Nearly There

Nearly There by FirstyWork is a wonderful story based on two horses, Budley and Bishop. The two horses go on a wonderful journey with some unique friends that they meet along the way in this story. The pictures in this story are very different from other stories I have read but I really liked them. The story is very interactive as you can press what each of the animals are saying along the way in the story. I would have liked to have seen an auto read choice for the main story but even without it it's ok as all you need to do is tap the words at the top and it will read it aloud. The map of the animals journey is really neat and one of my kids favorite parts as they could see where the animals had to go on their journey. There is also a coloring section with 5 different images for your children to color on their own. The song the book has is also in a selection of it's own so you can listen to the song when you want without reading the story too. There is a section to choose where you can see real pictures of Budley and Bishop along with the other animals cared for by Johanna and Gabrielle. The story does have some parts in that could make a parent nervous such as the death of one of the animals. This part is done very nicely but some parents may not want to discuss that yet so I just want everyone to be aware it's in there. I always would recommend running through any story yourself before listening to it with your child just in case. In all I really enjoyed this story and so did my children. They love horses and all the other animals in the story. I would highly highly highly recommend this fun story about some very unique friends :)

http://www.creaturesofserendipity.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=101
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nearly-there/id537982759?mt=8
https://www.facebook.com/budley.bishop
http://www.facebook.com/CreaturesOfSerendipity

Hamaguchi Apps for Speech, Language and Auditory Development

Hamaguchi Apps for Speech, Language and Auditory Development makes wonderful apps. I have loved each and everyone of them. Tonight I'm going to tell you about the three newest apps in their collection.

Talk About It: Objects Pro HD: This app is wonderful for speech therapist but also is very easy to use at home. I tested this app out of age bracket to see how well it would work with my almost 5yr old and they are absolutely correct that it can be adapted to younger children. The app is designed for ages 6-12 but I found it works well with a few tweaks with my 5yr old and he loved it!. My other children also enjoyed the app and it works very well for them as well. Don't let that little panda bear fool you this app is no means babyish. The pictures in the app are very realistic and some of the choices can be quite difficult but not so hard they can't be answered. This app helps build on defining, describing, vocabulary development, explaining, and understanding objects and place. The app also can help build on artic and fluency as well. There is different settings to adjust this app as you need or want to use it and there is mini games to hold your child's interest and reward them. The app builds on expressive and receptive language skills with things such as the guess boxes (receptive) and talk about it (expressive). Their iTunes description is very well written to explain the app and tell you what else is included with in. You can also check out their website for additional information. The pro addition is for use with more then one user. If you only have one user using this app you can check out this: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/talk-about-it-objects-home-hd/id545867254?mt=8
With the pro edition you can have up to 30 users making it perfect for school, therapy, and larger households with more then one user you would like to track :) Highly highly highly recommended app :)
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/talk-about-it-objects-pro-hd/id545865888?mt=8

First Words International Pro HD: This app is wonderful for multi-language families. This app comes in seven different languages such as: English, Spanish, French, and more. The app works on both receptive and expressive language in all the different languages. The app comes with 50 objects and are shown 10 or more different ways to help special needs children/adults generalize the meaning of the words. There is three activities: Learn the Word, Find the Word, and Say the Word. Learn the word helps teach what the word means and familiarize the user to the word. Find the word is a receptive language activity where the user must find the item that is being said. Say the word is the expressive part of the app where the user must say the word of the object shown. There is many different settings in the app to adapt to the user. This is the pro version and once again is used for multiple users up to 30. Perfect for schools, therapy, and larger households. There is a home edition available for single users at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/first-words-international/id540590752?mt=8.  This app is amazing even if your child doesn't speak another language and I would highly highly highly recommend this app :)
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/first-words-international/id540369318?mt=8

You're the Storyteller: The Surprise Pro HD: This has to be one of my favorites. I thought this app was adorable and very fun to play with. The app is amazing for expressive language skills as your child makes up the story. If the user can not talk but can type this app is still amazing. There is 8 chapters in the story the user must create. The pictures are there for you but you get to chose what is being said and write/tell the story by yourself. The app includes "challenge words" and "questions" to make it a little bit harder for the user as well. My children are not quite up to the challenge for the use of those yet but boy did they have fun. My almost 5yr old was having a blast trying with all his might to make up a story which really helped build on his expressive language. My 8 1/2yr old almost has it but she has a real hard time with imagination so she kinda copied mom lol. My 7yr old well he's not too much into talking without it being about sports he mainly said "puppy" through the app but we will keep trying :). If the user can type there is also the option of writing the story which is a really cool feature for users that are nonverbal and can type or older children learning to write stories as well. I hope to see more of these apps in the future from Hamaguchi as they are really neat :). This is the pro version but you can find the single user home edition at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/youre-storyteller-surprise/id527223436?mt=8. I highly highly highly recommend this app :)
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/youre-storyteller-surprise/id527236318?mt=8

