This FREE iPad app has 10 activities that teach colors, shapes and numbers to preschool-aged children. Kids learn about opposite and similar colors as well as mixing colors. They draw circles, squares, triangles and lines. The numbers 1 – 5 are also taught. It’s simply done but appealing and engaging. It is definitely worth downloading.
Award winning interactive book for kids. This story follows Millie on her first adventure. Millie (a lovable dog) has super powers, loves bacon, and is a master of disguise.
Other adventures in the series are: Millie and the Lost Key and Millie’s Book of Tricks and Treats. I was able to download all of these books for FREE by waiting for special offers.
Check it out using this link: Millie Was Here | an iPad book app for kids
Highly recommended – This is the cutest iPad/iPhone book that I have seen. And Millie looks like a dog I know and love!
my dog, Bounce
Evernote is an amazing FREE app. which allows you take notes and save ideas from multiple sources – the internet, emails, photos, recordings, etc. It syncs your notes to a server so that all of your saved information is accessible on multiple devices and if that’s not amazing enough – it’s searchable.
Here is a short video from the company: Watch our videos to learn more about using Evernote. | Evernote.
There are limitless uses for Evernote. One of the things I use it for personally is a recipe file. I use the Evernote web clipper so my recipes are in computer, on my iPad, AND in my phone (when I get to the store to buy ingredients). You can use Evernote to organize your ideas if you are planning a party, redecorating a room, looking for a new house, etc.
Students can use Evernote too. I have friends whose kids use Evernote to organize information for school reports and/or tests. Evernote for School promotes the many ways that the program is being used in classrooms.
Evernote is one of those apps that are FREE but you can pay for an upgrade if you find that you want more space and/or features.
This app has a 4 star rating in the app store after being rated by over 100,000 people.
Highly recommended!
This app is one of those FREE seemingly simple apps with tremendous potential. It is basically turns your iPad into a recordable whiteboard. You can use it to sketch out and record ideas for yourself or to share with others. Teachers can send tutorial videos home with kids. Kids can create videos to help each other. There are so many ways this program can be used.
Here is a link to a You Tube video that explains how it works: What is ScreenChomp? The iPad app to Record. Sketch. Share! – YouTube.
Highly recommended for younger students. Also refer to my June 25 posting on Educreations for information about another great screencasting app.
There are several apps with this name. This review refers to the FREE one by Mind the Kids Ltd.
This app gives kids step-by-step visual and verbal instructions for 12 drawing episodes. Episodes teach how to draw things such as a dog, a princess, and the space shuttle. In the “I am watching” mode, kids can use paper and pencil. In the “I am drawing” mode, the program verbally explains as it draws in red lines for the child to draw over on the iPad or iPhone. Then the red lines disappear leaving only the child-drawn image behind. There is an option to color and add additional details or background to your drawing. Drawings can be emailed or saved in your photos.
A couple of issues – I think it would be difficult to use this program on anything smaller than an iPad. I also wish there was the option of a blank sheet so that kids could create their own original drawing. It is possible to create your own drawing but… you have to go into an episode and basically ignore the instructions to do your own thing.
All in all, it is somewhat limited but it is also FREE and fun.
As the name implies, this app is a card matching game along the lines of concentration. It has a cute little tiger on the front so I downloaded it for free one day just to check it out. I was hoping to find all sorts of cute little animals for kids to match up. Instead the cards have an odd assortment of items to match – like shoes, jewelry and wine glasses (hmmm). The app times you & keeps score as you progress through several levels. In addition, as you successfully complete a level, you are given verbal praise such as awesome, cool or to easy (not to be confused with too easy which actually is the correct homonym).
There doesn’t seem to be a free version available any more – just the $2.99 HD version. I am not sure I would download again it for free let alone $2.99. Matching games are good for kids but there must be better versions on the market.
Very cool FREE app that permits you to draw in type. I have the free version which has limitations but I would recommend starting with it just to get the creative juices flowing 🙂
A use that immediately comes to mind is writing concrete poetry – how cool would that be! Kids could write a tornado poem in the shape of a tornado, a cloud poem in the shape of a cloud, etc. The app allows you to input whatever text you want. Then you can use those words to draw a simple shape in any color you wish. You can also change the font and the size of the text.
And……even the free version permits you to save your creation to a photo gallery. So from there the sky is the limit – you can email it to parents or grandparents, bring it into another program (such as Story Kit) to create a book, etc. Awesome!!
Highly recommended!
This FREE app can be used by young kids to write stories on an iPhone, iPod or iPad. Kids can illustrate, take photos or use saved images to enhance their stories. They can also record themselves reading their stories. Finalized stories can be shared on the StoryKit server. Kids receive a private web address for their stories. Pretty cool!!
Also included in this app are 4 digital books (3 LIttle Pigs, Humpty Dumpty, Goldilocks & the 3 Bears, Rocket Man) to read or they can be edited to create another version of the tale. They are older versions of the stories not the ones that kids are familiar with. The Rocket Man has a reference to smoking in it.
The value of this app is in its writing component. Some teachers are using this app with iPod or iPad labs because it’s FREE and easy to use even with young kids. There are many uses beyond basic stories – take photos and create a travel journal, illustrate and define vocabulary words, photograph and explain cycles in nature, write about historical images, create a math glossary, photograph & label geometric shapes, etc. You are only limited by your imagination!
Worth downloading.
I LOVE this musical app which is designed to use on the iPhone/iPad. Kids (and adults) can easily learn to play cute little tunes on the interchangeable horns. There are three levels of difficulty – easy, medium, and hard. Kids can also play on the keyboard and make up their own tunes. It’s a great app for the budding musician 🙂
The app was free the day I downloaded it but it generally costs $.99. There are additional charges to unlock more advanced levels.
Highly recommended!
After teaching third grade for MANY years, I have definitely developed a third grade sense of humor. I love riddles and used them in my classroom for years. They are fun and educational (because they make kids think about homonyms and the multiple meanings of words).
With this app you can easily text, email, or paste the jokes into FB, Twitter, etc. The jokes seem to be geared to kids as they are fairly simple with a lot of play on words.
That being said, I am a bit cautious about recommending this app to be in kids’ hands for a couple of reasons – the use of the word moron and one kid-inappropriate joke comparing a naked man to an elephant. Funny…. but NOT for kids.
If you, the adult, are the keeper of this app then go ahead and get it. Ask the riddles and have the kids answer while waiting in a restaurant or for an appointment. It’s free and 99% appropriate for kids.
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