Category Archives: apps for kids

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Dic-Dic

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Dic-Dic

FREE for a limited time – Dic-Dic. Multilingual dictation to practise spelling, writing and sound-letter matching. This educational app helps kids learn to spell common words in four different languages (English, Spanish, Russian, French) and has 3 levels of difficulty. It’s great for kids who are beginning readers/spellers in their native language and/or for kids learning a new language. All words are read by native speakers of the language. Then the child tries to spell the word by typing its letters into the blanks – great for beginning word processing. Clues can be turned on or off depending on the level of the child. If a student misspells a word, the app urges him/her to try the word again. If the word is misspelled a second time, the app spells it correctly. I love this feature – positive encouragement to try again! The app tracks the child’s progress in albums (one for each level and language) so that parents/teachers can monitor success. It also includes an extra game to reward successful players. This app is suitable for a wide range of kids – check it out while it’s free. 🙂

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dic-dic.-multilingual-dictation/id643656920?mt=8&uo=4

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Find the Synonym

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FREE  – Find the Synonym, an app designed for the iPhone/iPad. This app is listed as a game rather than an educational app but it would be great for kids in upper elementary school/junior high. A word is shown with its part of speech and definition. Kids are challenged to create a 4 – 7 letter synonym of that word using the letters provided. Points are awarded based on the length of the word, the time involved, whether clues are used, and/or if any mistakes are made. Badges are earned as the game is played. It’s simply designed  – not a lot of bell & whistles but it is heavy on content. There are a total of 1600 synonyms in the app. After you find 250 of them, the antonyms are unlocked. There are 700 antonyms in the app.

I realize that this app was not necessarily designed for students but it could easily be used for educational purposes. More flexibility in the settings would make it more suitable for classroom use. I could not find a way to restart the game. The game picks up where it left off & points are cumulative, so only one person can play. Also, having access to both synonyms and antonyms would be a plus. Regardless, I am sure that teachers will come up with creative ways to use this resource. 🙂

Recommended!

Find The Synonym - FreshLogo

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Leonard

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Leonard

FREE again for a limited time – Leonard, a fun interactive story about a young boy with an excellent imagination. When Leonard’s family moves from the city to the country, he is met with the challenge of finding new friends. He searches everywhere – a bug-filled forest, underwater, outer space, a safari, even his sister’s tea party. Kids join Leonard on his problem-solving adventure and encounter interactive surprises along the way. The story has 2 reading modes: read it myself or read it to me. Leonard is a beautifully illustrated, sweet story that your kids are sure to enjoy!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/leonard/id508815860?mt=8&uo=4

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Ed Emberley’s Shake & Make

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ed

FREE for a limited time – Ed Emberley’s Shake & Make, a puzzle app for kids. Ed Emberley, an American illustrator, is best known for his work in children’s books. His  instructional drawing books use numbers, letters, and shapes to teach elementary kids how to draw. I have been a fan of his work since the 70s when I bought his Great Thumbprint Drawing Book to use in my classroom. It’s one of those books that I keep, in spite of its age & condition. Kids love his books!

This fun app brings the artwork of Ed Emberley to life as kids race against the clock to put his drawings back together. First kids study the drawing. Then they shake their device so that the pieces fall to the bottom. The object of the game is to put the drawing back together in 60 seconds or less. There is a “hint” button that gives kids another peek if needed but they lose 5 seconds if they use it. More difficult sets of puzzles unlock as kids correctly solve the puzzles. The app helps to build visual memory and it encourages kids to create their own art  – LOVE it!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ed-emberleys-shake-make/id433890924?mt=8&uo=4

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Brainfeed – Educational Videos for Kids

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brain

FREE (with in-app purchases) – Brainfeed – Educational Videos for Kids, a collection of 1000+ educational videos for kids (7+), tweens, teens, and life-long learners. The videos in this collection were picked by a team of educators from around the globe. To be included in the app, the video had to be: under 10 minutes, documentary style, curriculum-based, entertaining & engaging, visually stimulating, age-appropriate, and child-friendly. The videos are categorized by topic: This is Your World, Tech & Design, English, Arts & Music, The Human Body, Social Studies, Math, and Make Your Future. I watched several videos (Yellowstone Super Volcano, The Evolution of Life on Earth, Fun with Fractals, and How the Brain Works) and enjoyed all of them. The free version includes more than 100 titles – a great  introduction to what the subscription ($14.99) has to offer. Teachers, this app could be a great source of video clips  to supplement your curriculum. You can contact team@brainfeed.org to request a discounted teachers’ version to use in the classroom. Parents, your kids (and you) can learn interesting things about the world in your home, on the road, or any place that has a 3G or wireless connection. And, new videos added each week to spark children’s curiosity about their world. What a great resource!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brainfeed-educational-videos/id727189716?mt=8&uo=4

