I just tried this app for the first time and it is terrific! I'm playing it with all three of my kids later today. In You're the Storyteller, the child watches an animated sequence and, while they're watching, records or writes their own story!
There are no words in the story so the children have to be creative, or in the case of my special needs son, practice reading body language and facial expressions and communicating what he sees. I am VERY excited about using this app as I don't know of any other like it.
If you would like to download You’re the Storyteller: The Surprise! (iPad, FREE one day only) please support Smart Apps for Kids by using this link button:
** Only the app's developer can control when an app is free or not. All apps that we post as Good Free Apps of the Day are verified to be free at the time of this post. We make no guarantees otherwise. **
From iTunes:
You’re the storyteller! In this beautifully animated, wordless story, the child watches each scene and can then record and/or write their very own narration! This is the HOME version. It is for a single user only.
In this delightful story, a boy brings home a stray dog and attempts to hide it from his mother. Using body language, facial expressions, and carefully selected sound effects, the story unfolds and we find out why this story is called “The Surprise!”
There are eight chapters in this story. Each chapter’s animation clips runs an average of 15 seconds, allowing the child to describe and retell the story in small increments. The user may replay the entire narrated story from beginning to end via the Table of Contents. You can also watch the original story with or without music accompaniment, email your story including the voice file, or print it out!
There are “Challenge Words” provided for each chapter. These are optional and for more advanced language learners who want to try and put them into their narration. The “Questions” bone provides three questions for each chapter. Answers and suggestions for both of these are available in the Information page.
This is the HOME version. Only one user’s voice file and one written narration is kept in the program. When a new recording or writing is provided, it erases whatever was previously recorded or written. (The Professional Version keeps the voice/narration files for up to 30 users)
Aside from being just plain FUN, this app lends itself well to a host of educational and therapeutic possibilities: practice with articulation, fluency, syntax development, social cognitive skills including perspective-taking and body language/facial expression interpretation, and much more!
Developed by noted speech-language pathologist and author of Childhood Speech, Language & Listening Problems: What Every Parent Should Know, Patti Hamaguchi, M.A., CCC-SLP.
To find out more about this app and our other upcoming projects, visit our website: www.hamaguchiapps.com
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Every day we pick what we affectionately call the Good Free App of the Day, an app that we have downloaded, tested and certified: It can't have a ton of ads or just a little content with a ton of in-app purchases.
It also has to be good.
We then present them to you to read, download, and share and, based on which ones got the most hits, here are your Top 100 Favorite Free Apps!
We've done our best to only include apps that are permanently free, but sometimes developers do change their minds so please leave a comment if you find an app that's no longer free.
Enjoy!
(** indicates that the app contains in-app purchases or is very closely tied to a purchase)
1) Educreations Interactive Whiteboard (students/teachers can make whiteboard videos)
2) LEGO App 4+ (build a vehicle and then use it in activities)
3) ** Toddler/Preschool Flash Cards (warning! now has ads!)
5) Open Wide Snap (we rated five stars, pictured)
6) National Geographic Explorer
8) The Lorax
10) ** Storylines for Schools
11) Play 123
12) Hide Run Growl (we rated five stars)
13) Disney's Where's My Water - free (pictured)
14) Little Stars - Toddler Games (letters, numbers, shapes, colors, words)
15) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally Appisode
16) ** Playful Minds: Math (5-8 years old)
17) ** Build a Word Express
18) Rover (flash-enabled web browser for kids)
19) Lego Star Wars - Battle Orders
21) NASA App HD (pictured)
22) Disney's Jake's Never Land Pirate School
23) Scholastic's Sushi Monster
24) Khan Academy (educations videos for adults and older children)
25) ** Draw Something (Pictionary online! Older kids/adults only)
26) I Can Write 2 (make sentences about images)
27) Super Duper's Using I and Me
28) Little Writer - Tracing Letters, Numbers, Words and Shapes (awesome app)
29) Miss Spider apps (Bedtime Story and Tea Party)
30) PBS Kids Video (all their favorites, U.S. only)
31) ** Thomas & Friends - Engine Activities
32) ** Brain Quest (from the people that make those card thingees)
33) ** Goodnight Safari (baby animals!)
34) Toca Kitchen Monsters (all kids need Toca Boca)
35) ShowMe (virtual whiteboard app, shared education videos)
36) Learning Games for Preschool to Kindergarten
37) ** Scribble Press (make an book!)
38) Rocket Speller
39) ** Toontastic (we rated five stars)
40) Color Uncovered (please don't let your dog drive)
41) ** Puzzingo
42) Little Finder
43) Lego Duplo Jams
44) ** Spy Mouse
45) Touch the Sound
47) Bluster! (McGraw-Hill)
48) ABC Mouse Zoo Sets 1, 2 and 3
49) ** Let's Color (drawings come to life)
50) ** Math Vs. Zombies
51) ** BrainPop Featured Movie (No. 1 on our Editor's Choice list)
53) ** Articulation Station (lite version, only one letter free)
55) ** MeeGenius (six ebooks for free!)
56) ** Alphabet Tracing
57) Kids Learning - Photo Touch Learning Concepts
58) ** Sock Puppets
59) ABA Flash Cards & Games - Emotions
60) ** Monkey Drum
61) 6-in-1 Children's Games (lite version)
62) ** Clockwork Brain (mind-training puzzles for older kids/adults)
64) DialSafe Pro (we gave five stars, kids learn to dial emergency numbers)
67) Sprout's Good Night Star (nighttime routine, brusha! brusha! brusha!)
68) iTunes U (go to college on your iOS device/older kids & adults)
70) Chipper's Rainy Day Adventure
71) Lego Duplo Zoo
72) Rocket Math Free
73) Feel Electric (The Electric Company is back!)
74) Screen Chomp (virtual whiteboard)
76) ** BrainPop Jr. Movie of the Week
77) Kids Learning - My First Numbers Counting Game
78) Tim and Tom
79) Google Earth
80) Super Duper's Let's Name Things
81) Stewie The Duck Learns To Swim
82) ** Booksy (one of our Top Picks)
85) Squiggles (bring scribbles to life)
88) ** Motion Math - Hungry Fish
89) Astrid & Siri (ebook, Vikings who love fashion design?)
90) The Lorax Truffula Shuffle (U.S. only for some reason)
91) How Stuff Works (parents/older kids that have had "the talk" only)
92) ** Jingle All the Way (Hallmark Christmas app)
93) Fisher-Price's Laugh & Learn Animal Sounds
94) Pocket Law Firm (learn the amendments)
95) The Land of Me - Story Time
96) ** JibJab Jr. Books (put the child's face in a book!)
97) IQ Test - Free Edition (older kids and parents only, not a real IQ test)
98) ** Domino's Pizza Hero (U.S. only)
99) Little Stars - Word Wizard
100) Little Bird's Internet Security Adventure (internet safety!)
We've done our best to only include apps that are permanently free, but sometimes developers do change their minds, so please leave a comment if you find an app that's no longer free.
(** indicates that the app contains in-app purchases or is very closely tied to a purchase)
Hi this app looks great and would love it but it won't come up free for me??
love your site and check it every day so know it has just been posted ....but being in Australia the time difference might be a factor???Or is this only free in US??it is most definitely a new posting for us as it is mUch less than a day since I checked.
Have discovered some great apps through this site so guess I don't get disappointed often!
"the surprise....you as the storyteller"
Posted by: Monica Goodall | 08/18/2012 at 04:20 PM
Same as above, got email at 2.30am and no longer free I guess. Oh well win some and lose some :)
Posted by: Nicola | 08/18/2012 at 07:44 PM