Featured App: News-O-Matic — a daily newspaper for kids

Do you find your kids uninterested in the daily news? Is the news on TV too intense for your child to watch? News-O-Matic brings current and kid-friendly news straight to an iPad or iPhone. Children receive five articles a day accompanied by engaging pictures, facts, videos and more. Bring nonfiction reading and current events to your children in a fun way. Even better, you can get 10 editions for free before committing to a subscription. Emilie gave it 4.5 stars, and I am sure you will love it, too!

If you would like to download News-O-Matic, Daily Reading for Kids (iPad/iPhone, FREE with in-app purchase), please support Smart Apps for Kids by using our link:

__________________________________________________________________________________

10 editions are included in the free trial, but there is a $9.99 in-app purchase after that period. External links are located under the info section.

____________________________________________________________________________________

News-O-Matic opens to an eye-catching and engaging main page. From this page, all five articles can be accessed, along with games, newsroom and information about the app. There is also a section to view saved articles and personal drawings.

Each news story is written with kid-appropriate vocabulary. For harder words that a child may not know, a pronunciation of the word with a typed definition pops up when the word is clicked. There is a "Read to Me" option on the article sidebar to hear the whole article read aloud. Users will also find a fact and an action that accompany each story. A slide show of pictures related to the article can be viewed, and there is sometimes a video to watch. A child can learn more about the author, view the citations, highlight and even draw and illustration. The "Ask Russ" button is available to ask questions about the article. The language can be switched between English and Spanish with a simple click. There is so much to do within each article.

Games include three different activities that coordinate with the day's news. "Puzzle" provides a picture, which will fall apart when the app is shaken, so the kid can put it back together. "Mystery Word" is a fun game like hangman, except a robot loses power with each incorrect letter. The words correspond to news articles. The final game is "On This Date," in which a child moves a rocket on a timeline to mark the spot of an event that occurred on the current date.

The News Room is a safe place for children to ask questions related to the news. Questions can be asked directly from the news article, but the news room is the place to go to see what questions have been answered. Russ, Editor-in-Chief, answers children's questions and posts them in this room. Pictures can be submitted to be considered for Pictures of the Day also. These pictures show up in the News Room.

By swiping the screen up and down, a reader can scroll to articles from different days. This is great in case you miss a day or two of reading. Did you know that November 19 was World Toilet Day? I didn't, but it was one of the fun facts I learned on this app. That may not have been the most important news, but it definitely would be something fun that would catch the attention of children. There are a wide variety of current news articles that children can relate to. News-O-Matic includes articles about sports, politics, food, musicians, school and much more.

Connect a child in your life with news today. Engaging and age-appropriate news articles can be delivered straight to a device for your viewing pleasure. Not only is this a great source of current events, but it is a wonderful nonfiction reading source. Make a difference in your child's life today with this great app.

From iTunes:

News-O-Matic covers relevant news of the day in an engaging way, exploring its many facets through images, maps, videos, and games. Whether your interest is sports, science, world news, or wacky events, News-O-Matic delivers what’s making the news! It offers a window to the world and beyond helping readers become global citizens!

Each daily issue features:
* Five dynamic news articles
* Rich and detailed images, videos, and illustrations
* Informative maps relating the user to the location of every story
* News Room for drawing or asking questions about the news
* An interactive history-based timeline
* Puzzles, games, fun facts, and many other elements for discovery
* Audio support for challenging vocabulary and full stories read aloud
* Improved design
* Content adapted for 3rd & 4th Graders
* Bilingual articles (English and Spanish)
* Bilingual Read to Me (English and Spanish)
* Save or print articles
* Highlight text
* Citations
* Access to 10 past editions
* IOS 8 compatible

All articles are written by professional children’s writers and reviewed by a child psychologist before publication to ensure emotionally safe content.

News-O-Matic is 100% ad-free. The app offers a 10-edition free trial, after which a $9.99 in-app purchase is required to unlock the content.

Unlimited Access includes access from all Apple mobile devices: iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

Schools and districts looking to buy News-O-Matic through Apple’s Volume Purchase Program should buy News-O-Matic School Edition.

Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase.

Privacy Policy and Terms of Use can be found at www.press4kids.com/privacy.html
The publisher of this daily news application is Press4Kids, Inc. To learn more about us, please visit us at www.press4Kids.com/newsomatic.html