I completely blew my budget this morning by purchasing an iPad Pro 9.7" for DD14. She's into drawing and this seems like a great price for the Pro. Here's a search link that should get you there if you are interested: http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=ipad%20pro Unfortunately, even though they told me before the sale that the unit would be at the store on Christmas Eve, they reneged immediately after the sale. :toetap05: Still, for the price, I'll stick with it. Anyway, this price is lower than what you can buy a refurbished unit for from Apple as long as you are willing to wait until after Christmas to get it. Edit: It seems the availability of ship-to-store is somewhat erratic. As I click back-and-forth on the different memory and color options, I sometimes get different responses from the form.

Apps by Touchpress are on sale including: The Elements The Solar System The Orchestra Barefoot Atlas And their other interactive book apps. Most of these are usually 9.99, on sale for 2.99

Hi there My youngest son is special needs and almost 11. He's finally able to remember most sounds of the alphabet and is interested in reading. Now that we're at lesson 34, he's really struggling. Has anyone found any specific apps that really help with OPGTR? I'm really trying not to panic, but I feel like I'm running out of time with him.

My son has two prized possessions: one is Kitty whom he won on at Circus Circus in Reno, the other is his iPad he saved money For.Ev.Er to purchase himself. This morning he gave me his backpack while he ran back into the house to get something. The iPad was inside because we use it multiple times a day, especially for school. I got distracted, put down the backpack, and less than five minutes later ran over it with the car as we left the house. :driving: Ipad was obliterated. :scared: My super sweet Ds, bless him, gave me a hug and said, "It's okay, Mom," and graciously forgave me while I had a stress meltdown. :willy_nilly: We discussed how even adults need to focus on the task at hand, how distractions can have major consequences, and how we needed to figure out the best way to tell Dh. When I calmed down a bit, we took it to the wonderful gadget fix it show in Big City. For less than half of a new one they can take the guts out and replace both the glass and the case. Seriously! The whole thing will look new in 48 hours. For less than half of a new one. So do not dispair if you completely destroy your tablet! Glass shattered and falling everywhere. Case bent. Won't charge. Yadda Yadda Yadda. All might not be lost. Take it to one of the many fix it shops and try! ETA: If anyone lives near Portland, OR and wants to know the fantastic shop that is fixing said tablet PM me. I am not getting anything from recommending them. They are just wonderful and saving my hinney!

I need an ipad math app that will do something like flash cards for DS, particularly in multiplication. I'd like it to be fun, but also not so fun that he's lost in other areas of the app--they have Rocket Math, but spend more time building and playing with the rockets than doing the math. What have you used successfully?

DD is 6 and finishing first grade. She works especially well with iPhone and iPad apps, which are also important b/c she has a vision impairment and these devices are more accessible for her. Am seeking recommendations on more apps, any area but especially fun reading apps. We already have Starfall, Reading Raven (ok), Eggy Phonics 1-2-3 (she liked but the 2 and 3 versions froze partway and she's been unable to finish them.) Any and all suggestions welcome! ::)

I just discovered this game app for my new tablet (Samsung Galaxy) and I'm in love. It's a beautifully done puzzle type game called The Room. Reminds me of Riven or Myst, only on a smaller scale (it all takes place in one room with a series of boxes). Graphics are lovely and puzzles are fun without being super hard. The story-line is a bit silly. I could definitely do without that part. I guess the developers felt it was necessary, but I don't think so. I don't think I needed it to solve any of the puzzles. I just finished the first game and am doing the (free) Epilogue. I'll probably buy Room 2 when I'm done. Thought I'd let others, who enjoy these types of games, know about it. It is Christmas break after all. :D edited to add: I should mention that it did give me some grief with freezing up my tablet. I just had to reboot. It didn't happen all the time, but enough to be annoying.

We are ordering our first iPad (an iPad 4) later this week. I am excited to have one. Now, though, I need recommendations for cases to protect it from my children! What are your favorite cases? Also, what are apps that you use regularly or ones that you like for your kids? Thanks!

I want to make a schoolwork folder for each of the kids. I am narrowing down our (overwhelming number of) apps, selecting the most educational and age-appropriate for each child. The thing is, there are apps I want in all three of their folders. (And I'm married to this idea now, so this is very frustrating for me. :tongue_smilie:) Does anyone know if you can have multiple buttons for the same app on your iPad? If you can, how do you do this? (Please talk to me like I'm five. :lol:) If you can't, can I put individual PDF files in a kid's folder that automatically open up in Notability without having the Notability app button in his/her folder?

