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The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies this Halloween

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One of the best things about any holiday – whether it is Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Halloween – is the food.

Halloween, of course, is all about eating as much candy as possible. But let’s be honest, it’s more fun and much more satisfying making your own treats. It’s a great activity for the kids, too.

Looking for a fun snack and baking activity with the kids this Halloween? Well, you’re in luck – here is our best pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Cookies are great at any time of year. But adding the pumpkin touch makes them extra delicious and super festive. Trust us, these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are amazing. Yum.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies – Recipe

YieldsPreparation timeTotal time
35 cookies15 minutes1 hour

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups of flour

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. of baking soda

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter softened

½ cups of granulated sugar

¾ cups of brown sugar

¾ cups of pumpkin purée

1 large egg

2 tsp. of vanilla extract

2 cups of chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃) and prepare two baking trays with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk together in a bowl the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt.
  3. Using a handmixer, mix in a big bowl the butter and sugar until you get a light, fluffy texture. Beat in the purée, egg, and vanilla, and then add the flour mixture from step 2). Beat on low power until the flour is fully mixed in and then add the chocolate chips. Once you’ve done that, stick the cookie mix into the fridge for half an hour.
  4. Scoop 1 inch (2.5cm) balls onto the baking trays, with two inches (5cm) between each ball, and bake for approximately 12 minutes or until browning lightly around the edges (but still soft in the center).
  5. Eat and enjoy your pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Looking for pumpkin design ideas? Head to our post 4 Fun Last Minute Pumpkin Designs for Halloween 2020 for some awesome pumpkin inspiration.

Al, Joel and Panda from The Mik Maks

The Mik Maks are now playing on kiddZtube!

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We are glad to announce that The Mik Maks, one of the most successful bands among young kids, are now on KiddZtube!

Magikbee has signed an agreement with The Mik Maks which will make all their songs and videos available on kiddZtube, starting precisely on International Music Day 2020, October 1st. What a great way to celebrate the occasion! Our safe video app for kids is growing every week, always with quality content.

The Mik Maks

A family bringing rock to young kids

Entertainment dynamos The Mik Maks are a family group from Australia who produce and perform wholesome music videos for kids and young families. The group is made up of brothers Joel and Al McInnes, along with their own children and their lovable friend ‘Drums the Panda’.

It was the childhood of Joel and Al, spent in a farming region, that inspired them to create this children’s country-rock band. It all started with a song they made to entertain their kids, who were so excited about the song that they composed more and more. Joel and Al then realized they were meant to do this their whole lives.

The band’s songs are inspired by their own memories as kids in the countryside, as well as their experiences as parents taking their children to learn about life on a farm. The Mik Maks also sing classic nursery rhymes, but always in their signature style.

Thumbnail for the music's video "Superheroes Finger Family" from The Mik Maks
“Finger Family Superheroes” song from The Mik Maks

The Mik Maks on kiddZtube, a perfect match

The Mik Maks and Magikbee are a perfect match. Truly aligned with kiddZtube’s philosophy, The Mik Maks pride themselves on educating young children about the values of kindness, compassion, respect, and family. The Mik Mak’s music is fun, inclusive and highly engaging for the whole family.

They recently cemented their place as a huge success in the toddlers and young kids category by surpassing 1 billion views on YouTube. They are finally on kiddZtube, the safe streaming platform for young children.

About kiddZtube

kiddZtube, owned by edtech company magikbee, is often referred to as one of the top video platforms for early age kids. KiddZtube is ad-free, has no in-app purchases, and even branded content and advanced product placement is absent in order to exclusively provide pure fun learning moments.

The interface was designed to facilitate young kids’ interaction. As it’s image-based, there is no need to read to navigate.
The app is available on Amazon, Google Play, and App Store, and works with any device you have, whether smartphone, tablet, or smart TV. It has thousands of subscribers in more than 200 countries.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 01-180x180.jpg
Find kiddZtube on your favorite store:

Amazon >
App Store >
Google Play >

Lea and Pop, animated series

Lea and Pop arrives to kiddZtube

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Magikbee and LooLoo Kids have inked a deal to stream Lea and Pop on kiddZtube.

The animated series for preschoolers will debut September 24 with 29 episodes. More will be released over the coming weeks.

About Lea and Pop

The show Lea and Pop is a co-production between Anima Kitchen, the Spanish animation studio, and LooLooKids.

