Category Archives: FREE apps (for a limited time)

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Martha Speaks Story Maker.

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Martha Speaks Story Maker from PBS is FREE! Kids can create eight different interactive stories with this educational app based on the 1990s book by Susan Meddaugh. Martha is a dog who can speak as a result of eating alphabet soup. She is the narrator of the stories that your child creates. Kids choose a who (character), a where (setting), and several whats (more characters and objects) to move the plot along. The app presents 128 different vocabulary words that are reinforced in the “word bone zone” which is found at the end of each story. Thanks PBS for another great educational app for young kids!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/martha-speaks-story-maker/id556624499?mt=8&uo=4

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Walter’s Flying Bus

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Walter's Flying Bus

FREE for a limited time – Walter’s Flying Bus, a story inspired by the real-life dreams of Walter and his friends (orphaned, special needs children in Uganda.) Walter finds an abandoned bus. With his friends and a little work, the engine soon roars to life! This e-book is inspirational – a celebration of the talents & beauty of every child. It is narrated in English, Spanish and Luganda (a primary language of Uganda). The educational app also includes mini-documentaries of the real-life children featured in the book. According to the developer  – “ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of after-tax profits from App sales go to efforts helping orphans with special needs, including advocacy, care, and adoption assistance grants.” Nice story with a great message!

Walter's Flying Bus - Chosen and Dearly Loved, LLC

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Pixel and Parker

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Pixel

FREE today – Pixel and Parker, an educational app that puts a new spin on storytelling – literally! Parker and Pixel (his cat) are best friends. One day Pixel is missing so Parker sets out to find him. Kids use a game spinner to determine the order of the story’s events in this cute tale. The story is never the same twice. The app also features 30+ activities that engage readers while advancing the plot of the story. This app would be great for a lesson on the elements of story. The characters, setting, problem, and conclusion are the same but the order of events can be changed! Cute colorful illustrations also add to the appeal of this story. Pixel and Parker is the first in a planned series of adventures. 🙂 Great idea!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pixel-and-parker/id548751986?mt=8&uo=4

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RefMe

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FREE for a limited time – RefMe, an app that creates citations, bibliographies, and reference lists. Before you can use RefMe, you must register for an account using your email address. Once you’re registered, you are ready to begin. Name your project and choose a formatting style for it. The app has a search option for 6500+ styles or you can choose one of the thirteen most popular styles with a simple click. Once you choose your style, you can start referencing. There are three ways to add your sources: use the device’s camera to scan a book’s barcode, type in the website’s URL, or add the resource manually. The app can reference thirty-five different types of resources such as blog posts, maps, musical scores, pamphlets, etc. It synces and saves all of your information to http://www.refMe.com. You can export your citations into a Word, Bib Tex, and more. Or, you can email them to yourself then copy and paste them into your document. Bibliographies become simple using refMe!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/refme/id553222694?mt=8&uo=4

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Halftone 2 Comic Book Creator

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halftone 2

Halftone 2 – Comic Book Creator is on sale for $.99. This app was named by Apple as one of the Best of 2013 and an Editors’ Choice. Halftone 2 – Comic Book Creator is a categorized as a photography app but it has many educational uses. This app makes it easy to turn your photos into comic book pages that your friends and family will love! The app includes a large assortment of paper styles, captions, speech bubbles, graphic stamps, and fonts for your projects. And… it’s so simple to use. First choose a page layout, then apply photo filters. Next add text by using captions and/or speech & thought bubbles. Then finish your project with some fun graphics like WHAM, BAM, or POW. You can even add a few sound effects. Your creation can be shared as an image, a multi-page document, or high-definition video. Because it is so easy to use, this app would be great for creating visuals to go with classroom projects such as stories, book reports, newsletters, etc. And… it would be really fun to use this app to create comics of your family vacation. Get started today – there are SO many creative & educational uses for this app!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/halftone-2-comic-book-creator/id603139024?mt=8&uo=4

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Peekaboo People starring Richard Scarry’s Busytown

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FREE for a limited time – Peekaboo People starring Richard Scarry’s Busytown. An elevator in an office building opens to reveal a rotating cast of Richard Scarry characters. Kids are introduced to the names, sounds, and actions of thirteen different jobs. Toddlers will enjoy a simple game of peekaboo. Preschoolers can work on prediction skills by listening to the character’s sound before opening the door. Lowly Worm randomly pops up in the elevator – another fun feature of this app. The app has two modes: endless play or storybook mode. In storybook mode, all of the characters end up going home to sleep. Richard Scarry books have been popular with kids since the 1960s with over 150 million titles sold. Check out this app for your little ones!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peekaboo-people-starring-richard/id568143624?mt=8&uo=4

