Before Gunner was even born we bought him an iPad. Insert COVID and screen time is through the roof. (Sue me. I’m working from home for 8+ hours a day and terrified of sending him back to daycare.) Between nonstop episodes of Bluey and every light-up toy in the world, I get Gunner’s 19mo old brain going with these three learning apps.
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen stories of Gunner completing simple math problems, drawing numbers, recognizing and saying numbers and more thanks to this app. At 18mos he was cleary “counting” by saying, “One, two, six, eight, nine, ten!” This app introduces numbers one at a time and explains them in multiple, fun ways. Everytime we get to a new level and I think it will be too hard for him to figure out, he surprises me by very quickly learning and adapting. He has truly blown me away with this app. It’s free to download but you only receive learning games for numbers 1-4. Numbers 5-20 cost $4.99, I believe, but have been worth the one-time-charge.
Another thing I like about Bimi Boo’s games is that they make it incredibly hard/impossible for Gunner to accidentally make purchases. Any opportunity to download a new app or make a new purchase comes with a pop up asking for the year of birth.
2. Learn and Play by Fischer-Price
This app was one we downloaded when Gunner was a tiny baby, like 6-8 months. It was originally just the Fischer-Price puppy pointing to his nose and eyes and mouth, etc. After downloading the original app, it expired and Fischer-Price released this new version of the app. I really love this app because there are so many “mini-apps” inside of it. Gunner can “Call his friends,” (which has taught him the number ‘zero,’ surprisingly.) learn letters and shapes, watch sing-a-long videos, and more.
The app is free to download and I don’t believe there are any upsells or additional purchases within the app. There’s a “parent’s area” where you can see which games your child has most recently played.
This was another download from early on in Gunner’s life. Now that he has the hang of touch-screens from his other apps, he’s great at these. This is great for those situations when you just need your kiddo to sit quietly and focus on one thing. (Like during haircuts or waiting in the doctor’s office, etc.) There’s tons of opportunity to upsell and additional purchases in this app, but the app does not make it particularly easy for a child to do accidentally.
Hope this is helpful. Having Gunner play educational games helps us feel a little better about the additional screen time that has come from COVID and has surprised everyone around us with how smart our kiddo is.
Good luck out there!
Kels
kelseagunner 