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Earthlapse

earthlapse

FREE for Earth Day – Earthlapse, turns your iPad/iPhone into a window aboard the International Space Station. The app comes with 7 views of Earth (aurora borealis, a tropical storm, Canadian arm of the ISS, the cupola of the ISS, Earth & clouds, Canada & northern USA, and aurora australis) captured by NASA astronauts. It also has 8 relaxing space soundtracks. Love the music! When you touch the screen, you can control what you see with your finger. You can also enable a clock and/or worldwide weather – a nice feature if you want to use it as a screen saver. It would be great to Airplay this app on a big screen in your classroom when kids were doing creative writing about space, living on the ISS, etc. 🙂

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/earthlapse/id522003167?mt=8&uo=4

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Artkive

Now that summer is approaching, you may want to create a digital book of your child’s latest year in school. You can use Artkive, a productivity app, to do so. You may have heard of  this app because it has been featured on THE TODAY SHOW and in Real Simple magazine.

Artkive makes it easy to digitally store, share, and print your children’s artwork/schoolwork. Originally released on August 11, 2012  – this app for the iPhone/iPad is FREE again. It is very easy to use…. First you create an account. Then enter the first names of your children. Take photos of their artwork/schoolwork or upload existing photos from your camera roll. Tag the photo with a child’s name, age or grade, the date, and a title. So simple! You can then share their art with family & friends. You will also be able to have Artkive create digital books & other products using your child’s artwork/schoolwork. You can even order a few holiday presents while you’re at it. 🙂 Artkive makes it easy to collect, store, and share your children’s artwork.

What a great idea! As a parent, you can use it to create books for your children, of any age. I plan to make gift books for my adult children of the art/work that I have saved for years – yay, no more clutter!! As a teacher, you could use it to create digital portfolios of children’s work. Lots of possibilities with this one…. try it yourself while it is free!

To learn more @ http://www.artkiveapp.com/

Recommended!

Artkive - The Kive Company

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Toca Kitchen 2

 

Only $.99 – Toca Kitchen 2, another fun educational app from Toca Boca. Kids take to the kitchen to cook for new characters in this sequel to Toca Kitchen. In the frig they will find all new ingredients that they can prepare in a variety of ways. They can slice, blend, boil, fry, microwave, and/or mix the foods together. They can also add seasoning to the food, but they need to be careful not to add too much. Once the food is prepared they plate it up, serve it to the character, and wait for a reaction. Kids will learn which foods each character prefers in a fun creative way. I love the questions and conversations that Toca Boca apps inspire. It’s no wonder that the original, Toca Kitchen, was a Gold Winner of the Parent’s Choice Awards in 2012.

Teachers, use this app to inspire creative writing. Write stories or poems about being a cook and the preferences of your consumers. Or, you could have kids compare and contrast the food preferences of the different characters on a graphic organizer. This app also inspires conversation about healthy eating. There are lots of possibilities for learning while having fun!

Direct Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toca-kitchen-2/id943869618?mt=8

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Brainy Bugs Preschool Games

bug gamesSinging crickets! Brainy Bugs Preschool Games is FREE for a limited time. This super cute educational app for preschoolers has 4 sections: Cricket Concert, Bee Word Builder, Ant Tunnel Builder, and Spider Dot-to-Dot. In the Cricket Concert section, kids can select a song to hear the crickets sing together or they can tap on each cricket to play the song on their own. In Bee Word Builder, kids hear the phonic pronunciation of individual letters as they use them to put words together. Ant Tunnel Builder requires kids to rotate puzzle pieces so that the ants can march through a completed tunnel. Spider Dot-to-Dot has kids connecting dots in numerical order. Kids collect sticker rewards along the way. This app has a nice combination of learning games for preschoolers – cute, fun, & engaging! Who knew playing with bugs could be so much fun. 🙂