Lea and Pop are two siblings who love music. Lea is five years old, and she’s a real star: she dances, plays instruments, and sings. Lea likes to personalize her clothes, decorate the house and dress up her brother Pop.

The one-year-old really enjoys dressing up as animals and, although young, he’s able to recognize and follow the songs’ rhythm, and also helps with the melodies.

Lea and Pop happy in a rainy day
The siblings Lea and Pop singing in the rain.

The magical world of songs and nursery rhymes

Lea and Pop get a lot of help from their friends, the Musical Animals. They might look like animal toys, but they’re also magical musical instruments.

Bongo is a hippopotamus with a drum, played by two little birds. There is also Cocopiano, a crocodile with piano keys. Patty is another toy friend, a duck whose squawks are capable of accompanying any song. Finally, Moon & Ringo are two inseparable drummers, a frog and a toad.

Music takes Lea and Pop, and whoever hears them, to an enchanted world. Kids will get delighted by the magic of their songs and nursery rhymes, and will love singing along.

KiddZtube is growing its content’s catalog

This is the latest deal announced by kiddZtube, having previously made public the agreements with ZeptoLab (Om Nom Stories), Yellow Spot Productions (Super Geek Heroes), Little Smart Planet, and Next Animation Studio Limited (Out of This Word and nxBEATS).

About LooLoo Kids

LooLoo Kids is a Romanian edutainment platform but its influence spreads far beyond borders. It is a Premium YouTube Partner, with videos counting over 500 million views per year.

About kiddZtube

kiddZtube, owned by edtech company magikbee, is often referred to as one of the top video platforms for early age kids. KiddZtube is ad-free, has no in-app purchases, and even branded content and advanced product placement is absent in order to exclusively provide pure fun learning moments.

The interface was designed to facilitate young kids’ interaction. As it’s image-based, there is no need to read to navigate.
The app is available on Amazon, Google Play, and App Store, and works with any device you have, whether smartphone, tablet, or smart TV. It has thousands of subscribers in more than 200 countries.

Find kiddZtube on your favorite store:

Amazon >
App Store >
Google Play >

young kid watching safe videos on kiddztube

KiddZtube is looking for shows to license

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With around five thousand videos so far and millions of views per month, kiddZtube is looking to expand its offer by licensing more kids’ shows.

Recent licensing agreements

Magikbee, kiddZtube owner, has recently signed several license agreements. In June, magikbee closed deals with ZeptoLab to include “Om Nom Stories” on kiddZtube, and, supported by Edutainment Licensing, with Yellow Spot Productions (for “Super Geek Heroes”), with Little Smart Planet (for the series with the same name), and with Next Animation Studio Limited (for “Out of This Word” and “nxBEATS”). In July, also with the help of Edutainment Licensing, Magikbee licensed “Lea & Pop”, from Momko Net.

Kind of shows kiddZtube is looking for

KiddZtube is hunting series of any type (cartoons, stories, learning shows, songs, arts & crafts) for different ages – babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and grade-schoolers up to 8 years old. The kids’ shows must be aligned with kiddZtube culture: fun, educational, gender-neutral, and with a global appeal.

We want more than just appropriate videos for a certain age group. We are committed to providing engaging, top quality content.

Hugo Ribeiro, magikbee’s CEO

What you can read in the quote is in fact the company’s motto. All videos are organized by categories and adequate age-groups and are reviewed by real-life teachers before they’re made available in the app. This means kids can use the app safely with no need for adult supervision at all, and while having a fun experience.
Another feature that makes this app special is the quiz questions on the videos, teaching spelling, colors, emotions, directions, and more, stimulating non-passive viewing.

Absolutely kid-friendly app

Parents also don’t need to worry about any kind of advertisement. KiddZtube is ad-free and has no in-app purchases. Even branded content and advanced product placement are absent in order to exclusively provide pure fun learning moments. The interface was designed to facilitate young kids’ interaction. As it’s image-based, there is no need to read to navigate.

Parent’s choice

kiddZtube is trusted by parents, recognized by several international institutions for its educational outcomes, and is often referred to as one of the top video platforms for early age kids. The app is available on Amazon, Google Play, and App Store, and works with any device you have, whether smartphone, tablet, or smart TV. It has thousands of subscribers in more than 200 countries.

