a few months ago, i shared a few of our favorite educational and fun apps we’ve found that eleanor and samson really love. like many parents, we try hard to limit screen time, but sometimes it’s helpful and it can even be downright educational. often before a trip where we’ll be on an airplane or in the car for several hours at a time, we do a new big hunt to find a few new apps that might be of interest. we just spent a long weekend upstate in the catskills this past week (more on that soon!), so here is a roundup of some of the new apps we found and shared with them recently and on this last last trip…
vine kids
this app isn’t very educational but it will definitely deliver some hearty giggles! i go back and forth between loving and using the regular vine app, but the new vine kids is a lot of fun because the videos are kid appropriate and keep looping after 6 or 7 seconds. there is a dog video on there where the dog runs into the camera, and samson gives out a big belly laugh every single time.
pepi doctor
one of our very favorite apps for them right now, especially since we can reference it when we’re needing to do things like brush their teeth. we’ve been playing doctor with doctor toys for years, but i think it helps their brain process why we do things like take medicine or brush our teeth since it shows them visually how it can be helpful. the dentist portion is hands down genius, and has been incredibly helpful over here!
touch the sound
this app is helpful since it helps kids learn and recognize familiar sounds based through pictures. it’s a favorite of samson’s. whenever he gets it right, he exclaims loudly, “i did it!”
bob books #1 – reading magic
we met a woman at the library who was using the bob books for her little four year old. i hadn’t ever heard of them before, but her daughter was reading really well and eleanor was incredibly interested. we also found the app, which helps them learn to read through phonics based interactive games. it’s a great one!
toca builders
like i shared a few months ago, we really like the toca apps, and toca builders is one the kids are really into. it’s nice because it’s spacial, and we’re always amazed at how much our kids are able to do on this game because it often feels really complex. but since the game is so intuitive and simple, it’s still a lot of fun for their young minds while being challenging at the same time.
which apps do you use and love with your own children?
you can see our other favorite apps here!
Very cool! Thanks for sharing! Speaking of apps, what’s going on with Pippit these days? Any chance it will be released for Android? Thanks!!!!
The doctor one looks so cute! –Hanna Lei
muy buena info yo me lo me lo cogi tirado en esta pagina
https://itunes.apple.com/ua/app/antomimes-language-monsters/id940445789?mt=8 this one is great made with illustrators from Ukraine <3
Thanks for this list!
I’m curious, at what age did you start letting your kids use the ipad/iphone? I have a 13 month old and not sure if I should start yet or wait (for our next flight!?)
Vine kids is such an excellent idea and I’d definitely feel so much better knowing that they wouldn’t run into anything icky. Pep Doctor sounds fun too!
Warm Regards,
Alexandra
http://www.littlewildheart.com
Awesome! I’ve been looking for apps that DON”T have to do with trains, as that’s all my son wants currently. These seem like great options.
http://www.kristajacobs.blogspot.com
Speaking of apps, what’s going on with your app, Pipit?
still working hard on it in our spare time!
Nice! Our 2-year-old is a little bored with the first apps we got him, and I’ve been thinking we’re ready for a few fresh ones.
The ones we started him on he LOVED (and still does, just not like at first): Endless Alphabet and Endless Numbers are THE BEST. Seriously, so amazing…our son recognizes numbers and letters, can count and say his ABCs, and I know without a doubt that it’s partly thanks to these fabulous apps.
The company that makes those games, Originator, also makes a building blocks game called BeBop Blox that has the kids build a little shape (a boat, a flamingo, a train, etc.) out of little wood blocks. It’s great for recognizing shapes and getting their hand-eye coordination going.
I recommend these games to everyone because they’re so well done and are super educational. Definitely made me feel better about the occasional screen time. :)
I don’t have kiddos yet, but I wondered how parents kept the naughtiness of adult phone apps away, this is great!
xo
Michaela
http://michaelajeanblog.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MichaelaJeanArt
I think my niece will love Pepi doctor. Thanks for sharing such awesome apps. Happy Wednesday :)
This comment is more of a post suggestion, because I don’t know where else to suggest haha. I don’t think I have seen you blog about maternity clothes must haves. I am currently expecting my first and am so lost with what clothing necessities to buy.
Thanks for all you do on this site!
hey! i didn’t do a maternity round up this last pregnancy but i did share a few favorite brands in years past if you search “maternity” on my sidebar. but to save you a lot of time, i found ASOS this last round to be my favorite option, and it’s a great price point too. also, a bit relevant, but posting about nursing/ post-partum dressing soon! hopefully tomorrow if i have time to finish it tonight! congrats on your baby!
Hello Naomie,
I’m french and I’ve just visited NYC and I want to thank you for all your advices in your blog, We discover some great place thanks to you.
Just an FYI if you’re looking into teaching Eleanor to read. I have an almost 5 year old and she has been reading for a while now. She was the one who led it all. She was just interested and ready to learn. We love the Bob books, but we taught her to read with a book called, “Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons”. It really is great and tells you everything to say. It’s awesome! I will always recommend this book to anyone who has a kid interested in reading.
thanks for this rec! haven’t heard of this one before and will check it out. it’s been a fun past few months as she’s been expressing more interest every day in reading and writing! i’m so excited for what’s to come!
Sounds like some wonderful apps. My son is 2 and hasn’t really gotten into technology yet, but I definitely need to figure some out that will keep him entertained while we travel
Dresses & Denim
Some of our favorite apps are by Duck Duck Moose – mainly children’s songs and alphabet/number games. They have great graphics and music. “Fish School” was the first app I ever downloaded by them for my child and she still uses it today.
Curious what type of headphones you have for the kids? We’re about to take a flight with our 19 month old and are looking for the right brand.
i think they are just some inexpensive Sony headphones. we bought them at the airport once when we realized we didn’t have any!
Yay, more apps! I needed some new ones ;) endless alphabet has been such a great one for learning abc’s,sounding letters and spelling words! So far, my toddler loves it and is practicing sounding the letters ;)
Thanks so much for this post and your first one. We are taking our two littles on a plane for the first time tomorrow and it’s a 6 hour flight…we haven’t done tablet games before but I am introducing them on the plane and I had no idea where to start. Thanks for your compilation! Our 4 year old will be in heaven (hopefully!).