When I’m looking for an app for young kids, I prefer one that is colorful, playful and educational, but with an open-ended, unscripted component. Little kids learn by exploration, not just by rote memorization. fits the bill in that regard. The app invites kids to explore a number of different scenes, such as a farm and jungle. Each one has animals and objects to click on and interact with. Kids can then delve deeper by selecting an educational game to play. The games are age appropriate and include memory, comparison, counting, and puzzle activities.
Once you choose a particular activity, the game cycles through the rest of the activities so kids have a chance to play them all. The challenge is that older kids may end up with games that are too easy (i.e. counting), while younger kids may end up in games that are too difficult (i.e. jigsaw puzzles). Kids in the middle will enjoy the range. Most kids will enjoy the chance to choose a virtual animal to add to their “farm.” They have the opportunity to do so every few rounds of game play.
Pros:
- Cute and fun characters
- Multiple language options
- A nice variety of games, each with a range of difficult levels
- Open-ended, as well as guided play
- Just right for preschool
Cons:
- No way to set the difficult level
- App cycles through activities, so parent/kids have no way to rule out games that are boring/too hard/too easy
My four-year-old daughter spends time with it every time she gets on the iPad and, as you can imagine, we have no shortage of apps to choose from. Many of the activities are too simple for her, but I know it’s also important to reinforce the information kids already know. She thinks the panda is hilarious and she enjoys choosing animals to add to her zoo.
This is a good addition to any app library for toddlers and preschoolers. It’s educational. It’s fun. And it has replay-ability.
- Recommended ages: 2-5
- Platform(s): iPad, iPhone (reviewed on iPad)
- Cost: $1.99, Lite version available for free
- Publisher: TribePlay
Disclosure: We received a free copy of the app for review purposes and this is part of a compensated campaign through Boston Parent Bloggers. There was no promise of a positive review and the opinions in this post are my own.
