Educating on the iPad: 10 Great Apps for Young Children
By Karen Frazier
Apple’s iPad has something for the entire family. For the adults in the household, it can make all sorts of activities more convenient – from reading a book to planning a meal. The device also entices kids and teens with bright graphics and cool sounds. While kids may look to the iPad as primarily an entertainment device full of fun games they can play, it can also serve another purpose, as well: stealth education.
Application developers understand the power of iPad’s easy user interface, providing an array of entertaining and educational applications that are simple enough for even the youngest users. If you’re looking for a great learning tool for your preschool and early elementary children, consider the following educational iPad offerings.
1. iWriteWords by GDIPlus – $2.99: Rated for kids four and older, iWriteWords allows young children to trace letters with their fingers, write them on their own, and incorporate them into words. This is a terrific pre-reading activity that features bright, colorful screens encouraging children to develop the motor skills and letter recognition required for reading and writing readiness. The application also has a lite version that is free of charge.
2. Bookworm by PopCap Games, Inc – $2.99: Rated ages four and up, Bookworm allows kids to build their own words by linking letters. A simple shake of the iPad re-scrambles the screen so kids can start anew. This is another great app for early reading, and older kids can seek more challenging words.
3. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox by THUP Games- $.99: Young children learning shapes, colors, sorting, and letters can learn as they play the educational games that pop out of the monkey’s lunch pail.
4. Fish School HD by Duck Duck Moose- $1.99: This game is rated 4+ by Apple, but can serve as a pre-math and reading educational tool for younger children, as well. A colorful school of fish teaches children letters, numbers, shapes, colors, matching, differences, and the alphabet.
5. Park Math HD by Duck Duck Moose- $1.99: This preschool math application won the 2011 Parents’ Choice Foundation Silver award. Preschoolers can play with cute cartoon characters in the park, learning basic math concepts such as counting to 50, addition, subtraction, pattern recognition, sorting, and greater than/less than.
6. ABC Music by Peapod Labs, LLC – $1.99: Children can explore music and musical instruments with photos, videos, and fun fact about music.
7. Learn Sight Words by BrightTrail – $.99: This flash card application features bright, colorful letters that help kids learn to recognize common words on sight. The app contains a database of over 300 words, and allows kids to flag hard words for additional practice.
8. I Spy Spooky Mansion by Scholastic, Inc – $.99: This graphics rich application by Scholastic, Inc. is the latest entry in the popular I Spy series. Kids use critical thinking skills to solve puzzles, work with voiceovers to read simple riddles aloud, and participate in searches to find hidden objects.
9. Word Magic by Anusen.com – $.99: Young readers can develop critical spelling and reading skills with fill in the blank words and pictures. Parents can set levels appropriate to their children’s current abilities.
10. PopMath Basic Math by PopSoft – $.99: This math game starts at the earliest levels of math such as counting and addition and works up to consistently more difficult math functions, such as division and multiplication, making this a math practice game that can grow with your children.
For even more educational applications for young children, check out the other titles by the above developers. Many have multiple offering that can keep your children engrossed in learning.
If you want to become a nail technician, there are certain skills you should possess. You should have personal skills, such as being an organized person and able to keep a hygienic work environment. Other personal skills a nail technician should have are thinking with a creative mind, keeping a positive attitude at all times, [...]
Hairstylists are almost always in demand for cutting and styling men's and women’s hair. As a stylist, you of course will be responsible for cutting and styling hair. You may often be asked to color, bleach, highlight or lowlight your customers’ tresses. You could also be called upon to curl or straighten their hair. Sometimes [...]
Cosmetologists are licensed professionals. As a cosmetologist, you will attend cosmetology school to learn to care for hair, nails and skin. You may be referred to as a hairdresser, beautician or beauty operator, and you may work in a beauty salon, spa or own their own business. Other opportunities for licensed cosmetologists are abundant with [...]
Being a makeup artist can be a fulfilling and exciting career. If you have always loved fashion and had an artistic side, this may be the career for you. Becoming a makeup artist, like any other career, requires training. Most of the training you will be doing will be hands-on and not of the traditional [...]
A trained esthetician provides professional-quality skin and body care treatments, such as facials, waxing and even laser treatments for more highly trained estheticians. For an esthetician, the skin is the primary area of focus and study and treatment surrounds improving the look, feel, cleanliness and health of the skin. While estheticians primarily focus on the [...]
Featured Student Profile
Learn Anytime, anywhere.
...even on a remote island!
Every year more and more students are turning to the Internet and distance learning in order to further their education and expand their horizons.
Read our exclusive one on one interview and learn how a busy student fits online learning into his schedule while living abroad. Read his story
Publish on EducationAtlas.com!
Have you written something that you would like to see published on EducationAtlas.com?
Inspiring Quotes Widget
Download our Inspiring Quotes Widget and get thousands of famous quotes for your website.
Learn Anytime, anywhere.
