Kids Kids Kids!
With all the apps on the app store it can be an effort to find apps we find useful or want to play. Looking for apps for our kids is a bigger nightmare. This post is just a little look at a few of the apps on there that you may want to check out…
Shape Builder – the Preschool Learning Puzzle Game Developer: Darren Murtha
Version: 1.3
$0.99
Lite FREE
Awards: Apple Staff Favorite, App Store Essential for Toddlers
This is currently on sale at half price. Initially I though the price works well for the app as it’s one that your kids will grow out of. Having said that, it is a good app for them and it has a lot of puzzles. 146 puzzles to be exact, and there is random play so they get a new puzzle every time, until they have completed them all, then it will reset so they can do them all again! The good thing about this app is that it starts right away, straight into a puzzle, and being quick is a real bonus when you are using it with kids. It is being pitched at 3-6 year old kids, but a great idea in their app description is that it may also be one for the babysitters to have on their devices!
Another game by the same developer is Connect the Dots Game to Learn Numbers and the Alphabet with 200+ Puzzles – Preschool
Version: 1.0
$0.99
Children can “tap” or “draw” to connect sequential numbers (123), upper case letters (ABC), and lower case letters (abc). Joining all the dots forms the outline of the shape and reveals the image when completed. The images were crisp and clear and simple enough for a child to recognize and enjoy them. This one is pitched at kids between 2-6 years old but there are different levels (easy-normal-hard) so there is scope within that too. You can also select which puzzles you want shown so you may want just lowercase letters and only musical instruments.
These next two I want to show you are from www.sid-on.com who see themselves as trying to specialize in “Child development through intelligent education”. Currently, they are the only Polish developer who designs exclusively for children’s apps, and so we think they bring us these fun apps because they are so focused. They add, “Apart from providing fun, they are also educational, develop both the imagination as well as the capabilities of the youngest kids.”
Here are their apps:
AppName Color Me !!! Developer: SID
Version: 1.3
0.99$
This app is a coloring book aimed at children aged 2-6 years. There is a really good variety of pictures here and colouring is made easy by a generic colour fill that the app uses. This means that they only need to use a touch of a finger and the selected element of the coloring will be filled with colors. Shaking the iPhone will cause the cleansing of the picture and therefore provides endless possibilities for coloring of the pictures. It is also possible to save the masterpieces of your child in the image gallery. Then the child will be able to place them on the desktop of your device which is a really sweet idea. In more than 20 countries around the world (U.S., China, Canada, Poland, Colombia etc.) at #1 in Education Category.
Also, just to show you another app, Show Me Stories, is also a good kids app.
Version: 1.2
$0.99
The stories you choose are covered with a pattern, and you have to swipe your finger to reveal the image hidden underneath. There are 30 images with animation, 3 categories and in their latest version, they have added sound effects. You can also use images in your photo library.
Flash Tables is a great app for the slightly older kids. Developer: frogameleon Ltd.
Version: 1.5
$0.99
This is a great way to go through their times tables with them. anyone with kids knows the pain of having to make up endless equations while they learn. With this app you can hold it and quiz them, using it together is just brilliant. A really crisp and clear interface and the buttons are of a good size for the kids to click. There are some comments left that playing against the time is just too fast, so maybe they will incorporate a feature where you can set this yourself. I really thought it was a great app, simple and quick. My youngest loved it and wanted more!
Doppelgänger! Developer: OneMoreGames
$0.99
This is a match ‘em up style of game for kids, but the graphics and fun make it better then some similar ones out there. I think your kids (and you !) will have fun on this app. Yes, it’s pairs, but go check out their video and see for yourself! There are more than 40 levels and you get more and more cards every round. The designers also say that all 200 graphics on the cards were hand drawn which is really great that they have put in the effort cause some of those cards are really sweet – have you seen the hats! 
This next app I thought would be fun for a slightly older child. This one lets you change your hairstyle over your photo so you can play around with different hairstyles. For younger girls this really is a fun app, and you can save the pictures to show your friends later. It would be great fun at a sleepover to create some pretty funny pictures and yes, I did have a go too!
Hair MakeOver Developer: Touch Apps
Version: 1.5.1
1.99
The people who have this app like it a lot, but there are some improvements that they would likes such as changing the colour of the hair and to keep adding new styles. There are currently over 250 styles though which is a good start and they do seem to keep adding them.
Emily’s Girl Talk Developer: Broken Thumb Apps
$0.99
This is a new game for the iPhone/iPod Touch and was “developed as a fun charming game that people could play and come up with funny stories to share with friends”. It really hits on some of the funny things girls talk about and I think it could be a hit with younger girls. These were the games that we would write down on paper and spend endless hours writing up (MASH, Lemon…) and , and now they have captured it in an app. Also I like how they have made their interface so friendly for girls of that age, the navigation was a little confused, but the colours and styling of it is spot on.
They could maybe incorporate some kind of chat feature where girls could wifi each other if they were nearby which would add to this app, but it is really good as it is and I’m just thinking of future development or something to keep it ahead of the race. You can currently share things over Facebook, Twitter and email.
Hope you enjoyed a little look at a few kids apps, a mix of ages and the last few for the girls! I hope apps like those encourage girls to think about technology and maybe making their own apps one day!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8bb64720-221b-4760-b2c5-18c1aa661db0)
Additional comments powered by BackType
Never miss an episode.
Watch when you have the time, wherever you are. All our episodes in one place: The iTunes Video Podcast.
See you there x
TWEET
Don't forget you can follow Apps and Hats for their latest episode reminders, promocodes and to win prizes!
I was doing a search about this material, and happened to come across your post. I’m impressed by the blog. I am going to spend some time looking around, and will definitely be bookmarking this place. You do have a very good way of writing, and you chose a great layout to accompany your website. Maintain the great job because you have made me into a regular reader.
Very interesting post thank you for writing it I have added your site to my favorites and will check back
By the way this is off subject but I really like your web page layout.
That rss page on your blog here is awesome, you should tell more folks about it in your next post. I haven’t noticed it a first, now I’m using it each morning to check on any updates. I’m on a really slow dial-up link in Ohio and it’s quite daunting to sit there and wait for such a long time ’til the page loads… but hey, I just found your rss page and added it to the Google Reader and voil? – I’m always up-to-date! Well pal, keep up the good work and make that rss button a little bigger so that other people can enjoy that as well