I said for a long time, "I don't need an iPad, I have my phone and my computer." Which is still true, but since I've decided to homeschool I've been reading about all sorts of apps for learning. I decided I wanted one, and I've been looking for a few months for a good deal. Since I wanted one primarily for a learning tool I decided on on original ipad or an ipad 2. The ones that were being sold for a good price went fast, but mostly I found people asking for outrageous prices. We're talking for the price of a brand new iPad I could get a used one. I finally found one that sounded perfect. I paid $150 dollars for an original iPad, in perfect condition. She still had the original box and she gave me three covers and a case to go with it. Plus a charging cord.
I was really excited. She cleared it so we could start fresh. I filled it with the Apps that I've been looking into. I started to write the name and a quick review of all our apps, and then I realized that I have quite a few. So here are my favorites so far:
Bugs & Numbers- It's full of number activities and they are all really fun! I've been having a hard time seeing how much she is really picking up when it comes to math. She can count from 1-20, but other than that she generally isn't very interested. I haven't pushed it. Anyways, apparently she knows much more than I was giving her credit for! These games have been fun for her to play, but even more fun for me to watch her figuring them out! She is so smart. Each game is different but they all help with number recognition.
Curious George Dictionary- I had the best surprise when we played on this one. Nolan repeated every letter of the alphabet as we looked at them, and pointed out what george was holding. It was amazing. I haven't worked with him with any of the letters yet, other than reading to him. He participates in a lot of the activities I do with Kaydence. It also has a few stories that you can read, as well as numbers, quantities, opposites, and colors & shapes
We also got a Bible stories app, it has seven stores from the bible, and Kaydence loves them. She likes reading about Jesus. We have one for the Book of Mormon as well, but the music was really loud. I couldn't tell if it was supposed to read to you or not. It was free, but you only get one story, and then you have to pay to get more. We'll probably end up paying, because it is pretty cool. We read scriptures together as a family every night. But it's always good if they are interested and wanting to read them on their own.
We do have some rules for the iPad though. They can only play with the iPad for a little while each day. Playing the iPad is fun, and they can learn a lot from it, but I don't want them sitting around with it all day. They can only play on the iPad when I say it is okay, and if they fight over it I take it away. It get's put up high during the times they aren't allowed to play with it, and if it has to be taken away more than once they don't get it for the rest of the day.
Yesterday we went to the Botanical Gardens with our playgroup. They have a fairy garden set up for a few weeks. It was so fun! All of the little girls (and Nolan) were holding hands. We told them they would see real fairies if they were very quiet and looked hard. Not sure if that was good or bad though, because then they were upset when they didn't see any fairies! Aren't they so cute? We're going to go back again. It was a lot of fun!
That's all for now. We haven't gotten around to too much bird learning so far. We had plans to make bird feeders with toilet paper rolls, peanut butter, and bird seed. But then I found ants in the cat food. It threw off our day. After the exterminator comes we'll work on them. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures and post them soon!
-Karly
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