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Pan: The Fearless Beribot and Pan: Chasing the Keeper

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Pan: The Fearless Beribot and Pan: Chasing the Keeper are currently FREE. These e-books are the first two in a series about Pan, a sweet purple panda on a quest to find her family. Both apps are beautifully illustrated and full of animations & interactivity. Kids can tap, swipe, and tilt their way through the story to uncover many interactive surprises. Highlighted text helps early readers follow along with the narration. Also, pictures of the characters appear next to the text to indicate who is speaking. The app is professionally narrated with great sound effects and original music. No wonder the first Pan book was named as “New & Noteworthy” by Apple – these apps are beautifully done!!

Download links: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pan-the-fearless-beribolt/id648998642?mt=8&uo=4 AND https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pan-chasing-the-keeper/id729686081?mt=8&uo=4

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Oh No Fractions!

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on no fractrions

Updated again! This app keeps getting better and better because the developer encourages teacher input. How wonderful is that –  a developer willing to listen to teachers’ needs!

Oh No Fractions! is a great FREE iPhone/iPad app for comparing and exploring fractions. The app is simple to use – kids just swipe to the right or the left to indicate whether one fraction is “greater than” or “less than” or “equal to” a second fraction. As they work, kids can tap above each fraction to see if it can be reduced/simplified – a great feature. But, one of the best features of this app is the “peek”/”prove it” feature. Kids can use a manipulative to “peek” at an answer before they commit to it or they can use the manipulative to “prove” their answer later. This feature is fabulous because it allows the child to visualize his/her answer. Kids can also use this app to practice finding the common denominator. Then they can use it for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions. The app also generates corresponding decimals/percentages for each answer. What a great tool for helping kids to understand fractions!! It’s no wonder that it received the 2013 Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award.

Common Core Standards met:

  • 3.NF.3 – Explain equivalence of fractions and compare fractions by reasoning about their size. Understand two fractions as equivalent (equal) if they are the same size. Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions, e.g., 1/2 = 2/4, 4/6 = 2/3).

Oh No Fractions! - Curious Hat Lab - Curious Hat

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Cursive Writing HD

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FREE again – Cursive Writing HD normally sells for $.99. This educational app shows kids how to write in cursive utilizing three modes. In the abc mode, both upper case and lower case letters are taught. Kids are shown how to trace each letter using the proper stroke sequence. This section of the app is very well-done.

In the word mode, kids are shown how letters combine to form 234 words. Then in the sentence mode kids can practice writing one of the 3 sentences provided. Or, they can type in their own sentence which is converted to cursive. What a great idea! But… the letter style (in both the word mode and the sentence mode) is not the same as the letter style of the abc mode. For example, the lower case o and b become very loopy. Many of the upper case letters are formed in completely different way than they were taught in the abc mode. Many words are not started on the base line.

After teaching cursive writing for 30 years, I know that the biggest challenge is teaching kids to properly connect the letters. This app does a nice job of teaching the individual letters in the abc mode but I have some concerns about the letter style in the word mode & the sentence mode.

Cursive Writing HD - Jiwoo Studio

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Math Animations Grades (1 – 8)…

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math animations

FREE for a limited time – Math Animations (Grades 1-8): Includes numbers, decimals, fractions, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, geometry (perimeter and area of parallelograms, triangles, trapezoids), measurement, algebra. Elementary and Middle School Mathematics. The title says it all! The purpose of this app is to show kids how math works – visually. The app features 55 animations that explain everything from counting to beginning algebra. There are no words used. Math concepts are visually explained in step-by-step illustrations. If you have kids that need to “see” how things work, you may want to add this app to your list of teaching resources!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/math-animations-grades-1-8/id579825429?mt=8&uo=4

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Scruffy Kitty

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scruffy kitty

FREE today – Scruffy Kitty, an interactive story about an adorable stray cat. Kids will enjoy this brightly illustrated tale with fun interactions on every page. The story is professionally narrated in 5 languages: English, French, Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese – perfect for kids who are bilingual or learning another language. The app also includes a sticker page. Kids can use stickers to create a picture then save their creation into the photo library. Check out the story of this cute little kitty today. 🙂

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scruffy-kitty/id393514552?mt=8&uo=4