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 again – the full version of Grammar Wonderland (Elementary). Also available for $2.99 is Grammar Wonderland (Primary). In both games kids lead their characters through different adventures as they practice  nouns, verbs, adjectives, and more. The primary version is for younger children – the words are read and some levels include pictures. The app does not teach the parts of speech but it provides lots of practice for kids in a fun game-like environment. After teaching a lesson about parts of speech, teachers can have kids show what they know with this app. Practice is provided for the following: common nouns, proper, nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns, singular nouns, plural nouns, possessive nouns, pronouns, action verbs, present-tense verbs, past-tense verbs, future-tense verbs, linking verbs, adjectives, articles, comparative/superlative adjectives, and more! Many parts of speech are taught in both of theses educational apps – perfect for differentiating your instruction for a variety of reading levels. Both apps also permit multiple players – great for the classroom!
Recommended!!  – Download them today 🙂
Grammar Wonderland Primary     
Grammar Wonderland Elementary    Â
FREE again for a limited time from McGraw Hill – American History Timeline. Kids can navigate the timeline to read about the hundreds of important people, places, and events that have shaped American history. When kids tap on a thumbnail photo, this educational app brings up a larger image and an explanation of the person, place, or event. The majority  of the drawings/photos used are from Library of Congress. There are 7 categories (such as women, inventors, constitution, etc.) that can be turned on and off so kids can see figures and/or events specific to that category. World events are also included on a parallel timeline. Two games are included: Time Line Scramble and Memory. Kids sequence events in the correct order with the Time Line Scramble Game. In the Memory Game, they match the correct date with the correct event or person.
I really like the design of the app – the ability to customize what categories you want to look at, the authenticity of the drawings/photos, the parallel world history timeline for comparison. It would be great for teaching kids read or create timelines.
Ahoy there!! FREE again (normally $1.99), Sail through Math from McGraw Hill – a fun way for students to practice their math facts/skills. There are 3 levels of play for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Other areas covered are addition equations. subtraction equations, multiplication equations, two-step equations, names for numbers, patterns/factors/multiples, and compare numbers. This app provides of great practice built around a pirate theme – complete with music and firing cannonballs! At the end of each game, the child can see what problems he/she missed as well as a percentage score. What a fun way to learn basic facts – in the classroom, at home, in the car on a way to an evening activity. I used to tell my students to practice during commercials – 10 to 15 minutes a day works wonders. This app provides a fun way to accomplish that goal 🙂
Common Core Standards met:
From the makers of Endless Alphabet comes Endless Reading, an educational app that was chosen in November as an “Editor’s Choice” by Apple. The cute little monsters from Endless Alphabet are back! This time their goal is to teach kids sight words. As kids build words, the letters say their sounds. And when the word is completed, it comes alive to reflect its meaning. B-a-l-l turns into a ball, d-o-g wags its tail, etc. So fun!! Next the word is used in context. Kids help by placing the sight words into a sentence which is then acted out by the friendly monsters to show its meaning. The app comes with 6 words to try. Additional word sets are available with an in-app purchase. Check out this adorable app – kids will LOVE it!!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/endless-reader/id722910739?mt=8&uo=4
Currently FREE, Tellagami (rhymes with origami) is a unique storytelling app. Short stories called gamis are easy to create. First you select and customize a character by choosing his/her skin tone, eye color, hair color, and clothing. Then you choose an emotion – happy, sad, surprised, angry, scared, silly. Next you choose a background from the app, from your photo library, or create one by using your camera. You are now ready to create your gami. You can record your gami in you own voice or choose the text button to type in what your character will say  – the limit is 450 characters. Gamis can be shared via email, messaging, Facebook, or Twitter.
This educational app is fabulous!! Its uses are only limited by your imagination!! Kids can use gamis to introduce themselves at the beginning of the year. They can customize gamis to look like themselves and be reporters, scientists, teachers, etc. They can create the character (and setting) from a book they are reading. They can message or email a parent to explain what they are learning in class. Teachers could use gamis as interactive exit slips. The list is endless. Kids will LOVE creating gamis!
FREE for a limited time – Geography Drive USA™, a fabulous geography app for up to 3 players. This educational app teaches kids about the 50 U.S. states – their shapes, capitals, nicknames, postal abbreviations, flags, key symbols and more. As kids travel on a cross-county adventure, they stop in each state to answer trivia questions about national rivers, mountains, parks and time zones, important trails and railroads, major U.S. cities, landmarks, and attractions. When they answer questions correctly, they unlock airports and fuel stations – essential to stay in the game. The more you know, the further you go. 🙂
Additional fun features include: a visitor center with state brochures and regional & national maps, a game-based newspaper with headlines that recognize player achievements, trophies waiting to be claimed & displayed, and the ability to customize and upgrade the players’ cars. There are also 4 bonus games included. Love this app – it’s the perfect blend of fun and learning!
2013 Gold Parents’ Choice Award, 2013 Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award, and featured on Fox News.
Download link:Â https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/geography-drive-usa/id579100969?mt=8&uo=4
FREE for a limited time – littleBIG History, an educational app that bills itself as ” a brief history of everything ever.” The app is organized as an interactive timeline that starts with the Big Bang and goes through modern times placing humanity within the larger context of the cosmos, earth, and evolution of life. It currently includes 90 categories, 700 pictures, and 1300+ events (links to Wikipedia) with plans to add more. There is also a search option within the app. Check out this cool educational resource today. 🙂
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/littlebig-history/id543049472?mt=8&uo=4
Named Runner-Up App of the Year!
Apple Design Award 2013 Winner and named by Apple as 1 of 10 Apps That WOW – WWF Together. This beautifully designed, FREE educational app for the iPad was originally released last January by the World Wildlife Federation. The app features 8 endangered species – giant pandas, marine turtles, polar bears, elephants, tigers, bison, whales, and snow leopards. The unique and engaging features of this app includes: stories about these endangered animals with playful interactive elements, fabulous high-definition videos and image galleries – featuring photos by renowned environmental photographer Morten Koldby, cool facts about each animal, and a 3D interactive globe that tells how far you are from 60 different animals around the world. Everything about this app is wonderful – including the music. You will fall in love with the magnificent creatures presented in this app.  Additional stories about other species will be added regularly – AWESOME app !!
Highly recommended!
FREE today only – the full version of King of Maths, an educational app for the middle school kids. All players start out as farmers. Their characters “level up” as they progress through the 10 levels of each game. The goal is to solve math problems quickly and accurately. The app covers 12 areas of math: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, geometry, equations, powers, statistics, arithmetic, and mixed practices. I tried the addition section and was pleased to see a wide variety of questions. Kids can collect medals and compete against friends if they sign into the Game Center. The app is rated 9+ which means it contains infrequent or mild cartoon violence so check it out before you assign it to kids. But I suspect it’s violent because the game is set in medieval times. That being said, the app provides a lot of good practice (1200 questions) for older kids across several areas of the math curriculum.
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/king-of-math/id473904402?mt=8&uo=4
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