http://www.facebook.com/welcometotheirworldapps?ref=hl#!/pages/Hamaguchi-Apps-for-Speech-Language-Auditory-Development/299529220125194
http://www.hamaguchiapps.com

AppyMall

Look what's coming soon :). The AppyMall!!!. This will redesign how parents and teachers will search for apps. The AppyMall is produced by Siva over at Technology in Education on Facebook. Siva has been working hard with many different people from the app industry along with parents and educators to make an easy fun way to shop the app store for children apps. The AppyMall is designed to make shopping for apps much easier by offering many different types of categories surrounding children's apps. The apps will be sectioned off by type such as speech and language, age, grade range, and more. The AppyMall is for typical developing children and special needs. Need a math app it will soon be easy to find in the AppyMall quickly and easily. Need a reading app same thing and the list goes on. This site will be always changing as new apps come in and prices change. The AppyMall will also show you sale apps so if your looking for some good deals this will be the place to go first. I really love the part that if you don't know how to spell a word you can type it in the AppyMall and it will still come up unlike the actual app store where you need to know the exact spelling and name of the app for it to come up. The AppyMall is also going to offer the ability to click:
"I like it", "I own it", and "I want it" so you can keep track of apps quickly and easily that you may have or want. When you click "I want it" the store will notify you of a sale on that app so you always know when an app you want has a price drop. The five main anchor stores that the store will first open with are: Preschool AppyStore, Elementary School AppyStore, Middle School AppyStore, Speech and Language AppyStore and Special Needs AppyStore. Theses stores are just the beginning and there is many different apps and categories within each of the anchor stores. Personally I can't wait for the AppyStore to open in August. I think this will redesign your app shopping experience 110%!!!! :)

http://www.facebook.com/AppyMall
http://www.appymall.com/blog/
http://www.facebook.com/techinspecialed

i Learn With apps

The i Learn with apps by Tribal Nova are wonderful apps for many ages. The pictures are bright and colorful and all are fun to play. Tribal Nova recently made three new apps that are cuter then ever. Today I will tell you about them :)

i Learn With- Planet Boing! HD: This app was made for ages 3-6 yr olds and is filled with music, interactivity, and is very colorful and bright. The app comes with self adjusting levels of difficulty and has 300 fun rewards and medals for your child to earn. This app has a progress tracker for parents that is helpful so you know what your child is learning. My kids really loved making their own little monsters to play around with in the app. This app holds my children's attention well and they have fun trying to capture all the little things in the app. I would highly highly recommend this app :)

i Learn With Boing: Ice Land Adventures! HD: This app is made for ages 3-6 and brings you on an icy adventure of fun. This app helps teach letters, phonics, and spelling. There is 27 fun rewards and medals for your child to earn. The app comes with a self- adjusting difficulty levels. There is three games in this app: The Bears!, The Penguins!, and The Seals!. The Bears! game helps teach lower and upper case letters and letter names, The Penguins! help teach syllables and includes a two-player mode, The Seals! help teach spelling words. This app is so cute and friendly. If find this app works very well for my boys and they have fun playing with it so much they don't even know they are learning while playing. I would highly highly highly recommend this app :)

i Learn With Boing: Savannah Adventures! HD: This app is once again made for ages 3-6yr olds. The app helps build on counting, ordering numbers, and adding or subtracting all while playing with some very cute animals. There is 27 fun rewards and medals for your child to win in this app. There is a self-adjusting levels of difficulty. There is three games in this app: Meerkats!, Frogs!, and Ostriches!. Meerkats! teaches numbers 1-20, Frogs! teaches number order and patterns, and Ostriches! teaches adding or subtracting and also includes a two player game as well. This app is fun and adventurous. My children loved playing this app especially since it has numbers. With all the bright friendly characters it was not a problem to get them excited to play the app. I would highly highly highly recommend this app :)

http://www.facebook.com/tribal.nova.92?ref=ts#!/ilearnwith
http://www.ilearnwith.com/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tribal-nova/id415640059

