A couple of weeks ago on a sunny morning I popped down to London for the day to meet up with some of my lovely friends at Microsoft to spend some time at the Microsoft Apartment and to get hands-on with a few of their gadgets for the summer.
Microsoft know families and they have a plethora of tools to entertain, teach and engage our children, whether it be on long journeys or the inevitable rainy days we shall be getting during the long summer holidays.
The Best Holiday and Back to School Apps from Microsoft
Kids Song Machine
FREE on Windows and Windows Phone
A fun musical app that is both stimulating and educational; it’s guaranteed to keep your children entertained for hours. Simply turn the wheel and a favourite nursery rhyme song will play for your little one to join in with. The lyrics of the song will also appear to enable your children to sing along too.
DK Print your own T. Rex
FREE on Windows
Children can take their first steps to becoming a palaeontologist by visiting an excavation site to hammer, pick and brush away the rocks that hide the fossilised remains of a T.Rex. They can build their dinosaur by piecing together the bones they’ve found; which upon completion unlocks a detailed 3D model of the skeleton that can be viewed from every angle. The model can then be sent to a 3D printer at home or at a print bureau, so they have their very own fully-fleshed T.rex. Your children can also explore the world the Tyrannosaurus Rex to find out what they eat, where they live and other fun facts.
Movie Moments
FREE on Windows on Windows Phone
Turn any video over the summer holiday into a memorable moment that you’ll love to share. You can pick your favourite section from the 60 seconds you’ve recorded. You can also trim from the beginning, middle or end and highlight your favourite moments with fun, colourful captions in a range of styles. Add music that matches the moment too and when your video is exactly how you want it, your children can share it with family and friends straight from the app with a quick swipe of the finger.
Music Maker Jam
FREE on Windows
Make your own amazing tracks with a swipe of your finger. Simply start the app, choose three free music styles and start combining sounds to make your own songs. Choose from a wide range of professionally produced loops and arrange them any way you want on up to eight tracks. Change the tempo, adjust the pitch and mix your songs using cool real-time effects. Ready for a remix? Just shake your tablet to reorder the tracks and create a unique version of your.
Or how about these great Back to School Apps . . .
Read with Biff, Chip and Kipper: Library
FREE on Windows
Download this Biff, Chip and Kipper app to build and buy your collection of interactive books to help your child develop in their reading. You can read along or listen as each page is read to you. If your child is struggling to say a word, they can get the exact pronunciation of each word by tapping a word on the page.
First Puzzles Lite: Animal Kingdom
FREE on Windows
Your little ones can enjoy over 30 cartoon puzzles and three different difficulty levels per puzzle too.
The app aims to improve their visual perception and develop fine motor skills.
Also, kids will receive star reward, when they have completed the puzzle.
Ladybird: I’m ready for Spelling
£1.99 on Windows
£2.99 on Windows Phone
I’m ready for spelling is a great learning game for children to learn how to spell through a series of interactive levels. Make learning an adventure with LP+ Safari, an exciting new early year’s app from Learning Possibilities. You can write, work, paint, listen to Music and Video and view Pictures from your device.
Star Chart
FREE on Windows
£0.79 on Windows Phone
Curious about that bright star? Simply point your device at the sky and discover a virtual universe that you can carry around with you. Using GPS technology and an accurate 3D universe, Sky Chart calculates the current location of every star and planet visible from Earth. Tap to get facts on what you are looking at and look around the sky using fingers, accurately depicting over 5000 stars.
FREE on Windows and Windows Phone
My Study Life is a planner for students, teachers and lecturers designed to make your study life easier by storing your classes, tasks (assignments, homework, revision) and exams in the cloud making your study life available wherever you are.
CoolStreet
FREE on Windows
For older kids and your budding entrepreneurs, CoolStreet is designed to teach basic principles of micro-economics by providing students in an immersive and fun environment. CoolStreet is a cloud-based micro-economic simulation game in which players own competing pizza shops on ‘CoolStreet. ’ Pizza shop owners contend for business against each other.