Bug Games HD - by Busy Bee Studios - Busy Bee Studios

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Stage Pro

stage proFREE For a limited time – Stage Pro: Interactive Whiteboard and Document Camera, a teaching/demonstration tool for students and teachers. Stage Pro uses the iPad camera to display live videos, textbooks, student work, imported PDFs, etc. You can also use images from your photo library or the app’s free backgrounds: whiteboard, blackboard, graph paper, music, ruled, maps. Once your content is displayed, you can: sketch on it, take notes, add labels, etc. There’s even a laser pointer for you to use. Saving your work is easy with Stage Pro. With one click, you can take a screen shot that is saved to your photo library. You can also easily create video recordings with the ability to pause, resume, and/or save. Saved videos can be moved from your photo library into programs such as iMovie. There are so many ways you could use this app for classroom sharing. Pairing Stage Pro with Airplay gives you the flexibility to move around the classroom and get all of your students involved. Save $4.99 and check out Stage Pro while it’s FREE!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stage-pro-interactive-whiteboard/id714477455?mt=8&uo=4

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Nighty Night

nighty night

Over 4 million downloads and counting… Nighty Night was recently updated and is FREE again for a limited time. This interactive bedtime app (for kids 1 – 4) has it all – cute animals, sleepy lullaby music, great narration, and fabulous artwork. The artwork is beautifully done by Heidi Wittlinger, an Oscar nominated artist. The story is perfect for your child’s bedtime ritual. Kids help to put 7 sleepy animals to bed by clicking off the lights around the farm thus setting the mood for their own bedtime. 🙂 Six additional animals can be added to the story with in-app purchases. The story can be switched from the winter version to the summer version and it can be changed to 12 different languages – English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. This educational app is really lovely and it has been successful internationally.  It won App of the Year 2011 in the “books category” in Germany & the U.S. It also reached #1 in iPad books in the US, Brazil, Spain, Denmark, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, South Africa, Australia Switzerland and Austria! Love this app!!

Nighty Night! HD – Bedtime stories – Story book for children - Shape Minds and Moving Images GmbH

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Grandpa’s Workshop

FREE for a limited time – Grandpa’s Workshop, an adorable educational app for preschoolers. Kids join dancing grandpa in his workshop. There they play 7 educational games such as Puzzle Fix-Up and Paint the Project. They also watch short videos of real tools in action. Kids will love helping grandpa build and they will be learning in the process. The games address the concepts of colors, numbers (1 -12), fractions (1/2, 1/4, 1/3), spatial relationships, measuring, observation skills, and vocabulary. I love this app because it seamlessly integrates important educational content into fun games. And, little ones will learn how things work. I especially like the when Grandpa asks for a high-five – so cute!

Highly recommended!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grandpas-workshop/id555310530?mt=8&uo=4

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Millie’s Book of Tricks and Treats

FREE For a limited time – Millie’s Book of Tricks and Treats. The Millie books feature a cute, lovable dog named Millie that kids LOVE! If you own the other two ebooks: Meet Millie and Millie and the Lost Key, you will want this volume too. The book presents a series of silly tricks and treats featuring Millie – nothing scary for little ones. Every time you read it, the randomly generated video clips change so the book is always different.There is also scratch-off picture & hidden sticker on every page. Love this series!

Highly recommended!

Millie's Book of Tricks and Treats - Megapops LLC

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Appy Halloween – 22 Educational Apps for Howliday Fun!

Halloween is almost here!

Here are 22 educational Halloween apps with links so that you can download them. They were all FREE when I downloaded them – which is why you should follow my blog. 🙂

Several of them are FREE again. Enjoy and Happy Halloween!!

grandmaOn sale for $.99 – 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

eye paint monstersEye Paint Monsters is FREE again for a limited time for iPhone/iPad. This educational app lets your child paint illustrations by Japanese artist, Mitsue Haya, in a unique way. Kids”paint” using their cameras to capture the colors, textures, patterns around them. To begin, a child chooses one of the 10 included illustrations. He/she taps to select the area to be filled in and the creativity begins! Work can be saved to the photo library for sharing or printing. Easy, fun, and very creative!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/eyepaint-monsters/id569067561?mt=8&uo=4

Millie’s Book of Tricks and Treats is currently$.99. The Millie books feature a very cute, lovable dog and kids absolutely LOVE them! If you own some of Millie’s other books Meet Millie and Millie and the Lost Key, you will want to download this one too. This book presents a series of silly tricks & treats featuring Millie – nothing scary for little ones. Every time you read it, the randomly generated video clips change so the book is always different.There is also a scratch-off picture & hidden sticker on every page. Love this series!

