Those lazy crazy days of summer have officially arrived so I thought I would do a post on fun and FREE summer apps.
My title page (above) was created using the first app on my list – Sand Drawing by Timbuktu. It is currently FREE for a limited time. Kids can relax on the virtual beach by drawing in the sand. The app comes with 3 drawing tools and 12 decorations that kids can choose to use. Decorations can easily be mixed, rotated, and resized. Waves clear the beach so to make way for new creations. Simple to use and fun!
I wish the app had a save feature built-in – perhaps that will be an option in an updated version. The good news is that you can save your child’s sand drawing by taking a screen shot of your iPad. Here’s how: 1. Have your child’s creation open. 2. Find your Sleep/Wake button (top right of the iPad). 3. Find your home button (centered on the bottom your iPad’s screen). 4. Hold down both buttons together – it only takes a second. 5. Release them and you should hear a camera shutter sound and see a white screen. 6. Check your Camera Roll – the image should be there!
Now the fun begins… use your creations to as illustrations in story apps, as backgrounds for photo albums of your vacation, as postcards to grandma & grandpa, etc. Get creative!!
Another educational app that is FREE for a limited time – Ice Cream Truck Game. Kids utilize their math skills while operating an ice cream truck in this game. They begin by purchasing the right amount of ingredients (cones, ice cream, and toppings) for each day. All ingredients are sold in metric measurement – liters or grams. Then, kids choose a cone size and set a price for the treats. Sales are affected by price and by the popularity of the treats. At the end of each day, the child sees a graph of liquid assets and a graph of customer satisfaction. They can assess what is working or not working and make the necessary adjustments for the next day. Kids have 10 days in each city. The goal is to make enough money to move to the next city (level). The levels get progressively more difficult. Lots of math skills are woven into this game – money, measurement, estimating, reading a graph, etc. I could see third, fourth, & fifth graders having fun with this one!
PH Summer Reading from One More Story is currently FREE. One More Story is an online library high quality children’s picture books that are professionally narrated and with music/sound effects. Benjamin D. Bookworm is the host for the stories – kids can listen and follow the highlighted text or read the book themselves. Right now, the app is FREE. You will need internet access to use it because it streams large multimedia files. This educational app currently has one book – How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long and illustrated by David Shannon. I love this book – it is one of my favorites! It is about a young boy named Jeremy Jacob who learns the finer points of pirate life from Captain Braid Beard and his crew. Very cute story – a perfect summer read!
Another FREEBIE – Preschool Books – I Like Summer from Grasshopper Apps. Written for preschoolers, this book is 1 of 20 books in the “I Like” series. Kids will enjoy listening to the story that highlights the joys of summer. They will also love looking at story’s photos. The best part of this educational app is that it can be customized. You can record the existing story in your child’s voice (or your voice). Or… you can completely change the text and record the new story in your child’s voice/your voice. How fun – have your child make up a story to go with the pictures!
More to come… check back!!
appydazeblog 