FREE today… This app is another sequel to the original – Toca Hair Salon (image above). Kids go back into the salon to groom NEW characters. Using the tools in the salon, they cut hair, comb it, curl it, straighten it, make it grow, shave it, color it, etc. Great sound effects are also included in this fantastically fun app.
For more information click here:
FREE today – Slice Fractions was listed as one of Apple’s Best of 2014. Kids learn about fractions as they slice through ice and lava to clear a path for a cute mammoth. Along the way they collect silly hats for the mammoth to wear. As they solve the app’s 90+ physics puzzles, they are exposed to key concepts of fractions – partitioning, equivalent fraction, numerator/denominator notation, ordering, subtracting from a whole, etc. Kids will enjoy learning about fractions in this wordless environment that seems more like a game than math lessons. I love that the app encourages kids to be problem solvers. Its replay button permits them to try each puzzle again and again until they figure it out. Hints are only given when support is needed. The end result is that kids are learning through discovery! It’s no wonder that this app has received so many accolades: Apple Editor’s Choice, Editor’s Choice for Excellence in Design: Children’s Technology Review, Winner of a Parents’ Choice Gold Award 2014, Gold Medal Winner 2014: International Serious Play Awards, and Best Family Friendly Game 2014: Indie Prize Showcase Awards.
Cozmo’s Day Off is an adorable interactive storybook for the iPhone/iPad. It has a FREE lite version that you may preview before you purchase the full version ($2.99) but today, the full version is FREE!!
In the lite version the menu page and the first page are fully interactive. Purchasing the full version unlocks every page – totaling over 100 interactions. This app tells a cute story about a little green alien’s day in read-along rhyme. The pitch of the narrator’s voice can be changed – which is a fun feature. There is also a record option which allows kids to record themselves reading the book. After recording, the pitch of their voices can be changed. They can slow their voice way down (making it deeper) or speed it up (making it higher) – both make them sound like aliens. I think kids would LOVE this feature and it would provide quite the incentive to read the book on their own. I can hear the giggles now. 🙂
The app version of Green Eggs and Ham is only $.99 today. Enough said 😊!
Hello readers,
It’s been two years since my last post. My husband and I have been “on the road” so it became increasingly difficult for me to find the time to be looking for, reviewing, and posting daily articles about FREE educational apps.
With kids home from school, I thought it might be helpful for parents to have a list of educational apps to help pass the time.
Here’s a bit about myself and what my blog was originally trying to accomplish.
Moving forward, I will also include information about previously reviewed apps that are no longer free, but good learning tools.
Bear with me as I clean the cobwebs out of my blog. Some of the apps that I wrote about two to five years ago, may no longer be available.
Thanks for being here.
FREE for a limited time – Dr. Panda’s Restaurant 2, an educational app for preschoolers. This adorable app was previously named App of the Week by Apple. It’s colorful, creative, and sure to be a hit with preschoolers. Guests to Dr. Panda’s Restaurant arrive by boat. They order things such as pastas, salads, pizzas, etc. Then the fun begins as kids assume the role of Dr. Panda, the head chef. Kids choose ingredients to add to their dishes. Then they decide how to prepare them. They can chop, blend, grate, bake, fry, or boil the ingredients. When their culinary creations are complete, they serve them to the customers and wait for their reactions. There are dozens of different reactions which change every time. If a dish is too spicy, a customer may even breathe fire! Kids will have hours of fun learning about food and how things work in a kitchen with this nicely done app.
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dr.-pandas-restaurant-2/id796333129?mt=8&uo=4
FREE for a limited time – Drive About Number Neighborhood, an educational app that helps kids practice beginning numbers. Kids are required to match, count, write, identify, or order numbers in nine fun games. They tap sea pickles with the correct the target number in Catch-a-Sea-Pickle. They trace numbers in the sky in Cloud Writing. See-Saw has kids balancing animals to make equal sums. All of the games in Drive About: Number Neighborhood give your child practice in early numeracy. Kids can proceed at their own pace as they drive, fly or sail in a world of educational free play – perfect for preschoolers!!
Direct Link https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drive-about-number-neighborhood/id864136403?mt=8&uo=6
ABC Star – Letter Tracing is FREE for a limited time. Kids learn to write the upper and lower case letters of the English alphabet by tracing them. A friendly and interactive pet hatches and grows as the child practices. The app teaches uppercase and lowercase letters A-Z and numbers 0-9. Each letter or number is pronounced. Kids are guided to correctly trace over dotted lines to form each letter. They can choose their own color for tracing – yellow, green. blue, purple or pink. The app is great for preschoolers who are learning their letters as well as kindergarten and first graders who need practice.
Direct Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/abc-star-letter-tracing/id1252191274?mt=8
FREE for a limited time – Stickyboard 2, a giant whiteboard with a never-ending stack of sticky notes. If you are looking to capture ideas in your classroom or at your next meeting, check out the electronic version of this classic organizer. Unlike their paper counterparts, these sticky notes don’t fall off or get lost. And, they are more environmentally friendly. The app also features Magic Arrange which makes arranging and rearranging the notes much simpler. Entire boards can be emailed as PDF files – great for sharing ideas. Check out this fabulous tool while it’s FREE!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stickyboard-2/id466102928?mt=8&uo=4
Only $.99 – Earth 3D-Amazing Atlas, an educational app about our planet. The interactive globe includes: a relief model of Earth, political and geographic maps, 1400 geographic objects, and 330 wonders of the world. As kids explore the globe they can tap on places or objects to learn more. Full descriptions are included as well as more than 900 photos. The app is very user-friendly – just a tap along the bottom accesses its different features. Kids can also explore Earth by searching for a particular place. The app can be easily be changed from a geographic map to a political map. Latitude and longitude lines can be turned on. Kids can click a button to turn on the weather. The app is full of information! It would be a great addition to any classroom – perfect for projecting on to a Smartboard.
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/earth-3d-amazing-atlas/id581911397?mt=8&uo=4
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