Educational Apps for 2-year olds

I know what you are thinking. Why in the world would a 2-year old need an app?  Even 3 years ago I would have thought myself nuts so keep on thinking that!

Tomorrow is my son's big kindergarten concert. The school is big for a non-Tokyo kindy and each kid has three separate parts to play, plus the PTA and teachers each have two. This will be about 4 hours long. My daughter can sit still a long time but 4 hours is pushing her limits. The kids in the kindy will be backstage doing games and origami and colouring and reading books (that's my job!) but the kids in the audience are going to have a rough time.



So we are bringing my iPod and filling it with new apps and old faves.

The newest one we have found is the Bunny Fun: Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes app by Rosemary Wells. Rosemary Wells is most well known as the creator of Max and Ruby, but in our house we think of her as the woman behind Yoko, the Japanese kitty who lives in the US. One of the best things about Rosemary Wells is that she brings many different cultures into her work. This app is no different, as Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes is presented in 4 different languages; English, French, Spanish, and Japanese! Three cheers for a multilingual app.

This app is super simple, it is just a wee bunny who changes clothes and therefore languages. Kids can choose to play the song or read and hear the word for the body part by touching on the screen. Perfect for 2-year olds.

Another new find is an adaptation of the book I loved as a child: The Monster at the End of This Book. Grover takes the child through this book, and Elmo joins him in Another Monster at the End of This Book. These are really fun books, and not only can it be read aloud by these characters, you can tickle them as well.

The old fave is SUPER WHY! from PBS Kids. Both of my kids love this app so much. How can you go wrong with Whyatt and the Super Readers. Choosing a character chooses a path according to the child's ability, from learning the alphabet to assembling sentences. Fairy tales from around the world are used so it adds another element of excitement. My kids love this and so do I. The best app we have ever bought, hands down.

My daughter also loves the Strawberry Shortcake app, which involves sorting fruit by colour. Not a bad app, but I prefer the old pinafore-wearing Strawberry Shortcake!

I've loaded up the iPod with these English activities, packed a pair of earphones with lots of padding, put them in her Meeabee bag with some snacks, and all I can do is cross my fingers that she doesn't wander onto the stage to play with her big brother like last year. Here's hoping!