I am an apple fanatic. I *really* didn't think I "needed" an iPhone. However, once I had it in hand I quickly realized that my life had changed f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Sitting in a doctor's waiting room for twenty minutes? Suddenly, no problem. Child demanding every-single-flippin-item in the grocery store? Hand them an iPhone.
At Let's Lasso the Moon our goal is to keep the light of curiosity alive despite current educational system dilemmas. With that being said, I would argue your iPhone is much like your TV set, you can use it for good or evil. Sure, Angry Birds will keep your child entertained, one could even stretch it and say "they are learning about geometry." Still, there are much better educational apps out there for your iPhone or iPad that will actually make learning FUN. Oh, how I'd love an iPad in the house.
Below are 9 wonderful educational apps that come kid-recommended.
Our collection is ever changing, so please take a moment to share your child's favorite app in the comments below. I'd love to check out some new additions.
Happy Downloading,
Word BINGO By ABCya.com
Recommended for children ages 5 and older
Cost $0.99 | Check out screen shots
iTunes Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Let's Lasso the Moon Review: Our girls (5 & 6) love this game. The silly monsters that land on a square when you select the correct word make them laugh. I like it because it helps the girls practice their Dolch Sight Words. The game is nice because it also has room for your child to "grow into it." There is a fun version of word Tetris as well as a spelling game. All and all a wonderful find. A good friend of mine who was a kindergarten teacher and now is a math specialist actually recommended the ABCya.com site to us. There are great games there for free too. We found the apps originally on the site.
Math BINGOBy ABCya.com
Cost $0.99 | Check out screen shots
iTunes Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Let's Lasso the Moon Review: Another great app by ABCya.com, same concept. Again, it is a wonderful game your child can grow into. Currently our girls just play the addition and subtraction bingo, but it also includes multiplication and division.
Teach Me Kindergarten
Cost $0.99 | Check out screen shots
iTunes Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Also available:
Teach Me Toddler
Teach Me First Grade
Product Description: TeachMe: Kindergarten is an educational iPhone app which teaches four different age appropriate subjects to Kindergarten aged children: sight words, addition, subtraction and spelling. Parents can select which subjects they want, set different difficulty levels, and even choose specific questions. Parents can review performance history for each subject to check how their child is doing.
The app keeps children engaged with a rather unique reward system where children earn a coin for every three correct answers. Coins can then be used to purchase stickers to place in fun sticker scenes or to purchase items for the new virtual aquarium. Sticker scenes can be exported as wallpaper or emailed to family and friends.
The simple and intuitive user interface is designed to be child friendly, which allows children to play without help from an adult. An animated teacher (Mimi Mouse) gives verbal instructions and feedback to the child which makes learning fun.
Let's Lasso the Moon Review: This is by far our girls FAVORITE iPhone app. I love it because with the directions from Mimi Mouse the girls can play the game with any assistance from me. They start out at a basic level for all for sections and slowly work up to more challenging questions. The most entertaining part of the game though is the fish tank. It is simply adorable. Your child can save up gold coins (earned by answering questions correctly) and purchase items for their tank including: different fish, statues, and gravel. You can also buy fish food. When you drop in a pellet the fish all race to eat it. If you tap on the iPhone it sounds like you are tapping a tank and the fish all hide from the noise. Our girls play the game mostly for this unique reward system. I also like that it teaches them about spending. For example, you can buy sand colored gravel for $2, but if you want the kick-butt rainbow gravel you need to save up $10. We just started Teach Me First Grade and are growing to love it too.
Super Why by PBSKids.org
Recommended for children ages 3 to 6
Cost $2.99 | Check out screen shots
iTunes Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Let's Lasso the Moon Review: If your child enjoys Super Why! They will love this app. It is very graphic and has all the same fun word games that they play on the TV show. The app is a bit pricier than most, but I consider the extra $2.00 a donation to PBS. If you don't already have it bookmarked, check out the Super Why! website. It has great games for free too. The only thing I dislike about this game is it has background music, to my knowledge you cannot turn it off on the app. However, if you are playing games on the website you are able to mute the background music. The app is really cool, but our girls don't play it often. We do spend a lot of time at PBSKids.org though.
FirstWords: Animals
Recommended age: If your child is old enough to ask for your iPhone,
they're old enough for First Words Animals!
Cost $1.99 | Check out screen shots
iTunes Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Let's Lasso the Moon Review: I laughed when I saw the recommended age; I completely agree. This is a great game for little ones, despite the low customer rating. It is a fun way to teach your child the basics of using a touch screen computer. An image pops up and the child spells out the word by dragging and matching the appropriate letters into the shaded letter boxes. Our girls started playing this when they were three or so and still enjoy it to this day. Our ladies are way beyond letter recognition, but I figure it helps them with their spelling still. Definitely a great "starter" app for your little one.
Pop on over and get the remaining four Must Have Educational Apps at Peanut Blossom!
I have to admit that every Apple product I own has been purchased because of a recommendation by one Mrs. Tiffany Dahle. My iMac, yep Dahle recommended. My iPhone, yep that dang Dahle again. I *really* didn’t think I “needed” an iPhone. However, once I had it in hand I realized quickly that my life had changed f-o-r-e-v-e-r. This post is dedicated to her.
Again, please take a moment to share your child's favorite app in the comments below. I'd love to check out some new additions!
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