Choo Choo Time! is one of those apps your young child will not be able to put down! Simply a train running through the countryside — it captures attention like no other. Check out the video for the gameplay. This is a fun app for the very young to perhaps 5. Kaylin liked watching the train and clicking on the animals to see what they would say. It captures the attention and is somewhat mesmerizing…
Fun – 5
Attention – 5
Learning – 1
Total = 11
I have had the review of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by OneApp Application Studio for sometime. It was one of those apps that I was sure my 3 year old could like if she had enough time to learn about it — I was right! It took some time, but Kaylin really likes the app and sings along. She still cannot follow the keys when the music is playing, but that just gives her some time to spend with the app in a few months or a year.
This app is also nice to place in the room when your child is going to sleep. Just turn it down and let it play!
I give it a 4 for fun, a 3 for Learning, and a 5 for attention for a total of 12. I think the score could go up if she could actually learn to play the song, but as you can see in the video, she is more concerned with signing and banging on the keys.
Wow. What a neat story and app. Mr. Hat’s Magic Cube provides both a story and a good learning experience for kids of a young age. My 3 year old liked the app and was interested in the story enough to keep playing for quite a while. Learning is a bit light since the “lessons” are pretty short. It is more practicing what you have learned than picking up new skills.
I give it a 3 for learning, 4 for fun and a 5 for attention for a total of 12.
Check out the video of my daughter playing the game:
Check it out here:
Style Studio : Fashion Designer is one of those apps that is educational but not in the sense that your 4th grade teacher might appreciate. This app allows your child to “dress” a character and even design her own clothes. I thought it was pretty cool to watch her design her own jeans in the video after touching the app for only about 20 minutes. We didn’t have an appropriate friend nearby to test out the feature where you can dress a friend, but that looks like something they will have tons of fun with. Is it entertaining? Yes. Girls love this sort of thing — at least my daughter and her friends do.
This is one of the first apps I can think that they will actually collaborate together on. That is pretty neat!
I give it a 5 for attention, 3 for learning and a 5 for fun. That is a pretty fun and entertaining 13 with some non-traditional learning built in. Remember parents — your kids need to learn more than letters and numbers right? Fashion is important to their image and self esteem.
If you liked our review of First Words Animals by Learning Touch, then you will really like First Words Deluxe! It includes the same game play, but with Animals, Shapes, Colors, items in the home, vehicles and all words. I like the last one all words. This keeps my 3 year old going for a long time!
The existing review stands. Great gameplay with the scrabble like interface and the repetition of the letters and words is outstanding! You cannot beat an audible and visual game with an actual tactile movement. This means your kid learns while playing.
In this case I give it an updated 5/5 for attention. The additional categories make this an app that lasts a while! And she keeps coming back to it.
So Attention 5/5, Fun 4/5, Learning 5/5 for a total of 14!
BlueOnionSoft makes a few baby apps. Baby Apps All-In-One is a grouping of four of those apps into one. A great deal at 1.99 at the time of this writing. You can see in the video:
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Your child can learn about animals, numbers, sounds and shapes and then be quizzed on those items. It is fun and rewarding for you and your child. My 3 year old loves the app and probably spends at least 10 minutes at t time on the various activities.
There is a fair amount of learning potential in the app and this alone makes it worth the $1.99
You can check it out in the iTunes store here:
(iTunes Link)
Sound Shaker by Tickle Tap Apps is a fun and appealing app for young kids. On the screen your child can choose an instrument then press the screen to make a sound ball of that instrument. Only one instrument at a time. Adding many balls of sound lets the iPhone have something to work with. The balls drop to the “bottom” and the fun begins. You shake the iPhone to get the balls to make noise!
You can fling the balls and press for a longer period of time to make a slightly different sound too, but the fun is in the flinging and shaking.
Did my 2 1/2 year old like it? Yep. It took a bit longer to get the hang of and the interest wasn’t there as quickly as the other app from Tickle Tap Apps that we have reviewed, but this is still a nice addition to their line.
What does she want next? My 8 year old wanted to record her own voice and also enjoyed the app for a while. It is one of those fun apps that adults and kids can enjoy for a period of time.
Here is how I rank it:
Learning: 2/5
Fun: 5/5
Attention Capture: 3/5
Total: 10/15.
**Updated 11/20/2009**
Here is how I rank it:
Learning: 2/5
Fun: 5/5
Attention Capture: 5/5
Total: 12/15.
I had to update the scores since over the past week my daughter has really grown to love this app. She has discovered that if you hold down on the screen the sounds turn to an egg and hatch a bird. She loves it.
** end update **
Age: 5 and under (as recommended by the publisher: 3-5)
Publisher is: Tickle Tap Apps
iTunes Link is here: Sound Shaker
Video: