Callapidder Days

Despite the title of this post, I technically do not have an iPhone. But I do have an iPod Touch, and the wonderful thing about the iPod Touch is that you can use nearly every iPhone app on it. And I’ve certainly downloaded my share of apps. I have apps related to cooking, reading, productivity, social networking, and just plain fun. In fact, while I’m battling the annoying and miserable virus that has invaded our house, I’ve wasted quite a bit of time playing games on my Touch.

I also have a number of toddler/preschooler apps loaded on my Touch, which come in very handy when I’m out somewhere with L. (3) and we have to stand in line or run a million errands, or if I just want to linger over a bagel & coffee with a friend for a few more minutes. I just hand the iPod over to L. — he knows where to find “his games” and how to play them.

Want to know some of his current favorites?

“The Song Games” from Duck Duck Moose. We have three different “song games” (as L. calls them): Old MacDonald, Wheels on the Bus, and Itsy Bitsy Spider. The apps are simple — kids page through a book-like app while the song is played in the background. On every page, there are pictures that kids can poke, slide, or move, resulting in some giggle-worthy silliness. The illustrations are bright and colorful, the music can be changed to different instruments or languages, and the newest app — Itsy Bitsy Spider — includes a bunch of educational tidbits. I’m guessing L. will outgrow these apps within the next year, but as a 2- and 3-year-old, he’s thoroughly enjoyed them.

Parents iPlay ‘n Learn. This app focuses on teaching kids about four primary things: letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. In addition, kids can choose from three different levels of learning: flashcards (where they simply page through cards, learning about the concepts), quizzes (where kids are asked to find a specific letter, shape, or color from group of four objects, and tracing (where they learn how to actually draw letters, numbers, and shapes). L. is not crazy about the tracing — in part, because his fine motor skills are still developing and he gets easily frustrated when he can’t get it “just right,” and in part because the app sometimes glitches and thinks he already tried to trace when he didn’t yet. However, he loves the flashcards with their cute pictures, and the quizzes where he can strut his stuff, and he appreciates the periodic encouragement the app gives out in between activities (“You’re doing great!” “Right on track!”). I like the fact that it uses lower-case letters. It seems that most toys and games aimed at preschoolers focus on upper-case letters, but ignore the lower-case, so this app provides some nice balance. (Disclosure: Parents magazine sent me a gift card for iTunes so I could receive this app free of charge to try out. L. is so glad they did, since he really likes it.)

FirstWords: Vehicles. Maybe it’s just because my kid is obsessed with letters and words, but the FirstWords series has been a hit with L. In the FirstWords: Vehicles app, kids are shown a picture of a vehicle, a grayed-out word describing the vehicle (i.e., “plane”), and some mixed-up letter tiles. Your child drags the letters on to the grayed-out word (where they click conveniently into place), and once the word is complete, he’ll hear the word spelled out and spoken, and then a sound associated with the vehicle (i.e., a zooming airplane) is played. Seconds later, a new picture, word, and letter tiles arrive on the screen. Nothing too fancy here, but L. will do the words over and over again.

Mail. Okay, this is most definitely not a toddler/preschooler app. It’s the app that controls my e-mail. But L. will open it almost every time he has my iPod, and if I’m not careful, he’ll start deleting my emails and sending gobbledy-gook to my contacts. I’ve learned that I need to turn off the wireless connectivity for my iPod Touch before handing it over to L., if I don’t want him taking over my e-mail account.

Apps that can entertain a certain preschooler or teach him about basic concepts in a fun and engaging way? Definitely works for me. Visit Works-for-Me Wednesday to read other bloggers’ tips this week.

What about you? What iPhone apps do you recommend for the younger set?