, National Geographic features on cool animals like stingrays and tigers, simple explanations of scientific ideas like weather, animal habitats, and evaporation, plus exercises kids can do at home . . . there are so many videos on such a huge variety of topics, and Forrest loves watching them.

One video Forrest particularly loved was all about making DIY shadow puppets at home.

I saw him watch it a few times in a row, then he came to me and listed out everything he’d need to make them himself, and explained to me how to do it. He was so excited to make his own shadow puppets and put on a puppet show. We made these puppets together based on the video.

Awkward smile, because he was so excited to play with them and didn’t want to stop for a picture!

I never would have thought of making shadow puppets together, but he was really eager to make them
after watching the video. As I’m typing this up, he and Darcy have been putting on shadow puppet shows for over an hour. OVER. AN. HOUR. This is awesome. Not only does the app entertain him and teach him new ideas and skills, but it prompted him to do a creative activity we wouldn’t have done on our own, and he’s having an awesome time imagining stories to act out with his shadow puppets.

For those of you with kids in the 3-7 age range who are interested in a really extensive educational app for your kids, I totally recommend Curious World. It is a subscription service, but you can sign up for a 30-day free trial if you want to check it out before you commit! There are no advertisements at all, so you don’t have to worry about kids clicking something that will charge you extra, or take them to another site or app. Download in the App Store today! The collection of videos, games, and books is curated by global learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and new content is added weekly, so there’s always something new to check out. And there’s even a dashboard for parents so you can see what your content your child is accessing the most (like if they’re avoiding math activities and focusing on reading, or if they prefer books over games, etc).

I have been so, so happy with the app, and Forrest has, too. Gotta love an app that he is crazy about, and doesn’t even realize that he’s learning.

Crochet Valentine Hearts Photo Tutorial

I am a woman of my word. I promised a step-by-step photo tutorial for these little heart cuties, and I am here. to. DELIVER!

(Hey look, I did that blogger thing where I made a nice pinnable image for you!)

These itty bitties are so leetle and so sweet and so quick and simple. Now, first things first: this is not my own pattern. I found the pattern HERE at Heloise V. This tutorial is to help you out in making the smallest heart pattern on her site. She also has instructions for medium and large adaptations, as well as a pattern for adorable little applique flowers, so hop over and check out her fun site! The size variations in my photos are due to different hook sizes, but all 3 were made using the same, smallest heart pattern.

Second things second: although this isn’t a difficult crochet pattern, you’ll of course have an easier time if you are already familiar with crochet basics. Visit my Crochet tab at the top of the page to find some basic crochet tutorials and step-by-steps to help you learn. If you get stuck at any point, just look up the stitch you’re stuck on in google, and you’ll find a zillion and one videos to help you out.

Aren’t they darling? I’m smitten.

You can use any old scrap yarn you have lying around, and any size hook that is appropriate for your yarn (if you’re using worsted weight yarn, anywhere from an F through a K should work nicely). I used a G hook for the tiniest pink heart in my photos (it’s about an inch and a half across), an I hook for the medium size bright pink one, and a K hook for the largest maroon heart. They were all made with the same pattern, all are made of worsted weight yarn, and the only thing that I changed from one heart to the next was the hook size, so play around and experiment with different hook sizes to find a size you love!

You’ll need to start with a magic circle. To be honest, I find this tough to capture in pictures and to explain, so please refer to this tutorial and this video if you need help.

Make your magic circle and chain 3.

Now you’re going to work 3 treble (or triple) crochets into the circle. Yarn over your hook twice:

Then insert your hook into the circle and pull up a loop, then yarn over again:

You’ll now have 4 loops (plus the yarn over) on your hook (as pictured above). Pull the yarn over through just the first two loops on your hook, then yarn over again:

You’ll now have 3 loops on your hook, plus the yarn over. Pull the yarn over through just the first two loops again, exactly as you did in the previous step. Yarn over again:

You’ll now have two loops left on your hook, plus the yarn over. Can you guess what’s coming next? I bet so. Pull the yarn over through the two remaining loops on your hook.

There’s your first treble crochet! Now just repeat those steps for two more treble crochets:

By now, you should have your chain 3 on the right, then your three treble crochets, as pictured above.

Next up, we need to work 3 double crochets. Yarn over your hook just once:

Insert your hook into the circle, pull up a loop, and yarn over again:

Pull the yarn over through the first two loops on the hook, and yarn over again:

Then pull the yarn over through the two remaining loops on your hook:

There’s your double crochet! Now work two more double crochets.

From right to left in the picture above, you should have your chain 3, 3 treble crochets, and 3 double crochets. (My chain 3 is kind of hiding my first treble crochet in that picture. Don’t worry about it, it’s in there, I promise.)

Now chain 1 by yarning over the hook and pulling it straight through the loop on your hook.

Work one treble crochet into the circle. Refer to the pictures up top if you don’t remember how. This treble will be the ‘tip’ of your heart.

Chain 1 again.

Now you’re basically going to repeat the first half of the pattern, backwards, to form the second half of the heart. First up is 3 double crochets. Refer to the double crochet pictures above if you need help.

Then you’ve got 3 more treble crochets. You’re probably a pro at these by now.

Now just chain 2:

Then slip stitch into the circle to finish it up. Just insert your hook into the circle, pull up a loop, and pull the loop straight through the loop already on your hook.

