"Wing it" Activity No. 4

iPad apps

Goodness me, what a horrible day it's been! None stop rain and a garden that is impassable as its ready for the builders to work their patio magic tomorrow.

Now I imagine that iPad apps for toddlers are a pretty controversial topics. We're quite anti television and screen time for E but she has a natural curiosity for IT, phones and the like and that's only to be expected when she sees her favourite people using them every day. I don't feel it's something I can say no to. And actually, everything in moderation, right? As long as she's done a lot of physical stuff, read real books, experienced some real life, then a little bit of something educational and developmental is ok with me.

So, having been inside all day, we've had some time on the iPad today. Here are my favourite three.

1. Peekaboo Barn

69p, and E seems to like it. We're been learning about farm animals a lot this week,so this app has consolidated some of the names and noises. She likes waiting to see who is in the barn by tapping on it. My only disappointment is that the voice is a bit coochie coo for my liking and not the clearest for learning. It's ok so long as you're nearby to reinforce it!

Available from
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/peekaboo-barn/id300590611?mt=8

2. Balls

Free! Brightly coloured moving lines, hand eye coordination and some gross motor, looks nice and sounds cool and occupies E well. Unlike other apps, the sound won't work on this app if your iPad is on silent... Took mama a while to work that out!

Available from
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/balls/id303046432?mt=8

3. Sound Box

The lite version is free and you can upgrade. This was recommended to me by a friend and is a whole family favourite. Really interactive without it being too complicated, tap for more balls of different pitches and timbres, hold them down and watch them pop into animals, shake and watch them roll around... I find myself playing too. The dog settling drives out two loopy, and my favourite it's the xylophone sound. A great app to have handy!

Available from
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sago-mini-sound-box-fun-sounds/id640709006?mt=8

Other apps we've explored include a selection of keyboards for iPad, several of the Fisherprice free apps,my favourite being the Animal Sounds one, and Maily which allows your child to draw a picture and then email it to parent predefined addresses. Perfect for cheering daddy up at work and allows older ones some independence too!

Hoping for better weather tomorrow!