Our app list...

Here is the 2011-12 kindergarten list - some of the basic apps on my student iPads and couple of words on why (a great place to get started):

iStopMotion - even 5 year olds can create really cool "stories"  - read more here





 

 iPhoto - so we can edit our photos and create quick journals of field trips, activities, projects



 

 


iWriteWords - good for handwriting practice - read more here



 




Word Wizard - for building words, has many wonderful lists of words already built in (Dolch Sight words, numbers, animals, foods, CVC lists based on specific blends, letter sounds, etc) and lets you enter your own lists - read more here





Montessori Crosswords - fun reading/spelling practice - allows the selection of targeted sounds such as short vowel sound words, specific consonant sounds, digraphs, silent letters - read more here






Book Creator - to give the students the tool to be completely creative in telling a story - read more here






LetterSchool - fantastic handwriting practice - read more here










Motion Math Zoom - interactive number line - great for thinking about number relationships - bigger, smaller, number order - read more here

Motion Math Hungry Fish - fishy way of approaching number relationships/addition - read more here

Moofy Patterns - for practicing patterns







Motion Math Wings - new way to consider "which is more" using a little kinesthetic learning







Scribble Press - for letting the creativity flow (don't miss the outstanding marker wall!)





Big Seed - wonderful problem solving app which gets kids working together, having thinking conversations - read more here

KickBox - a great app for practicing persistence, problem solving, collaborative pairing - read more here







Strip Design - think wordless books in a storyboard format for 6 year olds - a great app for getting the creative juices flowing






StarWalk - because there are wonderful stories in the stars...and a little fun too!  read more here





Bumpling - more problem solving, logical thinking, and possibilities for collaborative efforts - read more here

 

StarWalk

We love to share stories in kindergarten!

We read stories, share picture books, and tell oral stories just about every day.  One topic that seems to frequently pop in our story repertoire is that of the constellations.  We particularly love to share the stories from Greek Mythology that describe the origins of different constellations and stars.

Just for fun, we added a little iPad research (that's right, it's science time) to these story times.  Usually, the stories require some thinking.  They follow a pattern or there might be a moral to be learned.  We often use the stories to get the kindergarteners predicting such things as what happens when characters start boasting (it never ends well)...Other stories illustrate that it is often preferable to use your thinking cap rather than your charms...

How do the iPads fit in?  StarWalk!

StarWalk

 Here's what we do in our class:

*Share stories both verbally and from picture books - (check out these books:  Dot to Dot in the Sky - Stories in the stars by Joan Marie Galat, Kingdom of the Sun by Jacqueline Mitton, The Planet Gods by Jacqueline Mitton, Zoo in the Sky by Jacqueline Mitton)

*Draw the stars on your white board and as you share the story connect the dots to outline the picture in the constellation.

*Ask the students to make predictions, to find similarities/connections between stories, to share why they think the story turned out as it did (this is the flexible thinking part)

*Hand a pair of students an iPad and let them explore the sky - it helps to write the names of some of the constellations that are not so speller-friendly (Cygnus? Cetus? Bootes?).

*Listen to the exclamations as they find the constellations and personally connect to the stories...

We love this app! (Check it out at night - point it at the sky and it will tell you what's up there!)