You may ask why I decided to title Wednesday posts as "What's up Wednesdays?" As a mom of three, I'm always on the lookout for products that work for our family whether it's something just for "mom" or something the whole family benefits from or items that to me scream "kids 101". I thought dedicating one day to such great finds would be a way to help others discover some new fun goodies too.
My husband and I are an Apple gadget loving family. It started out with one Iphone and one Itouch and has blossomed into two Iphones, two Ipads, and as of a few weeks ago, two Ipad minis. Oh and we are computer shopping so I'm sure it will be of the Apple variety as well. If only we had all bought stock in the Apple market back when we were still using green screens and floppy disc drives! My Ipad was a combined mother's day/birthday gift for me 2 years ago and one I used many times when working as an Occupational Therapist in the schools. I truly believe there is a lot of educational value in kids learning to use technology and I've also witnesed first hand kids learn to write letters and draw shapes for the first time with the use of cause and effect apps. This summer we challenged our two older boys with reading and sight words and set a goal that they could earn their own Ipad minis. That's some good motivation, right? I actually adore he mini size! The screen is perfect for kids and they can do so many things on this amazing little tool.
Our middle son started Pre-K this fall as he is a mid fall birthday so we use a combination of Preschool and Kindergarten apps with him. Today I would like to share with you some of our current favorite Apps for this 4-5 age group.
We have another game by the same company and our boys love it also. I love how it challenges our son with a variety of math based principles such as shapes, addition, subtraction, etc..
Plus, the monkey is a cute little one and not too annoying!
We have used splash math apps since last year and love all of them. You can set goals and track progress and there are different apps for each grade level. This one has become a favorite for my middle son already.
I love how it challenges kids but gives them counters to use when completing the problems.
What little boy doesn't love ninjas? This app goes through several levels of answering questions using addition, subtraction and even multiplication and division so it is perfect for both my boys. You have to beat the clock in and get to ninja kick all the answers as you complete them. How awesome!
I adore this app! I love how it uses real life pictures and how interactive the whole app experience is. You click on a letter and it spells out a word and then you can interact and find out the definition of each item you are selecting. Plus, from that word you can select a new letter to explore. Highly recommend this app!
This app works on both phonics and handwriting at the same time. First it sounds out the letter phonetically, then you trace it and write it. It will then ask you to click on letters as it says the sounds and spell out words. What a great app for introduction to reading.
I am eager to share with you many more favorite apps in the coming weeks that have become great learning tools for our family. I am also anxious to hear from you and what apps your kids love!
Please share in the comments some of your favorite apps for learning fun!
~Ila~
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