THINKING GAMES
I loved to have my students work on thinking games like these as a small or whole group activity when there were a few minutes to sponge up or as a brain break. They provide a great break in the learning action and can help promote the community spirit of the classroom.
Contre Jour
Combines physics-based puzzles with beautiful graphics and music. This is a very calming game that stimulates thinking skills. The free version has limited levels but might be all you need for primary students.
Trainyard EX
In Trainyard EX students will draw paths for trains avoiding obstacles and ultimately leading their train to its destination. In the paid version they can also create their own puzzles.
Words With Friends
Students can play against each other by taking turns with the iPad across distances each with their own iPad. Great to build vocabulary and consulting a dictionary app will be a must for students who are able.
Montessori Pink Tower
The Pink Tower was developed as an activity to help children with visual discrimination of dimensions, a Montessori preparation for math. There are twelve exercises for the child to work with. Each requires them to identify the next cube in sequence to complete the desired pattern. As the cubes are chosen they will automatically move into position.
Where's My Water?
Where’s My Water? is a challenging physics-based puzzler. To be successful, you need to be clever and keep an eye out for algae, toxic ooze, triggers, and traps.