The Parent Dashboard shows which categories and channels the kid sees most, the average time spent on the app per day, and the success rate of answered quizzes.
The settings menu, blocked by a security question, allows parents to filter videos by age or type and set a daily maximum screening time.

PITCH US!

Content producers and licensors can get in touch with kiddZtube team by email (info@magikbee.com). As a minimum, it is recommended that proposals include title, target audience, format, genre, and a brief program synopsis.
nx beats and out of this word on kiddztube

New cartoons: “Out of This Word” and “nxBEATS” on kiddZtube

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Magikbee has licensed two more shows to present on kiddZtube, both from Next Animation Studio Limited, headquartered in Hong Kong, in a deal supported by Edutainment Licensing. “Out of This Word” and “nxBEATS” have a refreshing new approach to education contents and will certainly captivate a huge audience on kiddZtube.

New episodes of the cartoons will be released along the next weeks – “Out Of This Word” on Wednesdays and “nxBEATS” on Thursdays, starting August 5th.

 

Out of This Wordout of this word

Out of This Word explores the stories behind popular idioms and phrases like “sleep tight”, “break a leg” or “salad days” which, when taken word by word, may have a goofy meaning.

The show features two siblings. Max is an easy-going, playful and curious cat who takes words quite literally. It is up to Moon, a smart, logical and bookish bunny, to explain to him the real meaning of idioms. To present the different theories about the origins of English sayings and expressions, she recalls some classic books, walks back in time to historic events and portrays common situations.

 

nxBEATSnx-beats-songs-for-kids

nxBEATS gathers a series of classic children’s songs, like “A tikest, a takest”, “The bear went over the mountain” or “Pop goes the weasel”, with a modern upbeat twist. It is aimed at kids between 3 and 8 years old, but kids of all ages will enjoy singing and dancing with nxBEATS too.

 

About Next Animation Studio Limited

Next Animation Studio Limited is specialized in high-quality animation, handling every step of the 3D animation, from concept and storyboards to CGI. The studio employs hundreds of professionals and is known around the world for a daily animated news animation published under its TomoNews platform.

 

 

Find kiddZtube on your favorite store:

Amazon >
App Store >
Google Play >

Little Smart Planet Logo - videos on kiddztube

New on kiddZtube: Little Smart Planet

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Another great announcement to make: more licensed content on our video streaming platform for kids. You can now watch Little Smart Planet on kiddZtube!

 

Licensed content

After signing a license agreement with ZeptoLab to cast Om Nom Stories and with Yellow Spot Productions, creator of Super Geek Heroes, magikbee has signed a contract with Little Smart Planet, in a deal mediated by Edutainment Licensing.

The city - episode from Little Smart Planet

About Little Smart Planet

It started as a platform of pedagogic mobile games and now has also a series of educational videos aimed at preschoolers (1 to 5 year olds). The show helps children learn or review basic concepts in English like colors, numbers, the alphabet, food or animals, as well as how to write or pronounce the words.

The catchy songs entertain kids while helping them to memorize and cement knowledge. That is why so many non-English speaking kids watch this series to practice their language skills. In fact, Little Smart Planet’s episodes provide an engaging way for the little ones to learn vocabulary and expressions in English.

Girl astronaut near clock. Learning how to tell time

Little Smart Planet is a trademark of Little Smart Planet S.L.

Will your kids join Little Smart Planet’s learning community? Feel free to share your thoughts below!

 

Find kiddZtube on your favorite store:

Amazon >
App Store >
Google Play >

Om Nom latest seasons

Om Nom Stories – Super Noms: New Seasons on kiddZtube!

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Season 11 of Om Nom Stories  (Om Nom Stories – Super Noms) is now on kiddZtube. But the great news doesn’t end here…

Every Tuesday, up to 18th August we will release one new season up to season 15.

Om Nom Stories new season episode

Om Nom Stories new seasons release dates on kiddZtube

    • Season 11: 21st July
    • Season 12: 28th July
    • Season 13: 4th August
    • Season 14: 11th August
    • Season 15: 18th August

Following the agreement made last December with Zeptolab, the new seasons will be running on Magikbee’s streaming platform – kiddZtube -, available on App Store, Google Play and Amazon App Store to smartphones, tablets and TVs.

 

About Om Nom

Om Nom is a cheerful green monster who loves candy. Always ready for adventure, his curiosity leads him to the most fun situations, which makes it easy for kids to recognize themselves in this cute little monster.

