{App Review} Care for Our World – an amazing app for Earth Day (or any day)

Posted on April 22, 2017 by OMazing Kids

Be still my heart! Care for Our World, one of my favorite books and play sets, is now also available as an interactive app for the iPad. It’s perfect for Earth Day and any other day.

Here’s what I absolutely LOVE about this app:

Intuitive interface, options to toggle on/off several options separately (autoplay, narration, music, sounds and “learn words”), all interactive elements make sense and add to the story, the nature sound effects are amazing and relaxing, the voiceovers are very well done, text is highlighted as it is read, pages have forward and back arrows in the bottom corners making it very clear how pages are turned and the ability to jump to a particular page.
The beautiful rhyming words flow easily as you read or listen to it being read to you & inspire kids to think about all the gifts of nature and living creatures from forest, jungle, or sea that live in our world and a plea to take care of them.
The illustrations by Alexandra Ball are breathtaking! Really more works of art than just illustrations. This app brings them alive in an amazing way.
I love the gentleness of both the words & illustrations. Both evoke feelings of calmness & kindness. I love that the message of caring for the earth is done in a kid-friendly way.
Includes a coloring book activity section with “fill” and “draw” options, three brush size options in “draw” mode”, the ability to zoom in on a particular area of the picture to easily color small details, and the option to save to an art gallery and view it later.
Includes a virtual playset with 4 backgrounds, interactive characters and animals that can be added/removed, resized, flipped, layered and moved (wonderful to use to work on vocabulary, following directions, spatial concepts, adjectives, etc….) and the option to save to an art gallery and view it later. I hope they add an ocean background in a future update. It would also be nice to have the option to have the background nature sounds on while in this part of the app (the music could still play but the nature background sounds did not)
I liked that pictures from the coloring book and playset are all saved within the app rather than filling up your iPad’s Camera Roll.
Includes an Animal Encyclopedia area with kid-friendly facts, animal sound effects and real photos. My only wishes in this area for a future update would be voiceovers so kids could tap and have the facts read to them.
The story and illustrations have lots of opportunities for kids yoga: mountain, ocean breath, fish (sign), crab, shark, frog, snake, flower, buzzing bee breath, sloth, apple picking stretch, forward fold picking veggies, raccoon (gyan mudra mask), sheep, bear, tree, bird, squirrel, owl, spider (partners pose), butterfly, ladybug (child’s pose + wings), cricket (palming w/ chirp), cat, upward facing dog, bunny breath, turtle, camel, elephant, giraffe, lion, monkey (chest thymus taps), gyan mudra looking binoculars, koala self hug, kangaroo, penguin egg (child’s pose), discuss ways to be kind to: myself, other people, animals & our planet Earth, coloring relaxation (using the calming nature sound effects from the app and free printable coloring pages below).

This app is an amazing bargain at only $2.99 and is highly recommended!

App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/care-for-our-world/id1097364668?mt=8, iPad-only

App Developer: https://www.facebook.com/SunbreakGames/

Publisher: https://www.facebook.com/liveinspiredeveryday/

Author: https://www.facebook.com/karen.robbins.589?fref=ufi&rc=p

Illustrator: https://www.facebook.com/AlexandraBallIllustration

Here is a free printable 6-page PDF coloring booklet to go with the book, playset and app: care for our world coloring sheets and peace pledges – OMazing Kids

Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Founder of OMazing Kids, LLC – inclusive wellness & educational activities for kids of all abilities
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Blog: http://omazingkidsllc.com
.
Angela Moorad is the founder of OMazing Kids, LLC and is an ASHA certified & licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Kids Yoga Teacher with over 27 years experience working in a variety of settings (early intervention, schools, teletherapy & a nonprofit pediatric rehab hospital for children with developmental disabilities). She is an app beta tester for educational & therapeutic app developers and loves sharing info about great apps, products, books & toys to use with kids of all abilities.

Review & Giveaway: Care for Our World book & playset

Posted on August 2, 2012 by OMazing Kids

“Care for our world, for you and for me, for all living things from mountain to sea”. Want to inspire kids to be caring & to show kindness? Check out the wonderful “Care for Our World” book & playset from Compendium / Live Inspired!

Product Details: Get ready to meet some truly wonderful wild animals from every continent on Earth. As children turn the pages of this book, they’ll encounter dozens of playful creatures in their natural habitats and will learn about the importance of caring for all the plants, animals, and people that call planet Earth their home. A timely reminder of the responsibility every generation shares: to nurture and respect life in all its many forms.

Hardcover: 36 pages
Publisher: Compendium Inc (July 15, 2012)
Language: English
Includes the hardcover book, dozens of punch-out animals & a habitat storage box.

