Look Look

photo credit: http://www.mindware.com

Today’s post is a bit frivolous, but sometimes that can be good, too!  I wanted to share with you a game that my students, K-5, have given enthusiastic thumbs up to during the last couple of weeks.  “Look Look” is a game from Mindware that is for 2-6 players.  If your students like “I Spy” or similar activities, then they will enjoy this.  It is a bit more challenging, and sometimes requires basic addition and subtraction skills.  Personally, as someone who has no visual/spatial skills, I find this game difficult sometimes.  But I’ve noticed that my perception skills have improved as I have played it more.

“Look Look” is a good game for those last couple of weeks before summer vacation as a reward, for indoor recess, or to use in a center to work on basic math facts (by taking out the other cards, you can target those skills.)  You could even have higher level students make some multiplication cards, or invent some other fun ways to use the game.

Sketch Nation Studio

I should probably preface this post by admitting that I have absolutely no artistic talent whatsoever.  If I did, my creations on Sketch Nation Studio would be much more entertaining – and I might have included some screenshots on this post.  As it is, though, I am pretty certain you will be much more impressed by the actual iTunes photos.

Sketch Nation Studio is a free app for iDevices that allows the user to create a simple app out of his or her own sketches.  You do not have to know any programming mumbo jumbo or submit your game for approval.  You follow the extremely user-friendly steps and, voila!

Your drawings can be created in the app itself, or you can draw them on paper and upload them to the app.  This is where I think the creativity (and superior artistic talent) of my students will shine.  You can find ways, I’m sure, of integrating curriculum with this app.  But the true value is in the joy of creating and seeing a usable finished product.

Windosill

Windosill is an app for the iPad for $2.99.  A free version is also available online.  I have to admit, though, that I am glad I purchased the app.

It is difficult to describe this mysterious, whimsical game, so I will quote the iTunes summary, “Explore a dream-like world of eleven beautifully-constructed environments in this iPad adaptation of the classic desktop adventure. Equal parts puzzle game, playful toy, and living picture-book, Windosill rewards playful investigation with mysterious and beautiful surprises.”

My nine year old daughter saw me trying to solve a level, and soon we were both deeply engrossed in finding the solution.  We completed the game together, and then she wanted to start it over again from the beginning.  Her perseverance in trying to puzzle out each level was admirable.

Vectorpark, the company responsible for this game, also has other iOS apps, which you can view here.