FREE again – Counting Dots, an educational app for young iPad users. Kids learn to recognize/count numbers by popping colorful dots in this simple but visually appealing game. The app has three settings – counting by one, fives, or tens. There are also settings for sound, hinting, and enabling vibrations (iPhone only). The app is advertised as helping kids count from one to a million. I counted by ones to 20 and by tens to 100 – didn’t quite make it to a million. 🙂 This app is by the same developer that did Rain Dots (see my March 1, 2013 review). Recommended!
Path On – Swipe to Type
FREE today – Path On, a must-have app with many creative uses!! What does Path On do? It permits you to put text in a path across photos from your albums or taken with your device’s camera. It’s extremely simple to use. Text can be typed in a free path, square, circle, paragraph or spiral. You can also change font styles, colors, and effects. Path On is classified as a photo & video app but there are so many possibilities for using this app in education. Kids could type descriptions of themselves on their pictures, write poetry to go with an image, take photos then point out geometric shapes found in their environment, write a thank you note on a picture of them with the gift, create a timeline by using a series of pictures, create a travel log of the family vacation, and on and on and on. Creations can be saved and shared via Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, Twitter & email. WOW – what a fabulous tool!!
Sparky the Shark Funny Animated Interactive Kids Storybook HD 2.1
FREE for a limited time – Sparky the Shark, a fun interactive story for kids. Sparky is a friendly shark who does not understand why he frightens people. He and his penguin pal, Dax, try to fix the problem by getting Sparky a new look. They try different teeth and a variety of disguises. Eventually Sparky is accepted for who he is. The app has 2 modes – “read to me” and “read it myself.” There are 90+ interactive hidden hot spots in the story for kids to discover. There is also a “fun disguises page” where kids can dress Sparky in goofy teeth, hats, ties, & googly eyes. Then they can take his photo. What a great app – a fun interactive experience with an important message about wanting to be accepted and believing in one’s self. No wonder it was a finalist in the Australian Mobile Awards!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sparky-shark-funny-animated/id478654371?mt=8&uo=4
Mibblio
Mibblio is an interactive musical/storybook app for kids. Children read the illustrated story-songs called “mibblets” as they listen to the catchy tunes. They can also jam along on a variety of instruments. The app has a keyboard along the bottom of the screen with a choice of 8 different instruments. They can also use a tambourine or cowbell to tap along to the beat of the song. Some “mibblets” are based on well-known songs such as The Farmer in the Dell. Others are original compositions. The FREE download includes your choice of 1 “mibblet” with additional “mibblets” available as in-app purchases. I chose I Like ’em Sunny Side Up which was adorable!
You can preview the app and all of the “mibblets” online @Mibblio – An interactive musical children’s book app for iPad. Mibblio has been featured in Parents Magazine, Mashable, The Guardian, Wired Magazine, Gizmodo, Children’s Technology Review, and more. It was also listed on The Guardian’s “50 Best Apps for Kids from 2013 that Parents Can Trust.”
And for a limited time, Wheels on the Bus, Mibblio’s #1 in-app purchase is also FREE. Here’s the link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wheels-on-the-bus-band/id820378253?mt=8&uo=4
MyScript Calculator
Named by Apple as 1 of 10 Apps That WOW and FREE – MyScript Calculator is an amazing app. It performs mathematical operations literally by hand! You write the problem … it solves the problem! The app is very simple to use. Just write the mathematical equation on the screen. MyScript technology converts the symbols and numbers to digital text and delivers the answers. It supports the following operations: basic operations (+, -, x, ÷, +/‒, 1/x), additional operations ( %, √, x!, |x|), powers/exponentials (ℯx, xy , x2), trigonometry, and more. Winner of the Mobile App Showdown at CES 2013, MyScript Calculator has been redesigned to work with iOS7. The update also allows automatic calculation to be disabled and replaced by a “calculate” button. Love this app – numbers have to be written somewhat legibly for it to work. 🙂
Grandmas Loves Bugs
FREE for a limited time – Grandmas Loves Bugs, another adorable educational app for preschoolers by Fairlady Media. Kids join dancing grandma in her garden to learn all about bugs. The app features 10 educational games – all thematically linked. Kids will love helping grandma in her garden and they will be learning math & reading as they do. The app also features short videos of real bugs in action. Some of the educational content in the games include: colors, observation (spot the difference), numbers (recognition & counting), letters (upper & lower case), memory, problem solving, and vocabulary. This app is nicely done for little ones – educational content covered in a fun way with a dancing Grandma to celebrate a job well-done!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grandma-loves-bugs/id666526099?mt=8&uo=4
Avokiddo Emotions – Playful learning for kids
FREE for a limited time – Avokiddo Emotions – Playful learning for kid. This educational app for kids of all ages explores emotions in a playful way. The app features a zany zebra, a shy sheep, and a jolly giraffe. KIds dress them up, feed them, share toys with them, etc. using 100+ unique props – hats, glasses, clothing, toys, musical instruments, food & drinks. Educational benefits include: learning to read body language, developing empathy for the characters’ feelings, building spoken/written language to go with the emotions & physical reactions, exploring cause and effect relationships, making predictions, and more. Certain accessories trigger themed backgrounds and accompanying silliness that is sure to bring smiles! Kids can save their creations to the camera roll to share in a variety of ways. Older kids can use their creations for creative writing. This app is FABULOUS – fun for toddlers and beyond. Highly recommended!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/avokiddo-emotions-playful/id661758013?mt=8&uo=4
Preschool University – phonics/spelling apps
Moveable Alphabet option from ABC Spelling Magic
Wow!! Preschool University has 12 phonics/spelling apps available for FREE again. There are links to all below. I have them grouped by the skills that they teach and from easiest to most difficult. The first group teaches letter sounds.
- ABC Magic Phonics – initial letter sounds, 1 picture for each letter

