The memory game section of the Monsters Band app for the iPhone/iPad is FREE today. Kids can choose their level of difficulty – 12, 20, or 30 cards to match. Points are awarded based on what level is being played. There are also time bonuses. Kids may register to build points and earn stickers but it is not necessary to do so in order to play. Very cute card memory game – love the silly monsters! Also available as in-app purchases are 3 levels of jigsaw puzzles and 3 levels of quizzes.
Pete and the Secret of Flying is an adorable interactive e-book for the iPad about a little bird named Pete who has a dream.The story takes place back in the time when birds went everywhere on foot. Pete dreams of playing in the clouds and decides that perhaps he should try his wings out. And so the story unfolds… The narration & text can be turned on or off. There is also an option to autoplay the book. The graphics are great – simple drawings in blue and white with a bright yellow birds! Kids 2+ will love playing with Pete – he interacts when he’s tapped. Really cute for little ones!
Here are links to more FREE Christmas apps I have found. 🙂
Boo, Where Are You? – a darling e-book for toddlers about a dog named Sammy and his friend, Boo the cat. Kids tap-the flaps in the story to try to find Boo. Really cute – read on your own story 🙂
Peekaboo Presents is FREE as of today – not sure how long this offer will last. 13 gifts are under the tree for your toddler to unwrap. Each present comes with its own unique sound & action. Younger children will benefit from hearing & seeing the word for each present. Older children can listen to the sounds coming from the boxes to infer what might be inside. The app has 2 modes – endless play or storybook mode. At the end, kids get a glimpse of Santa with all the presents.
Santa’s Jigsaw Puzzles – 3 holiday scenes that can become 9,16, or 25 piece puzzles for kids to put together.
Gingerbread Crazy Chef Cookie Maker – Kids can virtually bake and decorate their own gingerbread cookies. An in-app purchase of the full version is available. There are also ads along the bottom. TabTale Books has several other free holiday titles that you can download when you open this app if you are comfortable with their model of delivery – ads, upgrades, etc.
Elf Yourself is back for 2012!! This FREE app is incredibly easy to use. Just upload up to 5 pictures of yourself, family, or friends. The app will transform all of you into hip hop dancing elves – the stars of your own video. Other dance themes (80’s, Charleston, Soul, etc.) are also available. The results are hilarious! Videos can be shared via email with family and friends. Last year, I turned the students in my class into elves and used the videos as class motivators. The kids LOVED them!! This year, I made the family dog into a dancing elf 🙂 Spread some holiday cheer!!
FREE from the maker of Puzzingo Puzzles – a holiday gift for your child, Puzzingo Holidays. Puzzingo (the original app in this series) was voted one of the best kid’s apps by the Chicago Tribune. The holiday edition includes 7 animated, interactive puzzles. Kids build their vocabulary while having fun – as each puzzle piece is moved into place, the name of the object is pronounced. When each puzzle is completed, there is a celebration. Kids get to help build Santa’s workshop, have snow ball fight, deliver presents, pop fireworks, ride Santa’s sleigh, celebrate the New Year, and more. Great fun for little ones 🙂
Rock on… with Toca Band – FREE today! This app for the iPhone/iPad encourages kids to explore music as they mix beats & sounds together to produce a hit song. The 16 characters in this app each have their own sound and rhythm. Kids drag different combinations of performers on stage to create their own musical band. How a character plays depends on where he/she is placed on the stage. Characters can also be chosen to give a solo performance. Even the names of the characters are fun: Bang Bang Chef on the drums, Dancy Nancy on the piano, Shaky McBones on the maracas,etc. Another great app from a developer that makes learning what it should be – fun, creative, and joyful!
Highly recommended!
Question: What do you get when Stanford education experts collaborate with award-winning storytellers and animators? Answer: Leo’s Pad – an interactive series of “appisodes” designed for preschoolers. The first story in this series was released on 2 days ago and is currently FREE. Kids join 8-year-old Leonardo daVinci and Galileo on an aesthetically appealing adventure called Gally’s Birthday. Interactive games that teach shapes, colors, number sense, drawing, letter identification, etc. are seamlessly woven into the story. They include a mixture of exploratory, creative, and problem-solving activities. Songs are also included which adds to the app’s Pixar-movie-like feel. Coming soon is a For Grown-ups section designed to give parents details about their children’s progress. Love this app for so many reasons – great story, beautiful animations, meaningful interaction, positive messages, catchy songs, age-appropriate skills, the list goes on…. Looking forward to Appisode #2, Rocket to the Stars, which is to be released in January!
Highly recommended!
FREE today for your iPad – Peekaboo has kids looking for 7 cute little aliens who have come to explore our planet and play hide-and-seek! There are 10 colorful & beautifully illustrated scenes for kids to explore. There is a hint mode to help find the characters if needed. Each alien makes its own unique sound when it is located. And… the aliens hiding spots change each time the game is played. Very cute and sure to delight little ones. 🙂
FREE today – Suzy’s Zoo Storybook Collection: Witzy’s Friends Forever is the first in a series of e-books featuring the Suzy’s Zoo characters created by award-winning artist, Suzy Spafford. Witzy the duck is searching for a wishing puff so he can make a wish to be friends forever with his buddies – Boof, Patches, & Lulla. Beautifully illustrated, this sweet story can be enjoyed in 3 modes: autoplay, read to me, or read to myself. Children will enjoy the animations on each page and looking for Tickles, the ladybug. After reading there are 3 activities: coloring, a matching game, & a puzzle. Download it for your iPhone/iPad today – it’s a sweet one!
Purple glittery snowflakes !! FREE for a limited time, Snowflake Station for the iPad helps kids discover the beauty of symmetry – a key concept in math, science, art, & architecture. The app has 3 sections: Trace a Flake, Creation Station, and Make it Snow. Trace a Flake includes step-by-step instructions for cutting 36 different snowflakes/other symmetrical shapes. In the Creation Station, kids create their own flakes/shapes. There are six different folds, 10 different colored paper, and 10 different colors of glitter to choose from. Kids make “cuts” with their fingers. The tape button works as an undo button. Kids can monitor their progress in the upper left hand corner of the cutting board. Creations can be saved to use in the Make it Snow section of the app which does exactly that! Kids use their creations to make it snow in a photo of their choosing. They can use the iPad’s camera to take a picture or use an already saved photo from the camera roll. There are also 10 winter scenes included in the app. Another option in this app is the ability to set up a Juddly (a safe, secure email) account for your child to share his/her creations with you. Very creative & very fun – all while learning about symmetry 🙂
Common Core Standards:
Not only does this app meet CCSS in math, it can also be used in creative writing – The Day It Snowed Orange, Alien Invasion, etc. Awesome – highly recommended!
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