I have an iPhone. And I have kids. So it goes without saying that the kids play on the iPhone. In the beginning, the kids played with whatever apps I had. Since I’m not quite tech savvy, they were playing with the phone app, the photos app and text messages. I spent the first month looking for lost photos and getting calls from random people about voicemails my kids had left for them. Finally I wised up, admitted that the kids would be playing on my phone, and looked into apps that were made for kids. In the two years that I’ve had my iPhone, I’ve downloaded many kid-friendly apps. Some were good, some were bad and some were great. We’ve since settled on a few favorites and it is those that I am going to recommend.
A favorite app is the Disney Puzzle Book apps. We currently own the Winnie the Pooh Puzzle Book and the Finding Nemo: My Puzzle Book. They do cost a few dollars but the best part of these apps is that they keep my kids entertained. The apps follow stories kids are familiar with but adds activities along the way. In both Winnie the Pooh and Nemo kids get puzzles to do and search for special objects throughout the stories. The apps include music, sound effects and the ability to record your own voice to narrate the story. I highly recommend these Puzzle Books apps for keeping kids busy.
Another favorite book app for the iPhone is the StoryChimes series. The books are not interactive like the Disney Puzzle books, but the stories are classics and keep my kids interested. I only download the free versions offered by StoryChimes, so I can’t comment on the paid versions. But the free apps offer fun stories and good narration. My kids listen to them over and over.
An app we like for letter recognition is the FirstWords: Sampler app. Again, I have only downloaded the free version rather than paying $1.99 or more for word variety, but this app is great for younger kids starting to learn their letters. The goal is to put the letters in the correct spots to spell the word. My daughter loves that something special happens each time the letters are put in their correct spots.
Highlights offers a great app that kids who are familiar with their magazine will enjoy. Their Hidden Pictures app can be trickier than the magazine version but it’s great at keeping kids busy. And each time an object is found, it gets colored in.
Doodle Buddy is the best app I’ve found so far for coloring and drawing. The app is free and offers many choices in colors, stamps, backgrounds and effects. Older kids can even use the text box to write words into their pictures.
Admittedly, not all of our favorite apps are educational. Our favorite games are Cut the Rope and Angry Birds. Both of these apps cost money and all would keep my son entertained for as long as we would let him play. You could argue for some educational value in each; Cut the Rope works on physics and logic and Angry Birds helps understand physics. But we have these apps solely for entertainment purposes. And these are our favorite apps that do just that.
The iTunes store has a huge variety of apps available for the iPhone. Many are great for young kids. These are the apps that we have downloaded, used and recommend.