Category Archives: FREE apps (for a limited time)

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Wee Kids Math

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wee kids math

FREE for a limited time – Wee Kids Math, an educational app that features a variety of activities for beginning math students. There are 20 activities in all – each activity presented in a new brightly colored scene. Kids can order numbers on a caterpillar, match number words/numerals/pictures on ocean liners, practice addition on a farm, practice subtraction in the ocean, etc. A definite strength of this app is its variety. Number skills (0 – 20) included are matching, counting, ordering, identifying equalities & inequalities, identifying > & <, adding, and subtracting. The app jumps right into each activity without any sort of instructions. Most of the activities are fairly intuitive. But if kids can’t figure what they are supposed to do, they can go back & press the help button. Then they will find visual instructions for each activity. This app would be a good one to use WITH your child. There is no progress tracking so you will want to see what your child understands. 🙂

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wee-kids-math/id638457112?mt=8&uo=4

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GeoBee Challenge HD by National Geographic

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geobee

FREE for a limited time – GeoBee Challenge HD by National Geographic, a challenging game of geography for kids. Each year the National Geographic Society prepares the questions for the National Geographic Bee, a contest open to schools with 4 – 8 graders. The national contest was started to increase public awareness, encourage teachers to include geography in their teaching, and stimulate kids’ interest in their world. GeoBee Challenge HD uses materials from the National Geographic for three types of play: multiple choice questions, a map challenge, and a photo bonus round. The multiple choice questions come from the library of 1300+ National Geographic Bee questions. The faster that kids answer, the more points they accumulate. In the map challenge, students must identify one of 1000+ locations on a map. Once they zoom, pinch and tap their way to the location, the app shows them its EXACT spot on the map and tells them how close they were. The photo bonus round is the most challenging. Students have to identify a photo AND know its location on the map. This educational app is fun for adults too! GeoBee Challenge HD gives kids lots of practice in a fun, fast-paced game – LOVE it!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/geobee-challenge-hd-by-national/id373203236?mt=8&uo=4

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Grammar Wonderland (Primary) & Grammar Wonderland (Elementary)

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grammar primary

grammar

FREE today – the full versions of Grammar Wonderland (Primary) & Grammar Wonderland (Elementary). In both games kids lead their characters through different adventures as they practice  nouns, verbs, adjectives, and more. The primary version is for younger children – the words are read and some levels include pictures. The app does not teach the parts of speech but it provides lots of practice for kids in a fun game-like environment. After teaching a lesson about parts of speech, teachers can have kids show what they know with this app. Practice is provided for the following: common nouns, proper, nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns, singular nouns, plural nouns, possessive nouns, pronouns, action verbs, present-tense verbs, past-tense verbs, future-tense verbs, linking verbs, adjectives, articles, comparative/superlative adjectives, and more! Many parts of speech are taught in both apps – perfect for differentiating your instruction for a variety of reading levels. Both also apps permit multiple player – great for the classroom!

Recommended!!  – Download them today 🙂

Grammar Wonderland Primary       Grammar Wonderland (Primary) - McGraw-Hill School Education Group

Grammar Wonderland Elementary       Grammar Wonderland (Elementary) - McGraw-Hill School Education Group

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The Lonely Beast 123

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lonely beast

FREE for a limited time – The Lonely Beast 123, an educational app based on Chris Judge’s well-loved children’s book. Every day, the Beast counts the things in his house. Kids join him on his counting adventure which features 12 fun & interactive scenes. Every number has something to count – 4 eggs to fry, 6 flowers to water, 9 cakes to eat, 11 stars to tap, etc. The app is top-notch with lots of attention to detail. I love how the numbers are drawn – they show kids what to count on that page. The app is visually appealing with great sound effects – really fun for little ones! Highly recommended.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-lonely-beast-123/id646406000?mt=8&uo=4

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McGraw Hill books: Little Red Hen, Jack & the Beanstalk, Why the Sea is Salty, Country Mouse & City Mouse, Little Red Riding Hood

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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 - Interactive Reader - McGraw-Hill School Education Group  Little Red Hen      Jack and the Beanstalk from McGraw-Hill Education - McGraw-Hill School Education Group  Jack and the Beanstalk     Why the Sea Is Salty - McGraw-Hill School Education Group Why the Sea is Salty

Little Red Riding Hood from McGraw-Hill Education - McGraw-Hill School Education GroupLittle Red Riding Hood    Country Mouse and City Mouse - McGraw-Hill School Education Group Country Mouse/City Mouse

