A is for App

My aunt posted a question on Facebook asking for some suggestions for good iPad apps for a toddler. I responded with a few I liked, but I thought it might be fun to do a blog post about some of our favorite apps.

To start off with, I think it is incredibly important to note that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends NO screen time before the age of 2. While we didn't strictly follow that, we have tried to make sure that Drew, even still, has limited and monitored screen time; this includes iPad, TV, and computer. As "educational" as any app, game, or TV program may be, it should NEVER replace human interaction and the learning that comes from genuine exploration and discovery. Also, apparently children as young as 4 are being treated for iPad addiction in the UK. Scary!

That being said, I do believe there can be a time and a place for electronic devices. That time and place being the doctor's office waiting room. ;P Seriously, though, even at home there are times that it comes in handy to have a thirty minute distraction. I would rather that Drew be more of an active participant rather than a passive observer, so I tend to prefer iPad over TV. So, for that, here is a list of some of our favorite apps.

The list includes both free and paid apps, though in pretty much all applicable cases we paid to upgrade any of these apps from the free to full versions. As a Christmas gift this past year my parents bought Drew an iTunes gift card because I had complained that we already have way too many toys. So we've happily used it to upgrade our favorite apps as well as purchase a few we had heard were good.

For babies:
I really don't like the idea of babies on iPads, but sometimes a quick thirty second distraction during a diaper change can be a mood-saver for all. I like...

Animals & Tool Flashcards by BabyKidZone [Free with purchasable add-ons]
This is not a well-designed app, and has purchasable add-ons that are irritating, but James just loves it. Proof:



One nice feature is that there are several language options. Drew is really enjoying learning the animals in Spanish right now.

Laugh & Learn by Fisher-Price [Free]
This app features two "levels". In one shapes dance around and respond to baby's touch. In the other, baby can play a piano and the shapes occasionally take to the stage to sing and dance. Again, great for a quick meltdown-preventing distraction!

For toddlers:

Storia from Scholastic [free]
This is a Scholastic app that is similar to Kindle but with picture books for kids. Children can either read a book and flip pages themselves, or the story can be read to them (perfect for Drew right now). There are some free books, but most books do have to be purchased.

Stella and Sam by ZincRoe Games [$1.99/story or $4.99 for all 5].
These are really cute interactive stories. Very wholesome, cute, imaginative kids in a story with fun "games" that go along with the story, like coloring, finding hidden treasures among leaves or buried in snow. I LOVE Stella and Sam.

Bitsboard by Grasshopper Apps [$2.99, possibly free]
This one is kind of hard to explain, and took forever to figure out how to really use the customizable features that make it worthwhile, but it basically has "boards" that contain flash cards. The boards that are included are Emotions, Exotic Animals, Famous Places, First Sentences, Learn English, Learn German, and Learn Spanish. The child can choose to play different games with the flashcards, including matching the words with the picture, hearing the word and touching the correct picture, dragging the letters into place to spell the word, and several more. With these features alone the app is kind of bland, but my favorite feature is that you can create your own board and flash cards, so I created a "Family" board. I had wanted to create a Snapfish book with the boys' family members since most live far away and I wanted them to see and recognize their faces, but it is so hard to gather appropriate, high-quality pictures for something like that. For this I simply had Drew help me select pictures from Facebook which I saved to the iPad, then uploaded into the app. I also had Drew read and record each name out loud (each flash card features a word, picture, and a recording of the word). I've been impressed at Drew's ability to match the words and pictures using the initial sounds of words (he'll see a picture of James and say "juh... juh...." then tap on the word "James"). The fact that it is so customizable leaves it open for so many uses. Here is a video (sorry that it's hard to hear the words):



MusicSparkles by TabTale [Free with purchasable add-ons]
This app features instruments that a child can play. The free app comes with a xylophone and drums, but you can add additional instruments for (if I remember correctly) $0.99 a piece, or $2.99 for all. Additional instruments include saxophone, harp, keyboard, recorder, guitar, electric guitar, accordion, pan flute (had to look that one up), organ, piano, and violin. It's fun for a child who is interested in music.

Montesorri Counting Board by Grasshopper Apps [Free]
I don't know why Drew loved this, but he did. All you do is drag blocks and the app counts 1-10 as you drop the blocks at the bottom of the screen. Drew would "count" blocks repeatedly.

Avoid: TabTale apps. They offer a LOT of free childrens' apps, but we've found them to be disappointing. First off, they are free, but most of the features are "locked" and have to be purchased, so the child is frequently prompted to buy new features. Drew didn't even know/care that the stuff could be purchased; what was frustrating for him was that his game would get stuck in an "enter a password" screen and he would constantly have to get help. I also find many of the TabTale apps to have very little educational value. Drew has enjoyed some of the song apps they offer (ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider), but overall they're a pain and incredibly annoying (very repetitive and with irritating sound effects and animations). With the exception of MusicSparkles above.

Preschool apps:

Endless Alphabet by Originator, Inc. [$3.99]
Children learn new words by hearing the word, spelling the word (with animated letters that say their sound), then seeing and hearing a definition of the word. Great for letter recognition, spelling, learning letter sounds, and building vocabulary! The video is the best way to explain it:



]It frequently updates with new words, so it really is "endless".

Letter Quiz by Tantrum Apps [Free gives you letters A-G, $1.99 to add the rest of the alphabet]
Has four games: children can see flashcards of upper and lowercase letters, match upper with their lowercase letter, tap the correct letter that is called out, or trace a letter. Great alphabet practice. [I just discovered that there's a number version that we'll probably check out]

PBS Kids Super Why by Out of the Blue [$3.99]
Drew loves this TV show which emphasizes the importance (and joy!) of reading. Children can trace letters, search for words that start with a certain letter, do dot-to-dots (A-Z, of course), and spell words. Great for kids who already love the show!





Drew's FAVORITE app right now is one called "Build A Train" by PlayTend. Not very exciting to me. Not very educational. But he loves trains and it allows him to build trains of all different shapes and sizes and then he can run them on different tracks. Fun for a little imagination and creativity.

In general we really like Grasshopper Apps (Little Puzzles and Little Speller are great ones too that I didn't list). They are all very customizable, which is great. If you go to the website and click the "Free the Apps" tab you can sign up for emails. Every once in a while they'll make one of their apps completely free (full version and everything) and they'll send out an email letting you know. That's how we got Bitsboard. No catch (no ads or in-app purchases), they just politely ask that you please rate the app and leave feedback for others.

If you have any apps you would suggest, I would love to hear it! Drew still has some money he can use towards new games. I notice we don't have a lot of number/counting apps listed here...

Oh! The case! It's called the iGuy. Also a gift from my parents. It is nice and protective for being carried around (read: dropped frequently) in little ones' hands. Yes, the whole family uses the iPad with this fun case. :)