Category Archives: educational apps for kids

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Build and Play 3D Planes Special Edition

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FREE for the first time – Build and Play 3D Planes Special Edition, a puzzle app for the little plane lover in your life. Kids can choose one of ten different airplanes to reconstruct. Once a plane is selected, it breaks into pieces for your little mechanic to assemble. The airplane spins and rotates so that kids can easily drag and drop the wheels, propellers, wings, etc. into their proper places. Once the plane is finished, it takes to the sky for some flying fun. Kids guide the plane to hit a series of stars while being careful to avoid birds and other objects. This cute and colorful app is sure to be a favorite of kids who love things that go!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/build-play-3d-planes-special/id714059061?mt=8&uo=4

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Small Science Experiments HD AND Small Chemistry Experiments HD

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FREE again for a limited time – Small Science Experiments HD. This educational app features fun, easy science experiments for kids to do at home. Each experiment is written up with 4 parts: introduction, equipment, instructions, and explanation. The experiments are also demonstrated in step-by-step videos. There are a total of 25 experiments. Some examples are: make an engine with a candle, turn a tea bag into a rocket, extract DNA from a pear, make a mini jet boat from a chemical reaction. As you can tell from the titles, these experiments need to be done under the supervision of an adult. A warning to that effect is included in the app. The app also includes a quiz with a limited number of multiple choice questions such as: Who invented the first electric battery? and What was the first name of Einstein? Personally, I would skip the quiz. I think kids would benefit more from journaling about their experiments – what they observed, what they learned, etc. Check it out for your budding scientist!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/small-experiments-hd/id586218241?mt=8&uo=4

Also FREE – Small Chemistry Experiments HD. This educational app features more fun & easy experiments for kids to do at home. Just like Small Science Experiments HD, each experiment in this app is written up with 4 parts: introduction, equipment, instructions, and explanation. The experiments are also demonstrated in step-by-step videos. There are a total of 10 experiments. Some examples are: making magic ink, dissolving an eggshell, making a soap powered boat. These experiments are also meant to be done under the supervision of an adult. This app also includes a short quiz. Again, I would recommend that kids journal about their experiments rather than take the quiz. I love that these apps encourage adults and kids to do the experiments together – how fun!  🙂

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/small-chemistry-experiments/id689598627?mt=8&uo=4

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Dr. Panda’s Restaurant 2

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FREE for a limited time – Dr. Panda’s Restaurant 2, an educational app for preschoolers. This adorable app has been 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 – different 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

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Ed Meets the Dentist

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FREE again – Ed Meets the Dentist, created by Jeffrey D. Holt DDS (a board certified pediatric dentist). This educational app contains a 7+ minute cartoon about a young rabbit’s first trip to the dentist. It explains the procedures and tools that a child might encounter. The app also includes interactive tools for kids to try out on Ed’s teeth. Very nicely done – this app should help your child be less anxious about his/her visit.

Ed Meets The Dentist - Holt IP Holdings, LLC

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Pat the Bunny

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Pat the Bunny is on sale for $.99. Random House released this app based on the original book in 2011. The book has sold over six million copies since it was first published in 1940. Written by Dorothy Kunhardt, the book features Paul and Judy who do a series of things (pat the bunny, look in a mirror, etc.) then they encourage the reader to try them. This book was a favorite in our house when my children were little and now it’s one of my granddaughter’s favorites. 🙂

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pat-the-bunny/id430902036?mt=8&uo=4

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Code Blast

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FREE for a limited time – Code Blast, an educational app that introduces young kids to coding. Kids program a rocket to complete its course. They do so by dragging and dropping instructions in the correct sequence. Along the way they must also avoid UFOs and electric barriers. As they program the rockets, kids will recognize the need to be precise and correctly order the instructions. The app permits kids to test their program and remove any “bugs” that they find. Stars are awarded for missions completed without any mistakes. The app features 36 missions and two modes: level mode (ordered missions) and custom mode. Certificates are awarded for levels that have been completed. They can be saved to the camera roll for printing or emailing. The app supports multiple players – perfect for shared devices at school.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/code-blast/id953601961?mt=8&uo=4

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Six FREE “You Tell Me” Stories

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Oscar Goes to the Zoo

FREE for a limited time – Oscar Goes to the Zoo, a “You Tell Me” story. In this story, a cute little dachshund goes to the zoo and wonders what it might be like to be the different animals that he sees there. In the end he discovers that he likes being himself. Cute story!