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Stage Pro

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stage proFREE until January 11 – Stage Pro: Interactive Whiteboard and Document Camera, a teaching/demonstration tool for students and teachers. Stage Pro uses the iPad camera to display live videos, textbooks, student work, imported PDFs, etc. You can also use images from your photo library or the app’s free backgrounds: whiteboard, blackboard, graph paper, music, ruled, maps. Once your content is displayed, you can: sketch on it, take notes, add labels, etc. There’s even a laser pointer for you to use. Saving your work is easy with Stage Pro. With one click, you can take a screen shot that is saved to your photo library. You can also easily create video recordings with the ability to pause, resume, and/or save. Saved videos can be moved from your photo library into programs such as iMovie. There are so many ways you could use this app for classroom sharing. Pairing Stage Pro with Airplay gives you the flexibility to move around the classroom and get all of your students involved. Save $4.99 and check out Stage Pro while it’s FREE!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stage-pro-interactive-whiteboard/id714477455?mt=8&uo=4

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Paper Camera

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Paper Camera

FREE again – Paper Camera, an app that permits you to add special effects to your photos as you are taking the picture. Just open the app, choose camera or video, then choose one of the 12 special effects – comic boom, sketch up, acquarello, old printer, con tours, neon cola, bleaching, gotham noir, half ton, granny’s paper, pastel perfect, andy pop, etc. The effects are applied to your photo as you make the shot! You can point you camera at a scene and toggle between effects to decide which one to use. The app also permits you to “paper-ize” existing photos from your photo library/camera roll. There have been a few updates since I originally reviewed the app. It looks like there are several in-app purchases and the developers have introduced an optional subscription service. Try the app while it’s free then decide if you want more features or to subscribe.

This app could be used in a variety of educational settings. Video your kids using the cartoon mode – instant cartoon! Add special effects to digital artwork. Create invitations using the andy mode. Make posters using the hope mode. The list goes on… get creative!

Paper Camera - JFDP Labs Limited

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Decide Now!

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DecideNow

FREE today – Decide Now! This app is billed as an entertainment app that helps you make a choice when it’s hard to decide. However, the app would be great for teachers and/or parents to use with kids. The app comes with ten predefined wheel templates, titles like: 15 minute ideas, dessert to make, stocks to buy, etc. None of predefined templates are particularly suited for kids. But the beauty of the app is the ability to fully customize it. All of the templates can be erased and replaced with your own ideas. And if ten templates are not enough, you can add more! I made a wheel called Whose Turn? (see above image) which would be great for calling on students. I easily renamed a template and added thirty names. This app could be used for a wide variety of things: genre of book to read, class rewards, good behavior rewards, etc. Teachers could also use it for review games: define this word, write words from this word family, tell about this geometric shape, etc. Parents can use it in a variety of ways too – pick a job, practice time, good behavior awards, etc. This app can be used with kids in so many ways. And they will love the sights and the sounds of the spinning wheel. Check it out!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/decide-now!/id383718755?mt=8&uo=4

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New Family iPad? 17 FREE Educational Apps to Share with Preschoolers

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Six FREE science apps – PEEP and the Big Wide World apps from WGBH, the producers of the animated series of the same name. Major funding for these educational apps is provided by the National Science Foundation. These apps are designed to teach science to preschoolers (3 – 5 years) in a cute, fun way! The games begin simply but become more challenging as kids are successful. Each app also includes a “Try This Anywhere Activity” for you and your children to do together based on the lesson in the app. Your child will LOVE learning with Peep and friends. And you will too!

PEEP - House Hunt

PEEP and the Big Wide World House Hunt: Kids turn over leaves to pair animals with their homes in a match game that demonstrates that some habitats are home to many different animals.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peep-big-wide-world-house/id536554271?mt=8&uo=4

PEEP - Hide & peep

PEEP and the Big Wide World Hide and Peep: Peep and friends are hiding in the tool shed. This app helps kids practice their observation and memory skills.

