Category Archives: FREE apps (for a limited time)

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Bug Games HD

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bug games

Singing crickets! Bug Games HD is FREE for a limited time. This super cute educational app for preschoolers has 4 sections: Cricket Concert, Bee Word Builder, Ant Tunnel Builder, and Spider Dot-to-Dot. In the Cricket Concert section, kids can select a song to hear the crickets sing together or they can tap on each cricket to play the song on their own. In Bee Word Builder, kids hear the phonic pronunciation of individual letters as they use them to put words together. Ant Tunnel Builder requires kids to rotate puzzle pieces so that the ants can march through a completed tunnel. Spider Dot-to-Dot has kids connecting dots in numerical order. Kids collect sticker rewards along the way. This app has a nice combination of learning games for preschoolers – cute, fun, & engaging! Who knew playing with bugs could be so much fun 🙂

Bug Games HD - by Busy Bee Studios - Busy Bee Studios

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Even Monsters Get Sick

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This interactive story for the iPad is FREE again. Even Monsters Get Sick is a story written for kids 5+ about a boy and his pet monster. Kids can follow along or read on their own as Harry tries to discover what is wrong with his monster. The artwork is appealing and there are animations on every page. It is a nicely done story with a positive message told by Harry, the boy. Perfect 🙂

Recommended!

Even Monsters Get Sick - Busy Bee Studios

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Bogga Alphabet

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FREE today – Bogga Alphabet, an educational app designed by a dad. He created it to be a digital toy that encourages creative play and teaches the alphabet. Your child starts by choosing an upper case alphabet letter.  After the letter is named, your child can paint it one of 6 colors. Once painted, the letter becomes a refrigerator magnet. In “the kitchen” your child can use his/her letters to spell words or short messages. There is a wastebasket to get rid of letters that are not needed. There is also a camera to take a picture of your child’s creation (which is saved in your photos). This option allows you to create a scene that you can then pull into story telling apps such as Art Maker, Story Time, etc. (see earlier reviews). This app is straightforward – it is simple to use and there are no third-party ads or in-app purchases. the latest update includes letter sounds and lower case letters. Nicely done app for little ones. 🙂

Bogga Alphabet - Boggatap

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American History Time Line

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FREE again for a limited time from McGraw Hill – American History Timeline. Kids can navigate the timeline to read about the hundreds of important people, places, and events that have shaped American history. When kids tap on a thumbnail photo, this educational app brings up a larger image and an explanation of the person, place, or event. The majority  of the drawings/photos used are from Library of Congress. There are 7 categories (such as women, inventors, constitution, etc.) that can be turned on and off so kids can see figures and/or events specific to that category. World events are also included on a parallel timeline. Two games are included: Time Line Scramble and Memory. Kids sequence events in the correct order with the Time Line Scramble Game. In the Memory Game, they match the correct date with the correct event or person.

I really like the design of the app – the ability to customize what categories you want to look at, the authenticity of the drawings/photos, the parallel world history timeline for comparison. It would be great for teaching kids read or create timelines.

American History Time Line - McGraw-Hill School Education Group

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The Purple Frog

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Purple Frog2Purple Frog

The Purple Frog is FREE again today. This educational app is a beautiful story about friendship and acceptance. No one wants to play with Purple Frog because he is purple. He is sad until a little green frog becomes his friend. Kids can choose to read the story on their own or have the story read to them. They can also tap individual words in the story to have the word read and spelled for them. The app is nicely done – a beautifully illustrated tale story with an important message!

The Purple Frog - i4software

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Drawing for Kids (step by step)

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FREE for a limited time – Drawing for Kids, an educational app for the iPad. Kids learn to draw 30 different pictures (animals, sports, vehicles) by following the step-by-step instructions. Geared towards 3-8 year olds, each picture has 6 sequential steps with a tracing function – if extra support is needed. Once your little artist has complete his/her drawing, it can be colored using 6 different tools and 30 different colors. The final creation can be saved, printed, or shared via email or messaging. I love how that the tracing function is optional – it allows kids to be creative and add their own touches to their drawings. This app would be great for letting kids create drawings to add to thank-you cards, family albums, emails to grandparents, etc. Fun!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drawing-for-kids-step-by-step/id442410088?mt=8&uo=4

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ABC Go

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image FREE for a limited time – ABC Go for the iPhone/iPad introduces your toddler (3 – 5) to 60+ things that go through sight, sound, and touch. The app opens to a grid arranged in ABC order. Kids can tap on a letter to find objects that begin with that letter or they can tap on a specific object to learn about it. As an object’s photo appears, a child’s voice says the initial letter then reads the name of the object (which appears in writing at the bottom of the screen). A little cartoon person drops down on  the left hand side of the screen with a link to a video clip or an interactive scene. The child can scroll to the left for additional pictures and videos about each object.

This app needs an internet connection to work because the 100+ videos are actually links from You Tube. They are chosen by Peapod Labs and checked to be interesting and safe for kids. Kids cannot link from this app into other You Tube content. This app is nicely done  – great for building vocabulary and beginning to read/spell words. Recommended!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/abc-go/id410111251?mt=8&uo=4

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Guess How Much I Love You – Interactive Episodes

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Guess How Much I Love You

FREE a limited time – Guess How Much I Love You – Interactive Episodes. From Australia comes this wonderful app 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. The book is beautiful – one of my all time favorites. Originally published in 1994 in the UK, it has sold more than 20 million copies in 37 languages. It is 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!

Guess How Much I Love You - Interactive Episodes - SLR Productions Pty Ltd

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Little Fox Music Box

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Old MacDonald

Mr. Fox’s Sound Studio

The winter version of Little Fox Music Box, an educational app for 2 – 6 year olds, is currently FREE. The app has been downloaded over a million times and was featured as Apple’s App of the Week. The artwork design is from Heidi Wittlinger, an Oscar nominated artist. The app includes 3 children’s songs: Old MacDonald, London Bridge, and Evening Song. Kids can also visit Mr. Fox’s sound studio which is full of 100+ interactive  surprises. The app includes a Karaoke mode and it can be switched from English to German. Kids will be delighted with this adorable app!

Highly recommended!

Little Fox Music Box – Kids songs – Sing along - Shape Minds and Moving Images GmbH

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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 today – 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