Millie's Book of Tricks and Treats - Megapops LLC

Also only $.99. – Millie’s Book of Tricks and Treats, Volume 2, featuring more dog tricks and/or dog treats. LOVE these books!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/millies-book-tricks-treats/id569720229?mt=8&uo=4

FREE  – Toca Kitchen Monsters, another fun educational app from Toca Boca. Kids take to the kitchen to cook for two lovable monsters. In the frig they will find eight different foods that they can slice, blend, boil, fry, or microwave. They can also add seasoning to the food but they need to be careful not to add too much. Once the food is prepared they plate it up, serve it to the monster and wait for a reaction. Kids will learn which foods each monster prefers – fun creative play!!

Teachers – use this app to inspire creative writing. Write stories or poems about each monster. It would also be fun to compare and contrast the food preferences of the monsters on a graphic organizer. Fun learning activities for Halloween!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toca-kitchen-monsters/id510301841?mt=8&uo=4

Monster Coloring BookFREE for a limited time – Monster Coloring Book. Kids can paint 175 different monsters with no clean-up necessary! As they paint, they listen to classical music by Rachmaninov, Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Kids can paint with their fingers or use the “touch and fill” option. Enhancements include: stickers to accessorize the monsters and patterns to make the monsters unique. Once kids have designed their monster images, they can save them to their gallery. There they can turn their monster into a puzzle for use with Monster Puzzles – available in the App Store for $1.99. Creations can also be shared via email or they can be printed. This educational coloring app is well-designed!

Teachers – use this app to inspire creative writing! Kids could create their own monsters for a variety of language arts activities – a lesson on adjectives followed by descriptive paragraphs, a conversation between two monsters, compare & contrast two monsters using Venn diagrams, creative stories, etc.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/monster-coloring-book/id435676573?mt=8&uo=4

Carve-a-Pumpkin from Parents Magazine is FREE for the iPhone/iPad. Kids first choose one of five pumpkins (orange, white, orange with green, black or orange & bumpy). They can “cut” it by hand or use premade eyes, noses, mouths, and faces. Instead of cutting the pumpkins, kids can choose to decorate them with stickers. In either mode, kids can manipulate the size and orientation of the objects that they add. There is an undo and redo button to change things easily. Once the pumpkins is complete, kids choose a background. The final project can be shared on Facebook. Twitter, & emailed, or saved as a photo. This app would be fun for kids to use as a planning tool for real pumpkin carving.

Carve-a-Pumpkin from Parents magazine - Resolute Digital, LLC

Hiding Monsters
Currently, $1.99 – Hiding Monsters is an interactive book for kids 2+ for the iPhone/iPad. Kids play hide and seek with a group of friendly monsters in this interactive e-book. Narrated by Tom Kenny (the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants) and illustrated by Melanie McCall, this book is adorable! Your child will love reading through the story and finding where the monsters are hidden. And the best part is that the hiding places change every time you read the story. Really cute!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hiding-monsters/id527412776?mt=8&uo=4

Monster's Socks

Currently, $1.99  – Monster’s Socks is a darling interactive tale about a little monster who goes in search of his lost socks. Kids join Monster on his journey and help him cross streams, sail across the sea, and blast into outer space to find the lost socks. The story advances in a unique way – as Monster travels page by page through the book, he stops on the yellow dots and the text appears. The animation and interactivity are done in a meaningful way that enhances the story. This educational app is a great example of what an interactive book should be – don’t miss it!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/monsters-socks/id521546698?mt=8&uo=4

