Reviews of iPad/iPod/iPhone (iThing) apps

[early learning17]

Dear Aaangeles
please do me the favour and tell me if the apps you mention are from DadDude´s list or new ones. Haven´t had a close look at them yet as don´t have an ipad/iphone yet.( Am looking at android machines as well)

Thanks in advance! Isa

[aangeles]

Dear Aaangeles
please do me the favour and tell me if the apps you mention are from DadDude´s list or new ones. Haven´t had a close look at them yet as don´t have an ipad/iphone yet.( Am looking at android machines as well)

Thanks in advance! Isa

The only ones from DadDude's list are the first four. Those are the ones that Ella and I really like. I have a few more from his list but did not mention them anymore since he already did such a great job reviewing them.    My lists consists mainly of apps for teaching Chinese, French, and Spanish.

[ruamulla]

Thank you all for the great list.
i would love to some apps that my 2 years old boy enjoys:

Shape Builder and Shape Puzzle for kids ( word learning game) Shape puzzle is always a hit with My boy, but not jigsaw puzzle.
Little Bella's-I close my eyes-lite-animated children's book
Alphabet Car by Baby CORTEX. Teaches spelling.
My first Puzzles snakes teaches to solve the puzzle by putting numbers in order.
Whimsy Lite .its a puzzle with reading practice .
Read ME stories very nice app where u can download a new story every day.

[ruamulla]

Hope this help.
Enjoy

[aangeles]

Hi DadDude,

Do you have any recommendations for a children's dictionary app for looking up new/unfamiliar words while reading ebooks on the iPad?

Thanks!

[2010BEBES]

Dad Dude thanks for your review and ir looks very complete.
I am anxious to start using that technology. Nevertheless i know nothing about it. Can you or anyone who knows about this, give me a short description and the difference between the devices in the market right now (ipad, ipad touch, iphone, motorolla XOOM? They are all tablets or do they differ also in size? I have an IPOD which i use only for my music and think it is a little bit small to show something to a baby (3 month old)

Your thread started last June, its going to be one year old. WOW.  I imagine a lot of changes have been given.

My son (on a trip at tis moment) know more than me and told me about Motorolla (much cheaper) but as i read here maybe we can not get that many apps for it? They are not compatible or some apps are?

Another question i have is 'How can anyone get all those apps? are they free? Besides the device (that is a little expensive) do we have to inveest a lot on the apps?

[2010BEBES]

Montessori apps by Rantek - These are a little expensive (as is anything Montessori) and limited in scope but Ella likes doing them. She especially likes the Geography ones.

For parents teaching foreign languages, here are some of the best (in our opinion) apps for learning Chinese, French, and Spanish:

Rye Studio multilingual storybooks - You can read and listen to the stories in English, Chinese (with the options for Trad or Simplified characters), French, Spanish, Dutch, German, and Japanese. Most of the stories have all the languages but some are still in development and only have English, Chinese, and Japanese, so check the available languages for each story first before you buy. These stories are perfect for us because Ella is learning French, Spanish, and Japanese. It is certainly much cheaper than buying books in each language, plus there is audio narrated by native speakers!

iLearn Chinese - the best app I've found to teach Chinese handwriting to kids (and non-native speakers). Good for practicing fine motor skills too.

play2learn Spanish and play2learn French - great for learning vocabulary and has a quiz mode in which you color in the picture as the Spanish/French word is called out.

eFlashSpanish and eFlashFrench - I wouldn't use this for English, but good for teaching/reviewing vocab in Spanish and French. Nice pics and they're free.

24/7 Tutor - nice free app I've found for parents trying to learn another language along with their kids.

aangeles,
1) since you started recently maybe you can recall more or less how moch are we talking about for the expensive one and the others?
2) play2learn comees with both languages or you may choose only one? Not free?

I am 'trying' to learn some chinese (simplified) but find it very difficult. Nonetheless i would like to learn to read the symbols and maybe that app you mention can help me in that.

[DadDude]

I actually haven't looked for any children's dictionary apps.  I would assume they didn't exist, but I could be wrong!