Om Nom Stories premiered in 2012 as a continuation of a story that was first presented in the mobile game series Cut the Rope. Have enjoyed a huge success worldwide, the long-running kids comedy continues to collect fans.

Om Nom Stories Logo

Om Nom is a trademark of Zeptolab UK Limited.

Learn more about Magikbee

Learn more about ZeptoLab

Super GeeK Heroes animated series

Super Geek Heroes now on kiddZtube!

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We are glad to announce that Yellow Spot Productions and Magikbee have signed a two-year licensing contract which will make Super Geek Heroes available on kiddZtube.

About Super Geek Heroes

Super Geek Heroes is an edutainment series aimed at kids between 2 to 6 years old. Characters talk in a simple way and are really easy to understand. That’s because heir mission is to stimulate children to enjoy learning. With Super Geek Heroes, learning is fun! Kids are introduced to animals, everyday objects, taught how to use playthings as props or about the benefits of keeping things tidy and being polite, among many other meaningful lessons.

Super Geek Heroes animated series

The Super Geek Heroes are Ronnie Rock, Ant Active, Vicky Voice, Suzi Smiles, Peter Planet. Jake Jotter and Millie Maths.

All the areas of learning your child must be taugh

Each one of the seven characters has a superpower derived from the areas of learning for early years stage as recommended by EYFS:

  • expressive arts and design;
  • physical development;
  • mathematics;
  • understanding the world;
  • literacy;
  • communication and language;
  • personal, social and emotional development.

EYFS is a standard framework that all English schools and childcare providers for children under five years must meet. Due to this concern for the complete development of children, the animated series is even used by educators to foster learning.

With Super Geek Heroes learning is fun!

Kids learn expressive arts and design with Ronnie Rock, mathematics with Millie Maths, literacy with Jake Jotter, and communication and language with Vicky Voice. Peter Planet helps them to understand the world around them. Ant Active encourages them to develop their physical abilities, while Suzi Smiles aids on personal, social and emotional development.

The 3D animated characters are voiced-over by real children so kids can easily relate to them. It works so well that the series counts an amazing 1.5 million subscribers.

Super Geek Heroes animated series for kids

Super Geek Heroes is a trademark of Yellow Spot Productions Limited

 

About Yellow Spot Productions

Yellow Spot Productions develops characters, 3D animations and educational concepts mostly targeting young children.
The company based in the United Kingdom aims to help kids learn with entertaining and educational contents, stimulating them to grow their skills while having fun.

About Magikbee

Headquartered in Portugal, Magikbee is a member of the Portuguese Startup Braga Innovation Hub, a Microsoft Ventures partner. Magikbee’s mission is to reimagine screen time by creating an ecosystem that promotes active fun & learning through a range of innovative technologies for kids.
Magikbee has earned several international recognitions including as a finalist of the Silicon Valley World Cup Tech Challenge in the AR/VR category, finalist of the Prémio Nacional Industrias Criativas and a STEM award from Purdue University.

 

#EuropeansAgainstCovid19 – Magikbee’s Contribution to a European Cause

#EuropeansAgainstCovid19 – Magikbee’s Contribution to a European Cause

#EuropeansAgainstCovid19 Campaign by European Parliament

The coronavirus has transformed the way we live. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost and much of the world, including most of Europe, has been locked down. Things only starting to ease up in recent weeks.

Even in difficult times such as these, there are positive stories to tell. Europeans have come together to help one another fight the virus, protect health services, and take care of the vulnerable. The European Union has mobilised over €3 trillion to that end.

#EuropeansAgainstCovid19

Is a campaign spreading positive stories of European solidarity and resistance against the virus.

We at Magikbee were absolutely delighted to be invited to join the campaign. We were asked to join after our latest app, Virus Fight Club, came to the attention of EU officials.

The game, available across all smartphones and tablets, aims to spread positive messaging on how to limit contagion of the coronavirus. In Virus Fight Club, the player must traverse global cities distributing masks and practising social distancing.

 

#EuropeansAgainstCovid19 – Magikbee’s Contribution to a European Cause

MG, Virus Fight Club’s hero, helps New York City by handing out masks

 

Magikbee was one of many varied initiatives that make up the #EuropeansAgainstCovid19 campaign, which you can read up about here.

