I rely on technology everyday for work. If you look at the arsenal of hardware on my desk at home, you will see four computers (both Mac and PC), a smartphone, an IP phone, an iPod, a webcam, a wireless router as well as my most recent toy, the iPad. All of these gadgets keep me connected and let me do my job, and I’ve totally convinced my husband that they are a necessity. (ahem)
About three years ago, I realized that my children will grow up in a very different world then I did, both for work and play. This is the age of information, where amazing amounts of knowledge are at your fingertips. Today, words like “apps”, “tweeting” and “friending” are commonly used and part of my daily vocabulary. And when I need to learn something new, I go directly to the internet.
As I type this, I have a three-year-old clone sitting next to me learning her shapes, tracing, matching and coloring, not on paper mind you, but rather on my iPad. She is absorbing and learning at an alarming rate and our iPad, in my opinion, is helping. This is the same girl that mastered the Nintendo DS stylus at age 2 and would beg her older cousin to play with the iPod Touch on a long family trip to Canada, so a touch screen is nothing new. It is only natural that she would steal the iPad from me.
When we bought the iPad, it was supposed to be MY toy. I’m in that “mom demographic” Apple was gunning for! I had visions of using the iPad to surf, check Facebook, read books and watch movies. But that’s not quite what it’s being used for now that my daughter has got a hold of it.
Since I didn’t want her surfing around my Tweetdeck app and replying to my followers with nonsense, I found myself searching for “age appropriate” apps that SHE could enjoy. First, I searched for “Toy Story”, since she is in love with that movie, and low and behold, I find a free Read-A-Long book to download. Boom, installed! She loves to draw, so I find a Doodle app. Boom, installed again! After that, it all went downhill. Now before bed, I find myself searching apps for HER to play with and less for ME! (I also suggest keeping a password prompt on your iTunes account so your child isn’t “auto” buying apps! I might elaborate on that story in another blog post…)
8 Apps My Three-Year-Old Loves:
1. Tangrams
I myself liked tangrams as a kid with the “real” blocks, making shapes and simple pictures. It took her one trip in the car to master this app. Dragging and dropping blocks onto shadowed outlines allowed her to make fun designs with the apps’ easy user interface.
2. Fruit Memory
This recent purchase is a well-designed matching game. If I had a dollar for every time she asks “Mom? Where’s the lemon?? I can’t find it!!” I’d have… well maybe only 40 bucks, but still. This is the game that we can play together since it supports up to four players.
3. Doodle Buddy
Since I myself am an artist, I found it necessary to have an app where she could draw. I use Sketchbook Pro but I needed something a little less robust for her. And although my daughter likes the drawing part with all the colors, she like the stamps that make funny sounds better. (Especially the smiley face that makes the “sick” sound. Thanks for that.)
4. Disney Movies
Disney Movies lets you preview movie trailers and then takes you to the iTunes store to purchase. (clever and sneaky) But the reason that I put this in my post was because Disney Movies was the app where my daughter REALLY learned the “pinch and grow” sizing technique and the “moving and sliding” of information. It blew me away how quickly she picked this up.
5. Alphabet Tracing
Again, learning disguised as fun. She doesn’t get very far into the letters but understands that she needs to follow the dotted lines. This is my attempt at being a “responsible” mom and telling myself: She WILL learn something playing with this thing!
6. Virtuoso – Piano
I actually first saw this app being used by the 3-month-old son of Miles, an interactive programmer at L&S. My daughter plays it much like she plays a regular piano, sliding her hands across the keys or poking them one by one. She isn’t a Mozart yet but enjoys the sounds and I find myself looking for more instrument type apps.
7. Toy Story Read-Along
This was one of the first apps I downloaded and installed because of her love of the movie (and my love as well). Basically it’s an e-book with puzzles and coloring pages in between story pages that can be read out loud as the words are highlighted. I’m hoping this one will help her with words and reading. It even has quick video clips that play as you are reading.
8. Default iPod App
(preinstalled with the iPad/iTunes)
Listening to music is a given and she has her own playlist with “girl” songs. Usually I will find her jamming out to some hippity hop song in the living room with the iPad cranked up to 11. Yesterday I walked in to check on her as she is getting her groove on and she turns around, points at the door and says, “Mom, you go back to work, I’m dancing.” Le sigh.
Don’t worry, she still likes drawing with REAL crayons, running around outside, NOT cleaning her room and playing with toys. But on a side note, I’ve had to limit her time on the iPad since she is so addicted and we’ve even had to take it away during timeout.
Rather than “No TV young lady!”, it’s “No iPad young lady!!!”
If you have any favorite iPad/iPod apps you’d like to share, post them in our comments.
April Johnston is the Senior Interactive Art Director at Lawrence and Schiller and an awesome mom according to her daughter. And yes, there is an insurance plan on her iPad.
