At first I thought it was the Wonderbra, which turned me from the cover of National Geographic into a “perky” mom. Then the DVR came along, ensuring that I could watch Oprah in the middle of the night while breastfeeding (explaining a lot about the National Geographic thing). Well now, I am crowning a new champion of the best invention of the last twenty years: the iPhone.
This little invention has saved me so many times, of course when I needed to see the You Tube wedding dance, but more importantly in parenting crisis’s: waiting at the doctor’s office, waking up from a nap super cranky and acting up in church. My only complaint about the thousands and thousands of apps out there is that there seems to be no really fantastic guide for finding the best ones, other than just word of mouth. Well, here are my family’s Top 5 iPhone apps for the preschool bunch.
1. Doodle Buddy: This is our kids’ generation’s version of an Etch-O-Sketch. The screen works as a canvas for paints and stamps that come with their own sound effects: including a baby crying, lips that kiss and a burping smiley face. My youngest calls it “Baby Happy/Baby Sad,” and that name is right on, as it quickly turns her frown upside down. DOWNLOAD APP HERE.
2. Peekaboo Barn: This app is for the toddler crowd and features an animal hiding in a barn. The child is given clues via the noises the animal makes and then a tap at the barn shows which animal is playing peekaboo. The graphics and sounds are adorable, and a 2-year-old can easily operate this game by his or herself. DOWNLOAD APP HERE.
3. Toddler Teasers: Children are given prompts to identify numbers, letters, shapes and other similar tasks in this again easy to operate game. Inexplicably, my older daughter is frightened by the announcer’s voice and applauding children, but my youngest can identify a “crescent,” so I have no complaints. DOWNLOAD APP HERE.
4. First Words: This game has children spelling words by moving letters into their appropriate places in simple three and four letter words. The word is spelled for the children already, so even younger toddlers who don’t know their letters or spelling can place the letters simply by matching. I have to believe, though, that at some point, those letters are going to sink in, and they’ll be able to spell the words even away from the game, by memory. DOWNLOAD APP HERE.
5. Matching Zoo: This is a very fun and easy version of Memory that features zoo animals that make their appropriate sounds when their cards are turned over. I was speechless yesterday when my 2-year-old was able to make eight matches in a minute and a half. I think we all know where she gets her brilliance. DOWNLOAD APP HERE.
The beauty of each of these five apps is that there are free versions of each game available in the iTunes store. Mama may be brilliant, but she’s also thrifty.
Chime in in the Comments’ Section with your favorite apps for kids!
Comments
Erich
November 28th, 2009 - 7:01:35 AM
Try TowerSmash! Most of the supposedly kid-friendly apps still have little buttons sprinkled around that are too easy for kids to accidentally touch, and they bring up alerts or end the game or clear the screen or what not. TowerSmash is simply a simulation of a favorite kid toy - wooden blocks. You tap to stack them up and tap to throw balls to knock them down, and that's it! Simple, educational, and toddlers love it! Even 6 and 8 years olds fight to play it :-) http://brattonbrothers.com/towersmash/