One thing that I love about the applications available for the iPhone and iPod Touch are the multitude of learning activities available for toddlers and children getting ready to enter school. Today I would like to share two applications that I have recently purchased for my son. Both of these applications (“FirstWords: Animals” and “iWriteWords”) are wonderful for developing pre-reading/writing skills.
Below are links for both applications, a short video I made this morning, and additional screenshots with brief descriptions.
(“FirstWords: Animals iTunes Link- 
)
(“iWriteWords iTunes Link- )
“FirstWords: Animals”
With “FirstWords: Animals” the objective is to use the letter tiles to spell a word. The image of the animal appears at the top of the screen. The letter tiles are easy to move and there are numerous settings for adjusting speech (letters announced upon tapping), word order, letter order, and letter hints.
After the home screen there is the first animal with letter tiles at the bottom of the screen. As you can see in this image I have “hints” turned on.
At the top of the screen is a transparent “i”. When this is clicked an additional option screen appears. It is on this screen that settings can be changed for the skill level of the toddler using the application.
“iWriteWords”
My son loves the giraffe on the loading screen! Each time he sees it he knows it is time to write his letters.
When the first word appears in “iWriteWords” a little crab presents itself. The child then presses this crab and moves it along each of the numbers. The little crab moves to the top of the line if the child accidently travels off of the line. In the video above I show how going off of the line causes this to happen.
Each letter, once written, falls to the bottom of the screen. There is a playback button on the bottom. This allows for the child to see their words spelled again.
So what do you think?
Both are wonderful applications! I have seen my son quickly learn how to use these applications as well as learn from them! He loves saying the letters out loud as he sets them in place or “writes” them while following the lines.
Do you have any applications for toddlers to suggest? Feel free to send them in. You can use the contact form at the top of the page or you can comment below!
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Jessica
/ April 30, 2009thanks for the recommendations! i just got iwrite for my 3 year old and he loves it!
Mike
/ April 30, 2009I am glad that you like it! I was just showing a teacher I work with
the same app today. She is a kindergarten teacher and a brand new
iPhone owner!
juliereef
/ July 17, 2009Hello,
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/...
I am the mom of a 4 years old little girl and I have an iphone ! I found out that in the appstore there were not enough good educational games for kids to developp their abilities and intelligence . So I decided to develop an application which will help and also give some fun for kids to play, to learn and write their alphabet and words.
This app “Write my name” is dedicated to all the parents who love to teach their child how to write their name or any words.
“Write my name” can help teach your kids to spell !
“Write my name” is an educational game which helps your children recognize the letters of their name and how to place them in order.
This game is very simple, you will like this easy app :
- You or your child enter your child's name (or another word).
- Letters appear on the screen randomly.
- The kids have to place them in the correct order.
You can also play with any words.
This game will also help your kid to recognize words, boost his visual memory and constitute a pre-learning to reading skill.
Summer is here ! Make sure the kids get ready for the next school year :
“Write your name” helps toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergardens learn some basic words :
- Preschoolers, and kindergartners will learn to write and play with their first-name.
- Toddlers will learn and play with more difficult words, depending of their vocabulary.
This application is also a good way to help your kid to become familiar with your iphone and it is a good family game.
This is a great game for kids who get bored in the car, in the airplane, at the restaurant, or anywhere.
Kids between the ages 2 to 6 love to play with letters, words and their spellings.
Fun and educational ! Learn while having fun, it's easy!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/...
Thanxs,
Julie