Articulation Station Pro

Articulation Station Pro by Little Bee Speech is a fantastic app for teaching articulation. There is over 1,000 target words, tips for each sound, matching and flashcard activities, 1,300 unique sentences, and more. The different activities included are: Flashcard activities, Matching game, rotating sentences, unique sentences, level 1 stories, and level 2 stories. With each sound practiced you can choose initial, medial, and final sound. This app will keep track of your child's score within the app when you choose correct or incorrect. The app will read aloud to your child in a very clear voice. You also have the option of recording your child when working with this app. The app will track multiple children which makes it perfect for families with multiple children or in a classroom setting/therapy setting. When you save your child's score they will be saved in the app and you can email the results easily within the app.You can choose up to 6 names to track and record at a time which I'm sure therapist will love this option. The settings include: scoring buttons, scoring sounds, voice audio, and set passing at 90%. The pictures in the app are very clear and makes this app very easy for special needs children to know what the picture is. I would highly highly highly recommend this app :)

There is also a free version of this app to try the app out. You can purchase sounds separately as needed with the free version :)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/articulation-station-pro/id491998279?mt=8
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/articulation-station/id467415882?mt=8
http://littlebeespeech.com/
https://twitter.com/littlebeespeech
http://www.facebook.com/littlebeespeech

My Autism Day

My Autism Day by Little App Helpers is a wonderful app to help track your child's behaviors, progress, therapy and more. This app has all your tracking needs for a child with autism all in one easy to use app. This app has: a daily log, activities, goals, health, caregivers, and charts. The daily log helps you keep track of notes for behaviors, eye contact, behaviors and more. The activities helps you log all activities and play throughout the day. The goals are any type of goal you may have set for your child. Health helps you track if your child's prescriptions and supplements. The caregivers area helps you keep track of visits and appointments and any notes you may have from them or their visit. The charts area takes all your info about goals, health, ect and makes them into an easy to read chart. I really like the layout of this app and it's ease of use. This app is an all in one app for keeping track of things you may need to bring to the doctors office. This app does track more then one child which is really helpful for a family like my own. I do wish it had some preloaded info in it for medications and therapy's but in a way it's good that it doesn't so you can be more exact for your child. The app comes with a lot of info right in it on how to use their app and certain things you should track. I would highly highly highly recommend this app :)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-autism-day/id509433467?mt=8
http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Autism-Day/391761447506719

Nosy Crow apps

Nosy Crow makes fun and interactive stories. Their stories are enjoyable to read anytime night or day. My children really enjoyed listening and playing with each of them. Today I'm going to tell you a little about 4 out of 5 of their stories.

The Three Little Pigs- Nosy Crow animated storybook: We have all read some version of the Three Little Pigs at some point in our lives but this one is 3D. This story is very cute and puts a new twist on an old tale. There is many things to touch and do in the story to hold your child's interest through the whole story. Your child can even work on their oral motor with this story by blowing the houses down. I would highly highly highly suggest this version of the Three Little Pigs :)

Cinderella- Nosy Crow animated picture book: This is another familar tale that most of us have heard at some point but this story lets you into the story yourself. You get to help clean the kitchen, build the carriage, select music, see yourself in the mirror (ipad 2 or higher only), and soo much more. You can chose read to me, read by myself, or read and play with this story. So many things to touch and listen to that I highly highly highly recommend this story :)

Bizzy Bear on the Farm: This story is perfect for toddlers to preschooler age. You get to tag along with Bizzy the Bear as he does his chores on the farm. You can help Bizzy by picking apples, feeding pigs, driving the tractor, and more. This is a cute fun story that all my children enjoyed playing with. It is simple to follow along with and do the stuff Bizzy asks of you. I would highly highly suggest this app :)

Pip and Posy: Fun and Games: This app has soo much for your child to do. Pip and Posy are right there with your toddler to preschooler for painting, puzzles, spot the difference, matching, and more. Your child can even see themselves in the mirror if your ipad has a camera. This app is ment for younger children but I would find it useful for children that have fine motor problems as well as it's easy enough for them to navigate through. My 4 and 7yr old boys use this app often and think it's a lot of fun. The pictures are well done and I would highly highly recommend this app :)

https://www.facebook.com/NosyCrow?ref=ts
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id4185436...
http://www.nosycrow.com
http://twitter.com/nosycrow
http://twitter.com/NosyCrowApps