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
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.
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: