iPads are one of the greatest inventions in my opinion. I first got my iPad as a birthday gift a few years ago before the time of my babes and I loved it. It was easier to transport than my laptop and I loved how I could do virtually everything on it that my laptop does. Along came my daughter and it has been amazing to use for travelling especially. Long trips to and from the cottage all summer and lots of airplane flights. My daughter now has her own iPad and she loves it. We are careful to monitor her use of it because it is just like tv it can become addictive. She usually gets it before bed at night to watch a show or play a game as some “downtime” while I put the baby to bed. With our vacation and flight coming up I was looking and researching for some new and fun games to entertain her for the 5 hour flight. She has t.v. shows as well as some Disney movies on her iPad. She also uses some puzzle games, painting and colouring apps, counting app and a game that teaches her how to write her numbers and letters. When choosing apps it can be overwhelming to decide which ones they will like and which ones are worth your money. A lot of times you can find apps for free or at least they are free for a trial period and that is a great way to let your child try them out to see if they enjoy them and can use them or you may decide they are uninterested or that they are too advanced for their skill set yet.

 

Here are a couple of the apps we are enjoying right now!

Counting 1 2 3: Learning to count is as easy as 1,2,3! Count along and learn the names of all your favourite animals, toys, household objects and more! It is an easy game with no fuss or complication.

 

Paint Sparkle: this is one of my daughters favourite apps. It is more than just painting on your iPad. It is interactive teaching them different colours as well being able to draw, take photos on the app and use them as part of the canvas you are creating. This app is one of the top selling educational apps that are out there.

 

Peakaboo Barn: this fun interactive app allows the child to learn all the different farm animals and their sounds. We are definitely having fun with this app.They also have a lite version which you could always start with first to make sure your child likes the app.

 

Animal Puzzles: My daughter loves to do puzzles on her iPad. She loves this app and has already graduated to the harder level. There are 15 different puzzle types and the level of difficulty goes up as the levels are completed but they graduate slowly. There is also a slider control option for parents to stop the kids from exiting the level by mistake.

Wheels on the Bus: Another great child friendly award winning app is Wheels on the Bus. My daughter loves to sing this song and it has been great in teaching her all the parts by encouraging motor, language and cognitive skills. You can even record your own voice singing along. There are different languages also so your child can learn the song in another language. It helps them learn different instrument sounds such as: violin, cello, piano and kazoo.

 

 

So there are just a couple of our favourite apps right now. Do you have any apps that your little ones just love that we should give a try?