My Songs for Children on Spotify

USM Junior Launches First UK Based Music Discovery App ‘My Songs’ on Spotify

My kids love music.  Freddy is at his happiest listening to songs and busting street dance moves to the latest tunes.  Kizzy is discovering the music that will soon become the soundtrack to her teens, finding bands she loves and song lyrics that speak to her.  Music is such a massive part of our lives and introducing children to an eclectic mix of artists and songs at a young age is a wonderful introduction to this world.

There is a great new free app on Spotify "My Songs", which allows children to discover the very best music online.  The App is safe, kid friendly and easy to navigate, taking kids on a colourful journey through various genres of music.  You can share, save and play songs through the app, which can be found on the App Finder on Spotify.  It works with both the free and premium versions.

You can make playlists for parties or make a spooky compilation for Halloween.  There are even lullabies for the very youngest music lovers to enjoy.  With TV theme tunes, contemporary pop songs, learning songs, classical music, movie songs and fun party hits to choose from, children will be kept entertained as they explore the world of music in a safe and secure way.

This is a really exciting tool for cool kids to explore music safely and discover favourite songs.  Kizzy quickly found the theme tune to her favourite cartoon show that she watched when she was little, Mona the Vampire!  She was delighted.  But the High School Hits collection, with hits from Glee, HSM, iCarly and Big Time Rush was her favourite find.  

There are so many songs to pick from, each collected together in compilation albums.  The "My Favorite Learning Album" is a great educational resource for little ones, featuring tunes to help them learn their times tables, the alphabet and numbers.  Learning multiplication facts to well known nursery rhyme tunes might be a good way to teach 5 year old Freddy his times tables as he loves singing.  Definitely worth a try!

This really is a great little app that is well worth having a play with if you have kids that love music.  I've discovered some great songs for Halloween and some pretty jazzy show tunes from musicals such as Hairspray, Grease and Mama Mia for me to share with the kids.  It's a lot of fun to sing and dance together!  It's a perfect place to make a kid friendly playlist for any occasion and is something that we'll definitely enjoy using again and again.  

BBC launches CBeebies Playtime app

The BBC today launched CBeebies Playtime, a mobile app for the BBC’s youngest audience and their parents, available for free on Android, iOS and Kindle Fire devices in the UK. The app features four fun games based on some of the most-loved CBeebies shows, all designed to aid child development in a safe and secure offline environment.

Yesterday, we were lucky enough to visit the CBeebies HQ at Media City in Salford, to be among the first people to have a go at using the new app!   CBeebies presenter Cat joined the kids as they played with the app on various devices.  My Tiny Tester Freddy loved the new app instantly and was able to play straight away, setting up his profile and playing on all the games.  The app is very user friendly for little people and bags of fun!

CBeebies Playtime is the perfect companion for young children, allowing them to play along with favourite characters whenever and wherever they want, including the Alphablocks, Octonauts, Tree Fu Tom and Something Special’s Mr Tumble. Parents can also join in the fun through the dedicated ‘Grown-ups’ area. Here they can record special messages for their little ones, find out about each game’s learning benefits, and access useful tips to help their children get the most from the app.

Profiles can be created for up to four children, allowing them to collect CBeebies bugs as rewards for their progress, and listen to messages left by their parents. Each profile features a hot air balloon that children can personalise, which transports them into the CBeebies Playtime world where they can choose to play one of four games.  The balloon can be made into a variety of shapes and decorated in a variety of patterns.  You can even take a 'selfie' and use the photograph to decorate the balloon!

Alphablocks Word Magic

Alphablocks Word Magic helps young children develop confidence in reading and writing by learning how to spell a range of words. They simply tap on a picture of an everyday object and spell it out by choosing the right Alphablocks, in the correct order. The words get progressively more difficult as the game goes on.  It is a great game for early readers and writers and will be perfect to help Freddy as he starts school in September.

  

Octonauts Cadet Training

Little ones get to help the Octonauts in a variety of missions to rescue sea creatures who have gotten themselves into trouble. Shaking the device to remove rubble and calling out to lost Orcas are just some of the ways children can help them out. It develops listening skills and teamwork, as the Octonauts guide players through a series of underwater adventures, as well as finding out more about the world around them. It also gives kids a host of fun facts about the underwater animals they help which is a nice feature.

Something Special Paint Pop

Play along with Mr Tumble and his friends, who need some help decorating their clothes and accessories. Children can colour them in by tapping the screen to pop paint bubbles as they pass over the items. This game is suitable for all children, including those with special needs, allowing them to have fun and develop confidence.  Freddy had some fun with this game and enjoyed decorating bow ties and welly boots with the paint bubbles!

Tree Fu Tom Chuckleberry Chase

It's harvest festival day after the Mushas have stolen all of the chuckleberries. Children can cast the super speed spell with Tree Fu Tom and help him race through Treetopolis to catch the Mushas and save the day. The game allows children to practice fine motor skills as they tilt the device to catch the berries and avoid obstacles in their path.  It is a quick paced, action packed game for little Tree Fu Tom fans.

Freddy loved the app.  It had the right balance of educational content and fun gaming action to keep him enthralled and entertained.  The app has the same quality and visual appeal of the TV shows that little ones love and even the youngest CBeebies fan will recognise the characters.

I love that the app doesn't need the internet to play it, which means it will be brilliant on car journeys or when out shopping.  I know it is completely safe and as it is absolutely free we can put it onto all our devices without the fear of running up any unexpected bills.

I think this app is a brilliant new addition to the CBeebies brand joining the TV shows, the radio station and the website to entertain our little ones!

Make Someone 'Appy With Parcelgenie

The feeling of receiving a surprise gift through the post never fails to put a smile on your face.  Knowing that someone has thought about you is simply heartwarming and brightens your day.  I was able to send my daughter a  thoughtful gift courtesy of Parcelgenie, the clever little app that allows you to send real gifts to your loved ones directly from your mobile phone.  It's an easy to use Instant Gift Messaging service that is incredibly clever in its simplicity.

The app is available for Apple, Windows and Android.  Once downloaded you can look through the selection of over fifty gifts available, everything from packets of love hearts, to cookies and hot chocolate to baby booties are available to send, with prices starting at just 99p.  All you need is your friend's mobile phone number.

Once you have ordered your gift and written a personal message, your friend receive text alerts, one from you with your message and one from Parcelgenie.  They provide their address details directly and the gift is sent to them, beautifully gift wrapped.

This service is perfect for birthdays or for letting someone know you are thinking about them.  Megan was thrilled with her Burt's Bees Essentials Kit that she received.  It arrived with a discount code so she could pass on the love to someone else!

The app is very easy to use and the service, once you have ordered a gift,  is excellent.  It is a lovely idea for sending gifts to anyone on your contact list that is hassle free, fun and will definitely brighten up their day.

Find out more at www.parcelgenie.com.