List Price: $34.95

Where to Purchase: ht tp://www.live-inspired.com/Care-for-Our-World-play-set-P1095, http://www.amazon.com/Care-World-Play-Punch-Out-Hardcover/dp/1935414631/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343869057&sr=1-9

The book is also available separately (list price: $16.95): http://www.live-inspired.com/Care-for-Our-World-book-P1094, http://www.amazon.com/Care-World-Book-Karen-Robbins/dp/1935414615

Here’s what I love about this book & playset:

The beautiful rhyming words flow easily as you read this book outloud & inspire kids to think about all the gifts of nature and living creatures from forest, jungle, or sea that live in our world and a plea to take care of them.
The illustrations by Alexandra Ball are breathtaking! Really more works of art than just illustrations.
I love the gentleness of both the words & illustrations. Both evoke feelings of calmness & kindness. I love that the message of caring for the earth is done in a kid-friendly way.
The book & playset items are printed with soy ink.
The playset animals & trees are made of very thick, sturdy cardboard. The kids I work with tend to be very rough on things so I am planning on having the items preassembled when I use them. I wrote the name of the item on each base using a very fine-tip permanent market before I punched the items out to aide in easy assembly. The items have to be taken apart to fit back in the storage box.
The playset is wonderful to use to work on vocabulary, following directions, spatial concepts, adjectives, etc….

Here’s a “sneek peek” inside the book & playset:

UPDATE: Check out this post for a review of the new app version of this book: https://omazingkidsllc.com/2017/04/22/app-review-care-for-our-world-an-amazing-app-for-earth-day-or-any-day/

Be sure to check out their social media sites: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/liveinspiredeveryday Twitter: http://twitter.com/LiveInspired Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/iliveinspired/.

Also check out Alexandra Ball’s, the illustrator, websites & social media pages: http://www.alexandraball.co.uk/, http://www.illustrationweb.com/artists/AlexandraBall/view, http://www.facebook.com/AlexandraBallIllustration, http://twitter.com/miss_bally_ball, http://pinterest.com/missballyball/my-illustrations/. She was SO kind to share black and white illustrations from the book to use as coloring sheets with the kids! Since the theme of the book is all about kindness & caring it was really cool to be able to tell the kids how the illustrator shared these via e-mail all the way from the UK 🙂

Here is a 6-page PDF coloring booklet I put together with a cover, the illustrations above and kids kindness & peace pledges: care for our world coloring sheets and peace pledges – OMazing Kids

The kids LOVED coloring as part of relaxation at the Inclusive OMazing Kids Yoga Class at JDMC! It was the Monday following the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado so this book & coloring activity were a perfect way to share a message of peace & kindness 🙂

Disclaimer: I received a free sample of this product to facilitate my review. Opinions expressed are my own.

How to enter the giveaway:

Enter via the “Giveaways” tab on the OMazing Kids FB page (http://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsYoga?v=app_197602066931325) & mention how you would be using this book & playset. (comments must be in English; must include full first & last name; 1 entry per Facebook account). Details count in determining the Grand Prize winner.
For one additional entry, leave a comment on this blog post. Must mention how you would be using this book & playset. If you only enter via blog post comment, you must also send me an e-mail with your mailing address (send to amoorad1@juno.com). You will not need to do this if you also entered via the Enter Giveaways Here…. tab on Facebook since your address will be provided on that entry (comments must be in English; 1 entry per person; must have a valid e-mail address).
Helpful Info & Tips: You increase your odds of winning by entering via both methods. Entering via the “Giveaways” tab will save you the step of e-mailing me your mailing address – the info you complete on the tab comes directly to me via an e-mail. FYI…. I use a free app from Shortstack for that tab and have no control over technical difficulties either on their end or on Facebook. In the event that you experience difficulties with the tab you can submit an entry via e-mail providing your full name, e-mail address, mailing address, how you would be using the book & playset. E-mail to: amoorad1@juno.com. Unfortunately Facebook rules prohibit me from accepting entries directly from posts or comments on Facebook.

Entry Deadline: Enter by any of the methods listed above by 11:59pm CST on August 4, 2012.

Rules of Participation:

Must be 18 years or older with a valid e-mail address.
Only USA entries are being allowed for this particular giveaway.
Employees or family members of OMazing Kids, LLC or the product’s company are not eligible.
No purchase required.
Comments submitted via the Enter Giveaways Here…. tab on Facebook or e-mail may be copied & pasted into the blog post.
Odds of winning will depend on the number of eligible entries received.
One (1) grand prize winner for the playset w/ book & two (2) book winners will be chosen via a random drawing of valid entries on August 5, 2012.
The grand prize winner will receive 1 playset w/ book. The two book winners will each receive 1 copy of the book.
The winner will be notified via e-mail and will be posted on the blog post.
The winner’s address will be forwarded to the company and they will be mailing the prize directly to the winner.
Prize Value: $34.95 playset w/ book; $16.95 book

Other Legal Stuff: I know it’s just a playset & book but just to be safe here is all the legal stuff…

This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. You are providing your information to OMazing Kids, LLC and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used for our internal purposes in relation to the administration of the giveaway. Your information will NOT be sold to any outside parties.

Indemnification/Hold Harmless: By participating, entrants agree: (a) to the decisions of OMazing Kids, LLC, which shall be final in all respects; (b) to release, discharge, and hold harmless OMazing Kids, LLC and its respective representatives and agents from all liability, injuries, losses or damages of any kind to persons or property resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the acceptance, possession, misuse or use of a prize, or from participation in and/or entry into the Contest or any Contest-related activity and for acceptance, delivery, or use of any prize; (c) that the foregoing parties have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guaranty, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, relating to any prize.