Category Archives: FREE apps (for a limited time)

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Material

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material

FREE for a limited time – Material, an educational app for creating 3D pictures with your kids! Start by choosing one of 40 backgrounds or use one of your photos as a background. Add stickers from the 4 sets (basic shapes, buildings, forests, ocean) included with the app. There are 6 additional sets of stickers available as in-app purchases. Add some color. When you are happy with your creation, save your work into the library or print it out to create a 3D scene. Watch the video on YouTube to see how it works: http://youtu.be/y-uB2b3DYTY. It might be fun to create a 3D scene of your vacation at the beach, create a 3D card for grandma & grandpa, or just create a silly scene on a rainy day. 🙂

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/material/id767017751?mt=8&uo=4

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News-O-Matic

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news

Check out a FREE trial of News-o-Matic, an educational newspaper app for kids 7 – 11 years old. A new edition is published every Monday through Friday. Each edition features 5 articles from the news – sports, science, world news, wacky events, etc. The articles are kid-friendly and age-appropriate. Kids can read on their own or have the articles read to them. Important vocabulary words are underlined and linked to their definitions. The articles also include fun facts, a map for locating where the news is happening, videos, and games. Once registered, kids can connect to the News Room to draw pictures, express opinions, or ask questions about the news. This app helps kids become informed citizens of the world!

The FREE trial lasts for 2 weeks. After that, you must subscribe: yearly – $19.99. monthly – $1.99, or weekly – $0.99. If you subscribe before the end of your free trial, you get a special rate. Teachers, there is also a News-o-Matic School Edition. It comes with a teacher’s guide which includes discussion prompts, comprehension questions, Lexile reading levels, and more. And, it’s a great resource for non-fiction reading!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/news-o-matic-daily-reading/id578023255?mt=8&uo=4

 

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Monki Animal Builder

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animal builder

FREE again – Monki Animal Builder, a creative & fun app for kids. Kids use their imaginations to build unique animals. They start cracking open one of 6 eggs. Inside each egg is a different character – each having its own personality. There’s Hairy Ball who is grumpy, Pear who loves to be ticked, Slug who is dreamy, and 3 other interesting animals. Then kids add body parts (over 30 to choose from) and accessories (15 in all) such as a pirate hat, sunglasses, a sombrero. Animations bring everything to life. Kids can save their animals to play with later or share them with kids around the world. They can also save a picture to their device. Saved pictures can be printed and use for creative writing – descriptions, stories, compare/contrast, etc. Whether kids use this app to create, play, save, share, and/or write, it’s sure to bring smiles!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/monki-animal-builder/id836529548?mt=8&uo=4

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Sandbox and RabbleBrowser

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FREE again for a limited time – 2 great web browsing/sharing tools from Float Mobile Learning. Check them out while they are FREE. 🙂

sandbox

Sandbox Web Browser allows teachers/administrators to customize the appearance of the user interface on students’ devices. By using Sandbox, teachers can restrict students to a predetermined list of websites (called a whitelist) – perfect for classroom research. Bookmarks for approved sites can also be added. A passcode is set to prevent students from changing the settings. Sandbox also returns to a preset home page when the device goes idle. This app can be used to configure an individual device or it can be used to configure multiple devices by using a property list file. The app includes extensive instructions for configuring Sandbox to meet the specific your needs. It also includes instructions for restricting access to Safari, the App Store, You Tube, and other built-in apps through your device.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sandbox-web-browser/id562054411?mt=8&uo=4

rabble

RabbleBrowser is a collaborative web browsing and file sharing tool. A teacher or student leader can facilitate a shared web-browsing/file-sharing experience with an unlimited number of locally connected others in their group. Other features of this app include: integrating chats, saving bookmarks, sharing of personal files, social sharing via email/Facebook/Twitter, and printing. This app looks fantastic for teacher collaboration – meetings, professional development days, college classes, etc.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rabblebrowser/id432616026?mt=8&uo=4

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Cutie Mini Monsters

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Cutie Mini Monsters

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!

