I wanted to get some new apps for the kids since we’re getting ready to take our annual trip to the Philippines. I’ve found some winners, and I love that for the most part both Olive (3 1/2) and Charlie (5 1/2) can play them!
Thinkrolls – $2.99, Ages 3-8
This game is both kids’ current obsession. It uses logic, sequencing, physics and more to navigate mazes. I love that it’s educational, and the many different levels and difficulty settings enable kids from 3 to much older to enjoy it. The best part is that there is an undo button enables you to keep trying a certain portion without having to start from the beginning. It’s fascinating watching the kids’ minds work as they try to figure out the correct sequence of movements! There are also no in-app purchases which is always a huge plus. This has been such a hit that I just downloaded Thinkrolls 2.
Petting Zoo – $2.99
This app features 21 hand drawn animals that you can swipe and tap in different directions to get them to do all kinds of funny movements. This is so clever, simple and beautiful, and it really makes the kids crack up. An app for all ages!
Make it Pop – $1.99
This is a very simple game where you pop various things like balloons, bubbles, popcorn (Olive’s favorite), etc. It isn’t particularly educational, but kids can learn numbers, letters, shapes and colors. We’ve had this for a long time and Olive still likes to play it. Best suited for younger toddlers 2-3.
Toca Nature – $2.99
We own many of the Toca games and this one is Charlie and Olive’s current favorite. This is an exceptionally beautiful and detailed Toca app. In this game you’re able to create nature from planting trees to feeding animals, and it’s very reminiscent of Sim City! Like other Toca games this is open-ended, and there are no in-app purchases!
Toca Town – $2.99
Another great app from the Toca peeps where you can do all kinds of things in the Toca Town from shopping to cooking to hanging out with friends.
Sago is a sister company to Toca, and they make lovely apps for toddlers and preschoolers. We own many of their apps as well, and most of them I got when they were offered free! Similar to Toca the Sago games are open-ended and don’t have any in-app purchases. There are currently 14 and we have Road Trip, Friends, Bug Builder, Monsters (free), Pet Cafe, Ocean, Music Box, Fairy Tales and Forest Flyer. Forest Flyer and Pet Cafe are Charlie and Olive’s favorite.
Dr. Panda’s Restaurant 2 – $2.99
Dr. Panda has a bunch of apps, but this is the only one we’ve tried so far. It’s similar to the open-ended Toca apps and in the game you can cook all kinds of dishes. It teaches kids about ingredients, steps that go into cooking specific dishes, how to use all the appliances in a kitchen, and catering to someone’s eating preferences. If your kid likes cooking, they’re sure to like this game. It’s rated for kids 6+, and it was a little difficult for Olive at first, but she really enjoys playing it.
Angry Birds Transformers – Free (in app purchases)
I don’t know much about this game, but Charlie was really obsessed with it for a while and all 5 year old boys seem to love it. There are in app purchases but Mr. Bee played the game too so that we never had to make any. A recent update caused the game to crash (which has since been fixed), so he stopped playing it, but Charlie got really good at it. Mr. Bee told me that Charlie would die often, so he had to learn and adapt, and it was an incredible learning opportunity for him. He called it “Thinkrolls with fast twitch muscles.”
Math Practice Age 3-5, Free with in-app purchases
Mr. Bee read about these incredible math apps put out by the nonprofit organization One Billion created for children in Africa. “6 weeks of using the onebillion math app was as effective as 18 months of standard classroom practice. In fact, one week of using the onebillion software for 30 minutes a day equalled three months of formal education.”
We had to give them a try! Topics include sorting, matching, counting, patterns, comparing, adding and subtracting and both Charlie and Olive enjoy playing this game. They also have an app for Math 4-6 which we have not yet tried. We do have the 2,5, 10 Times Tables app ($5.99) which is a little difficult for Charlie, but he loves playing it. Mr. Bee says that these apps are excellent and the best educational apps he’s seen! Someone speaks to you the whole time so you don’t have to know how to read to play, which is why Olive can play as well.
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Are there any apps that your kids have been loving lately?
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
Perfect timing!! I was just wondering what educational apps I should download to our iPad because J has been really into playing games (and he’s not that interested in watching shows). He catches onto games quick and Endless ABCs, etc. are too easy for him!
kiwi / 511 posts
My kids love the Memory Game, the old school with the cards that you play at a table (Super Hero edition) so I put one on my tablet for times when we are away from home.
They also like bowling which isn’t educational but they like it.
grapefruit / 4800 posts
My daughter loves tracing – letters, numbers, shapes. She just turned 4 and the tracing apps have been a go to for the past 6 months.
pomelo / 5866 posts
We just downloaded Thinkroll on your recommendation and it was so much fun for both of us! Thank you! I’ve pretty much gave up on finding challenging apps for LO but this is perfect. Also LO was a big fan of aLmost all DR Panda games when she was little. I feel like they are the original! Will try some of the others. There’s dR. Panda Hoopa city is fun for your DD age too, but don’t use the cheats! Save some for the plane.