The Prez was not at all hip on four of our children receiving Ipods for Christmas gifts. The grandparents were ready and willing to go in together and purchase these gifts for four of our children, who had put them on their wish lists. I was ready to make the leap, because I knew unlike so many hand-held electronic devices we could put the Ipod to work for many learning opportunities.

For every game* they ask me to download for them, we have to find and download two educational apps**. So far, this is really paying off for the most part. It isn’t uncommon for me to find them using their “free time” on an educational app.

So, what all have we downloaded?

*The Oregon Trail
*Pac Man Lite
*Temple Run
**Flow Free
**Merriam Webster’s Free Dictionary
**Solitaire Lite
*Jetpack
**MindSnacks Spanish
**MindSnacks Mandarin Chinese
*Angry Birds (several versions)
**Mathmateer
**Addition Wiz
**Geoboard
**Number Rack
**Mathdoku + Sudoku Puzzle Game
**Stack the States
**Stack the Countries

I know there are a few more, but that is all I can think of at the moment.
Some of the applications for learning use are obvious, but I will share a few photos with brief explanations below.

Learning months and days in Mandarin Chinese.

Their way makes so much more sense! Joel had told me more than a year while he was still struggling with our months of the year that the Chinese way was simpler, using number characters with one central character meaning “Month” so “Tenth Month” is October and “Fourth Month” April. Jack said he learned it so quickly because “it makes so much sense” and I quote.

• • •

Joel used to come to me multiple times a day, an hour actually, and say while reading his independent books for history and/or science: “Mom, what this word mean?” While I don’t mind answering, sometimes I am busy with someone or something else. Now he is utilizing his Merriam Webster’s dictionary app, which was free (can’t find the link?), to look up 5 words minimum each time he reads his independent books. More often, he looks up more though. 🙂

He writes them down in his language notebooks, and I also encouraged him to listen to the audio version as well for pronunciation and an example sentence.

• • •

Making home movies and editing them. 🙂

Seriously, they are using the Voice Control app, which is built in, for recording themselves talking especially their speech homework. Their SLT said this is GREAT FEEDBACK for them and a very useful tool in their speech improvement arsenal.

• • •

The GeoBoard is tons of fun! We have a basic plastic one, and now it is seeing more use as well since we downloaded this free app. Look at what she made!

I gave her the direction to make an octagon. 🙂

I need to make dinner, but those are just a few ways we are incorporating these into our school days! Oh and one last way is the older two boys, with iPods as one didn’t want one, are using them for oral narration to me. The beauty of this is they can share it later with Daddy too, and one of them says he is going to save it and listen to himself 6 months from now for improvement in his speech. I’m impressed!