It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I can just feel Christmas break upon us. Are you having lots of holiday fun in your therapy sessions? My kids can't talk about much more than Christmas, presents, their Elf, etc. so I decided to embrace their excitement. I searched the iTunes store and downloaded as many free Christmas apps as I could find. After an evening of feeling like a kid testing out my new apps, 8 apps made the final cut.!
When trying out new apps, there are a few things that I look for. First, I decide if the app will be educational in some way. Even the apps that are used as a treat at the end of the session, still have to have some educational value to it. I also look for apps that do not have crazy distracting ads popping up left and right. Unfortunately, that is a common thing among the free apps (they're free, I get it) but my caseload is 99% preschool. They don't always understand what parts of the app are off limits. The third thing I look for is, is it easy to use and fun? If I'm bored, chances are the kids are bored. So below is my list of Fun & Free Christmas Apps for Therapy!
This app is at the top of my list (literally!) This is a super cute app that lets your kids choose a Christmas tree and decorate it. It's simple, but allows you to target spatial concepts, colors, descriptive words, and sequencing.
This app allows you to decorate your own gingerbread man (or lady!) You get to choose hair, eyes, nose, mouth, clothing, and accessories for your cookie! The best part? You get to eat the cookie when you are finished! There is an ad that pops on when the app is first opened and one at the bottom while you are playing. My kids were able to play this game easily without taking my iPad shopping :)
Do your little ones love completing puzzles on the iPad? Mine have had an obsession with puzzles lately, so naturally, I had to find a holiday puzzle app. This app includes 4 festive puzzles (more puzzles for $) After the puzzle is completed, the puzzle becomes interactive and the picture comes to life!
This is an interactive Christmas story with the "Read It Myself" or "Read to Me" options. The read to myself option is great for the older kids working on articulation carryover. Also included in the story are games that can be played related to the part of the story you are reading. The games include: find the item, counting, jigsaw puzzle, paint, match it, and memorize and place. This app also has an ad that pops on when the app is first opened and one at the bottom while you are playing.
Simply put, this app is a Christmas version of the game memory (or concentration, which ever you prefer!) You have the option to choose an easy or hard option which determines the number of cards to play with. This app has very cute graphics and calm Christmas music playing as you play. This would be a good game for memory skills, turn taking, and vocabulary with little ones.
My students love apps where they get to cook or bake. I have two other apps where kids get to make pizza and popsicles that are requested frequently. This app is no exception. Students get to put ingredients in the bowl, mix them up, bake, and decorate their own cake. There are quite a few items locked in this app, but even my young kids were able to make quite impressive cakes with what is available.
This app targets preschool receptive language- specifically colors, shapes, numbers, letters, and other basic concepts. Frosty prompts a question with, "Which one is....." and gives answer choices. If the student answers correctly, Frosty jumps up and cheers. After a certain number of questions, your students gets to choose a prize!
Last but not least, this is a fun app that lets your kids complete puzzles and color pictures. The majority of this app is locked, but even the 3 puzzles available for free allows for a lot of interactive fun.
Oh I almost forgot! This isn't an app for the kids but it allows you to make fun and festive monogram backgrounds for your iphone or iPad! Totally feeds my obsession with chevron and monograms. Check out the one I made below :) This version is free so it's limited... I'm sure I'll end up buying the full version soon. So fun!
Any apps you love to use this time of the year that I didn't mention? Please share them below!