Cutie Mini Monsters - Paul Smith

Also FREE – Cutie Monsters – Jigsaw Puzzles, another interactive counting app for your little ones. This app was featured by Apple as a best app for 5 and under.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cutie-monsters-jigsaw-puzzles/id585378286?mt=8&uo=4

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Todo Math – Complete Curriculum for Kindergarten and Beyond

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todo math

FREE through June 26 if you are a registered user – Todo Math – Complete Curriculum for Kindergarten and Beyond. Todo Math’s in-app purchases have been unlocked temporarily through June 26. Try the app’s 18 games and 31 missions for free before buying. On June 27, Todo Math will change to 3 in-app purchasing options. So… make sure you check it out while it’s free!

Todo Math is currently featured as one of the “best new apps” by Apple. It has 2 modes of play – missions or free choice. The app currently has 31 missions and 18 free-choice games – number tracing, counting, tallies, cookies, falling blocks, equation maker, word windows, patterns, quick addition, quick subtraction, quick multiplying, quick facts, little farm, same or different, matrix, days & weeks, train time, and ferris wheel. The app includes three player profiles with progress reports. The developer has also included special setting for lefties, a special font for kids with dyslexia, and an on/off help button. I wish they would have also included the option to turn off the music which could be distracting to some children. Early math concepts are leveled and presented in multiple ways. The app features activities for preschoolers through first graders.

And… teachers, the developers are offering a pilot program: “Classroom Pilot Program. Calling all Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers! Sign up for our classroom pilot program and receive Todo Math for free through December 2014. Go to the parent page inside the Todo Math app and fill out the pilot program application.”

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/todo-math-complete-curriculum/id666465255?mt=8&uo=4

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Tally Tots Counting & AlphaTots Alphabet

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Tally Tots

On sale for $.99 – Tally Tots Counting, an educational app that teaches kids to count to 20. The app features 20 interactive mini-games that make learning numbers and counting fun. Kids race 2 cars, make bubbles in 6 colors, place 10 shapes into a puzzle, feed a chipmunk 19 acorns, etc. The app features something unique for each number with lots of positive verbal encouragement along the way. Tally Tots is the perfect choice for young kids learning to count!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tallytots/id424070269?mt=8&uo=4

AlphaTots

Also on sale for only $.99 – AlphaTots Alphabet, a GREAT ABC app for kids! What makes this educational app unique is that it uses 26 action words to teach the alphabet. Kids are asked to complete 26 interactive tasks, for example: b – build a robot, p – play instruments, z – zap alien spaceships, etc. This app has been featured on The Today Show and has received a lot of positive press. It is a VERY fun app for toddlers/preschoolers who are learning their alphabet!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alphatots-alphabet-learning/id436142340?mt=8&uo=4

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Alien Buddies

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Alien Buddies

Alien Buddies is FREE again for a limited time. Formerly listed as “New & Noteworthy” by Apple, this educational app is geared towards kids ages 3 – 7. It features 4 different activities (matching, puzzles, dot-to-dot, and stickers) with varying levels of difficulty. Matching can be played in 2 modes (visual or audio) to reinforce colors, shapes, numbers and letters. Puzzles can be set to contain 4, 6, or 8 pieces. In the sticker section, kids add out-of-this-world stickers to 8 different space scenes. All activities are well done but I especially like the dot-to-dot activity which has a “please help” or an “I can do it myself” button. Kids need to visually recognize the order of the numbers to connect the dots and the app counts as the dots are connected – love it! The app is cute, colorful, and sure to appeal to kids!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alien-buddies-preschool-learning/id469461540?mt=8&uo=4

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Marco Polo Ocean

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marco polo

FREE for a limited time – Marco Polo Ocean, an adorable educational app for preschoolers. Kids will learn about Earth’s oceans in two ways – through build & explore activities or free play. There are 5 build and explore activities – build a coral reef, build marine animals, build fish, build a boat, and build a submersible. As kids add parts to each puzzle, they learn the appropriate vocabulary. Many vocabulary words are also explained. During free play, kids can do several things: explore from the shore to the sea floor, steer their vehicles through ocean waters, add creatures to the water to see how they interact with each other, and more. Marco Polo Ocean uses self-directed discovery to expose kids to STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and math) in a fun, engaging way. Kids will learn about the ocean structure, the species that live there, characteristics of the fish/marine mammals, etc. It’s no wonder that Marco Polo Ocean was named App Store Editors’ Choice in 15 Countries!! Do not miss this one. It puts the fun back in learning. 🙂

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/marcopolo-ocean/id797157312?mt=8&uo=4

 

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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