Bag It

Bag It:  Fun Challenge / Puzzle app where you are the bagger who needs to place all the items in the bag without breaking it.  To add challenge, you will also want to make sure you don't break the eggs or crush the bread.

Lux Touch

Do you like RISK?  If so, you'll like to play Lux Touch.  It is a quick action game that brings RISK play to the iPad.  You don't have wait very long for your turn either.  At the start of the action, you place your troops and can battle other armies.  Just be sure you don't over extend your forces.  Action is fast paced and you can finish a game in just a few minutes.  Check it out! - Mr. Schmidt

Multi-Tasking and Prioritizing Challenges

Multi-tasking apps, as I call them, are those that require you to control a variety of items or events at the same time.  For students, each app helps them understand that they need to prioritize tasks in order to successfully complete each challenge.  My daughter who is 6 also learned a valuable lesson as she said, "Mom, now I know what you mean.  It's just like diner dash.  I can't help all of the people at the same time."  This lesson for her has been very helpful for me.  "Remember when you play the waitress game?  I can only help one of you at a time."  :)   I will say that younger kids don't always do well in this game because they so they don't care if the cars crash or if the people get mad.  This is a good time to talk to kids about how they react when their mom or dad isn't able to help them right away.  It is a test in patience and the life skill of serving others.

Airport Madness Challenge (AMC):  As the person who has to direct planes in and out of the airport, things can get stressful making sure planes don't crash.

Traffic Rush:  When the app first came out, it ranked high in the app store.  Today it is still a favorite as 2,190 people have ranked the game for an average rating of 4.5 stars.  Your challenge is to direct the traffic by changing the speed of the cars traveling through the intersection so they don't crash into one another.  An addition to the original game is Railway.  Same concept except that you get to direct trains.  Railway also allows you to get extra points by tapping on the bushes and catching the gophers.

Dinner Dash is one of many games require you to "dash" in order to get all tasks done in time.  As mentioned above, I like these apps because it gives kids some idea of what the real work world is like.  In this game, you are a waitress trying to sit your customers, take their orders, bring out the food, and clean the tables all while working to keep the customers happy.  Other apps like this one include: wedding dash, spongebob diner dash, cooking dash, and hotel dash.  A younger version of this is Dr. Panda as you need to serve animals that come into the hospital

Top App of the Season: Pottery

Let's Create Pottery: While most of the students have played pottery prior to being in this class, as soon as the word is said, there are cheers in the room.  Kids and adults of all ages enjoy creating their own pottery design for it to be sold at an auction.  Students particularly like to compete on the amount of money they receive from each design or the originality of their pot.  The paid version is rather expensive at $4.99 but the lite version has many features, patterns, and colors to keep the game interesting.  After being a favorite for the past several years, I finally spent the money to unlock all features.

Popular Music Apps

Soundrop:  Create Mesmerizing Musical Patterns by drawing lines.  While this app is very simple, it is addicting and one that students come back to often.

Falling Stars:  A step up from Soundrop, this app allows you to draw different lines to create different beats and sounds.  Another great feature of this app is the ability to save your musical design.  Even though this app has more features, students tend to prefer soundrop.  I am guessing it is because of the hypnotic movement of the balls in soundrop.   Both are great!

Smule Magic Piano: Students can earn new songs by successfully following the beat of the song.  While the app is much like guitar hero, Magic Piano can be played by even those with little to no musical background.  The only objective is to match the beats.  Smule also has a Sing, Rap, and Guitar app that are similar but I have not had as much luck with those as I have had with Magic Piano.

App Fav: Spy Mouse

Spy Mouse:  Since introducing this app 3 years ago, students have always found this to be fun and challenging.  In fact, it is one of the first apps played during Free Choice and top download by students on their own devices.  The concept of being a mouse who needs to stay away from the cat is very appealing to any age.  Each level adds new challenges for the mouse, making it difficult to find the cheese without running into the cat.

Challenge Apps Kids Love

One Touch Draw: Try to draw the shape without lifting your finger and by only tracing each line once.  Kids find each puzzle a fun challenge and rewarding as they continue to move up levels.  This app is always a favorite and not one many have tried before.