Parents Using 'Back To School' Apps To Gear Up For The New Year

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The countdown is on for "back to school," which can be a relief to parents, but also a crazy time.

If it's on the chaotic side, help can be at your fingertips with "back to school" apps, as CBS2's Cindy Hsu reported.

Megan Glionna, the mother of a young girl going into the third grade, said organizing the family for school is a huge jigsaw puzzle.

"Who's going to do what on what day, how they're going to get there and who's going to pick them up," Glionna said.

Parenting expert Tammy Gold, who has three kids, said apps make things a lot easier. One of her favorites is Cozi, where the family's schedule is organized with a color-coded calendar the whole family can pull up.

There's also Life360, which keeps your family connected by sharing everyone's location on a map, and you can receive alerts when kids arrive or leave specific places.

To keep track of homework, which can be a nightmare, there's myHomework.

"An app like this helps organize all the subjects, all the homework, so you know where it is or if it's late, so you can really help kids get ahead of the curve and not fall behind," Gold said.

Gold and her kids leave the Teach Me Series, which is fun for kids and helps parents gauge their child's academic progress.

"And you would get the coins and take them away to buy stuff," said Presley Gold, 7.

Five-year-old Gemma Gold likes YouTube Kids.

"Math, counting and reading my letters," Gemma said.

If it's tough to get your kids up for school, you can try an app like Kinderclock that helps the little one's manage their time.

To find more great apps, just search for them online. Look for "best education" or "back to school" apps for 2016.

Educational and parenting blogs often rate the different apps and most of them are free.