My daughter's 5th birthday is next month. She is in K now. She is currently sitting with a toy laptop that is for letter & sound recognition wanting to spell words that she knows. We need something that's does more.....
Is there an APP, website or kid device(preferred) that allows her to spell words? Maybe something that allows her to type in a word/sentence and have it say it back to her?
Maybe something that you can program in the sight words she knows? Has a phonic's base? Also has some stories?
Thanks!
Ok, maybe I should clarify. I'm an elementary teacher. We don't have many tech devices for us or the kids. I have a laptop and a smart phone. I don't let the kids on them. They have a generic push button TOY laptops that they push the letter and it says the letter's name and/or phonetic sound. (As I am writing this right now, I am spelling out words for her to write on a birthday card....not a problem here!)
I'm looking for something she can do on her own that she ENJOYS doing on her own and is educational. We don't do any games on the computers or phones, as of yet. But, I do want her to be somewhat tech saavy. We will never be a video game family (no offense to those that are...just not our thing).
Just looking for educational games, apps, or devices that she can do on her own for FUN.
Thank you again!
Flashcards, old fashioned quizzing at home, work sheets, reading. Old fashioned methods are far more effective than gadgets.
Aps and electronics won't teach her to write. Too much interest in electronics can make children bored with regular book reading and writing by hand. She needs to work with her fingers with real manipulatives to strengthen them in order to be ready for writing in school.
If you must give her electronics, put real time limits on them for once a day. And get her into lots of books and physical things to do that will get her school ready. They will not want kids to be used to only electronics for their academics.
Good luck,
Dawn
1) I suggest you check out Leapfrog products. The Leapster + some cartridges may be what you want.
2) It's hard to beat good old hard-cover books + you for what you want..
I don't know anything like that, but I know there are a couple of learning tablets geared to little kids. I'm getting two this year for my younger ones. That might be a thought.
abcya.com or starfall.com
starfall is easier better for younger kids.
"...something that does more" = mom and dad!
I understand you are looking for a gift that will interest her, but the best gift is your time! Yeah, cliché, I know. :)
So how does that translate into a "real" gift for her birthday? Activities you can do together, not an app/toy/tool that engages only her. Barring any development delay issues, almost all children will at some point learn to read, spell and write. Some earlier, some later, and some better than others, but an app or passive toy isn't going to turn anyone into a genius. (Sorry, off on a bit of a rant; you in no way implied that you are trying to push your daughter.) Time together and shared experiences still mean a lot, though.
Choose activity workbooks, maybe a grade higher since she seems interested and progressing a bit more than some of the other Pre-K/K items, that you can do together. Get flashcards or maybe even letter/word magnets that she and you can use to leave messages for each other. Give her some new books for her birthday (in a variety of reading levels) and read to her; stop sometimes to show her a particular word, have her find a word in a sentence you just read or spell her favorite thing on that page.
What's important is fostering a love of learning - vs. a more narrow focus on what she is learning - and that is stronger if you do it together instead of letting an app "teach" her. You've found something she's really interested in (for now!) and that gives you new opportunities to bond as well. Give her ways to engage you in the process and she'll get more out of it than reading alone.
But you know what? I get it. Even superparents can't be in the moment for their kids all the time. And as a mom of a soon-to-be-5 year old myself, I LOVE something he will do by himself for a while and if it's educational, even better!
I do like the TAG things from LeapFrog. We do the solar system chart together where we can play 2-player games as we learn about the planets; we read the stories without the pen but then use it to find words or answers questions in the back; and yes, when I cook dinner and he plays with it by himself (hooray!), sometimes I hear him repeating things word for word with it and other times he's really just into the sounds on the pages of Walter the Farting Dog. :)
We don't have a tablet and he thinks mommy's computer only does 'work things' so the only gadget experience I have is with some of the LeapFrog stuff. But I do like it! Still, I already see more tops of kids' heads than faces as they are always bent over something like a tablet, game or phone. At what point will a gadget replace us? If one of them learns to hug or kiss a boo-boo...
My son has the LeapPad. I like it because many of the games and activities let ME set the level or skills from the parent sight. I can load his spelling words (if I don't it just uses words from it's own progressive list) and then those are the words that show up in the spelling based games.
I have 4 kids and just for examples: my 4 year old is reading and writing. My 9 year old is in 6th grade and finished the entire Harry Potter series in 3 weeks.
That being said, don't bother with the cheap kid tablets. Just get her an iPad. We have THE coolest spelling app. Spelling 1-2. WELL worth the money. It tests the words that you can give her or the App can give her words and all of them are tested 4 different ways, because people learn differently.
Here are my absolute favorites for my kids:
Flow Free - it's logic and planning (I even love playing it)
Spelling 1-2 (by School Zone Interactive) BEST ever
Time Money (by School Zone Interactive)
Square Off (by School Zone)
Putt Putt Saves the Zoo (ALL of my kids have liked this one.) You touch all of the things along the way, and they all do something. Of course, when my oldest was 3, he had his own computer and figured it out from the CD. Then we bought it for the iPad. You have drop things off and pick things up. Critical thinking.
Math Bingo
Mad Math
Body Walk
Solar System (by iLearn)
StarFall Learn to Read (we use this for free on the computer, but they have an App for it.)
