15 More iPhone Applications for Kids (Part II)

And now for our next installment of “There are so many kid-apps on my iPhone that the kids think my phone actually belongs to them”… (If you missed the first post – I originally listed 20 games my kids loved playing on my iPhone)

1) Carrie’s Dots (Free version)
Do you remember when you were a kid, and to pass time waiting at a restaurant, you used to draw this grid of dots – each person took a turn connecting the dots with vertical or horizontal lines – when you made a box – you got a point, and also got to take another turn… That’s this game. Kids love it. Still does a great job of passing time while waiting in a restaurant.

2) Koi Pond (Full Version)
I’m kind of surprised I didn’t mention this one in my first listing. I think this was one of the very first apps I downloaded when I bought my phone. Cute little app. Has sound effects in the background. The fish swim around. Touch the pond to scare them away (my 3 year old son loves doing that WAY too much) – shake the phone to feed the fish. The graphics and interaction are well done.

3) Memory Match (Free version | Full Version – Child Development | Full Version – anime match)
A simple memory game with cute little cartoon animals to pair up.  I’m not sure why there’s the different full versions. We’ve been using the free one and have been happy with it.

4) iZoo (Free version | Full version)
This is a cute little app that plays various animal sounds. My one complaint is that some of the animal sounds are quite a bit louder than others. So randomly, my son will be playing with the phone and scare the crap out of me because I wasn’t expecting to hear a Baboon screech at that particular moment. Also – if you start to fumble to turn the volume down – you will discover that the APPLICTAION’S volume is only controllable WHILE IT IS MAKING NOISE. If you start turning the volume down when it is not screeching – you are only turning down your phone’s ring volume. The baboon will still be screeching just as loud the next time you click on the picture. If you are quick, you can turn down the app’s volume while it is making noise. So yea, it would be nice if there were more easily accesible volume controls – and if the animal noises had been processed so that one isn’t whisper quiet – while another is deafeningly loud.

5) Four Free (Free version | Full version)
Remember that Connect-Four game? Same thing – without all the little chips to lose.

6) Morocco (Free version)
Remember Othello? Again, same thing, without all the little chips to lose.

7) Toddler Teaser Shapes (Free version)
My 3 year old son loves this game. It calls a shape, you have to click it – do that enough times and you get a “sticker” to paste on the page. This developer also makes a number of other cute toddler games I’m tempted to download.

8 ) Sneezies (Free version | Full version)
This is a cute and weird game. There’s these little fuzzy guys floating around in bubbles. You get one chance to click in a spot on the screen and it starts a chain reaction. If one of the fuzzy guys is within range – his bubble will pop. His popping bubble will cause nearby bubbles to pop and so on. The goal is to clear as many of the guys on the screen as possible. Like I said, weird. (But fun)

9) Butterflies (Free version | Full version)
You can change your background, and which butterflies will appear on the screen. Touch the screen and some butterflies will “land” on your finger.

10) Dino Mixer (Full version)
Kind of like a slot machine but with different dino parts. You can mix and match and make your own dinosaurs. If you find the correct matching parts to the dinosaur, it will tell you the name of the dinosaur. I could see some ways they could expand the app – like actually SAYING the name of the dinosaur when you get it (sometimes those pronunciations can be tricky!) or giving you a random factoid about the dinosaur. Or for fun – giving you the made up name of your mixed-and-matched dinosaur… But it’s still a cute app even without that.

11) Preschool Arcade (Full version)
3 games are included with this one. A “claw” like game where you have to pick up the shape that matches the silhouette. There’s a toddler space invader type game, and a pinball like game. (The pinball game is weird, and I just don’t get it. My son plays with the claw game mostly) The main reason I got this game is because I liked the next one so much that I wanted to try a few others from this developer.

12) Make a Martian (Full version)
This game is VERY cute and simple. There are various martian body-parts you can change, you can also change the martian’s colors to create your own unique martian.

13) Pet Playpen (Full version)
My (almost) 9 year old daughter liked playing this game. You can pick three animals to have as pets. Feed them, play with them, clean up their poop. Can it get more fun than that??

14) Spazzle (Free version | Full version)
Basically whack-a-mole. The twist with this game is occasionally other animals pop up that you are NOT supposed to whack – so you can’t just go whacking animals willy-nilly. Well almost. Download the game at your own risk, and hopefully your 3 year old won’t bang his hand on the screen in an attempt to whack as many creatures as once. (Disturbing on many levels.) Hey, there’s also an alien version.

15) Colorama (Full version)
I saved the best one for last. This is my favorite of the list. The drawings are adorable, and there’s lots of them. The color picker is really cute. You can save your colored drawing, or go back and edit it (when you complete the drawing, it plays a little fanfare) Definitely worth the mere $.99!

I should also add, that I finally caved in and bought the full version of the Balloon Animals game. The kids have just loved this game, and really wanted to see some new animals. The additional animals you get with the paid version are very cute and the kids have been having a lot of fun with them.

BONUS APP:
Have2Pee (Free version)
So this isn’t a “kid-app” exactly – but if you have kids, you’ve probably been in the situation of needing to find the nearest bathroom as soon as possible!!! I haven’t yet had to put this app to use, but I have it now at the ready should the emergency arise!

There’s still a ton more apps on my phone that I didn’t mention yet – so another iPhone apps for kids review post will be coming again soon. Stay tuned!

Longest 3 weeks ever…

So, tonight I FINALLY was able to complete “Week 3: Session 1” – Run 3 minutes, walk 2 minutes (10 times). I’ve been working on that rotation for about 2 weeks now. LOL! Week 3: Session 2 will be a breeze then – Run 2 minutes, walk 2 minutes (9 times). And after that the next few sessions seem easily within reach.

I’ve finally managed to get myself running on the treadmill, which I think has been the critical thing for my being able to complete this session. I think before, when I was running outside, I was getting too hot (it hasn’t been cooling down enough at twilight recently), and I was also probably getting dehydrated. Even tonight, running in an air conditioned gym, and basically drinking a huge bottle of water – when I stopped running, I felt dizzy. I don’t know if that’s really normal or not. I do have a doctor’s appointment in about a month and I guess if that keeps up, I’ll ask her. Either way, I still prefer running outside, so I need to figure out a way to keep a water bottle handy.

These are the types of simple questions that always make me feel like an idiot. I mean, what do “real” runners do? I never see the joggers I pass on the road lugging a big jug of water with them. How do these people not get dehydrated?!

In any case, I did see someone bicycling with something like this: Amphipod Full Tilt Velocity Waistpack – basically the water bottle goes on your back. I’m not sure how well it works for running, but I’m really tempted to try it. REI I think is one of those stores that has a really good return policy if I recall…? Don’t like it – bring it back, even if you’ve used it kind of thing. So even though $32 seems like more than I’d want to spend on a water bottle – I’m willing to try it if I know I can return it if it doesn’t work out.

In any case, I’m feeling really good about tonight’s victory. 50 minutes or running/walking. Go me! 😀