I recently purchased an Ipod Touch for my 5 yr old son. I decided to get him one after he kept borrowing my phone to play games or watch videos I had loaded on it for him. I know some of you are saying a 5 yr old doesn’t need an Ipod! And yes I agree but I justified it after seeing all the great educational apps for kids that are available for the Ipod Touch.
First thing I did was load all the episodes of Leap Frog series of DVD’s as well as the Blue’s Clues DVD’s we owned. Then I went searching for educational apps at the Itunes store. After, I sat down with my boy to help walk him through navigating the Ipod Touch as well as teach him how to use the apps. Within a few minutes, he was saying “give it to me, I know how to do it”. And sure enough, he was swiping and tapping like a pro!
I own a Google Android phone and every time my son tried to use it, he always got lost in the navigation of the device. With the Apple Ipod Touch, he pretty much figured it out just through experimentation. This is what truly blew me away about the Apple Ipod Touch. Everything seems so intuitive that even a 5 yr old can figure it out!
Now regarding the educational apps for kids, there are literally thousands of them. Here are the ones I’ve currently have loaded on his Ipod Touch.
Good Ipod Touch Apps for Kids
- Clifford’s BE BIG with Words
- Doodle Buddy
- Five Little Monkeys
- Giraffe’s Matching Zoo
- iWrite Words (Tracing Game)
- KidCalc FREE Math Fun
- Shape Builder – The Preschool Learning Puzzle Game
- Sketchmania
- Sneezies Lite
- Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D Free
- Wheels on the Bus
If you take the plunge and splurge for an Ipod Touch for your kids, I don’t think you will go wrong with any of the apps I’ve listed above. I’ve not seen it mentioned before but I think parents who buy their kids the Ipod Touch eventually end up buying less “dedicated” educational toys like Leap Frog. I know I have which tends to even out the costs over the long run. Most of the apps I’ve listed are free.
Oh, and my son is a big time Star Wars fan (from Legos; I have not let him watch the actual movies) so I have one additional app called Lightsaber Unleashed which basically turns the Ipod Touch into a light saber.
If you do buy your child one, just remember to establish a time limit (I have it set at 30 minutes/day) from the start!
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