“You Tell Me” stories are designed with some special features: 1. They incorporate WordWinks into the story. WordWinks are questions and comments written in red italics. To maximize children’s understanding of the story, teachers often add comments/questions as they read aloud. WordWinks are meant to model that teacher voice. 2. They have a “Retell, Record & Share” section. Kids are asked to order 4 scenes from the story then record their own version of the story to share with grandparents or friends. 3. If you register, you can receive a FREE Oscar Goes to the Zoo activity book by email.

If you have a preschooler or early reader, check out this e-book. I love that it emphasizes “thinking about reading.”

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oscar-goes-to-the-zoo/id587648796?mt=8&uo=4

More FREE books from the same developer:

Oscar Finds a Home: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chicken-little-wordwinks-retell/id718443975?mt=8&uo=4w

Goldilocks and the Three Bears: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goldilocks-and-the-3-bears/id650117052?mt=8&uo=4

Chicken Little: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chicken-little-wordwinks-retell/id718443975?mt=8&uo=4w

Little Red Hen: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/little-red-hen-wordwinks-retell/id941502676?mt=8&uo=4

Harry and Lulu: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/little-red-hen-wordwinks-retell/id941502676?mt=8&uo=4

 

 

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Scribble Press

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On sale for $1.99 – Scribble Press is one of the best kids’ writing apps for the iPad. This educational app helps kids to “imagine, create and publish” their stories. Kids can begin with one of the 50 story templates available within the app or they can write an original story.  You can create your own drawings using the 500+ markers, stamps, and stickers in this app. You can also take your own photos or upload existing photos/art for your story. With all of that flexibility the sky is the limit as far as what kids can create – story books, travel journals, cookbooks, nature guides, etc.

After creating the story, kids can customize the cover and add information about the author. Books can be shared in a variety of ways – via email, via Facebook, to the Scribble Press public gallery, or to iBooks to be read and reread later.

Scribble Press - Scribble Press

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Popboardz

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Popboardz

FREE for a limited time – Popboardz, a productivity tool that normally sells for $4.99.  Popboardz makes it easy to organize, store, and present information. Each board is a grid with 16 spaces for content so that all of your PDFs, images, videos, websites, can be arranged on one screen. The design of Popboardz makes it easy to gear your presentation towards the needs of a specific group. First, load a board with all of your materials on any given topic. Then as you teach/present, you can click on the grid spaces that contain the examples, information, or links most suitable for that particular group. You can skip information that is too easy or too difficult. You can change the order of your presentation. Popboardz gives your teaching/presentations flexibility!

This app would be fabulous to use in the classroom. A teacher could organize all his/her digital resources for a unit on one board. That board can be saved so it is always ready to present! It’s easy to edit and/or rearrange boards so that lessons can be tweaked as new resources become available. Students could also use Popboardz – to organize information, to present projects, to give reports, and more. What a great educational app!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/popboardz/id563989511?mt=8&uo=4

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Chalk Box Story

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Chalk Box StoryChalk Box Story by Don Freeman (author of Corduroy) is FREE today! Cleverly done – this app encourages kids to participate by using the box of chalk to help create the story’s setting and characters. The bonus section of the app lets kids can tap & drag 8 interactive items into the story’s final scene. Very cute!!

The Chalk Box Story, an interactive storybook for kids based on the classic tale by