Download link:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peep-big-wide-world-hide-peep/id536312346?mt=8&uo=4

Peep - Paint Splat

PEEP and the Big Wide World Paint Splat: Kids join two quirky characters named Quack & Chirp to experiment with mixing colors in a fun, silly way!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peep-big-wide-world-paint/id536621786?mt=8&uo=4

Peep - Sounds

PEEP and the Big Wide World Sounds Like Fun!: Kids explore music and sounds as they mix and match sounds with this app. The characters represent different musical rhythms.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peep-big-wide-world-sounds/id536623915?mt=8&uo=4

Peep - trash

PEEP and the Big Wide World Trash Stash: Kids practice their categorization skills by sorting objects using increasingly sophisticated criteria.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peep-big-wide-world-trash/id536624731?mt=8&uo=4

Peep - Quack's Apples

PEEP and the Big Wide World Quack’s Apples: Kids roll Quack’s apples into a pond – testing and tweaking the design of their route as often as needed. As they play, they are practicing the engineering design process!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peep-big-wide-world-quacks/id536623428?mt=8&uo=4

Four FREE and fabulously creative apps from Lazoo – perfect for preschoolers. 🙂

squiggles

Squiggles is a FREE educational app for the iPad and it is ADORABLE! Kids are encouraged to draw squiggles to create: rain clouds (to water flowers), waves (to help fish swim), wool (on sheep), cotton candy, etc. Once the squiggles are drawn, they press GO and the drawings come alive. The app includes an interactive storybook and an animated short which introduces the characters – Bobu, the monkey & Miku, the rabbit. It also includes 14 squiggle-ready drawing pages as well as a blank page for your child to create his/her own pictures. Tools included are stickers, markers, paint, chalk, a ketchup bottle, as well as 10 colors & a mystery color wheel. Work can be saved into the gallery of the parents’ section by pressing the piggy bank. This app is super cute!! It encourages children to be imaginative & creative – it’s one of my favorites! 🙂

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lazoo-squiggles!/id498599631?mt=8&uo=4

let's colorLet’s Color is another educational app from Lazoo that encourages creativity! The app includes an animated short in which the characters – Bobu, the monkey & Miku, the rabbit use their imaginations to turn triangles into a strawberry, a dog, a mountain, etc. Then kids are encouraged to color different things to complete a page: what is coming out of a hose, who is riding in the train, etc. Once the coloring is completed, they press GO and the drawings come alive. There are 17 coloring pages as well as a blank page for your child to create his/her own pictures. Additional coloring pages can be purchased within the app. Tools included are stickers, markers, paint, chalk, a ketchup bottle, as well as 10 colors & a mystery color wheel. Work can be saved into the gallery of the parents’ section by pressing the piggy bank. Another super cute app from Lazoo, a developer that encourages imagination and creativity.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lazoo-lets-color!/id515438833?mt=8&uo=4

Miku's PicnicAlso FREE  – Miku’s Picnic, an adorable interactive story designed to support creative thinking. Kids join Bobu, the monkey & Miku, the rabbit on a chase after some jumping beans. The two need help capturing the beans before they bounce away! Along the way kids learn about using their imaginations and creative problem solving as the Bobu & Moku use “Squiggles” to… make a car go faster, make springs to get to the top of a tree, make binoculars to look for the beans, make a rocket zoom to the moon, and more. This educational app has 2 reading modes – “Read to Me” and “Read it Myself” as well as an option to record your own voice as the narrator. The story ends with a link to the FREE Squiggles app for kids so kids can “take a turn” drawing. I love the way Miku’s Picnic encourages kids to use their imaginations to solve problems!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lazoo-mikus-picnic/id652945863?mt=8&uo=4

Lazoo ZooAnd last but not least from the developers of Squiggles – Lazoo Zoo, another fabulous educational app. KIds help out with snack time at the zoo where there are 10 animals (lion, ape, chameleon, giraffe, hippo, whale, crocodile, crab, bird, & penguins) to feed. But Lazoo Zoo is not your ordinary zoo, so its animals react in extraordinary ways – the giraffe’s spots change according to what it’s fed, the ape tosses the food it doesn’t like to others, and more! Kids can even create their own foods to feed the animals. And, Lazoo Zoo has a photo booth where kids can snap their picture with their favorite animals. How cute is that?! 🙂 Check out the trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L564yPHM3No&feature=youtu.be

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lazoo-zoo/id727786503?mt=8&uo=4

From ABCMouse.com….

a to zFREE – A to Z Music Videos. This app has 26 animated videos – one for each letter of the alphabet. As kids watch the videos, they earn tickets to unlock other videos. There is also an option to purchase tickets to unlock videos more quickly. The videos are top-notch! They help children learn letter names and sounds AND develop vocabulary. Every video is produced in a different musical style, so kids are also introduced to a wide variety of musical genres. This app is a must-have for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade teachers – a perfect introduction to the letters of the alphabet!

