FREE for a limited time – Stumpy’s Alphabet Dinner, an educational app that teaches toddlers/preschoolers the upper case letters of the alphabet. Kids feed Stumpy, a pink hungry monster. In easy mode, kids feed him the letter that matches the one on his belly. In hard mode, kids have to listen for the letter that Stumpy would like to eat. Simple & cute!
Happy Independence Day! To celebrate, Caspar Babypants Music Time is FREE today! Chris Ballew, lead singer of Presidents of the United States, is now playing music for kids. His 6 Caspar Babypants albums include both original and classic songs. The app comes with 12 songs (2 from each album) and the ability to add any Caspar Babypants albums that you already own. You can also purchase more songs on iTunes. Kids can sing along with and/or accompany the songs using a xylophone, guitar, or percussion instruments. The xylophone and guitar are “smart instruments” – the notes change with the song being played. There is also sing/play mode that displays the lyrics and the chords for that kids (young & old) who already play an instrument. This mode has a turtle button to slow things down for kids who are trying to learn. There are so many things to love about this educational app – colorful artwork, upbeat songs, fun ways to interact! Super cute fun for the little ones in your life.
FREE for a limited time – 2 Stella & Sam educational apps: Backyard at Twilight and Rainy Days and Rainbows. Stella and Sam apps are based on the television show and the bestselling picture book series by Marie-Louise Gay. The books have been translated into fifteen languages & have sold over one million copies. In Backyard at Twilight, kids play along with Stella, Sam, and their dog Fred as they spend the night camping out in the backyard. They look for bugs, learn about shapes from fireflies, and discover the constellations. In Rainy Days and Rainbows, kids paint with Fred, dig through leaves looking for treasures, and have a pine cone race across Puddle Lake. Beautifully done apps for preschoolers!
Other Stella and Sam Adventures that are available on iTunes for $2.99 each include: Into the Snow We Go, Cocoons and Caterpillars, Go There Square. Or, you can purchase the Stella and Sam Story Pack which includes all 5 titles for $6.99. All Stella and Sam apps are supported in English and French. You can easily change from English to French/French to English in the app’s settings.
Backyard at Twilight Rainy Days and Rainbows
Another educational app, FREE for a limited time – Factor Samurai is a fun game to practice multiplication/division while looking for prime factors. The goal of the game is to cut falling numbers down to their prime numbers. So if the number 14 is on the screen, it would be cut once to become 2 and 7. If the number 18 is on the screen, it would be cut twice – first to 3 and 6 and then the 6 would be cut to 2 and 3. The game has three levels – grasshopper, apprentice, and master. The speed of the falling numbers increases in each level. Once a player has cut 3 numbers that are already prime, the game is over. The score (showing how many numbers were cut down to their prime) is displayed! There is an option to play the game through the Game Center.
One concern I have is that the number 1 is included in the falling numbers and one is NOT a prime number. So… I contacted customer support with my concern and was pleasantly surprised to get a response within 10 minutes! The developer is planning on taking #1 out of the falling numbers with the next update. They anticipate the update to be live by the end of the month (July). Great news 🙂 because this is a fun game that helps kids with an important math standard!
Common Core Standards met:
FREE today only and just in time for the 4th of July – Real Fireworks Artwork 4-in-1 HD. So how real are they? My dog is a believer. 🙂 He did not enjoy the realistic sounds (which can be disabled). The main features of this app are customizable (tail length, explosion size, particle size, gravity, color mode) fireworks, an interactive visualizer, a wallpaper maker, and a drawing pad. If the weather is not cooperating on the 4th, kids (and adults) will have fun creating their own indoor fireworks. If you have an Apple TV, you can connect it to your iPad 2 (or later) and watch fireworks on your TV. Classroom teachers could use this app to celebrate the class doing well on a test, earning class points for good behavior, etc. Fun stuff!!
FREE today only – Paper Camera, an app that permits you to add special effects to your photos in real-time. 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 or andy pop. 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. Very slick!!
SO many educational ideas for this app… Video your kids playing using the cartoon mode. Add special effects to digital artwork. Create party invitation using the andy mode. The list could go on and on – so creative!!
FREE again for iPhone/iPad, Toca Tailor Fairy Tales has kids designing and tailoring clothes for two fairy tale characters. With a tap, the style of clothing can be changed. The length of the sleeves, pants, etc. is easily adjusted with a swipe. Kids then choose different colors & prints of fabric or they can create their own fabric using the built-in fabric camera. They can also access and use pictures from the camera roll. There are trims to add – buttons, pockets, etc. Finally, kids choose accessories – hats, scarves, shoes, etc. Kids can take a picture of their finished creations like they can in so many apps. BUT…. in this educational app you can use your own room as a background – how unique! Kids could create their own little elf, take pictures of it all over the house, and write their own “elf-on-a-shelf” story. The possibilities for creative writing using this feature are endless – LOVE it!! Very open-ended & creative for hours of fun!
Highly recommended!!
Free for a limited time – Tale of Peter Rabbit, Classic and The Tale of Tom Kitten, Classic by Beatrix Potter. These educational apps feature the complete stories with the original illustrations. Both stories are professionally narrated in English. Kids can read along with the narrator or turn off all sounds and read the stories on their own. The app is fairly simple – no interactivity, no word highlighting as it is read but there is a memory game included. Introduce your kids to the classic world of Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter – some tales are just timeless!
Peter Rabbit Tom Kitten
FREE for a limited time – Ten Giggly Gorillas, a cute book to share with 2 – 6 year olds. There are 10 giggly gorillas swinging in the trees. Kids must listen to the story to know which gorilla to tickle under the arm. When tickled, that gorilla giggles until it lose its grip and there is one less gorilla swinging in the tree. The story continues until there is only one gorilla left to tickle. At the end there is a cute surprise! With over 100 interactions plus a hidden toucan on every page, this story is sure to delight your little ones! This educational app also includes a monkey memory game.
Paperless – Draw, Paint, Sketch is FREE for a limited time. This easy-to-use educational app changes your iPad into a drawing tablet. The app comes with 6 tools: a water-color brush, a pencil brush, an ink pen, an eraser, a paint bucket, and a color picker. The drawing line can be customized for size, opacity, smoothing, and thickness. The color picker allow you to choose any color then gives you 6 variances of that color. There are 12 backgrounds are available within the app or you can pull backgrounds from your camera roll. Your drawings, paintings, and sketching can be saved and shared! Slick and simple to use – this app would be great for young artists!
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