iPad Apps

Normally I am not a huge fan of using technology to teach some things however, I'm finding that some creators of a few iPad apps have really grasped the core ideas behind some concepts and generated some really cool learning apps for little people! Here is a list of some of the ones we use right now in our house. I will say, I don't like downloading ALL the cool ones just because I also use them for rewards and stuff like that. Right now, though, this is what we have on our pad and what I would like to share with you.

In the "just for fun" category I have:
Handy Manny
Chuggington
Thomas the Train
and then several apps where you watch real trains moving on their tracks. (would bore the daylights out of me but both of my boys really like watching the trains and hearing the sounds.)

Now these apps are not specifically designed for "educational" purposed however (especially Handy Manny) there are games, stories and actions that do teach. I would not rely fully on any of these for developing a specific skill but they are better than just letting the kids play video games with no purpose what so ever.

Our "math" category is growing more now that Jeffrey can recognize the numbers.
First of all there is a calculator app that is awesome for the kids and you. I was always a big fan of letting my class explore with a calculator to see numbers change and grow or decrease. even though the little people are not grasping the concepts, they are getting familiar with the buttons and practicing that number recognition skill.

We also have a 100's board. Now this is a Montessori app. There is a free one to download at first just to see if it is something you will use. We ended up buying the full thing. Even if your kiddo knows the numbers 1-100, this is great summer practice and doesn't require a parent to help. If you kiddo only goes up to 10, this is still a great app cause they will begin building on that base and soon have a visual to the pattern that forms as you place the numbers correctly. I love this board and hope that it will help my kiddos grasp the number board.

Koala Math is another app we have. It is beginning addition, subtraction and so on. No, Jeffrey doesn't quite understand all the concepts behind what he is doing but there are visuals that he can count and then he matches his number counted with the written number. Even if your kiddo is moving from 1st to 2nd grade and this is "easy" I would still suggest it as summer practice so that when they start school their remember the basics.

There are several "time" apps that help teach time skills. Little Matchups Tell Time is one we like. It is done in game format and Jeffrey is actually starting to recognize that the clock is more than just a circle with numbers! hehehehe


My favorite category is science and there are some great apps to support this field.
Let's start out with my all time favorite science teacher, Ms. Frizzle. The Magic School bus is a MUST HAVE in every home for all elementary and younger kiddos. (and for the parents who love science and use their kids as an excuse to download cool apps) Not much I can say other than totally worth every penny spent buying this one.

We also have an animal app that runs through all the animals of Africa. It shows up on the pad as "Africa" but if you just search African Animal Pictures I'm sure it will pop up. Now this one was great for Jeffrey's interest in animals. It has a place where you can tap and hear the actual sound made by that particular animal. This is a really cool way to work on habitat as well as each animal is pictured in it's natural habitat. My favorite part is that they are pictures of the REAL animals and not cartoon drawings.

Our reading/ writing category has some great options. This is a field that is pretty easy to find great things for but it takes time to find what is appealing to your child. The ones that we have right now are:
Wild About Books is a great app that has some wonderful interactive features. The more he plays with it the more he finds that it does!

My all time favorite (mainly because it is my favorite book ever) is The Monster at the End of This Book with Grover. Talk about a great way to remake a wonderful children's story.

For those who are beginning readers or even for those a little young but starting to recognize letters, the BOB books now have apps. I recommended these to my students for learning to read when I was teaching and I STILL think this system is great. Already Jeffrey has started to develop those important reading skills and I'm so impressed with his growth! Pair that with you in home reading and your kiddos will be great readers.

There are several fun alphabet recognition games available such as Z is for Zebra, RobotReader, Little Speller, Spell Animals, and ABC Puzzle. Again, not all of these are great for all kids but Little Speller and Spell Animals is great for those moving from recognition to reading. There are many more apps in these categories available but there is no way you have room for all of them so again, I suggest downloading the free version to see if you like it then buy it.


Geography is a newer skill being covered in depth on the apps now.

Montessori Geography is one you just need to buy. Don't even mess with the free version cause it is awesome. There is a big map of the US and you have a blinking state and you have to match the state to it's location. They say the name of the state and let me tell you. Jeffrey is amazing me on how many states he now knows! so awesome!


My "randomness" category covers art, games, and so on. These are still equally as important as they are teaching skills that are the beginning of critical thinking and embrace the artistic side of your kid's brain.
Cars Match is a great matching game for the little people who love cars. Matching games are so important for memory skills and when played on the iPad there is no chance of the younger sibling coming through and messing up the location of the cards (not that we have a problem with that or anything, hehehehe).

We also use the MatchAnimals game for matching. This is an app I used for Jeffrey's speech therapy too! For the longest time he would refer to an animal with the sound they made not the name of the animal. This app has the sound AND the name. he was able to repeat after the lady and now knows the names of all his animals and his speech has really improved.

For language development, there is LinguPingu in several different languages. We downloaded French, German, and Spanish. Already Jeffrey knows several animals in these languages. My whole idea behind this is not for him to become fluent in other languages but to expose him to the idea that there are other languages, as he grows, he will be less likely to push away stuff that is different if he is raised embracing difference.

If you like to help your kiddos work puzzles, we found Art Puzzles as a fun one. It is too hard for the little people to do alone cause it is an actual jigsaw puzzle but you can have them help you find all the border pieces, red pieces, etc. and work the puzzle together. The best part is that while you work on the puzzle there is classical music playing. Yay for hitting multiple areas of the brain!!!

There are many, many more apps that are wonderful. I'm sure you have a ton that I have not listed. I hope this list will introduce you to some new ones. Please feel free to list a few of your favs too! Happy summer and Happy learning!!!!!