Ahoy Matey…. Toontastic Jr. Pirates is FREE again for a limited time. This storytelling app, from the creators of Toontastic, has kids creating their own pirate cartoons. They start by choosing a beginning, middle, and ending. Then they animate the story by moving the characters and recording their voices at the same time. The educational app features 12 story starter videos and a cast of characters to get kids started. If kids would like to create a story with friends or family, they can utilize StoryShare, a new feature in Toontastic Jr. which is very cool! It enables kids to talk & create stories with friends or family anywhere in the world! Yo ho ho – how fun is that??

Ahoy Matey…. Toontastic Jr. Pirates is FREE for a limited time. This storytelling app, from the creators of Toontastic, has kids creating their own pirate cartoons. They start by choosing a beginning, middle, and ending. Then they animate the story by moving the characters and recording their voices at the same time. This educational app features 12 story starter videos and a cast of characters to get kids started. If kids would like to create a story with friends or family, they can utilize StoryShare, a new feature in Toontastic Jr. which is very cool! It enables kids to talk & create stories with friends or family anywhere in the world! Yo ho ho – how fun is that??

FREE for a limited time – Word Mic, an app that can be used to chronicle your child’s progress as they learn to read! It video records your child reading any book in PDF format. Videos can then be shared/saved via Dropbox, Google Drive, Facebook, YouTube or email. This app is SO simple to use: import book in PDF format, type in your child’s name, record your child reading the book, create the video by hitting save when done, then share!  The app also has an “Import a Book” section which has 28 beginning books and 5 sets of sight words in its Free Book List. There are so many uses for this app – to chronicle and evaluate reading progress, to share progress with family and friends, to create and record your own material, etc. But perhaps the best use for this app is to record your child’s voice when he/she first starts reading – so special!! And… grandmas & grandpas everywhere will be able to share the joy of your child learning to read.  🙂

FREE for a limited time – Montessori ABC for Kids HD: Learn and Trace Alphabet Letters. This app has two sections: animated flashcards (to teach kids the letters/sounds) and traceable worksheets (to teach kids how to write the letters). The flashcard section has cute animations to teach kids letters & sounds in a fun way. The writing section has two modes (right-handed and left-handed) to teach upper and lower case letters. The app is designed to have multiple users and parents can track their children’s progress. Nicely done!!

This developer also did ABC Games – Montessori Phonics-enabled Alphabet which I reviewed on November 2, 2012.

Common Core Standards met:

• K.RF.1 – Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print. Recognize and name all upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet.