Tag: apps

Apps We Love! Ladybird: I’m Ready for Phonics

I’ve been on the hunt for a decent Phonics App for quite some time and if I’m honest the ones I’ve found have been crap.  Being Canadian I can overlook American accents, but many of them use the wrong font, wrong pronunciation, wrong level and don’t reflect how kids are being taught Phonics in school.

Phonics AppThanks to the lovely Geek Mummy, I finally found a good one, Ladybird:  I’m Ready for Phonics.  It’s not cheap at £4.99 but I personally feel it’s worth it.  There are 12 Spaced Themed levels that the children can progress through and it is in line with the Letters and Sounds documents that schools in the UK follow.  I love the fact that they can record themselves pronouncing the letters.

It also contains and easy to understand Parent’s Guide to Phonics.  Even as an ex-teacher, I trained pre-phonics and it’s all new to me.  So I’m glad I have some guidance so I don’t contradict what the school is doing.

My 5-year old loves it and have to drag her off it!

You can check our more of our favourite apps here.

Apps we love! Doodlecast

I absolutely love this app, bar the music at the beginning.  At first, Doodlecast (£1.99)  just looks like another drawing app which we have many, but if I’m honest we prefer paper and crayons for that.  What I really love about this one is that the children can record their own narrations whilst drawing the pictures.  It comes with a selection of templates for inspiration (shopping trolley, park, dinner late, faces etc) or you can start from a blank canvas.

In addition, if you set it up, it will automatically upload the final product to YouTube which makes it incredibly easy to share with friends and family!

You can check our more of our favourite apps here.

 

 

 

Ipad Apps for Kids: Magic Ink Books

I stumbled across this app, Magic Ink:  Tinkerbell and Friends,  the other night and I think it’s great. Kids have the opportunity to either read the story themselves or have it read to them. But this is where the magic begins, with a simple swipe of your finger you go from this…..

To this, revealing more of the story….

We absolutely love it and what’s better many of the titles in this series are FREE!

 

iPad App Review: Eurotalk Maths Age 3-5

I have to say I tutted when I was first asked to review this app as the first Topic is free and then you have to pay for the others.  However, my daughter is loving it and keeps going back to it again and again.  She only has the Sorting and Matching Topic. I think the most motivating thing for her is the certificate we can email to ourselves when she completes each section.  I’m tempted to purchase the other modules but do think they are a bit pricey.  All ten topics are £9.99.

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Scribble Press: Kids Ipad App

I’m absolutely loving this iPad App ‘Scribble Press’ and the best thing of all it’s FREE! Scribble Pad allows children to write, illustrate and share their own stories. They can use a story template as a starting point (e.g. If I were a Fairy, All about my Dad, If I ruled the World or The Craziest Day) or they can make their own from scratch.

There is a huge bank of drawing tools; everything from markers, to stamps and to stickers. All of which are very easy to use. My daughter is only 4. The Ipad’s camera is also integrated so your child can transport themselves into the story.

It’s entirely up to you whether you want to share their work, but there’s also a public gallery, which is great for checking out other children’s stories and giving your child inspiration for their own masterpiece. My favourite is ‘The Loin King’ and that isn’t a typo.

I also read somewhere that it may be possible to get your children’s work printed but I haven’t investigated closely.

The possibilities are endless.

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