EyePaint Animals is FREE again for a limited time. This educational app let your child paint illustrations from Japanese artist, Mitsue Haya, in a very unique way. Kids “paint” using their cameras to capture the colors, textures, patterns around them. To begin, a child chooses one of the 10 included illustrations. He/she taps to select the area to be filled in and the creativity begins! Work can be saved to the photo library for sharing or printing. Easy, fun, and very creative!!
One of my favorite writing apps – FREE for one day (Dec. 2) only.
My Story – Book Maker for Kids is a great educational writing app for the iPad. The cost is normally $3.99 but it Is currently FREE. Kids can easily create an unlimited number of their own books using this app. Each page has an area for writing and an area for pictures. In the picture area kids can draw their own illustrations, take photos, or use pictures from their photo library. They can also record themselves reading their books. Finalized stories can read directly from the app, be published to iBooks, and/or shared via email with anyone who owns an iPhone or iPad.
Watch the video and learn more about this app here: My Story – Book Maker for Kids.
What a great medium for your child to share his/her life experiences with grandparents and other loved ones – take photos of your day (at the zoo, in the park, etc.) and let your child narrate the experience! The voice recordings remain intact when the book is shared. The words can be typed in after your child has provided the narration so that kids make the connection that the words in books are really just “talk written down.”
In the classroom kids can share their stories with friends through iBooks, write and present digital reports, keep ongoing vocabulary books and/or journals etc.
Highly recommended!!
Ho, ho, ho – “Did That Crazy Santa Claus” and 7 more fun tunes!! FREE for a limited time – Santa’s Merry Band, from the creators of Mibblio. Just like Mibblio, this app is an interactive musical/storybook app for kids. Children read the illustrated story-songs called “mibblets” as they listen to the catchy songs. They can also jam along on a wide variety of instruments. The app has a keyboard along the bottom of the screen with a choice of 8 different instruments. They can also use a tambourine or cowbell to tap along to the beat of the song. Kids will enjoy the 8 different Christmas “mibblets” included in this app. Fun for the holidays!!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/santas-merry-band/id738881884?mt=8&uo=4
FREE – The Electric Company Party Game: Lost on Prankster Planet for the iPad. Marcus and Jessica are stuck on Prankster Planet. Kids help them to escape by completing physical challenges, silly brainstorms, and math questions. Based on the PBS KIDS series, The Electric Company, this digital board game puts kids in teams to add, draw, discuss, think, act, problem solve, and dance their way back to Earth. Some of the academic areas covered include: geometry, addition/subtraction, data analysis/graphing, telling time, and coin recognition/value. Love the idea of a virtual board game – all of the fun without any lost pieces, broken boxes, etc.
FREE again – five interactive readers for your iPad from McGraw Hill. All of these titles usually sell for $1.99. These classic children’s tales can be read in two ways: read aloud or read to myself. All five books are nicely illustrated and have animations/interactivity on each page. Sound effects and music are also included – both of these features can be turned on or off. The stories are all great but I especially enjoyed the Little Red Hen. Download them today – there is no reason to pass these up. 🙂
Little Red Hen Jack and the Beanstalk Why the Sea is Salty
Little Red Riding Hood Country Mouse/City Mouse
Space Cakes (an educational app) is FREE – thanks to the support of Eli’s Cheesecake in Chicago. Kids use number sense and early math skills to complete intergalactic baking missions. They find themselves in a bakery filled with alien ingredients. They must follow a recipe to add the correct amount of each ingredient. Then they choose a 3D shape for their levitating batter and bake it. Next a topper, frosting, and sprinkles are added to finish their creations. Time for delivery – they steer the cake delivery spaceship back to Earth. Finally they celebrate their safe arrival with starburst, fireworks, and colorful confetti! Kids can snap a photo of their creations to share them via email, save them in a gallery, or use them to inspire creative writing – descriptive paragraphs using math terms, a story about an intergalactic cake baking contest, etc. There is a section for parents/teachers which explains the educational value of the app and how it meets the CCSS. This app provides a fun way to work with math concepts AND a wonderful springboard for creative writing.
FREE again for a limited time – Cutie Mini Monsters, an iPhone/iPad app for preschoolers. This educational app introduces kids to number recognition and counting. Kids meet Blushy, Toothy, Golly, Taily, Blobby, Growly, and Snouty. They count the monsters’ body parts – tails, eyes, feet, spikes, etc. The app also includes 9 simple jigsaw puzzles featuring the same characters. Cute for little fans of monsters!
FREE for a limited time – Scribble My Story, a junior version of Scribble Press (named by Time as one of the top 25 apps of 2012.) Designed for the youngest authors and artists (ages 3 – 8), Scribble My Story provides a friendly, easy-to-use platform for kids to imagine, create, and share. Included are 6 story packs (with audio for non-readers) that can be customized by the child and a recordable blank book for open-ended creations. Created books are saved in the app. Kids can go back and reread their books, edit them, or share them on the Scribble Press website. All great features except for the share button. I wish there was an option to disable it for children. In my opinion, parents/teachers need to decide & control what kids share on the internet. Using the Fingerprint email platform, parents/teachers can view created books through a browser, pdf, or iBooks. Additional story packs are available as in-app purchases. What a wonderful way to encourage kids to become writers from an early age! Highly recommended!
Also, check out my review of Scribble Press – one of my favorites 🙂 When I originally reviewed it, it was FREE. It now costs $2.99 but it is well worth its cost.
FREE for a limited time – 2 interactive books from Wasabi: Look Out Larry & Lost Larry. Larry is an adorable green lizard and the main character in these two adventures for 2 – 6 year olds.
In Look Out Larry, kids help Larry stay safe and find a cozy place to sleep by helping to protect him from the dangers of the Australian bush – a spider, a snake, a brush fire, etc. At the end, there is an alternative version of the story called Larry’s Dream. Larry dreams of defending himself against the dangers of the bush in some cute & clever ways. The educational app also includes a matching game.
In Lost Larry, kids help Larry find his way home across rivers, over canyons, over a rickety bridge, etc. This is Larry’s third and most ambitious adventure! Kids will love helping Larry make it home. They pet his little green head to put him to sleep once he gets there! Cute educational app!!
Look Out Larry Lost Larry
Start your holidays with this cute Christmas app. FREE for Thanksgiving weekend – Wubbzy’s Night Before Christmas, a storybook app featuring Wubbzy and friends. This educational app was developed by Cupcake Digital in partnership with the producers of the Emmy® Award-winning Nick Jr. TV series, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!®. Kids read along with Wubbzy and his pals in a special version of a holiday classic. Along the way kids will discover animations & interactivity on every page! The app also has educational games and sing-along music videos. The Grown Up’s Corner has 2 sets of questions about the story. The questions address literal understanding of the story (thin questions) as well as extended meaning (fat questions). Also included in the Grown-Up Corner is information about the Common Core Standards addressed by the app. Print-outs and activities to supplement the story are available online at cupcakedigital.com. What is not to love about this educational app? – Cute story packed with interactivity, educational games, sing-along videos, standards-based, and a guide for adults!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wubbzys-night-before-christmas/id581701393?mt=8&uo=4
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