This product is on our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide
My 6 year old and 3 year old daughters are at the age where they see their older siblings using computers, tablets, etc and they want to join in. But it is hard to find games and apps that are not only engaging, keeping their attention for relatively long periods of time, but that are also educational. I don’t want my young child to sit and play with a game or app like Spongebob Squarepants for any amount if time, really. But I certainly wouldn’t want them to do it for a half an hour or so. Sadly, those are usually the types of things that keep their attention.
But I found these really neat cards called Cypher Kids Club Augmented Reality Cards. You use them with an i-device like an iPad, iPod, etc. They have apps that you can download in the iTunes store by either searching them out or scanning the QR code on the card box.
You can find the cards at select Target and now, online at BestBuy.com, and once you download the apps, you are ready to start using them. Once you do, the cards literally come to life in a 3D manner. The cards are really thick so they aren’t easily bent by little hands but they aren’t so thick or heavy that they are hard to hold. There are several sets to choose from like numbers, animals, letters. We actually have all three of those sets.
To use them, you open the app and choose the mode that you want to use, either Exploration or Snapshots. Then you hold the card beneath your devices camera/scanner and the app does the rest. The picture begin to lift off the page. You don’t need 3D glasses or anything, yet they really do come right off that page like a 3D movie. It is so neat and the kids really love them.
In my experience, the movements are a bit jerky. I felt like they could move a little more smoothly. It seemed liked the images wanted to freeze up a little. The kids didn’t seem to mind, though, and played on. For me, I would want it to be a smoother experience.
Exploration mode has audio that describes the animal and lets your child interact by making the number run around the page or making the tiger run.
Snapshots lets your child move the card around and really see the animal, number, letter from all sides. You can view it in near 360 and really get a good look at the animal. The girls LOVED being able to move the animals around. These were their favorite cards and they have played with them more than the letters or numbers.
I did a quick video to try and show you better how the app and cards work. But the kids kept trying to take the cards from me so I had to sneak off to do the video and the only place I could go was the spare bathroom. Needless to say, this is a very rough video. Please ignore the floor. Someone cut their bangs earlier and left a mess for me to clean up. And, of course, I didn’t see it until I was on the floor recording. 😀
AND I made a big boo boo in the video. I said that the animals were somewhat cartoony. After looking through all of the cards better I realized that they are actually pretty realistic looking. I’m in love with all of them but the f-r-o-g. I have a MAJOR phobia of those and can’t even look at them. That card must stay hidden or I’ll pass out. True story.
So, anyway, here is a quick, and not very good video.
Connect with Cypher Kids Club online: 
Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Cypher Kids Club #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions are my own.
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I am a stay-at-home- mom, living in KY with my husband and children. I’m a travel and lifestyle blogger encouraging folks to live their life one adventure at a time while also focusing on beauty, essential oils and health. From time to time I also like to showcase my adorable pets along with my family. Along with Cinnamon Hollow I can be found at The Martin Family Adventure … read more
Thanks for sharing your experience and the video! The frog comment made me chuckle 😉