When I was back home in Cincinnati visiting the family over the 4th of July weekend, my sister in law lamented that she wished she knew more good apps for her 2 year old and 10 year old (my niece and nephew, of course). She has some favorites, of course, but just wished she had more. So, I put out a request to folks through my facebook page, and asked friends what their kids’ favorites were.
Carrie and I felt it our duty (strictly for professional reasons and in the interest of providing you with knowledgeable recommendations) to try these out, and oh boy, the giggles that ensued!! Professional, informed giggles, that is. 🙂
The best thing about trying these out is that I used one on a recent family session. There is one little girl who, despite me having photographed her many times, never really opened up to me. Her mom is one of the people who told me her favorite apps. So, without looking at the little girl, I sat on the floor and started playing one of her favorite apps. Over about 5 minutes, I went from playing it in my hand to playing it on the floor at arm’s length, and she went from hiding behind mom’s legs in the corner of the room to sitting next to me, playing along, and really interacting with me!
So, here are the apps I was told about (note: all the links here are to the itunes store’s listing of the app):
Educational games:
- Monkey Preschool Lunchbox: Learn and have fun by helping monkeys pack lunch! Monkey Preschool Lunchbox is a collection of six exciting educational games for your preschooler (ages 2 to 5)
- Peekaboo Wild: An app for learning the names of animals
- Lingu-Pingu– Language learning app for preschoolers.
- The First Words games (animals, vehicles, at home, etc.), geared to helping your little one learn to spell.
- Matching Zoo: a fun matching game that makes all kinds of funny animal sounds (the turtle says “Hello!”). I have been playing this one for weeks!
Fun Games:
- Two of the puzzle games that my 10 year old nephew really likes are The World of Goo and Cut the Rope. And of course, there’s Angry Birds!
- Then there are these two apps that repeat what you say in a silly voice, Talking Carl and Talking Tom Cat.This suggestion came in from a couple of different folks who said their kids couldn’t get enough of them, and the Talking Tom Cat one gives you the option of petting a cat and making it purr! 🙂
- Another one that my nephew likes (and that my wife can’t get enough of) is Doodlejump.
- Lastly, there is Dropophone, an app that helps you make songs that sound like drips and drops falling on a tiny orchestra of instruments. It’s based on Lullatone’s album “Little Songs About Raindrops.” This is one I don’t think I would get tired of. The melodies you make are very pleasant, and even somewhat calming.
If you don’t want to get any of these apps, one mom reminded me that her daughter’s all time favorite thing to do on the iPhone is to look at all the photos mom and dad took of her on the camera roll!
