preschoolers and ipads Archives - Wild Edisons

The “Apple” Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

Mom-E — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 23:47:53 +0000

When Apple’s market research team defined the iPad demographic, I am sure that toddlers were the farthest things from their minds. I mean, really. What parent in this economy would consider shelling out that much money for a toy? Especially, for a toddler.

But, you know, many of the classic early-adopters (men between the ages of 35 and 44) also happen to have kids. Children that grew up surrounded by the latest techno-gadgets. Kids orphaned by i devices with glowing screens and tantalizing interfaces. At some point, one of these children will get their hands on an iPad and nothing will ever be the same.

Perhaps it will happen by accident. Mommy or Daddy sets the iPad down on the table to go and get a drink. Little Mary is drawn to the device like a moth to a light bulb. The intuitive interface makes even a novice look like an iPad expert and the parent returns to see their little girl navigating like a professional. After calling their friends and putting a video on youtube.com, Mommy and Daddy go on a hunt for toddler apps.

It might happen sweetly. Imagine Daddy, sitting on the couch, deeply enthralled with his iPad. 2 year-old Johnny climbs up next to him, places his little head on Daddy’s shoulder, and watches intently. There is hardly a father in existence that could resist the urge to take his child’s little finger and introduce him to the wonders of the iPad.

Maybe, it will happen out of boredom. After spending twenty minutes listening to the annoying electronic voice of Tommy’s alphabet robot, Mom catches a glimpse of the iPad in her peripheral vision. She wonders…Within five minutes, she has found and downloaded ten free preschooler apps, designed to teach her son numbers, letters, sight words, and more. Mom couldn’t be happier, and the stupid robot is retired to the garage sale box.

In our house, it was completely pre-meditated. At the ripe old age of one, we introduced our little boy to the iTouch. He learned his animals and cause and effect by playing Peekaboo Barn and other simple games. He practiced his fine motor skills by dragging, sliding, drawing, and tracing. We took to referring to it as “the Ultimate Toy.”

When we heard rumors about Apple’s new device, we followed along with baited breath. From what we read, the iPad would take everything we loved about the iTouch and make it bigger and better. And, we were not disappointed.

The large screen opened the door to new apps where our toddler could trace alphabet letters, color full-sized pictures, and complete puzzles. It still makes us smile to watch him deftly slide the bar to unlock the device, navigate to his screen of apps, and thoughtfully decide which game to play.

Just by using the interface, he can read common navigational terms like “start”, “menu”, and “done”. When he watches movies, he has no problem fastforwarding through boring scenes, finding other chapters to watch, and pausing them politely when we talk to him. He is two years old, and he is not a genius. The iPad is just so intuitive that it is as if it was made by a toy designer.

While passers-by may still gawk at our toddler’s adept use of the iPad, we don’t think it will be long before kids and iPads become a common sight. Once the devices come down in price, we may even start seeing iPads used as educational tools in preschools and high-end daycare centers.

Although Apple may not have considered children in their original marketing analysis, I expect they have caught on by now. Certainly, the iPad app developers have.

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Toddler iPad Apps We Love: Fish School HD

Mom-E — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 23:59:41 +0000

Fish School HD absolutely rocks! My spirited toddler will happily navigate from game to game in this fantastic toddler app. Happy little fish help him practice his alphabet letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and matching. All the while, he improves his fine motor skills. If your toddler is anything like mine, you have to get Fish School HD. They will have a blast practicing all of their preschool skills!

From the Toddler App Developer

Welcome to Fish School HD – with letters, numbers, shapes, colors, matching, and more! Brought to you by the creators of Wheels on the Bus, an award-winning, educational iPhone app – featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Gizmodo, Discovery Channel, MSNBC.com, Wired.com, and Daily Candy.

Get Fish School HD Today!

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Toddler iPad Apps We Love: My first Tangrams HD

Mom-E — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:48:46 +0000

My first Tangrams HD is a fantastic toddler iPad app which helps my 2 year-old practice his fine motor skills and shapes at the same time.

This game is an adaptation for kids of the famous Tangram game. In the basic game, your toddler sees a picture that is made out of shapes. The shapes are shown below the picture.

The object of the game is to drag the shapes on to the picture. When you complete the picture, the game applauds. It sounds easy, but if you are a toddler who has yet to master their fine motor skills, it can be a fun challenge.

We generally give our toddler a running commentary of the shapes that he is moving on the screen, so he gets a little practice learning his shapes too.

Check out the video below to see our toddler, Edison, playing the game.

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Toddler iPad Apps We Love: FirstWords: Deluxe

Mom-E — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 02:55:08 +0000

First Words: Deluxe is one of our favorite toddler iPad apps. My son loves it because it makes sounds and has bright pictures of objects he recognizes. I love it because he has so much fun learning the alphabet, pre-reading skills, and vocabulary. Plus, every time he plays, his fine motor skills improve. I love it! What a great toddler iPad app!

The game is simple. The screen shows a word with a picture and then your toddler drags letters onto the word to spell it. When your toddler is finished, the picture makes a noise and moves so that they know they did it right. I am not doing it justice. You just have to try it out yourself. All I know is that my son can happily spend an hour playing this toddler app, and that is worth its weight in gold.

From the Toddler App Developer
The best-selling reading game for kids is now available with more words than ever before! First Words: Deluxe provides endless fun for the toddlers in your life, all while giving your child a head start on learning their letters and learning to spell words.

First Words: Deluxe is toddler-tested and approved, with a user-interface designed specifically for the littlest of fingers. The game includes 147 words, including:

== 44 animals
== 35 vehicles
== 14 colors
== 22 shapes
== 32 words from around the house

A wide range of options let you tune the game to match your child’s current skills and abilities.

If your child is old enough to ask for your phone, they’re old enough for First Words: Deluxe!

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