After Christmas, I got several emails and facebook messages from friends who received an iPad as a gift and wanted to know some good apps to load. I decided I’d share my answers with all of you, just in case you’re on the hunt for some new apps. I am not suggesting that all of these are worth every penny, but these are the ones that get the most use in our home. Enjoy!
Education:
This was the link I started with when we bought our iPad. Pick a category or subject from the top of the page and start browsing!
Ansel and Claire’s Adventure in Africa
Art Authority – Warning: My kids are not allowed to open this app. It’s fantastic for teaching art history, but those crazy Renaissance artists require a lot of censoring!
3D Brain – My kids aren’t really big enough to understand this, but Ian likes to poke around on it sometimes. I think it’s pretty neat.
History: Maps of the World – So handy as we work our way through the history of the world.
Games For Kids:
Bubbles – I can’t find a link to a website for this app, but it has been a favorite of my Littles. The maker is Hog Bay Software.
Phony Phone – for babies
Angelina Bubble Pop – Ellen’s favorite
Preschool Adventure – One of the first apps I bought for my iphone and it still gets lots of use.
Moo Baa La La La App – An interactive version of one of our favorite books.
Cookie Doodle – This is a favorite of my littles, but all my children will play it.
Drums! – Also, no link, but if you search for it with the exclamation point, you’ll find it on iTunes. We have lots of drummer wanna-bes in our house and this is a quiet way to handle them.
Traffic Rush – This game makes my blood pressure soar but the kids enjoy crashing the cars into each other.
Oregon Trail – Fun for all. I use it as a ploy to make my little brothers like me. I’m pretty cool when I show up with a fully charged phone and let them play Oregon Trail. Further proof I am not above bribery for affection…
Angelina Ballerina – A girly favorite.
Flight of the Hamsters – This is ridiculous. And funny.
Ragdoll Blaster – Another one that I find infuriating. However, Andrew assures me there’s physics and logic involved (both of which I have never excelled at) so I pretend it’s educational for the kids.
Topple – Tetris but with more interesting faces.
Flight Control – My older kids like to play this. We have grown-up friends who like it, too, and play it when they come over.
Friendsheep – We have the free version of this. It makes me laugh. Sheep are always funny, right?
Toontastic – Kids can make cartoon videos. This is an app that I don’t think is that exciting but they find it hilarious.
Pictureka – This is actually pretty tricky. Andrew and I have played and we get frustrated with it. But the kids have beat the whole thing. They’ve got mad skillz.
For Big Kids and Grown-Ups:
Ticket to Ride – Andrew and I have played the board game version of this for years and I can’t recommend it enough. We LOVE having it on the iPad because now we don’t have the pieces to fool with and we can play with two players. They also allow you to play each other wirelessly, so we can each have an iPad. But it’s more fun to cuddle and just pass the iPad back and forth in a shared game.
Settlers of Catan – This is an app that saves us the hassle of playing with the board game and all the pieces. We can also play bots so we don’t need more people. I don’t think it’s as intuitive to play on the iPad if you’ve never played it before, but I’ve never LOVED this game as much as others.
Medici – A bidding type game that we pass back and forth between us to play. I would never play this on a board because of all the pieces, but I will play the app. We enjoy it. We’ve played it a few times in the ER this pregnancy. Andrew always wins. I can’t imagine why…
ESV Study Bible – Worth every penny.
W.O.R.D. Welder – I don’t think I’m really smart enough for this game, but it’s my current word game fave.
White Noise – A must for when we travel. We plug the iPad into the wall and let it run all night.
Andrew’s Picks:
Andrew has his own iPad that he won at work. These are his favorites:
Reeder – Keeps up with your RSS feed.
Notetaker HD – He tried several before settling on this to do his lists and notes.
Dropbox – He put our PDF of the Jesse Tree book on this so he could read by the light of his iPad at the table over candlelight.
Thanks for sharing….very helpful
This is tremendously helpful. Thanks for posting this.
MC suggesting to me on Saturday morning that my iPad might need to take one for the team and carry some kids apps so Blythe will have stuff to do while the big kids are at dance, basketball, etc. This is very timely.
So I downloaded W.O.R.D. Welder last night. I’ve been looking for a challenge my brain word game and Words with Friends is not my thing.
I hold you responsible for my lack of sleep.
And my brain hurts.
That is all.
Would totally love to know how you handle ipad use amongst the kiddos… it’s a total sin and strife magnet at our house.
NO WAY! They have Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride apps!?!? My life was not complete, and I never even knew it!
Elle – Hehe. You’re welcome.
They have a 15 minute time limit. And if they don’t keep up with it and I bust them hogging the iPad, they lose their privileges with it for the week. It’s not foolproof, but we can make the iPad disappear for a very long time if we need to. Plus, they aren’t allowed to play it somewhere alone. They must let their siblings sit nearby and watch.
I’m going to have fun digging through your list! I would add the following:
Casey’s Contraptions — mechanically minded boys will love it!
Mr. Giggle — a fun tetris like puzzle for kids and me.
Oh what a brilliant list… and so many I haven’t seen before!!! Totally agree on the ESV study Bible, well worth it!!! And mine love Bubbles too!!! I posted my kiddo’s favorite apps last week (http://p.ost.im/p/em2fFH), we love DK Apps… simple, clean fun… well worth a try.
Sorry, I just have to put this out there but why do the Renaissance artists require a lot of censoring???
The natural form of the human body was depicted for its beauty. I do not think you are doing a great favor to your children’s education for censoring art and history, not to mention the natural state of their own bodies, it is not something to be ashamed of.
Maggie – When I say that I do some “censoring,” I did not mean we do not expose our children to the art of the Renaissance. Nor do I ONLY show them fully clothed works of art. What I meant by censoring was “context.” At their age, I prefer for them to view any art within the context of what we are studying. In order for me to be certain they understand the context, I prefer that they use this particular app (or any collection of artwork) with me by their side, so we can discuss things. If they have questions, I want to be on hand to answer them.
Also, I take my recommendations to my readers very seriously and I know that, as a parent, I would always prefer to be informed about the content of an app before I purchase.