As part of the program, our CEO, Hugo Ribeiro, featured this week on a Zoom conference hosted by the European Parliament. The participants included MEP Pedro Silva Perreira and Giedrė Eiliakas, the owner of a restaurant chain that is using its sites to cook for hospital workers. You can hear then different perspectives of the participants by watching the conference here.

 

#EuropeansAgainstCovid19 – Magikbee’s Contribution to a European Cause

The Magikbee team working remotely in April 2020

All things considered, we are extremely proud to have the change to use our skills as educators and developers to make a difference. We will keep striving to be a force for good!

 

5 Important Tips for Parenting During the Coronavirus Crisis

If somebody had told you a year ago that everybody would be stuck at home, with schools and many workplaces closed, you would have struggled to believe them.

However, that is the exact reality we find ourselves in, as a result of the social distancing measures governments have put in place to protect health care systems and the vulnerable from the coronavirus.

We all understand the reasons for these measures, but that doesn’t make them easy to live with. Parenting, which is hard work at the best of times, has become even more intense and stressful with the kids home from school and requiring supervision and care twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

While in some places there are signs of the lockdown easing, in the near-term, we have to learn to deal with this new, difficult reality. Parenting has become more challenging than ever before in our lifetimes.

It is also crucial that parents are able to take care of their own wellbeing. It isn’t easy, but with the right approach, parents can take steps to manage work, child care, and their own mental health during this unprecedented crisis.

Here are five tips for doing so from the parents at Magikbee.

 

  1. Create a routine/schedule

Creating a schedule for each day, and sticking to it, helps enormously in getting things done and juggling work, childcare, and managing the house. If you are living with a partner or family, build your routines together to make the best use of your time and divide up taking care of the kids.

Below is an example of a schedule created by Magikbee team member João to manage responsibility for the care of his three-year-old niece.

Taking control of your time by creating a schedule is a great start for managing the many tasks a parent has over the course of the day with kids home from school. Hopefully, it will give you some peace of mind, too.

 

  1. Don’t worry too much if you think the kids are behind at school

Schools are shut, and kids are at home. In most cases, they have work assigned and video classes to attend. But let’s face it: it isn’t the same as going to school every day, and managing a group of kids digitally is really challenging for teachers.

video lesson coronavirus parenting

A video lesson from home

Many parents will be concerned about their kids’ education in this period. Are they falling behind? Will there be a long term effect on their schooling?

There are two important things to remember. First, that all families with kids are having the same difficulties. Second, social distancing measures and school closures are temporary.

Are you kids falling behind? They might be, slightly, but it is nothing to worry about. Even if the lockdowns extend into the summer, children will be missing a few months of real school at the very most.

Bottom line? They’ll catch up! 

A couple of months off is not going to have any effect on your kids’ education in the long term. So don’t worry too much if you feel your kids are being less productive than they would be at school.

 

  1. Let your kids play or watch TV

When the family is stuck inside, there are fewer ways to keep the kids busy (though if you are looking for some ideas, check out our blog post on indoor activities).

You will probably run out of ideas – and time! – for keeping them busy. That might result in more TV or video game time than you would normally allow.

If your kids end up watching more TV than normal, don’t stress. It’s not the end of the world, and like the education point above, it’s only temporary and won’t do any damage in the long-term.

Plus, choosing the right content helps a lot. For preschoolers and kids up to 12 years old, our app, kiddZtube, offers thousands of fun, educational videos. We’ve also added workouts, arts & crafts and other activity videos to entertain your kids in the lockdown period.

#stayhome learning

Some of the themes covered on kiddZtube!

  1. Make time for yourself

This is going to be really hard. But you must set aside time for yourself! Even half an hour a day in a quiet space just to relax with a book, the radio, or a bit of Netflix will help you destress.

Make sure the kids, your partner, and anyone else you live with is aware of your me-time, and make sure they understand not to interrupt it!

  1. Be gentle on yourself

This is an incredibly challenging period for you as a parent. If you don’t get things right, don’t beat yourself up about it!

Your kids may fight more, study less, watch more TV, and generally be a pain in the neck! That’s stressful, but it doesn’t mean you are a bad parent. So go easy on yourself and remember that this is all temporary.

Equally important as taking care of your kids is looking after your own physical and mental health. Make both an absolute priority so you are in the best possible shape to deal with this difficult time.