By Hallie Bulkin
I ran and downloaded the 15 FREE apps to give them each a try…and I am IMPRESSED!
They are simple and I know your kids will love them. There are 3 main categories for the APPs:
- Flash Cards (places, alphabet, food, sports, vehicles, animals, actions, science, sight words)
- Receptive Identification (ABA receptive identification by noun, by class, function, feature, combined)
- Problem Solving (what rhymes, which does not belong, which go together, habits, emotions/feelings)
And there are even MORE in the app store than they have listed on their site. You can find them by following this link to their website: http://kindergarten.com/ OR by going to the App store on your apple device and typing “kindergarten.com” into the search box. Scroll through all of the apps that pop up and you should have about 15 to choose from when you are done.
Since I work with kiddos I felt it would be best to download them ALL! And then stay up late playing with them on my iPhone. I swear I love working with kiddos because I am still a kid at heart 😉
Here’s a quick review of 5 of the Apps and why I think they ROCK…
ABA Receptive Identification by Noun: WOW. It is simple and effective. I opened it and the girl said, “Show me the bicycle” with 4 clean pictures on white backgrounds to choose from. Simple language without visual distractions. I’m loving this app!
Actions: For kids who are starting to work on Actions or who may need a review I highly recommend this App. It shows ONE picture of a kid performing the action per action word presented. For example, “Singing” with a girl singing into a mic. This is a great way for your computer loving kiddos to get in some education while staring at the iPhone or iPad 😉
Feelings: Similar to the Actions app, this app goes through one picture of a kid with a matched action. Download this one for your kiddo who needs to work on understanding others feelings.
Feature: This App takes it beyond nouns to descriptors! For example, shown 3 items (on clean white backgrounds, too) the girl instructed me to “touch the one that is wood” and on the next slide to “show me the one that is hot.” This is great for the kiddos that are ready to be challenged a bit.
What does not belong: This is one of the several Apps that focuses on problem solving and creating categories. This is a much higher level skill as your child needs to be able to identify each item presented to know which to eliminate. What a wonderful range of activities that one can accomplish with these Apps!
Overall review of the Apps: The pictures are clean. Each version of the App is SIMPLE without any distractions. They give positive feedback when you pick the correct answer, “Yeah!” or encourage you to “try again” when you pick the wrong item. The language is consistent and simple…pretty much PERFECT! I know quite a few kiddos who will benefit from these Apps. Thanks to Kindergarten.com for making them FREE during the month of April 🙂 These are great for anyone wanting to educate your young child. Go grab yours now!
With Love,
Hallie Bulkin, MA, CCC-SLP