Mar 31, 2016

The Supper Club: Apps All About Me!

Tablets and Smartphones have some interesting possibilities because of their camera and microphone capabilities.  Here are some fun apps that use those tools to great effect!

Chomp by Fox & Sheep ($2.99, iOS only) *I LOVE this one!!*

Hair Salon Me by Toca Boca ($2.99, iOS & Android) *This one is pretty awesome too!*

Friendstrip Kids Pro by PhotoInPress (Freemium, iOS)

Telestory by Launchpad Toys (FREE, iOS only)

Chatterpix Kids by Duck Duck Moose (FREE, iOS only) (YAKIT Kids is similar, iOS & Windows)

Storybots Starring You Books (iPad only, freemium with a subscription service model)
 
Toontastic by Launchpad Toys  (FREE, iOS only) (this app includes the option to make your own character using the device camera to take pictures)

A story before bed by Jackson Fish Market (Freemium, iOS only)

Today's craft was: 




Mar 24, 2016

WonderWorks: Calculators and "charting" numbers

A kid-friendly technology that's actually electronic!

Today's Topic: Calculators
Supplies:
enough calculators for each participant to have their own (I got mine at the dollar store)
paper with a large grid printed on it
pencils
optional: ask parents to bring in a variety of types of calculators

Book:   

cover art Push button / Aliki

Mar 21, 2016

WonderWorks: Chains and Links

Loop-de-loop is surprisingly tricky engineering....

Today's Topic: Links and Chains
Supplies:
twist-ties
strips of paper
stapler
tape
paper clips

Book:
  cover art Small smaller smallest / Fletcher, Corina

to talk about the relative lengths of the chains we made.  Not the greatest tie-in, but I had problems finding a picture book about chains for 3 & 4 year olds....

Mar 4, 2016

The Supper Club presents: Sick Days & Doctor Play

There have been a lot of illnesses going around this season--what a perfect opportunity to try out a doctor app!

When you’re sick,:
Red in Bed (iOS & Android, 99c)
Even Monsters get Sick (iOS $1.99, Google free, Amazon 99c)
Image Scrimmage (iOS, free)

Going to the doctor?:
Pepi Doctor (Google $1.83, iOS & Amazon $1.99)
Toca Doctor ($2.99, iOS only)
Little Fox Animal Doctor (iOS, $2.99)

Learn more about first aid:
Red Cross app by DADA Company (free, iOS & Google Play)

Healthy Habits!:
Go Nini  (iOS only, free)
Sworkit Kids (iOS & Google Play, free)


This month's craft: cotton swab "x-rays" 

 Granted, these would look a wee bit more realistic if I'd planned ahead and bought white ones instead of these lovely pink swabs I had in my craft stash.....

Mar 2, 2016

Toddler Art Class: Starry Salt Paintings


Shake up your art with a little salt!

Art Project: Starry Salt Paintings
Supplies:
--salt (I used table salt, but you could probably try a variety of different salts to test the different effects if you wanted to....)
--liquid watercolors (I diluted them considerably with water)
--paintbrushes
--watercolor paper (best) or lightweight cardboard sheets
--small containers to hold individual portions of paint

Book:  
cover art Stars / Ray, Mary Lyn
note: while I LOVE this book and it is a great match to the project, it was not a great match for this age group for a large group of kids.  I shared this with my son at this age, but as a bedtime story and one-on-one and it was lovely, but it's a little too poetic and long for this particular purpose.  I'm sure you can find another book about stars to use.  If you find one that you love, leave it in the comments section!