Little man loves to play on the iPad! We try to not to let him play on it every day. We save it for when we need it: out to eat, long car trips, Dr's office... basically, whenever we are out of options and need 20 minutes of silence!
Finding apps that little man likes is a bit of a challenge. I often download about ten (free) apps just to find one that he really likes. So I thought I would share with you the ones we LOVE. The ones he goes back to time and time again.
This has been his favorite app since he was about 6 months olds. The app is free but you can buy songs/stories within the app. (They have several free songs/stories and often run 30% off specials, etc.) We have purchased about $20 worth of songs and books-- he likes them so much and I can honestly say, "It has been money well spent!"
The songs are nursery rhymes, lullabys, phonics songs,etc. that have cute animation set to the tune. Their stories are also musical and sing-songy.
Specifically, little man's favorites songs are Rock-a-by Baby and Feliz-Navidad. For a long tine it was Twinkle Twinkle, but we have since moved on! His favorite story is "The Happy Prince" which is a nice change from "The Giant Turnip" which we have heard at least 500 times!
We started out with the lite version of this app and went on to purchase the full version. The app has a dirty kid that needs his hair combed, teeth brushed, nose blown and hands washed. It took little man a little bit of time to conquer all of the steps but now he is a pro. Also in the free version, you can do the laundry (dirty clothes in, add soap, press start, put them on the clothes line).
This app is completely free. It's a goofy little monkey that hides his face and when you touch his belly he shouts peekaboo. Little man thinks this is hilarious. The monkey also hides behind plants and in the trees. Little man has almost outgrown this app. He gets bored with it pretty quickly now.
We call this app "his puzzles." This is another app that we started with the free version and soon upgraded.
The puzzle has the outline of each colored shape and you have to drag each shape to its correct location. This is one we are still working on mastering. Some of the shapes, particularly the different shaped triangles, are still pretty challenging!
This app is completely free. You can start with a pre-made tower or build one yourself. Then you use your finger to knock over the blocks. Then you can build them back up, knock them back down. Pretty simple!
This a free app that has full episodes, short clips and songs from PBS cartoons. It works by streaming the video so unlike the others, this app needs to be connected to the Internet. Little man's favorite show to watch on this is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. He also likes The Dinosaur Train (as you already know, we can't get enough dinosaurs). He really likes being able to scroll through the shows and select the clips himself.
And, I can't list our favorite apps without mentioning one that I absolutely dread: Yo Gabba Gabba videos. The songs are so catchy, they stick in your head for days. YGG is a carton on Nick Jr with large, goofy creatures that sing and dance. We have bought several episodes from iTunes and little man watches the videos on the iPad. I think they are $2-3 per episode or you can buy them in groups for less. It is nice that they are downloaded onto your iPad and you don't have to be connected to the internet in order to watch them.
So, there you have it! I am sure the grandmas are already loading up on all of the above! :) Have a good Monday!!
