"No reading at the breakfast table"

Starting to decorate the grey I've been a bit quiet here because I haven't got anything much to share that can be tied together into something coherent. We've got over the initial hump of the start of the year - starting a new school, getting into the routine of a new timetable for myself, Rowan going away a lot during January and February, kids mostly sorted with their extra curricular mayhem. This week I've felt quite tired.  I woke up this morning and couldn't believe it was only Wednesday - yawn.  So weary.  And a very long term still ahead... Term time is just powering through from week to the next.  At the moment my head is feeling a bit sore as we try to work out how to incorporate the use of iPads into our teaching.  It is interesting and challenging but like all things new, can start to make your head hurt after a while.  I do enjoy pushing myself with using new technology in teaching (certainly doesn't come naturally) and I think it is ...

Ok - so this suggestion is one for grown ups too.  It's the app version of the board game 'Ticket to Ride'.  I've never played the board game so I don't know how it compares.  But I've enjoyed the app.  I've played against my 13yo son (and won, much to his frustration - getting beaten by your mum is so not cool) and you can also play against 5 different characters in the app.  There is another option of playing the online against other real people.  I've not tried that yet - I'm not brave enough! It wasn't cheap at $7.99.  It was a Christmas treat for myself and a great present.

This one is free and is great for those die hard Lego fans.  Creationary is a board game where you use Lego pieces to build an item and the other person has to guess it (like Pictionary with Lego).  The app  builds the item using 'virtual' Lego and you have a short time ( very short it felt like to me) to pick from four options.  The faster you correctly identify the item, the more points you get. It is quite hard - my 7yo found it a little frustrating because you run out of time to guess so quickly.  However, he still liked it, because it gave him ideas on how to build some of the items in the actual Creationary game.  The older kids have enjoyed it more.

And another app we've enjoyed is Dr. Suess Band ($0.99) .  This one is better for younger kids - a three year old might be able to enjoy the easy level.  But my older kids (11 and 13 have enjoyed it too).  I'm quite hopeless  at it, so I've given up! You follow the colours on the screen, tap the colour coded keys and play a tune along to a backing track.  The better you get, the more songs you unlock.

Puppet Pals has been our latest find.  For free you can access a fairytale story where you choose from one of three backdrops and choose from eight characters to add to the story.  From here, all you do is start recording, move the characters around by dragging them on/off/around the backdrop, increasing/decreasing their size and use character voices to tell a story.  You then stop recording, the recording is saved and you can play it back. We have had a ball with this.  We have discovered that we are a family who likes to use silly voices.  We have laughed and laughed at each other's efforts. I think we'll spend the $2.99 to get the director's access - provides a lot of different backdrops and characters.  Apparently you can also add in your own photos and crop them to make them characters. Again - brilliant for developing story-telling skills, imaginations and most importantly, great laughs!

I've been enjoying having time to investigate fun apps on my iPad that I could potentially use with kids for creative writing purposes.  Today's fun came from Comic Book that is very simple to use (let's just say that if I can do it ...) and at $1.99 is worth the money for all the fun we've had. I play a main role in my son's quick attempt at one he did last night.  I'm apparently quite terrifying! And today's fun with lego.  Photos taken on the iPad and then uploaded to the template.