Tag Archives: educational apps for kids

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Jellytoons Birthday Countdown

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FREE again for a limited time –Jellytoons Birthday Countdown for toddlers (18 months +). It’s Bobo’s birthday and his friends – Flo, Inky, Max, Noodles, Pip and Rex are invited to his party. Kids have to help all of the friends get to the party on time by… waking up Max, feeding Rex, helping Flo down from the sky, finding Pip, helping Noodles wrap a present, and cheering up Inky. The activities help develop fine motor skills, shape matching, and logic & observation skills. The characters are happy, googly-eyed little blobs – just looking at them makes you smile. The animations are colorful and cleverly done. I think little ones would enjoy this app  – a prequel to Jellytoons: Bobo’s Birthday Challenge (see review Sept. 16).

Jellytoons Birthday Countdown - Mindshapes Limited

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Oh No Fractions!

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on no fractrions

Oh No Fractions! is a great FREE iPhone/iPad app for comparing and exploring fractions. The app is simple to use – kids just swipe to the right or the left to indicate whether one fraction is “greater than” or “less than” the other. After the child answers, there is an opportunity to “prove it” – see above picture. The “prove it” section of the app is fabulous because it allows the child to visualize his/her answer. I would love to see the developer add an “equal to” option to this app to make it even better!

Common Core Standards met:

3.NF.3 – Explain equivalence of fractions and compare fractions by reasoning about their size. Understand two fractions as equivalent (equal) if they are the same size. Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions, e.g., 1/2 = 2/4, 4/6 = 2/3).

Recommended!

Oh No Fractions! - Curious Hat Lab - Curious Hat

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Teacher Clicker – Socrative / Student Clicker – Socrative

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Still FREE , so powerful! This website and app are unbelievably cool – they turn any device with a web browser (iPhone, iPad, laptops) into a student response clicker. If a teacher has access to any kind of wireless lab, he/she can engage the entire class in a game or quiz and watch the results in real-time. Teachers begin by using their teacher app or logging into t.socrative.com with their email and password. Once logged in, teachers are assigned a room number to share with their students. Students log in using their student app or at m.socrative.com and enter the “virtual room number” provided by the teacher. Teachers initiate an activity and students respond on their devices. Multiple choice and short answer quizzes are easy to create – types of questions can be mixed. Teachers can also choose to run the quiz as a Space Race game. The students’ responses are visible to the teacher in real-time. Teachers can see what each child answered individually as well as what the group answered collectively. And the best part is… the app grades, graphs the results, and generates a report as an Excel spreadsheet or an email.

What a powerful tool for teachers – a short quiz at the end of a lesson can pinpoint what students understand and what needs to be retaught. Hours of grading and analyzing test results are done immediately. Every student is involved – wow!

Highly recommended!

Teacher app Teacher Clicker - Socrative - Socrative           Student app Student Clicker - Socrative - Socrative

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All About Shapes by Tiny Tapps

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all about shapes

All About Shapes by Tiny Taps is FREE for a limited time for the iPhone/iPad. In this app, a genie and her magic lamp helps your preschooler learn about 13 shapes through activities such as songs, tracing, puzzles, and games. This app has a nice variety of practice. I especially like the shape section of the app because each shape is named/spelled and two examples are given. One caution about this app – the cone is not drawn as a 3D object. The other 3D shapes (cube, pyramid, cylinder) in the app are drawn as 3D shapes. Hopefully the developer will correct this in the next upgrade 🙂

All About Shapes by Tinytapps - Altaf rehmani

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Learn the States with Flat Stanley FREE

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flat stanley

If your kids LOVE Flat Stanley (and who doesn’t) you may want to check out the FREE version of this iPad app  – Learn the Sates with Flat Stanley FREE. This FREE version of the app features states in the west coast region. The full version is $1.99 and it features all 50 states.

A mail truck has lost its cargo! Kids slingshot Stanley to the proper state so that he can help deliver letters to students. Kids must identify each state by its location and shape. The app uses colored stars to indicate how many states were identified correctly on the first try. If your class is involved in the Flat Stanley project, or reads the Flat Stanley books, you may want to take a closer look at this app.

Learn The States With Flat Stanley Free - Flatter World, Inc.

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Even Monsters Get Sick

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This interactive story for the iPad is FREE again. It is a story written for kids 5+ about a boy and his pet monster. Kids can follow along or read on their own as Harry tries to discover what is wrong with his monster. The artwork is appealing and there are animations on every page. It is a nicely done story with a positive message told by Harry, the boy. Perfect 🙂

Recommended!

Even Monsters Get Sick - Busy Bee Studios

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Montessori* Letter Sounds

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montessori

FREE for a limited time – Montessori*  Letter Sounds for the iPhone/iPad, an app that focuses on teaching letter sounds. Based on the Montessori* method, Montessori* Letter Sounds has 4 levels: I Spy, Letter Sounds, Mix & Match, and Sound it Out. In “I Spy” (up to 3 years), kids identify sounds – at the beginning, at the end, and in the word. “Letter Sounds” helps kids (up to 4 years) memorize letter shapes & sounds. Kids trace the letter, watch how the letter is formed, then write it in the sand. The letter is identified by sound rather than by its name. After earning enough marbles, kids may go on to “Mix and Match” (from age 4) which combines hearing and seeing the letters. The final level is “Sound it Out”  (from age 4 1/2) which requires kids to write words with a moveable alphabet. The app also has a tool box which includes: the phonetic alphabet in script/cursive/upper case, a notebook for tracing the letters, the sandbox for learning how to write letters, and the image box to increase vocabulary. FYI – it is the short vowel sounds that are taught in this app and the sound for A is NOT the A as in apple/alligator/cat/ etc. It is more like a (the word) or the A at the end of toga. This app can be used by more than one child and can be switched to French.

Montessori Letter Sounds HD - Les Trois Elles Interactive

 

 

 

 

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EyePaint MyDairy

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eyepaint

Eye Paint MyDairy is FREE for a limited time for iPhone/iPad. This app lets your child paint illustrations from Japanese artist, Mitsue Haya, in a very 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!!

Also available from this developer are EyePaint Animals and EyePaint Monsters. EyePaint Monsters is also FREE right now. EyePaint Animals is $.99.

EyePaint MyDIARY - Curious Hat EyePaint MyDairy           EyePaint Monsters - Curious Hat EyePaint Monsters

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Cinderella – Nosy Crow animated

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cinderella

Cinderella – Nosy Crow animated picture book is on sale in the U.S. iTunes store today for only $.99 – it normally sells for $5.99. I normally do not download and review anything but FREE apps but this one had so many accolades that I decided to treat myself  🙂  I was not disappointed – it is darling and loaded with fun interactivity for kids. Kids can help Cinderella clean the kitchen, help the king stack his invitations to the ball, dress the step-sisters for the party, build the magical carriage with the Fairy Godmother, choose dance music for Cinderella & the Prince, and more! There are even mirrors throughout the story where kids can see their own reflection! VERY cool example of what a digital book should be!
Cinderella – Nosy Crow animated picture book - Nosy Crow

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Pete and the Secret of Flying HD

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pete

FREE for a limited time – 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. 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!

Pete and the secret of flying HD - Shape Minds and Moving Images GmbH