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People have asked me why I don’t rate the apps that I blog about. Truth is, most of the apps aren’t for me…they are for my kids. To truly rate the apps my children use, I feel I need to give the apps the test of longevity. My children may love a new app once, but then not seek it out ever again. To be honest, I have not been able to successfully predict which apps my children will like best. For example, when I purchased and tried out “Les Histoires Farfelues” I did not think the kids were going to like it. In fact, I thought I had just wasted another $3 on an app that would go untouched, along with dozens of others.
I was wrong.
This is one of the first and only French apps that the kids seek out even when they are allowed a few minutes of free-choice on the iPad. They think it’s hilarious. You get to choose the characters and backgrounds. The characters can have either matching heads and legs or unmatched. It has fun sound effects and the stories are short. During story time, I usually tell them they both can have two stories but they always ask for more and I usually want to create my own mix-up after their turns are over as well. It has become kind of addicting for all of us…in the best sense of the term!
One thing I’d love to see added to the app is subtitles. I always like seeing the written word in my children’s apps. It gets them used to seeing the text and it helps them start to associate the sounds with the words.
We are all learning more French with this app. It includes vocabulary that is even above my head! Sometimes this may be a hindrance, and I fear the kids aren’t truly understanding everything that is being said, but I am not going to worry too much about that because they are having fun with French!
Why, though, do they love this app so much? Especially when initially I thought it was another wasted purchase!?!
Now that I think about it, this app gives them something the others don’t. It gives them control over what the story becomes. They are the creators, so to speak, of their own story. As an educator, I understand the power of providing choices for learners. The smart people who created this app have very cleverly incorporated the users choices into every story. It is addicting and fun and I am sorry that I doubted its ingenuity!
If I had blogged and rated this app before giving it the test of time, I would have scored it low. Now that we have had it for several months, I see that the children are seeking it out ON THEIR OWN! (That is huge!) The rating has gone through the roof and I now recommend this app very highly to families learning French! The Sunny Earth kids love it! (Ages 4 and almost 6) Hope yours do, too!!!!!
Enjoy! C’est vraiment amusant!
If I had to choose just one favorite creation app, it’d have to be Explain Everything. My husband, Kevin Misiano, is using Explain Everything to create his flipped class videos. Here is his YouTube channel. He is using Explain Everything to make his flipped lesson videos that his pre-calculus students watch as homework.
Kevin started using Explain Everything way before I started using apps. He kept talking about it, so I knew I had to give it a try. I ended up using it to create video tutorials for AIM Language Learning’s online teacher training. I was looking for a way to create a video using screen shots and Explain Everything had everything I needed for the tutorials. It was extremely easy to use and edit. I normally use iMovie and I was reluctant to take the time to learn about Explain Everything. After I figured it out, though, my only regret was not having tried it sooner.
I immediately thought of how I could use this with my children for some fun with French. The first creation is called “Mimi la souris” and you can read more about this project here or simply check out the project below.
Currently, my four and five-year-olds are helping me create an alphabet project about one of their favorite books. What I really love about Explain Everything is the ability to work on the very portable iPad. This gives flexibility, especially when creating with young children. I can meet them on the floor in their bedroom and they can help add slides and sound with ease. As you work within the app, it autosaves and it is not “bulky” to open or save. Only at the end when you are completely finished will it take some time, just as all videos do.
To see a tutorial I made with this amazing app, check out this blog post. I have not even begun to scratch the surface as to what Explain Everything can do for my children and students. I cannot wait to see what else we will use it for!
If you’re interested in a screen casting tool for your iPad, then look no further!
Check out this tutorial to see more about how it works…and enjoy!!!!
Click here for another blog resource for Explain Everything.
Today’s freebie choice is called Backyard at Twilight: A Stella and Sam Adventure. It is available in English and French.
Take a look:
It’s free today. To learn how I find out about these great freebies, check out this previous blog post.
I think the kids are really going to enjoy this app. It’s interactive and fun. It will definitely peak their interest about the stars and constellations.
The only wish I had for this app on first sight is French subtitles. I prefer my children to see the written word along with the dialogue. They aren’t quite literate yet, but I still like them to get used to seeing the words as they listen. My favorite type of subtitles (or writing on a “page” in a story app) highlight the proper word as it is being read aloud. I wish there were more apps with this feature! It’d probably be even better if you could turn that feature on/off according to the level of learner.
At any rate, this app looks like a good freebie catch! Enjoy! 🙂
Here are few apps for kids that may be of interest to families with younger children. All are available today for free.
The English freebies are:
Montessori ABC for Kids HD: Learn and Trace Alphabet Letters
Here’s a YouTube video that give you a sneak peak. Oh how I wish this was available in French!
and The Trip Little Critter GamePac
Here’s a YouTube video of the Little Critter app. This would be a great find for children learning English! Once again, I really wish this was available in French.