Giggle Ghosts, a counting app for toddlers currently $.99. The giggle ghosts are very cute – kids will love to hear them laugh. Kids help twenty ghosts get the party by bouncing them across rooftops. In the first level the sky is clear and they have to bounce five ghosts. The app counts to five and shows the written numbers. The second level is the same but there are leaves blowing in the sky. In the third level there are clouds in the sky and in the fourth level it is raining – both provide additional practice counting from one to five. At the end, all twenty ghosts at the party are counted. This educational app is great for little ones at Halloween – nothing scary, just fun & friendly ghosts going to a party 🙂

Giggle Ghosts - by Busy Bee Studios - Busy Bee Studios

Currently $.99 – Monsters: Videos, Games, Photos, Books & Interactive Activities for Kids by Playrific. This digital activity pack features monster-themed books, songs, and activities for kids – just in time for Halloween! Read Where the Wild Things Are, sing songs with the Happy Monster Band, make monster cupcakes, watch monster cartoons. All content has been prescreened by the developer.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/monsters-videos-games-photos/id667015095?mt=8&uo=4

Zombies

Math vs Zombies is currently full price – $4.99.  Kids become highly trained scientists with the mission of saving the world from zombies. Using their math skills, they transform the zombies back into humans. The app has four worlds – addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Each world has 7 levels which can be set to easy, medium, or hard – making this app suitable for multiple grade levels. Kids will love the “spooky” music, the howling wind, and “scary” zombies. The combination turns math practice into a Halloween treat!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/math-vs-zombies-math-games/id470896560?mt=8&uo=4

 

my monsterCurrently, $2.99 – My Monster Mayhem, an interactive e-book for the iPhone/iPad which normally sells for $4.99. It is the story of a little girl and all of the monsters in her house (imagination) that prevent her from doing what her mother asks her to do – turn off lights, not waste dental floss, etc. What her mother doesn’t seem to understand is that she is really a hero!

The storyline is cute with animations/interactivity found on almost every page – kids pop bubbles from the bathtub, play tug of war with the Broncus Dentus, etc. Kids also collect hidden monsters on almost every page to unlock puzzles at the end of the story. The “existence” of the monsters is left open for discussion/interpretation – perfect for kids that are a bit older. Thanks for another great story, Digital Leaf!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-monster-mayhem/id568428630?mt=8&uo=4

My Beastly ABCs

My Beastly ABCs (featured in USA Today’s Top 10 iPad Apps for Kids) is currently $2.99. Kids join a young boy (who is reluctant to get out of bed) on a magical adventure through a not-so-ordinary day. Told in rhyme, the story recounts the boy’s day as he encounters 26 friendly monsters (one for each letter of the alphabet) from all over the world. Kids join in this interactive tale as they play hide & seek with a Boogey Monster, learn how to floss from a Vampire, uproot a Mandrake family, and much more. The app is narrated by Jim Dale with whimsical background music & great sound effects. It has 3 play modes: with narration, without narration, or auto-play. Everything about this educational app is top quality – beautifully illustrated with the perfect amount of animation & interactivity. There is also an index that gives kids monster facts & descriptions. Kids can read and learn about each of the beasts’ unique characteristics and place of origin. Lots of fun!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-beastly-abcs/id578158826?mt=8&uo=4

StoryBotsA StoryBots Halloween is currently FREE! Cast up to 5 members of your family in this cute & catchy animated Starring You® Video. It’s easy to cast your family members as a vampire, a ghost, a werewolf, a mummy, or Frankenstein’s monster. Just take or upload a photo, position the face, then name your character. In no time you and your kids will be dancing with the StoryBots like the “Boogie” Man! If you’d like, you may share your final creation via email, Facebook or Twitter. VERY cute and fun!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/storybots-halloween-starring/id701184040?mt=8&uo=4

Dibu’s Monster Maker Lite is FREE for the iPhone/iPad. Dibu is a little boy who loves monsters so he created a machine to build them – I think this is how Dr. Frankenstein got started 🙂 The Monster Maker has hundreds of combinations of monsters waiting to be made. The lite version has 2 bodies to choose for the base.Then kids add hair, eyes, noses, mouths, hats & horns, tops, bottoms, and shoes. There is also a random monster generator which creates a monster with one tap. Finished monsters can be named then saved, printed, made into a puzzle, or emailed. This app also has a child lock that hides all promotional buttons and disables printing & emailing. And… there is a “parents only” button which gives written instructions for access to the app store. The developer does not want young children to end up there accidentally – how refreshing!