My son is in Level 4. Things are going swimmingly, and he's gaining a lot of confidence and skill in his reading. But the new Barton tile app has sent me over the edge. It is a free app, but you have to buy each level of tiles you want to buy--for $30 each!! And, as with the wooden tiles, they will ONLY sell the tiles for the levels you have bought from them (which for me, is just Level 3.) They act like they are protecting the crown jewels when they are talking about alphabet letter tiles--they did not invent them!! I can't believe that if I were insane enough to want to spend $30 on Level 1 tiles (which correct me if I'm wrong consists of only 5 blank tiles, right????????) that they would actually turn me away. I have already paid through the nose to use this program, and have recommended it to others too. I have tried to suppress my thoughts about it being ridiculously overpriced. I understand that she is running a business and has put a lot of time and money into developing a quality product. But she did not invent letter tiles, nor the O-G method. Level 1 is $250 for 2 weeks worth of lessons! I know she does a lot of speaking engagements for free and is helpful on the phone to many people, and I try to tell myself that it is probably an expensive program to produce. Maybe I am just used to buying things mass produced in China for cheap. But any mother of a child who has cried over reading is in a vulnerable place and when you get to that point where you will pay ANYTHING even if you don't have anything, I'm just left feeling taken advantage of. And also feeling a little stupid for not finding something that would work for less $. Its a quality program, but at the same time it isn't exactly rocket science... OK, rant over. :drool5:

My DH is interested in getting our family an iPad. He says he has read they can be really useful for homeschooling. This is our 2nd year homeschooling and we have an 8 year old, 6 year old & 5 year old. I know about getting Apps for an iPad (I do have an iPhone), but besides using Apps, I am looking for ideas of how an iPad can be useful for schooling/educational purposes. If you own one, how do you utilize it and what do your kids do with it? Also, what are the "must have" apps for the iPad that are helpful for homeschooling? What apps do you find good for educational purposes? How often do you use the iPad? I am trying to figure out it would really be a beneficial tool for our family or just another "toy" or distraction!! :) thanks!

I found a nice little app called Syncspace. It requires IOS 5.0 or later. This app allows everyone on the same WiFi to link a whiteboard page. Everyone is writing on and seeing the same page at once. For example, if one is doing math, each kiddo sees mom write out the problem. Kiddo can then start to solve it on his on IPad while mom watches his progress on her IPad. This, to me, is much nicer than a traditional whiteboard because the view isn't obstructed by a body when someone is writing. Plus, I can walk off and fold clothes a minute while still helping my DD who is in another room.

I haven't been the most ardent supporter of online texts in the past, but I just purchased the Holt McDougal World History: Patterns of Interaction ibook yesterday, and I like it. We were using Bulliet's Earth and It's Peoples for the last three months, but it wasn't working out that well. College/AP history books seem to have a lack of teacher support, no chapter questions, and no tests. While researching, I came across the site http://www.hmheducation.com/history/ibooks.php and decided to try out the sample book. I liked the sample chapter, but I researched teacher support materials first, to make sure I could order the teachers edition, lesson planner, and testing materials on dvd. Then I decided to purchase the whole book. I really like it, but it has one temporary flaw. The update to ios6 on the iPad made the interactive features not work. I made a call to tech support this morning, and they are working on fixing it. The book has short audio lectures, a search function, highlighting and notetaking ability, beautiful pictures, interactive maps, timelines, pictures, and quizzes, and it was only $14.99! If you own an iPad already, this may be a great way to save money on books.

I really, really want an ipad--all for school, of course! I'm convinced this piece of technology is absolutely critical to my children's education :tongue_smilie: So what should I get? And what is the most inexpensive way to get it? Can I use an educator's discount at the apple store? Or by one refurbished? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to shopping for electronic stuff, so please help me out.

I was recently blessed with an iPad and I'm considering doing my planning on it. Right now I'm all paper because our computer is not convenient to the kitchen table where we homeschool. But all the erasing (or the paper and ink if I print it, which I often do) makes me crazy. Favorite apps. Mine are all littles btw, 4 and 5.

Hi! I'm in the market for a thesaurus ipad app. There are a bunch of free ones and some with low costs. Are there any specific ones that your kids actually use?

I'm looking for some type of WhiteBoard app that I can use at the same time as I FaceTime on my iPad2. A couple of friends and I will frequently FaceTime each other to help out the other's kids with math or other subjects but realize if we had a whiteboard application it would really be the icing on the cake. Is anyone familiar with something that would provide this function for us? Reg?????

I need a multiple-timer app for my ipad, to keep track of timed courses or computer time, etc. for multiple students. Anybody have a favorite to share? Thanks!