And you’ve got your little heart! Mostly!

See the loose ‘tail’ yarn at the top? Pulling that will tighten your heart and cinch it closed (the magical part of the magic circle—it disappears like magic!). Give it a good firm pull until your heart is completely closed in the center.

Ah, that’s more like it. Fasten off your yarn by pulling a loop through the loop on your hook (just like working a chain), snipping your yarn a few inches away from the hook, and pulling the loop completely through. Tighten it up and weave in the ends, and you’re done!

In case you want to see all the stitches labeled on the heart, enjoy this pictographic brilliance:

So, to sum up, the hearts are simply made by . . .

Magic circle, ch 3, 3 trc, 3 dc, ch 1, 1 trc, ch 1, 3 dc, 3 trc, ch2, sl st.

(trc = treble crochet; dc = double crochet; ch = chain; sl st = slip stitch)

Ta da!

Fun, huh? Once you’re comfortable with the stitches, you’ll be able to whip these up in no time at all.

I used these hearts as little ornaments for a Valentine’s ‘tree’ in this post, and I have another fun project incorporating them that I’ll share in a bit.

Hope you enjoy! If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them for you.

Chimin’ Time (review and coupon code!)

Do you remember a list of fun etsy shops I posted before Christmas? One of them was All Stuft Up, a knit monster shop owned by an old friend of mine, Lauren. Well, Lauren’s talents apparently are limitless—together with her husband, she also runs another etsy shop, Chimin’ Time, full of handmade, handheld pipe chimes, instructional DVDs with sing-along style children’s and Christmas music to help you play your chimes like a pro, and even the instructions to make your own set of perfectly tuned handheld chimes.

Lauren sent me a chime set, as well as two instructional DVDs, to take for a test run. I actually received them a few weeks ago, but was waiting to try them out . . . Forrest has had a serious case of the grumples (teething, how I hate thee!), which has left him so deeply grouchy that I thought even a fun chime set wouldn’t be enough to crack it. So I figured I’d wait until he was back to his usual happy self to let him use the new chimes.

Wow—I am so glad I stopped waiting for a “happy day” to let this grouchy, teething boy play with the chimes!

Up until I pulled the chimes out, he had spent all day—and I really do mean alllllll day—lying on the couch with his blankie, watching The Incredibles over and over. Sir Grumpy McGee. Apparently, chimes are the cure for teething . . . who knew?

The chime set was so fun to play with—you hold the pipe by the attached string and tap it with the wooden striker to sound the note, and Forrest was laughing up a storm every time he heard the ding of a chime. The chimes have a beautiful sound and are tuned perfectly . . . there are no wonky notes or “off” tones. Each note sounds absolutely perfect, to the point that I was almost tempted to turn the set into a windchime for the days we aren’t playing with it. But as it turns out, they are now being played with every day!

These chimes would make SUCH a fun activity for a church group, a classroom, a music class, a big family . . . or even just a little family like ours, with a child who loved being able to make music all by himself (for the rest of the day, as he started to get grouchy again, we would just say, “Forrest! Ding ding ding!” and he’d race off to grab a chime and mallet).

The instructional DVDs were so helpful, too—they feature popular kids’ songs in a “sing-along” style . . . you’re shown which chimes you’ll need to use for each song, and when each chime should be struck to play your tune. Although some of us were less concerned with following the beat, and just wanted to rock out and jam with the chimes.

Here’s a little more info from Lauren about herself and Chimin’ Time:

“Hey there! I'm Lauren from Chimin'TIme. My husband Kirby and I live up in Vancouver, WA with our two beautiful girls. We met at J-Dawgs (the most amazing hot dog shack in all the world) in Provo, UT while going to school at BYU. A couple days later we played racquetball and a couple lightning fast balls to the skull later, he knew he couldn't live without me. ;)

“Kirby currently works as a business analyst for a laser manufacturer while I stay home with our little mischief makers, taking photography jobs as they come, knitting like a mad-woman, and singing the occasional gig with a classic rock cover band.

 
“So. The chimes. A couple years ago, we got to play around with a very crude set of handheld chimes and had a blast. We wanted to make ourselves our very own set, and soon learned that it takes a TON of work. That got my husband thinking. How cool would it be to perfect the ‘recipe’ and provide the option to those without time and tools to purchase a set already made and ready to go!? Yup. That's when Chimin'Time was born. Everything from the precise length of the pipe to the placement of the holes for the strings has been tested to provide optimal pitch and clarity of tone. (For those of you wanting the full spiel on the technical aspects of the chimes, you can read more here.)

“Each chime corresponds to a note on the piano, so you can play whatever you like, from Mozart to Gaga. We also created some play-a-long DVDs (similar to the Mickey Mouse sing-a-longs from back in the day) that can be purchased with the chimes. We currently have a DVD with Christmas songs, and a DVD with Children's songs (Bingo, Wheels on the Bus, etc.).”

We are definitely believers in our house—the chimes were so fun to play with, had such a great sound, and were the perfect intro lesson for Forrest on music-making. And I’m sure they’ll keep being fun as he gets older and can actually help play songs with the chimes and learn more about music.

Make sure to swing by Chimin’Time to check out the great chime sets and DVDs, and save 20% on your purchase from Chimin’Time by entering coupon code MAYBE20 at checkout!