The French freebie pick of the day:
Expand It! More information and a sneak peak available in this YouTube video. From the looks of this video, there unfortunately doesn’t look like today’s only French freebie will provide my children with much language input. It does look like there will be some written text, but I don’t seem to hear much language in the app. It does look like a fun thinking game for young ones, though.
I’d love to see more apps available in multiple languages that provide language input! I’m alway disappointed when I see an app available in French (or Spanish), but then find that there is very little language involved once launched.
If anyone can point me in the direction of more fun French or Spanish apps, please send them my way! Thank you!
Just found a few multilingual apps on Apps Gone Free, so I thought I’d share!
Viking Rudi has a 4.5 star rating and is and educational entertainment app available in a whopping 25 languages!!! (See picture below for languages). It is available for free today only and normally costs 99 cents. Here is more information about this app!
I have downloaded the app and have yet to figure out how to change the language. I have tried the parents section of the app and changing the entire iPad to French. No luck so far, so I have contacted the company. Will update with the information when I figure it out!
Pepi Tree is an adorable educational game app available in 15 languages (see picture below). Pepi Tree is free today, but normally costs $1.99. I have downloaded this app and the kids love it! The only thing I’m not liking about it is that there is no language input. I am always disappointed when an opportunity in L2 passes us by. The kids, ages 5 and 4, adore the app, so a little bit of language would be awesome! Here is a YouTube video of a young child playing the app.
Also of interest could be Word Book and Puzzle Box: Kids Favorite Activity. Free today, normally $1.99. This one is available in English, Greek and Spanish.
We will see which of these apps above deserves a future blog post! If you have any input, please share! Thank you!
I found a freebie today on Apps Gone Free that might be worth a look. It’s a creative app called Makanim – Multi-touch Generative Art. It is available on iTunes for free, for a limited time. (Thank you Apps Gone Free!)
I tried it out with my four-year-old Geo for a few minutes. Geo was able to figure out the interface and he had fun checking out the different themes. In the few minutes we spent, we created the pictures you see below. I spent some more time tonight and found that it is very easy to use the other options at the bottom of the screen to further edit the creations. I can see this app being fun for the kids, but I don’t foresee them seeking it out like some of their other favorites. I do think, though, that if I remind them it’s there, they may have some fun making creations on a rainy day or on a long road trip! We could then talk about the creations and all the beautiful colors we see en français!!! 🙂
I may also use this app to create backgrounds for presentations and videos. In the past, I have used the “Ripple HD” app for things like this video “Verbos de cambio de raíz.” Soleil painted pictures, then we used the Ripple app to create the images you see in the background.
What other uses could you see for this app?
Whenever I’m searching for something new and exciting in French for my children (a.k.a. “The Sunny Earth Kids”), I start by checking Sylvia Duckworth‘s links. Sylvia has become a household name around here! Soleil and Géo have benefitted immensely from her generosity in sharing the amazing French resources she creates. If we had to pick just one household favorite, it’d probably have to be “Comment ça va?” by Juli Powers. We go around the house singing that song and both children use their knowledge of the song to respond in French when asked “Comment ça va?”!!! 🙂 A close second would have to be “Je suis une pizza” by Charlotte Diamond. The kids ask to sing that song in the car on trips! What fun we have had learning with these two, and many, many more songs on Sylvia’s YouTube Channel!
Sylvia has not only been an inspiration in our family life, but also in my professional life as a French and Spanish teacher. If you’d like to know more about how and why, please visit this blog post I wrote after a visit I made to her classroom.
Therefore, I am not at all surprised that Sylvia has once again created a blog worth following. It is called “French Apps for Kids” and it reviews apps for children in grades K-8 who’re learning French. Sylvia has done it again! A wonderful resource for all of us teaching and learning French. We cannot wait to see what other apps she recommends!!!!
Merci beaucoup, Sylvia!!!
Both kids have been enjoying the free version of this game app in French. It’s called “Guess Who I Am?” in English and is easily changed to the French language on the home screen. To read a full review of this app, complete with instructions, please visit Sylvia Duckworth’s blog post.
I honestly wasn’t sure if my 5 and 4 year old would be ready for this app…however, since Sylvia rated it so high, I had to at least try! To my pleasant surprise, it is a winner! Both Soleil and Géo are enjoying this game in French! They have even both graduated from the “très facile” level to “facile”!!!
Thank you, Sylvia, for this great app suggestion!!! We are having so much fun with it! Soleil takes a turn, then Géo! They both watched each other play for several rounds…quite a rare occurrence chez nous! 🙂 It’s AWESOME!!!!
Just wanted to share this amazing resource created by Catherine Ousselin. It is a collection of apps for the World Language classroom. It is obvious that Catherine has spent a lot of time exploring apps! I will be checking this collection for use with my children at home as well as for use with my students!
The Appy Family 