Common Core Standards met:

  • K. RF.3 – Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant. Associate the short sounds with common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/to-z-music-videos-from-abcmouse.com/id586100697?mt=8&uo=4

Three for FREE from PBS. 🙂

PBS Parents Play & LearnPBS Parents Play & Learn is a great FREE educational app that encourages families to learn together. PBS has designed this app specifically for parents and it can be used in English or Spanish. The app uses familiar locations (in the bathtub, in the kitchen, at the zoo, etc.) as themes then provides parents with meaningful activities/games for their children. I LOVE that the app includes ideas for different ages (baby, toddler, preschooler) and provides information for parents about the math & literacy skills embedded in the games. The app supports the fact that a child’s parents are his/her first and most important teacher – LOVE it!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pbs-parents-play-learn-hd/id605542914?mt=8&uo=4

word friends

Learn with WordFriends is a FREE educational game from WordWorld, PBS’s Emmy winning show. Kids build and discover words with Dog, Duck, Sheep, Ant, Bear, Pig and Frog. Animal characters and word objects are formed from the words’ letters – a very cool feature! There are 3 puzzles to play: WordRain – grab letters as they rain from the sky to build the word, WordScramble – rearrange the scrambled letters to form the word, and WordMatch – a tile memory game. There is also a WordFriend Farms where kids can interact with the different animal characters. Dog is included with the app and the other animals are available as in-app purchases. Very cute, happy app!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/learn-with-wordfriends/id580328460?mt=8&uo=4

play squareWordWorld’s Happy Birthday Dog (by PlaySquare) is another educational app featuring the same characters as Learn with WordFriends. Children (ages 3 – 6) play and learn words and letters as the play in Word World. In the first episode, Happy Birthday Dog, Dog thinks that everyone has forgotten his birthday. Kids are engaged in the story as they help gather things for a birthday party to surprise Dog.

There are so many wonderful things about this app. It is colorful and engaging. Early literacy skills (letter recognition, letter sound, word building, word recognition) are developed throughout the story. The characters are funny and lovable. But the best part is of the app is how the developers (media experts from Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, LeapFrog, and MIT) have used the letters of the word to form the object being spelled – very clever! I LOVE this app!!

Watch the video from the developers @ http://playsquare.tv/

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/playsquare-presents-wordworlds/id536304087?mt=8&uo=4

caillouKids learn about going to the doctor’s office with Caillou Check Up – Doctor’s Office, an adorable app for toddlers/preschoolers. This educational app has 11 mini-games that will teach your child about his/her next check-up. Four of the activities (check height & weight, tonsil check, follow the stick, & eye check) are included for FREE. The other 7 activities (thermometer, ear check, stethoscope, blood pressure, reflex check, medicine shot, & applying ointment) are available as in-app purchases. The app utilizes a variety of mechanics as kids tap and drag their way through the interactive mini-games. After completing each task, kids are rewarded with a colorful celebration. The app is sure to take the stress out of your child’s next visit to the doctor. No wonder it’s featured by Apple as one of the “Best New Apps & Games.” 🙂

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/caillou-check-up-doctors-office/id772369925?mt=8&uo=4

Guess How Much I Love You

Guess How Much I Love You – Interactive Episodes is FREE. This wonderful educational app from Australia is based on the book Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and inspired by the animated TV series created by SLR Productions Pty Ltd. Guess How Much I Love You is a beautiful story about the love between a parent and a child – one of my all time favorites. Originally published in the UK in 1994, it has sold more than 20 million copies in 37 languages. It was the first book I purchased for my granddaughter – truly a book not to be missed!! That being said, this app conveys the same sweetness that makes the original story so special.

Kids join Little Nutbrown Hare in 2 interactive episodes – “Can You Touch the Stars” and “Snow White Hare.” Designed for 3 – 5 year children to explore with their parents, the episodes are integrated with simple games & puzzles. At the end of each episode, Big NutBrown Hare and Little NutBrown Hare express their love for each other. Don’t miss this one – it is SO sweet!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/guess-how-much-i-love-you/id572817746?mt=8&uo=4

care bearsFrom American Greetings comes Care Bears Love to Learn, a FREE educational app for preschoolers. Kids join 7 of their favorite Care Bears to play a variety of games that are designed to help children count, build shapes, identify colors, learn beginning sounds, and more. After completing each activity, kids earn Care Bears stickers. These stickers can be saved and played with later. If you have a Care Bear fan in your house, check out this cute app!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/care-bears-love-to-learn/id884245655?mt=8&uo=