We simply use three different grown-up dictionary apps.  One of them is a $0.99 (or was it $4.99?) app, and it is not really much worse than the two Oxford dictionaries we have.  One of them is the Oxford American and the other is called the "Oxford Dictionary of English," which is not to be confused with the enormous OED, the Oxford English Dictionary.  They're quite evil for not specifying this more clearly.

Just discovered this (!): http://www.apple.com/education/apps/

2010Bebes, I don't know much about the other handheld types.  All I've heard is that the iPad costs more because it's better and has more apps.  :-)  Whenever you want to compare things, just type X "versus" Y in Google.  In this case, search Google for "iPad versus Droid" and "iPhone versus iPad".  There's little difference between the iPod Touch and iPhone, except the iPhone has a camera and a phone, which are very nice to have.  The size of the iPad makes a huge difference, believe me--I had an iPod Touch for a year before getting an iPad, and the iPad was a revelation.

[2010BEBES]

Thanks DadDude. I read som comparisons and have a lot to learn.
When you say Ipad is it the ipad2 ?

I think about what i read that if i buy know, it has to be ipad2 else i will have to wait for more apps.
Thanks again.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

YESSSS!

Many parts in the mail and waiting around, it's been successfully fixed! Apple wanted an arm and a leg but we saved $350 doing it ourselves. I warn you though, it was NOT an easy and DH knows what he's doing. My advice? Don't be like me and let your kids use it as a trampoline in the first place!  Much easier (and cheaper) to be careful it to begin with. 

Can't wait to check out all these apps when I have a chance!

[mjjh]

here is one that my 15 month old LOVES

wimsey lite (free)
This app is great, it helps teach about puzzles and you can adjust the age range. (0-18 months and 18-32 months)
I Just would have liked if they say the name of the animal, after each puzzle is completed. But other than that my daughter LOVES this app!

[NadiaD]

Imagination Zoo is a new painting application that allows children to design their own creatures and share them with friends from around the world. These animals move, make sounds, and travel, just like real animals.

Benesse Corporation, Inc. has made available this new application for parents who want to enjoy the iPhone 4 with their children. The iPad version is also available.

Follow these steps to enjoy Imagination Zoo:

Select your favorite patterns from the template list and use the crayon tool to color the chosen pattern. A choice of 12 colors allows for an endless variety of mixed and overlapping colors.
If you tilt your iPhone upwards, multiple parts such as diagrams, tools, and jewels will fall into your screen. Take your pick and decorate your animal.
When you’re done creating your animal, register its name, record its sound, and it’s ready to be unleashed. Some animals can fly while others can swim.
You can also see other imaginative animals made by kids from all over the world. Seeing so many other creatively designed animals will inspire children to let their imaginations run wild and go back to the drawing board to create a new animal.
Created animals can be saved onto a list and be retrieved at anytime.

[NewWorld2011]

Thanks for the info. I have bought it at the apple store and my little son loves this app too 

[Mela Bala]

I started using the app  Doman Flash Cards for Math on our ipad.  I like it and my son enjoys the lessons.

[hypatia]

For those of you interested in French, here are my daughter's favorite apps:

Les aventures de Lola (lite) Excellent memory game with flags, three levels of difficulty.  (Available in Chinese too.) Fun for parents too. L'alphabet de Lola works with letters and words. Really catchy, as we follow a train which leads to many activities: matching small to capital letters, dragging letters to form the word, memory with letters...

Trouve les tous: à la recherche des animaux You need to find the animals by listening to their sounds, scrolling left and right. Word is shown. (available in English too, but with a French accent :-)

Tchoupi: Joue et apprend les couleurs A little expensive for the content (E2.99), but my daughter's favorite to work on colors.

Mes premiers mots (by Alexandre Menard): Can be played by non speakers. Drag the letter to match the word corresponding to the picture. Excellent for  reluctant readers and spellers. Limited to animal, colors and fruits, would love more themes!
There are many other apps from A. Menard: we have all of his puzzles (dinosaurs, insects, tangrams)

Decouvrions (+ Jouer à lire) With the first app, you identify the animal, with the second one, you find the word. Many animals, but the lady's voice is computerized and quite unbearable after a while.

For Spanish, our favorite one is IWrite Words Spanish. Excellent voice-over!

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