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Toca Doctor HD

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toca doctor

FREE for a limited time (as of few hours ago) – Toca Doctor HD,  another fantastic app for toddlers from Toca Boca. Kids get to be a doctor for the day with this app that introduces kids to the medical field. There are 21 puzzles/mini games in all. Kids will love the fun sounds and animations that accompany the tasks! If your child likes the other Toca Boca apps, you’ll want to add his one to your collection today because these apps do not “go free” that often. This is another great app from a developer that makes learning what it should be – fun, creative, and joyful!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toca-doctor-hd/id430807533?mt=8&uo=4

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Shadow Puppet

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Shadow Puppet

FREE for a limited time – Shadow Puppet, a photography app that was featured by Apple as one of the “Best New Apps” for 4 weeks in a row! Using this app, it’s easy to create “puppets” – recorded explanations of your photos. First you choose your photos and put them in the order. Then you talk about your pictures. Everything is recorded. Finished “puppets” can be shared via email, SMS, Facebook and/or Twitter. There are so many ways for everyone to use Shadow Puppet: to teach something new, to share adventures with friends, to record children talking about their experiences, to tell the story behind old family photos, etc.

And… the classroom uses for this app are only limited by your imagination: Take pictures of a child’s work and have him/her explain it to parents. Send pictures and voice recordings of the class field trip. Have kids give a step-by-step explanation of what happened in a science experiment. Draw & sequence pictures to retell a story. Make a “talking timeline” by sequencing photos of historical events. Have kids use it to present mini reports on any subject. Have virtual “pet day” – kids bring in pictures/recordings of their pets. Because you can use anything saved to your photo library, you can explain photos from the web, artwork created in other apps, and so much more. The possibilities for using this educational app are endless. What a fabulous resource!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shadow-puppet/id700902833?mt=8&uo=4

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Operation Math

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operation math

FREE again for a limited time – Operation Math, a great educational app from Spinlight Studio. Kids will have fun practicing basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, & division tables in this interactive “spy” game. The object of the game is to stop Dr. Odd’s quest to eliminate the world’s even numbers. In order to do so, kids must complete 105 missions by solving equations. Missions can be selected based on a child’s skill level and/or the operation (+, -, +/-, x, Ă·, x/Ă·  or +/-/x/Ă·).  Of course, time is of the essence so kids have to answer problems in 60 seconds or less. By doing so, they lock doors along their escape routes. And as they complete missions, they earn the gear of a seasoned spy. What a great game – I love how the app integrates math practice into a really cool game for kids. I especially like the modes which permit kids to practice multiple operations at a time. It makes kids pay attention to operation signs and quickly switch their thinking. What a fun way for kids to practice facts and meet CCSS! No wonder Operation Math was given a 2012 Parents’ Choice Award. Get it today – kids will LOVE it!

Common Core State Standards met:

  • 1.OA.6 – Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10.
  • 2.OA.2 – Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies. By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.
  • 3.OA.7 – Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division or properties of operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/operation-math/id487387270?mt=8&uo=4

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The Three Little Pigs by Nosy Crow

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3 little pigs

FREE for a limited time – The Three Little Pigs from Nosy Crow, a fabulous must-have version of the classic tale. Kids 3+ will be delighted with this animated story that is full of interactivity & fun surprises. The story can be enjoyed in 3 modes: read & play, read to me, and read by myself.  As they read, kids can interact with the story in a variety of ways. They can flick the characters to make them jump, spin and/or speak. They can tap to help the pigs build their houses. They can even help the wolf blow down the pigs’ houses! There are so many fun things to try. The artwork & animations are top-notch. The app even has an original soundtrack which features a musical identity for each character. This educational app is an example of digital storytelling at its best. Don’t miss this one – your little ones will love it!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/three-little-pigs-by-nosy/id418543664?mt=8&uo=4

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Squiggles, Let’s Color, Miku’s Picnic, and Lazoo Zoo

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The FAB 4 (for young kids) – FREE and fabulously creative apps from Lazoo.

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! 🙂

Highly recommended!

Squiggles! - Lazoo Worldwide, Inc

FREE for a limited time – Let’s Color, another educational app 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. :)

Highly recommended!

Let's Color! - Lazoo Worldwide, Inc

Miku's Picnic

Also FREE for a limited time – 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 ZooFREE for a limited time  – Lazoo Zoo, another fabulous educational app from the developers of Squiggles. 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