This app would be great to use with elementary aged kids. They could create a monster then write a descriptive paragraph about it. They could create two monsters and do a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the monsters. Lots of possibilities!

Dibu's Monster Maker Lite - Playtend Apps LLP

Mask Jumble AnimalsFREE – Mask Jumbled Animals is a fun educational game for kids. It turns their faces into animal faces! Kids look into the app’s mirror and animal parts will appear on their faces. They tap to match the ears, nose, chin, and hair in order to complete 1 of 20 different animal masks. When the mask is complete, kids catch strawberries in their mouths to unlock a new mask. The mask puzzles are really cute for preschoolers who will be delighted to be an elephant, a lion, a panda, etc. But… the best part of this app is the ability to take pictures of kids in their masks which makes this app a fabulous resource for creative writing! Pull those pictures into a story writing app and off you go.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mask-jumble-animals/id548763608?mt=8&uo=4

Mask Jumble Halloween

Also FREE from the same developer – Mask Jumble Halloween. This app works just like Mask Jumbled Animals. 🙂

Tilly Witch

Tilly Witch by Don Freeman (author of Corduroy) is Currently $1.99. The story is a Halloween classic about a witch who forgets how to be mean!  Check out this great story from a well-known author of children’s books.

Like other titles from Auryn Apps, this story can be personalized by having your child narrate it – a super option for kids who are learning to become more fluent readers.

Tilly Witch - Don Freeman's classic Halloween story book for kids (iPad version, by Auryn Apps) - Auryn Inc.

The Scariest Halloween  Story Ever  is currently $1.99. Kids follow Candy Corn Man on an interactive Halloween adventure. I taught third grade for MANY years and I think this book would be enjoyed by most kids 8+. Younger students may be a bit scared by the bugs, bats and/or the monster eyeballs (which turn out to only be meatballs) so make sure you know your audience. It’s a cute story. 🙂

The Scariest Halloween Story Ever! - 3CD

monsterJigsaw Puzzle with Monsters is currently $2.99. It includes 12 “scary” monster puzzles for kids 4+. To begin, kids click on one of the 12 monsters shown on the desktop. The puzzle pieces disperse and kids are supposed to drag each piece to its proper place. When the puzzle is completed, the monster makes a sound. Very cute !

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jigsaw-puzzle-with-monsters/id432517324?mt=8&uo=4

Cutie Mini Monsters
$2.99 – Cutie Mini Monsters is an iPhone/iPad app for preschoolers. This educational app introduces kids to number recognition and counting. Kids meet Blushy, Toothy, Golly, Taily, Blobby, Growly, and Snouty. They count the monsters’ body parts – tails, eyes, feet, spikes, etc. The app also includes 9 simple jigsaw puzzles featuring the same characters. Cute for little fans of monsters!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cutie-mini-monsters/id585384521?mt=8&uo=4

Also $2.99 – Cutie Monsters – Jigsaw Puzzles, another interactive counting app for your little ones. This app was featured by Apple as a best app for 5 and under.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cutie-monsters-jigsaw-puzzles/id585378286?mt=8&uo=4

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Dr. Panda Mailman

mailmanOnly $.99 for a limited time – Dr. Panda Mailman, another great app for preschoolers from Dr. Panda Ltd. Kids become mail carriers and deliver mail in a fun-filled interactive world. There are four areas for kids to explore – the mountains, a village, a forests, and fields. First they create their own postcards or wrap their own packages. Then it’s time to deliver their creations. The recipients are different animals, each with his or her own unique personality. As they ride down the road delivering the mail, kids are free go off the beaten path and explore.This app is great for developing vocabulary and creating stories. It’s a big fun world with no rules, points, timers, etc. – just open-ended exploration.

Download Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dr.-pandas-mailman/id918035581?mt=8&uo=6