I have had an iPhone for a few years and and it has saved many a boring wait.
I find searching for apps on the iPad much harder than the iPhone on the app store, I do know I can search online and via google but it is still a struggle. But I have found some great ones that have been a real hit.
My Playhome – £1.99
I warn you, this is one that you will find yourself playing too, it has been a huge hit here and I also know a 7 year old and 13 year old girl who have happily played with it.
The app is a dolls house on your iPad, it has family members and you can be interactive with them.
You control everything in the rooms, turn the tv on and off, open the fridge and give the children some milk, turn the shower on and use the shampoo to wash their hair. It really is wonderful and pure play, they have recently done an update so it is now available on the iPhone now too.
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox – 69p
First of all, don’t hate me for recommending this as the music and american accent are both fairly hideous! But it is loved here and it is more educational than just another game. There is counting, shape names, colours, matching, spotting the difference, the player gets a sticker to reward them.
abc PocketPhonics: letter sounds & writing + first words – £1.99
This was the app I was so happy to find. I wanted a phonics app but that was with an English accent. there are plenty of ones with American, but that obviously wouldn’t work in teaching us the right sounds. This app is rather clever, it combines teaching the sounds and then it lets them trace the shape of the letter with their finger. A technique that is used at the Montessori nursery with sand letter boards. It allows you to change the writing style, upper and lowercase choices and several other settings you can change to make it suit the age and level of your child. This is a ‘game’ that is chosen and I certainly encourage as a soft way to introduce phonics at home.
Montessori Matching Board – 69p
This is another app that has lots of customisable (it IS a word) settings, allowing you to choose shapes. number, colours and lower and upper case letters to drag and match. It is also a good introduction for how to use the iPad screen. But I’ve not met a child yet who doesn’t get how to use on in less than 5 minutes.
Jelly Bean Count – Free
This is a counting app with a difference, you have to use the right amount of fingers on the screen for the different coloured jelly beans that are shown.
Tozzle – £1.49
This is an iPhone app but is so good and works well on the iPad at the x2 size that I had to mention it. It is a simple idea, drag and drop parts of a puzzle onto the picture, but it really keep the toddlers attention. And there are lots of different pictures to choose from of varying degrees of difficulty.
Toy Story Read-Along – Free
This was the first read along type book I got for the iPad, the graphics are great and you can choose for it to auto-play where it turns the pages itself to tell the first story. You can also record your own version, reading the story to be played back with the pictures and words. It highlights the words ont he ‘pages’ too.
There are also 3 pages that you can paint using your fingers, selecting colours and 2 games. Really good for a free app.
Toca Boca – various prices
A special mention for all the Toca Boca apps too
We have
All have been a real hit and played for a long time each time. If you follow them on Twitter you will find out when their apps are on offer or free.
Disclosure: The iTunes link(s) in this post are via my affiliate link. There is no additional cost to you, but I make a few pennies from your purchase.
