What We are Testing: Read and Draw Together Online with Caribu

My 7 year old niece lives in California and loves to draw and read. It's tough not to be closer to share bedtime stories and draw together. Well, now we can. We've been testing out Caribu, an app that let's you start a video call and read books and draw together on a smart phone or tablet.
Designed originally for military families as a way to share bedtime stories when a parent was far away, Caribu is a great way to connect with grandchildren, nieces or nephews. You both download the app for free on a smart phone or tablet (like an iPad) and can invite someone to join a video call. You see each other on video. You can select a book or choose to draw together. If you are reading a book, the words and images appear on the page and you can "turn" the digital pages together. The drawing section includes things like word search, mazes and matching games to play together, in addition to coloring and blank screens to draw on.
You can use the drawing app and some of the books for free, but you'll need a subscription for full access. 6 months is $45, 12 months is $60.

Now, instead of just Facetiming or talking on the phone, you can see each other and do an activity together.