Parent Talk: There's An App For That
Which apps you are using to help you teach your child at home?
Just before school started my 6-year-old was gifted an iPod Touch and, while I initially didn't see much purpose for it besides music and a few games, he proved me wrong.
While he quickly fell in love with making videos that proved to be more than mindless electronic activity, I was also happy to find some apps thanks to the advice of friends, that were not only entertaining for him but also educational.
I was soon downloading apps for him to use to practice his spelling words [Spelling City] or work on math facts [Rocket Math] or even just review basic letters and numbers. [123 Color]
I quickly learned that there is no limit when it comes to educational apps for our kids and that the learning apps can also be fun.
St. Michael Catholic School second-graders use iPod touches in the classroom and here are some of the app's they use and Technology Specialist Amy Huberty recommends:
- My Math Flash Cards
- Math Kingdom
- Basic Math
- Addition Coach
- Spelling City
- Kids Clock
- Counting Coins
- Everyday Math Apps
Technology continues to change leaps and bounds but I think if we do our homework, we can always find ways to use it to our advantage and help our kids use it in more than a "mindless" way.
Do you use certain websites or apps with your kids? What ones do you recommend or have you had a good experience with? Tell us in the comments.
Matt McDonnell
10:24 am on Thursday, October 11, 2012
I use Famigo. They have an app that makes your phone safe for kids and they also recommend great educational apps. It's only available for Android, but that's what I have so it works great for me. The full app is $5 but totally worth it if you want to be able to give your kids you phone without any worries.