Kiddie Technology

Last October, when my phone was due for an upgrade I did NOT want an iPhone.  I can’t even remember the reason why, but I didn’t.  Kevin was due for an upgrade at the same time though and he spent lots of time playing around with the phones in the stores, deciding which phone he wanted.  Basically, he wanted the one with the easiest to use touch screen.  He is usually not good with touch screens.  Forget using my GPS.  It doesn’t pick up the right letters that he is intending to touch, so I usually have to put in the addresses.  After all of his investigating and “testing”, he decided he wanted the iPhone.  I’d wanted the Droid Incredible II, but decided to get an iPhone too.  We use each others phones and it’s just easier to have the same things.

I’m SO glad Kevin talked me into getting this phone.  I love it.  And sadly, Kate has learned to love it too.  I have to say, it was a definite life saver on the 8 hr trip home from vacation last week.  She got restless quite a few times, and there were a few apps that made the car ride so much easier.  I thought I’d share the ones we Kate likes.  Here’s a quick screenshot of “Kate’s” folder and then the top 5 apps that got us through the travel.

1. Music Sparkles – This one is by far her favorite and we were actually just introduced to it by a friend while we were on vacation.  She had it downloaded on her iPad for her nieces to play around with and Kate LOVED it.  So, I put it on my phone for Kate. Basically, there’s a little bit of background music and then the kids can “play” different instruments to go along with the music. Kate automatically starts bouncing (ie- dancing) when the app turns on.  Best part is that it’s FREE.

2. Itsy Bitsy Spider – This one is just fun.  The song plays and the different characters on the screen do things when you touch them.  It’s a fun, interactive song app.  BUT, the guy who sings the song sounds really weird.  Still cute though.  Can’t remember how much this one cost.  Maybe $1.99?

3. Twinkle Star – Who knew Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star had more than one verse?  Apparently it does.  This app does more besides the sing-along but that’s Kate’s favorite part.  It has 8 different games, but they’re a bit above Kate’s head for now (puzzles, maze, paint, matching, connect the dots, peekaboo, etc).  She does love to listen along to the song and watch how the different scenes play out. You can get this for free but it just sings the first verse and then prompts you to pay $.99 for all of the verses.

4. Old McDonald – Costs $1.99.  It’s similar to the Itsy Bitsy Spider one.  the Old McDonald song plays along and the different animals make their sounds when you touch them.  Kate loves animals and animal sounds right now, so she enjoyed this one.

5. Baby Aqua – This was the first one I downloaded on my phone.  It’s pretty basic.  One fish at a time comes up on the screen and swims around.  When the fish is touched, the name of the color is said aloud.  It also counts up from 1 to 10.  Of the 5 apps, this is probably Kate’s least favorite.  I think it costs $.99

Honestly, I haven’t tried a ton of other apps so these are Kate’s favorite by default. Plus, it’s not like she really plays around with my phone all that often, but when you’re stuck in a car for 8 hrs, you do what you have to do.  Anybody have any other apps, or games/toys that your kids LOVE?