SB Finds : Educational Apps

As my 5-year-old improves his English reading and writing skills every day, I am constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to match this forward progress in Spanish. Apps are one of the easiest ways to incorporate Spanish into our busy daily routine. Dic Dic, a new iPad app from European developers Perception Technologies and Estudi Kalimba, is a fresh new way to do this. Each word is pronounced aloud and shown written, then the user must type the word.Read More ...

PlayTales Gold! is my favorite kind of app. It offers endless entertainment and bonding opportunities for kids and parents. PlayTales Gold is an interactive library with a wide selection of kids’ stories, games, songs, and personalizing options. Sesame Street is also one of my favorite classic kids’ shows because of its wide array of characters and its integration of Spanish. Now these two great educational offerings are coming together. PlayTales has teamed up with Sesame Workshop to bring us fourRead More ...

Duck Duck Moose, the same creators of the fun Spanish CD in last week’s giveaway, have tons of great apps to choose from. A couple of them, including Wheels on the Bus, have Spanish features. This app is a sing-along with high-quality graphics and fun interactive objects on each screen. It makes the classic children’s song much more fun. Though the written lyrics are in English only, the song’s audio can be changed to Spanish (in addition to French, Italian,Read More ...

What a great discovery we have made! Cricket Publishers have just launched their Ladybug Magazine in Spanish! Ladybug en español is designed for children ages 3 to 6, perfect for my two oldest sons, who are beginning to or are already reading in Spanish. Our boys still need guidance when reading in their second language, and we found that Ladybug is perfect for us to continue to read aloud en español. While reading Ladybug to my oldest, the illustrations caughtRead More ...

With 7 animated chapters and 6 interactive games, Deep in the Rainforest is a truly comprehensive bilingual app. This is a great geography supplement to an elementary education, since it focuses specifically on the Amazon. In addition to having authentic Spanish narration, the regional focus on South America gives this app a cultural edge. Take off with your pilot, Amanda, in a small plane and travel through the rainforest with a native boy named Yapariwa. He’s searching for his lostRead More ...

Number Fiesta is a fun app from SpringMix Games that teaches and refreshes counting skills for preschoolers. It includes four modes, each of which can be changed from English to Spanish and back with the click of a button. Have your child begin with the examen and move on to basic counting practice, a matching game, and a fun race. The matching game can be adjusted to your preferred range of numbers (1-10, 1-15, 1-20), which is great for kidsRead More ...

La aventura de Wubbzy y los dinosaurios is a cute story app for kids who already love Nick Jr.’s Wow! Wow! Wubbzy show. The show’s characters encounter various interesting species of dinosaurs on their adventure, including a “Locosaurio.” Although they are a bit afraid at first, they end up baking and sharing cupcakes with the scary creatures. Each page is interactive, with the dinosaurs and Wubbzy’s friends each having something funny to say when you touch them. There are aRead More ...

Pango Imaginary Car is a cool new app from developer Studio Pango. There are no words or complicated instructions. It’s a grid with empty spaces and eight categories of vehicle parts. Drag the pieces, which include everything from wheels and ladders to a computer and wings, to create the crazy vehicle of your imagination. You can start from scratch and piece together the wacky items of your choice, or start with a preset grid that shows you where to placeRead More ...