- ABC Magic 2 – initial letter sounds, 4 pictures for each letter

- ABC Magic 3 Line Match – Kids apply what they know about sounds by matching. There are 2 modes: matching 2 pictures with the same beginning sounds or matching letters to a picture that starts with that sound.

- ABC Magic 4 – Kids are given a letter and they must find pictures of 3,6,or 9 items that begin with that sound.

- ABC Magic 5 Letter Sound Matching – Kids match sounds in 2 modes: picture to letter or letter to picture. As kids become more advanced, you can increase their number of choices (4, 6, or 9) and increase the number of matches per round (5,10,15,20,or 25).

- ABC Magic 6 – is the same as Sound Beginnings (follows #8).
- ABC Magic 7 Memory Match – A matching game with 2 options: match letter to letter or match picture to picture. Letter sounds and picture names are pronounced with the option of turning the sounds off. Grids of 12, 16, or 20 are available.

- ABC Magic 8 Sound Matching – This app is an extension of ABC Magic 7. It’s another matching game with 2 options: letter to picture having that beginning sound or picture to another picture with the same beginning sound. Letter sounds and picture names are pronounced with the option of turning the sounds off. Grids of 12, 16, or 20 are available.

- Sound Beginnings – This app is the most advanced of the letter sound teaching apps. It is called sound beginnings but actually teaches beginning, middle, and ending sounds. There are two options: a picture to letter and letter to picture. As kids become more advanced, you can increase their number of choices (3,4, or 5) and increase the number of matches per round (5,10,15,20,or 25). Awesome practice for beginning readers!!

The second group of apps uses letter sounds to spell words that phonetically regular. There are 2 ways to use each of these apps. Word Jumble provides the child with the letters of the word and the child puts them in order. Moveable Alphabet (the more difficult option) has the entire alphabet across the top of the page and the child must find the correct letters to spell the word. If a child touches a picture, the app reads the word. If a child touches a letter, the app gives the sound for that letter. Each vowel is taught in isolation but there is also a shuffle option which provides mixed practice. Vowels are printed in blue and consonants are in red so you can reinforce the CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) pattern.
- ABC Spelling Magic Short Vowels – teaches short vowels

- ABC Spelling Magic 2 Consonant Blends – teaches consonant blends and consonant clusters

- ABC Spelling Magic 3 Blends & Syllables – GREAT practice spelling multi-syllable words

- Sentence Reading Magic – Kids built 2 or 3 words sentences using phonetically regular words.

These apps provide a lot of good practice for preschoolers and early readers!!
Common Core Standards met:
- K. RF.3 – Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant. Associate the short sounds with common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
Millie Was Here, Book 1 and Millie’s Crazy Dinosaur Adventure, Book 3
I am a HUGE fan of the Millie Was Here series – these apps are adorable. They are loaded with fun interactivity that really adds to the story. Kids will be delighted and engaged as they join Millie on her adventures. These kid-appealing apps will produce lots of smiles. 🙂
Millie Was Here – Millie’s first adventure is currently FREE. This award-winning interactive book for kids has been one of my favorites since I started my blog. The story follows Millie on her first adventure. Millie (a lovable dog) has super powers, loves bacon, and is a master of disguise. I love everything about this app – the narration, music, interactivity, and Millie – the super cute star of the book. The story is available in 11 languages. The app automatically sets itself to the language of your device – how cool is that!
Also FREE – Millie’s Crazy Dinosaur Adventure, the third book in the Millie series for the iPhone/iPad. Millie’s adventures continue when she goes to a birthday party for Kitty and forgets to bring a present. Millie builds a time machine to solve the problem. She goes back a bit too far and lands in prehistoric times with the dinosaurs! The result is another fun Millie story loaded with interactivity. Kids LOVE these books!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/millies-crazy-dinosaur-adventure/id695161183?mt=8&uo=4
Cozmo’s Day Off

Cozmo’s Day Off is an adorable interactive storybook for the iPhone/iPad. It has a FREE lite version that you may preview before you purchase the full version ($3.99) but… the full version is currently on sale for only $.99!
In the lite version the menu page and the first page are fully interactive. Purchasing the full version unlocks every page – totaling over 100 interactions. This app tells a cute story about a little green alien’s day in read-along rhyme. The pitch of the narrator’s voice can be changed – which is a fun feature. There is also a record option which allows kids to record themselves reading the book. After recording, the pitch of their voices can be changed. They can slow their voice way down (making it deeper) or speed it up (making it higher) – both make them sound like aliens. I think kids would LOVE this feature and it would provide quite the incentive to read the book on their own. I can hear the giggles now. 🙂
Here’s the link to the full version: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cozmos-day-off-childrens-interactive/id409177911?mt=8&uo=4











