We allow our 3-year old daughter to use the iPad several times a day.
And while I am not in favor of letting kids use Youtube to randomly view videos, I do credit a handful of apps for helping her improve her vocabulary, math skills, Chinese and general knowledge. Technology does help in educating our kids if used correctly.
Here are eight of the most useful apps we found for her age, aged 2.5 years old to 4 years old.
1. Homer Reading (₱389.00/month)
We love Homer Reading.
Think a lot of books on hand, with the app reading the books aloud, and sometimes with action and songs.
They have classics that we loved as kids read out and made even more interesting including:
- Where the Wild Things Are
- Chikka Chikka Boom Boom
- Harold and the Purple Crayon
- Pete’s a Pizza
The app is so good, we decided to avail of a month-by-month subscription.
2. Dr. Seuss Library (₱159.00/month)
Contains an almost if not complete selection of Dr. Seuss books with the option of the app reading aloud to the words, and animating the story.
There are the classics like The Cat in the Hat, Oh the Places You’ll Go and Green Eggs and Ham.
I have tried to purchase various Dr. Seuss storybooks to no avail. Daughter finds the silly stoties boring when I read them to her.
However, downloading the books and having the app read them aloud brings the stories to life. She is now a big fan of the naughty Cat in the Hat, thanks to this app.
Dr. Seuss charges php159.00 per month, which I think is well worth than buying the entire collection and dumping them on the bookshelf.
3. Elmo LOVES ABCs (Free)
There’s something about Elmo that kids love.
Using Elmo and his friends to teach kids the alphabet — how to read and write each and what words correspond to the letter — helps them boost their vocabulary.
What’s best is it’s free!
4. Netflix (₱550/month)
Unless you’re into sports or news, everyone should get rid of their cable and get into Netflix.
At only php 550 per month, you can have four uses pick and choose the right programs for themselves, to watch at their heart’s content.
The best thing about Netflix is that most programs are child friendly and controlled. I specifically appreciate that I can avail of old Disney movies like The Lion King, The Little Mermaid and Cinderella, so I can introduce these cartoons that I once loved to my daughter.
There are a lot of other child friendly movies available.
My daughter particularly loves Super Monsters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, PJ Mask, Paw Patrol, True and the Wishing Tree, My Little Pony, and most recently She-Ra. What a real treat for only php550! Plus, you can separately watch your own shows in your own gadget.
5. Starfall Learn to Read (Free)
The graphics aren’t as nice as the previous apps but my daughter loves this app.
Here, she learns how to read short words, which are made into stories.
When she’s bored, she likes to go back to this reading app again and again so they must be doing something right.
6. Kiddopia – ABC Toddler Games (₱379.00/month)
This is actually a good paid app.
Daughter played this when she was 2 years old till she was 3.
Many of the games are problem solving games, which makes your child learn through repetition and observation. It’s cute when they figure things out on their own:
She especially loved the Puzzle games where she had to match the shadow to the item and learned so many words from it.
The only reason why this isn’t #1 is because she’s now been playing it for a year and is a bit tired of it. However, it’s still one of the best apps I have seen for toddlers.
7. Endless Reader (₱2,290/year)
I joined the hype and downloaded the Endless Reader and Endless series for my daughter:
The app uses cute monsters to form words that are used in a sentence.
A bit expensive for what you get but it’s better to have access to everything than to have sections frustratingly locked. Fortunately, daughter is starting to find it challenging and uses it more often.
Coupled with her summer reading classes, these apps help in teaching her how to form words and spell.
8. Pinkfong Kids Songs and Stories (Price varies depending on Series)
My daughter loves to sing and do some action so I’ve subscribed to a bunch of popular songs….
Alphabets and letters…
And songs that teach her about Telling Time, Weather, Days of the Week, and Days of the Month.
She now knows all of these so teaching with music helps!
In summary
The ipad can be your enemy or your friend. I personally don’t give her free rein in using the ipad. Actually, I have already deleted Youtube as watching Youtube clips are unhealthy for her.
Listening to Ryan and other Youtube stars, her pronunciation starts to become weird, she learns how to say, “Hey Guys!” to everyone, wants to buy toys all the time, and sometimes access mindless videos that don’t make no sense.
However, like money, technology can teach kids in a fun way. Used correctly, kids develop fast and become more intelligent.
These above mentioned apps are super helpful in her development. And while I don’t get paid for sharing the love, I do encourage you to try them and leave me a feedback to say whether they are as helpful for you and your child, as they were for us.
Have a good week ahead!
