If one asks what iPhone apps will amuse and please a three-year-old child, the answer may be that the added benefits of the iPhone is that kids find it absolutely hypnotizing.
It is worth noting here that there are 1,360 apps tagged for children in the iTunes app store, with thousands of ratings and user comments. To sort through the maze of offerings, below are a just few of the most cited:
- Wheels on the Bus (US$.99) is an electronic popup book, where you drive the action by touching, swipe and tapping their way through the familiar preschool song. Ages 2-5.
- Scoops (US$.99) lets you tilt your screen left or right to sort falling scoops of ice cream. You can make patterns with same-colored scoops, while dodging the veggies. Ages 3-up.
- iWriteWords (US$.99) turns the letters of the alphabet into dot-to-dot puzzles. Ages 4-5. A more limited lite version is free.
- Scribble (US$.99), is one of many drawing apps that turn the screen into a tiny easel. You can also import pictures from your photo library to put a mustache on Grandma. A quick shake erases the photos. Ages 3-up. Older kids love Crayon Physics Deluxe ($4.99 from Hudson, for 9-up) which turns scribbles into moving puzzles.
- Tappy Tunes (US$1.99) plays back familiar songs to a beat determined by your child’s finger taps. The free lite version contains a limited selection of songs.
- Oregon Trail US($4.99) is a cartoonish but effective small screen re-make of the 1980’s classic educational simulation. The funny thing is that it was created in France. Ages 10-up.
- Bookworm (US$4.99) is a well designed, ad-free word game that can make spelling fun. There’s also Hasbro’s Scrabble, also $4.99.
Another Kids app to check out is iStoryTime.. its a library of narrated/illustrated kids books. 6+ books so far, $1.99. its a kids book, but with the convenience of your phone. In the app store http:/www.istorytimeapp.com/appstore
My company produces a grade specific series of educational games called Meghan’s Memory Games. These games are classic style memory games aimed at teaching the reading and spelling of the most common words a child will come across in their daily reading.
You can learn more about Meghan’s Memory Game at our product page located at http://www.ratcatsoftware.com/mmg
I highly recommend “ABC Animals - Talking Alphabet Cards for Kids”. I’ve only had it for a few days, but I love it, and more importantly, my 2-year old son loves it! The animations/pictures are active, fun, and most of all, ENGAGING for my kid. Here’s a link to the AppStore:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=323265340&mt=8