Animal Origami was FREE for a limited time (earlier this week). It is now priced at $1.99. Origami is the art of Japanese paper-folding. This app shows kids and/or adults how to fold paper into 16 different animal heads. It is nicely done with easy-to-follow, step-by-step directions. Keep reading my blog to find out when apps like this go FREE again!
FREE for a limited time – Fancy Nancy Dress Up, a game app based on the Fancy Nancy books which have sold over 20 million copies! Nancy is going to a splendid soiree. Kids read her storybook then create outfits for each page. There are endless combinations of dresses, hats, pants, tops, shoes, jewelry, etc. There is even a random outfit generator. Fancy Nancy offers kids encouragement as she becomes fancier and fancier. Kids can also choose a background and decorate it with stickers. They can even insert Fancy Nancy into their photos! Creations can be saved, shared, or used as a great springboard for writing their own Fancy Nancy adventure!
FREE for limited time – the digital version of a Mercer Mayer Little Critter story, Just Me and My Mom. Little Critter and his mother go to the city for a special day together. He gets into trouble along the way when he loses the train ticket, picks up a dinosaur egg in the museum, and experiences other difficulties. The app features the original artwork of Mercer Mayer with background audio for each scene. The story can be read in three modes – read to me, autoplay, or read it myself. A parent can record the story in his/her own voice. There is also a find the frog mini-game included. There’s a reason these stories have been loved by parents and kids for so many years. 🙂 Perfect for Mother’s Day!
FREE for a limited time – Funny Kids Poems, an interactive book of 12 short rhymes by Maria Lindholm. The brightly illustrated poems are read aloud and can easily be changed from English to Russian. Kids can make the characters respond by tapping them. They can also tilt their device to see the entire scene come alive!
FREE today – for Earth Day. The Lorax Garden is a game app (which I don’t usually review). But, this app one goes perfectly with a favorite Earth Day book – The Lorax by Dr. Seusss. After sharing the story with kids, they can create and care for their own Truffula trees! The object of the game is to regrow forests. Progress can be viewed on a world map. Creations can be shared with family and friends via email. BEWARE: The app includes in-app purchases which the developer says can be locked in the settings. I played with it for a while and could not see how/where. I wanted to get this posted before the day ends so I will contact the developers for further info and revise this posting.
REVISED 4/23. The following information came from Michael at Oceanhouse Media: To turn off in-app purchasing, do the following:
FREE today to celebrate World Book Day – fairy tale apps by StoryToy. These apps are normally $4.99 each and are designed as digital pop-up books. All books can be read in 3 modes – read to me, read on my own, or autoplay. They all feature interactive 3D pop-up scenes with simple tasks for kids to perform throughout the story. The stories are professionally narrated and include fun sound effects and a musical score. Check them out while they are FREE!
Here are the links 🙂
Rapunzel 
Red Riding Hood
Hansel & Gretel
Sleeping Beauty
Snow White
Puss in Boots
Little Mermaid
FREE for a limited time – Crazy Hair Studio. Turn your iPhone/iPad into a virtual hair salon with this entertainment app. Just take a picture with your camera or choose one from your library and change your hairstyle with following tools – brush, scissors, trimmer, tint brush, curlers, dryer, and/or extensions. Your new look can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, email – if you wish.
What does this app have to do with education? Well… it certainly can spark some creativity! Use it to inspire writing on your school’s “wacky hair” day. Have kids create/write about their worst haircut ever! Use it with one of the many books about kids & haircuts – check out the list at Amazon. Give a character from a story a new look. Create some new styles then write an ad for your salon. The list goes on…..
FREE today – Alphabet Animals iMix for toddlers and preschoolers. In this flip game, kids mix & match 3 character parts to create a silly looking character with a funny new name. Kids can touch the syllables to hear them pronounced individually or they can touch the speaker to hear the entire new name pronounced. With over 2000 possible combinations, this app provides a fun way to practice making new words. Older children could also use this app to create a new creature then write about it – a fun subject for descriptive writing!
FREE again for a limited time – The Chicken & the Egg is an interactive e-book written by Allan Plenderleith for the iPhone/iPad. It is the story of Flo, a little chicken, who just cannot lay an egg. One rainy night something happens… An object rolls down a hill and lands next to Flo who thinks it’s her egg. She loves her egg & takes very good care of it. Then one night a “dark thing” appears… Even though all ends well, read this one first before you share it with preschoolers. You know if your child is sensitive to stories with “scary” parts.
Teachers – this story is perfect for teaching prediction. I would stop the story when Flo wakes up next to “her egg” and have students predict what will happen next. Is it actually an egg? If so what will hatch out? There are lots of possibilities for creative writing with this story. Then read the rest of the story to see how the author finishes it. The story is cutely illustrated with delightful narration. Its interactivity adds to the story rather than distracting the reader from the story. Definitely worth downloading 🙂
FREE for a limited time – The Flying Alphabetinis Deluxe. Alphabetinis are tiny acrobats with letters on their bellies. Kids (and parents) use them to create as many words as they can, as quickly as they can in this fast-paced, circus-themed word game. As a player is creating words, picture flashcards appear. If the player can spell the word that goes with the picture on the card, he/she earns more points. The game also includes stunts – Super Chill, Cannonball, Super Crystal Ball, or Mind Reader. These stunts power up the play – adding to the fun! Players can earn stunts through playing or they can buy them with in-app purchases. The deluxe edition (currently FREE) includes a 5000 coin bonus. There is also a completely FREE edition of the game available.
The game is designed to be played by 2 people. The app supports child-safe, multi-player gaming or a single family account that shares one device. The app also delivers learning reports to parents which detail minutes played & what was learned. Great word building practice for kids!!
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