I am looking for your favorite apps for phonics and reading:001_smile:

Help! I have an iPhone and over Christmas we got an iPad. I did the original setup, and the other day got a message that my free 5GB memory for iCloud backup is almost full. So...I took a look, followed instructions, and deleted back-up from certain apps so it would take less memory. All well and good, right? Wrong! I got the message that it was still almost full. So, I decided to delete the current back-up (the button for doing this was front and center). Done, good, it said I now had 5GB total and 5GB used. But then when I plugged in iPad and went to do back-up, it said NO! can't do as space is almost full. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong, and how to correct? I also took another look at the helpful instructions in the original "your space is almost full" iCloud email, but this just muddied the water further, nothing seemed to apply. If anyone could help I would so much appreciate it! Amy

I'm looking for a good vocabulary program for ipad, preferably good for grade 9 to SAT prep. It MUST include pronunciation, and hopefully it will track what the student has learned and not retest. The app store search gives over 150 options... Anybody on the hive want to save me some digging time and tell me what I really want? Thanks!

We are beginning a study of Greek and Roman mythology. We are reading d'Audelaire's Greek Mythology, but I thought it would be fun to support it with some fun mythology learning/game apps. Can anyone suggest apps for the iPad or iPhone that help with learning and remembering mythology details? Our son is in 5th grade. Thanks!

Please excuse me for cross posting, I haven't had any replies on other thread. We are beginning a study of Greek and Roman mythology. We are reading d'Audelaire's Greek Mythology, but I thought it would be fun to support it with some fun mythology learning/game apps. Can anyone suggest apps for the iPad or iPhone that help with learning and remembering mythology details? Just for fun. Our son is in 5th grade. Thanks!

Can anyone recommend an ipad app for keeping track of assignments? I mainly need the basics: class, date, assignment. I don't need grades and such. It would be nice to have a little room for explanation, and if it syncs to an iphone or itouch that's a bonus. But mainly I want to be able to enter dd's assignments and have her view them by date. I have Homeschool Tracker Plus, but it's overkill for this. Edited to add that it doesn't have to be free; I am happy to pay for a good app, Thanks!

Someone on the General Ed board asked the question,"Has the iPad revolutionized anything (or everything) about your homeschool?" I posted this response which I had been meaning to post on this board for awhile just in case someone might find it helpful. It has become indispensable for my dd (4th grade) who has a reading (and spelling) disability! Her level of independence has increased substantially and has allowed her to work on grade level. It has given me 2 hours of my day back! The best approach I have found to help her is to try to separate the necessary skills required for a task and use the iPad to simplify the task. So for example, if she is working on Vocabulary, I try to eliminate the actual reading and have her rely on her auditory skills which are very strong. If she is working on composition, we try to eliminate having to spell. We isolate spelling and work on that for a minimum of 40 min daily. We also isolate reading. She listens (and reads along) with Story of the World. I don't what we would do without it at this point! Siri is her new best friend. There are other voices in each app, but she has figured out how to get Siri to read everything to her. If she needs help spelling a word, she can speak it and Siri will spell it for her. I am still looking for a dictionary app that works like a Franklin Speller. I import her WWE assignments into Speak It and it will read it to her. She does her narration by dictating it on the Notes app (to help with her spelling) and then copies it. We take a photo of anything on a page that she needs to read (for example the last assignment of every Wordly Wise lesson is a lengthy excerpt which she needs to read) and the Prizmo app will scan it and then read it aloud to her. Wordly Wise also has an audio file to introduce the vocab for each lesson online. I downloaded them all and put them in itunes. She will listen to it multiple times (and read along) in the course of each weekly lesson. Her visual memory is very compromised and she practices spelling high frequency words daily on Spelling City. One of the best purchases we have made (other than the iPad itself) is a membership to Learning Ally. She listens to books read aloud and we are working on building on her reading fluency by having her read while she listens. With the Learning Ally app, we can slow down the speech if she is working on reading fluency or speed it up past normal speech when we are working on auditory skills. Story of the World is available on Learning Ally. So far anything I have wanted is there. She had exhausted all of the options at our local library. This is a much cheaper option over purchasing audio books. We also useAudiobooks. Quizlet has also relieved some of her dependence on me. We also use GoodReader and Dropbox extensively for our pdfs. Eventually, I plan to train her to use it for notetaking and I have looked at AudioNote. I am working on organization skills with her and we put her assignments in the Reminder app. For fun she is enjoying Stack the States. Khan Academy has been great for my jr high and high school students.