As both a parent and an early childhood educator, I love School Zone Publishing so I was thrilled to hear they’d released some great new iPad apps shortly before my own iPad arrived. School Zone is has provided 30 years of superior educational content that is designed for ease-of-use and makes learning fun for children while teaching essential skills. My classroom and home are full of my “old favourite” workbooks, games and flashcards from School Zone, and I’m so excited to be able to use these great resources while integrating technology at the same time.
My children, my grade one students and I have been using some of School Zone’s newer iPad apps over the past two months and, with a backlog of 25+ reviews this is the first one I’m sharing with you – because they are AWESOME. They appeal easily to kids because they’re colourful, provide instant gratification and encouragement and they’re learning with current technology. The other reason I share these with you at this particular time is because it drives teachers nuts when kids come back to school in the fall and they’re where they were the previous February because they’ve done nothing to stimulate their brains all summer. It doesn’t take much, really…read daily bedtime stories (you’re doing that, right?), build reading time into every day, use math skills in your daily life (cook together, subtract popsicles eaten from the box…), write letters to Grandma, and play some great games like these once in a while.
The ones we tried range from $99 cents to $9.99. Prior to trying these, I never would have paid more than a few dollars for an app for my kids but these are worth every penny. I’ve listed & linked the ones we tried below, and I’d recommend you check out these and the many other School Zone apps that are available because you’re sure to find something that your child will not only love to play but that will target their specific learning needs and make school a little bit easier come September.
Multiplication & Division Flash Action ($5)
Spelling 1-2 ($10) was my favourite of all the apps I tried for the 7-8 year olds – it allows them to enter their own spelling lists each week to play with and is pure awesome.
Alphabet & Numbers 1-100 Flash Action ($5) Basic early literacy & numeracy skills with School Zone flair.
Phonics Made Easy Flash Action ($5) Just as it says – nothing beats phonics for early reading instruction.
Colors, Shapes & More Flash Action ($5) Easy peasy colourful app to teach and reinforce basic concepts for toddlers and preschoolers.
Time, Money & Fractions On-Track ($10) Perfect for those accelerated learners in K-1…a great challenge! Also great supporting curriculum for any grade two child.
Memory Match Game ($1) This is a fave for a certain three year old I know!
We have one family member that is purely gluten free, and the rest of us try to eat less gluten than ever before – both to support him and for our own improved health. We received a box of the Honey Nut Chex to try out, and they were delicious. Deliciously full of sugar, but delicious nevertheless. We wouldn’t buy them regularly just because of the sheer amount of sugar, but they’re certainly a great option for a treat. You should be able to find two varieties of gluten free Chex on your grocer’s shelves now.
