It’s no secret that we are an iPad family… We have 2. But, one is for my photography business… one is for the chicks.
Girl Chick and Boy Chick love the iPad and we use it as a reward as well as a homeschool resource. There are lots of great learning apps to be found… Here are a few that we use for early education and love…
Girl Chick’s Favorites:
1. Curious George at the Zoo ($.99 each) (Great for Preschool through early Elementary)
Girl Chick LOVES this one. Boy chick will play it from time to time… but Girl Chick loves all of the puzzles and stickers. Lots of learning opportunities… including matching, memory and problem solving. This app is a no brainer for preschool kids. I cannot wait for the expansion sets!
2. Teach Me Kindergarten and Teach Me First Grade ($.99 each) (Great for age range 3-7)
While we’re not very big on sight reading – we taught Boy Chick to read phonetically with multiple resources, but mainly the book, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. (I highly recommend this book to ANYONE with children – not just homeschoolers!), the sight words are great for budding readers! Girl Chick tries to sound out words – she’s only 3! The beginner math uses visual objects that the kids can “throw away” for subtraction or add extras for addition. There are lots of fun rewards – including a virtual fish tank and stickers with different backgrounds. I love that I can control the number of correct answers needed for coins (used for rewards). This one is my favorite for Girl Chick.
3. Starfall ABCs ($2.99) (Preschool Age)
The same Starfall ABC that your preschooler uses on your computer can now be used on the iPad. Yeah, we had to pay for it, but now we can take it with us to use in the van or at a restaurant.
4. UmiNumbers ($2.99) (Preschool Age – Kindergarten)
Some may say this is overpriced – Some might be right. But if your kid loves Umizoomi like mine does, it might hold their attention. The math games are fun and the animation is as beautiful as the cartoon itself. I wish there was a different reward system – kids earn trophies. I also wish there were more levels. But, Girl Chick loves it, so it’s included.
5. Dora’s Skywriting ABC’s ($3.99) (Preschool Age)
Another app in which you are paying for the character, but don’t let that stop you. This app is great for early writers and letter recognition. Girl Chick loves it because it’s Dora; I love the report card. A must have for Dora fans.
Boy Chick’s Favorites:
1. Scribblenauts ($.99) (Elementary Age – Adult)
Do you have this app? If you don’t, go get it. Right now. I’ll wait….
This is, without a doubt, my (and Boy Chick’s) favorite educational app. If you have no idea what Scribblenauts is all about, here’s the breakdown: Lots of fun puzzles that the user gets to solve by writing nouns and sometimes adjectives. For instance, you have a character that needs items for a beach party. You need to spell out the words, and the objects appear! I love that you are only limited by your imagination. Boy Chick loves to sit and create scenes in the playground area – he’ll sometimes ask for help with spelling, so he’s learning to spell plus problem solve. This one gets my star on Boy Chick’s faves – I even love playing this game! Don’t forget to add on the expansion set for more levels!
2. Rocket Math ($.99) (Elementary Age)
Boy Chick loves this one – He gets to build his own rocket and have test flights using money “earned” by solving math equations. The math equations difficulty ranges from simple addition and subtraction to square root. A definite must have app.
3. Everyday Mathematics Addition Top-It (FREE) (Early Elementary)
A fantastic counting game using virtual cards. Cards are dealt, added then the larger amount must be selected. Girl Chick even loves this one, although she needs help counting. It’s free, so another no brainer.
4. Everyday Mathematics Tric-Trac ($1.99) (Elementary)
We like this one. A lot. Another math game with multiple players – Players roll 2 die, add the numbers, then use them to cancel out numbers 1-10. So, if you roll an amount that adds up to 8, you can use any combination of numbers to add up to 8 – knock out the 3 and the 5 or the 2 and the 6 and so on. The person with the fewest numbers left wins! Girl Chick doesn’t quite get this one yet, but Boy Chick loves the problem solving.
5. Big City Adventure NYC ($4.99) (All ages)
Not educational, per se, but Boy Chick must read to solve the puzzles. It’s a classic hidden picture game, but the pictures are beautifully done. There are tons of levels and little mini-games to keep the player hooked. Don’t let the price scare you off, this is a great game for kids of all ages.
Honorable Mentions
Learning to Tell Time is Fun ($1.99) (Early Elementary)
I used this app alone to help Boy Chick learn to tell time. I believe the State Standard for Boy Chick’s grade is to tell time to the half hour. Boy Chick can tell time to the minute. I found it to be very useful. It’s very hands on – I’ll use it with Girl Chick when I choose to teach her as well.
Do you have a favorite educational app you use with your kids? What is it and why do you love it?
BEST TOP IPAD APPS FOR KIDS
