Category Archives: FREE apps (for a limited time)

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Math Magician

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FREE for a limited time – Math Magician, an educational math app for elementary students developed by abc teach.com and VLinks Media. Recently updated, the app now has 4 levels – beginning, easy, medium, and hard. Several math concepts are covered within each level. The easy level covers counting 1-120, skip counting by 2 & 5, addition 1-20, subtraction 1-20, and greater/less than 0-20. The medium level covers: skip counting (10 and 100), addition 0-100, subtraction 0-100, add/subtract by 10, greater/less than 0-100, multiplication 1-10, and division 1-10. The hard level covers: addition 100-500, subtraction 50-200, multiplication facts 0-12 and division facts, 0-12. There are 35,000 multiple choice questions in all.

The object of the game is to use the power of numbers to help the magician regain his treasures. Kids do so by solving problems that appear in the Magic Crystal Ball. As they solve the problems, their progress is shown on the Magic Meter Bar. Once they have correctly answered about 20 problems, they unlock one of the treasures. This app provides lots of good math practice wrapped in a magical theme.

Common Core 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.

Keep reading my blog to find out when apps are offered for FREE.

Math Magician - abcteach

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La Luna: The Story Project

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FREE for a limited time – La Luna, an educational app based on Pixar’s Oscar-nominated short film. This app was selected as “Innovative Kids App” in the U.S. for the App Store’s Best of 2013! It includes the full theatrical release of the short film.

La Luna is a beautifully told fable of a young boy coming to age. It features the original artwork of Enrico Casarosa, the film’s director. The app includes 3 ways to enjoy the interactive story – as a short film, an interactive video, or a storybook. Also included is a fascinating “Behind the Scenes” section which explores the process of creation from storyboard to screen. Kids will learn about storyboards, turntables, sound design, visual design, and progression reel. They will love getting a glimpse of the process that Pixar uses to create its movies. And, the story is absolutely magical!

Highly recommended – do not miss this extraordinary app!!

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Hopscotch HD

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Hopscotch HD

FREE for a limited time – Hopscotch HD, an educational app that teaches kids how to program their own games and animations! Introduce kids to computer science with this app. 🙂 Kids drag and drop “method blocks” into scripts. When they are done, they can press play to see their code in action! Why teach kids coding? According to the developer – there will be about 1.4 million computer jobs by 2020 and only 400,000 computer science students. Many coders first fell in love with coding when they were  8-12 year old children. Hopscotch is based on a visual programming language named Scratch which was developed by MIT. It promotes STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math) in a fun way – by making coding kid-friendly!  LOVE it!!

Hopscotch HD - Hopscotch Technologies

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Math Splat

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Math Splat

FREE again for a limited time – Math Splat, a really fun mental math game. Kids are challenged to answer 21 math questions as fast as they can. A colorful paint splat covers each correct answer. Each game is timed and limited to 3 incorrect answers. Each incorrect answer adds a 3 second penalty to the final time. Kids will  love trying to beat their best time! The student can choose between easy, medium, and hard questions which makes this game great for differentiating instruction. Have kids graph their scores so that they can see themselves improve and in the process they will also learn to collect data. This educational app is perfect for getting kids to practice their facts in a fun way!

Common Core 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/math-splat/id495477324?mt=8&uo=4

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Toca House

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toca house 2Toca House

FREE today – Toca House, another fantastic app for toddlers from Toca Boca. Kids help 5 friends do household chores – iron, sweep, sort mail, plant the garden, etc. There are 19 mini games in all. Kids will love the fun sounds 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!

See my previous reviews for Toca Band, Toca Store, Toca Fairy Tales, Toca Hair – Christmas and keep reading my blog to fund out when apps like this are FREE. 🙂

Toca House - Toca Boca AB

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PlaySquare presents WordWorld’s Happy Birthday Dog

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FREE for a limited time – PlaySquare is billed as Touchable Television. 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/

Highly recommended

PlaySquare presents WordWorld's Happy Birthday Dog - PlaySquare, LLC

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KIDS DISCOVER – Antarctica and Washington D.C.

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antarctica

washington

As a holiday special, Antarctica by KIDS DISCOVER and Washington D.C. by KIDS DISCOVER are FREE for a limited time! KIDS DISCOVER has been creating award-winning content for kids for over 20 years.The digital versions of these books are just as wonderful as their print books. The educational apps feature: interactive 3-D models, HD video & audio, photographs, cartoons, animations, puzzles, and other fun games. Get these interactive versions for your digital library today. 🙂

Antarctica: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/antarctica-by-kids-discover/id593622751?mt=8&uo=4

Washington D.C.: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/washington-d.c.-by-kids-discover/id593620686?mt=8&uo=4

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My Monster Mayhem

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FREE for a limited time – My Monster Mayhem, an interactive e-book for the iPhone/iPad which normally sells for $4.99. It is the story of a little girl and all of the monsters in her house (imagination) that prevent her from doing what her mother asks her to do – turn off lights, not waste dental floss, etc. What her mother doesn’t seem to understand is that she is really a hero!

The storyline is cute and there are animations/interactivity found on almost every page – kids pop bubbles from the bathtub, play tug of war with the Broncus Dentus, etc. Kids also collect hidden monsters on almost every page to unlock puzzles at the end of the story. The “existence” of the monsters is left open for discussion/interpretation – perfect for kids that are a bit older. Thanks for another great story, Digital Leaf!

My Monster Mayhem - Digital Leaf

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Oh, What a Tangle

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tangle

FREE for a limited time – Oh, What a Tangle!, an educational app from Digital Leaf that normally sells for $4.99. It is a fun story told in rhyme about Kiki, a little girl who doesn’t take the time to brush her hair. Why? Because, she always finds something better to do. A knot develops and Kiki allows it to get wildly out of control. It’s such a cute story with animation & interactivity on almost every page. Kids can help paint Kiki’s nails different colors, use a magnifying glass to find the tiny knot in Kiki’s hair, make the birds fly around Kiki’s head, etc. Kids also collect hidden brushes throughout the story to unlock puzzles at the end of the story. The story is rich in vocabulary – great for a lesson on context clues. 🙂

Oh, What a Tangle! - Digital Leaf

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What Will I Be?

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What Will I Be?

FREE again for a limited time – What Will I Be?, a delightful story from Digital Leaf. A father answers his child’s questions about the future in this educational app that encourages children to dream big! Before the story starts, the app permits you to choose the gender of the child. The story is cute and written in rhyme with interactivity throughout – sounds and things to move. Kids are encouraged to find “the dog” hidden in 19 places throughout the story. If they do, a bonus game is unlocked. This app is a perfect example of  what a digital story should be – a great story with interactivity that enhances the overall reading experience. And… as an extra added bonus, the story send a positive message to kids! Don’t miss out on this one – perfect to read in the classroom when talking/writing about careers or the future!

What Will I Be? - Digital Leaf