Rowen's Favorites: The iPad

Happy Tuesday!

Before Rowen was born I had it set in my mind that she wasn't going to play with electronics or watch hours of cartoons, and would only play outside all day.  HA, how foolish!  That lasted about twenty seconds after I realized how hard it is to keep a child entertained 24/7, especially when playing outside is not an option due to below zero temps.

Enter the iPad.   Before having kids, I never in a million years would have thought a child under the age of two would enjoy the iPad, let alone have the word in her vocabulary. Umm, wrong!  Rowen specifically requests the iPad.  Now, don’t get me wrong, we definitely limit her time with it, but there are just some instances during the day (like when trying to get dinner ready, or attempting to take a shower) where it really comes in handy. 

We also look at it as a huge learning tool for her.  Over the past month, Rowen’s vocabulary has really started to take off.  We’ve been curious as to how many words she actually knows, so this weekend Ryan sat down and made a list.  He finally decided to stop after he realized she knew over 160 words + some of her alphabet and counting.  We think the educational videos she’s been watching coupled with the amount of time we spend reading with her has really attributed to this.    

I thought it would be fun to make a list of some of Rowen’s favorite apps and videos on the iPad, but before I do I wanted to share this helpful iPad tip a friend showed me:

Guided Access (aka Kid Mode):

Rowen discovered the "home" button on the iPad very quickly and would constantly press it, then get upset because the app she was playing with had disappeared. We were getting so tired of restarting the apps, over and over again, but then we figured out there was a way around this!

The Guided App feature makes it so you can lock your child into a single app, so they can’t exit out of it accidentally, or wander over to an app you don’t want them to play with.  In order to activate guided access, click on settings, then general. Scroll down to accessibility, and under the learning section, you can tap on Guided Access. Turn it to the on position. You will be able to set up a pin, which is required to use Guided Access. To enable Guided Access, when you are in the app your child wants, triple click the home button, and follow the instructions. In order to exit it, triple click the home button again and enter your pin.  So easy!

Rowen’s Favorite Apps:

Peekaboo Barn - Touch & Learn
Peekaboo Zoo - Touch & Learn
Fun Bubbles - TF World Software
Funny Animals - Smart Mobile Software

Along with these apps, we’ve also discovered a ton of free educational material via YouTube!  Here are a few of her favorites:

Educational:

“The Sesame Street Alphabet” – Sesame Street

 “Bob the the Alphabet Train” – Kids TV

“Color Songs Collection Vol. 1” – Busy Beavers

“ABC Alphabet Songs Collection Vol. 1” – Busy Beavers

Nursery Rhymes:

“Five Little Monkeys” – FlickBox

“Incy Wincy Spider” – FlickBox

“Wheels on the Bus” – FlickBox

“Baa Baa Black Sheep” - FlickBox

What are your kids' favorite apps & videos?  I'd love to hear about them!  

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