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Adapting the Apple iPad for Your Tiny Techie

Kid-tested and parent-approved iPad games can keep your little ones occupied and learning for hours. Educational games such as FirstWords Animals, brain teasers like Monkey Preschool Lunchbox, and fun games like Elmo's Monster Maker HD are all worthy iPad offerings that parents can feel good about -- and kids will love.

In the year since I first wrote about receiving an iPad  for Mother's Day, I've discovered the real gift is that my 2-year-old daughter likes it so much. I use it rarely, but she uses it daily, playing games, watching videos and more.
Because the release of the iPad 2 will inevitably lead to even more people purchasing these devices, I thought I'd share  a few games that have been kid-tested and mother-approved in our home.

(Disclaimer: If our daughter is going to be glued to a screen, I want her to be learning something. I'm sure there are many wonderful pure games out there, but most of our favorites focus on enrichment.)

EDUCATIONAL:

_FirstWords: Animals: This cute game is great for letter recognition. It shows a picture of an animal with spaces for Scrabble-style letter tiles beneath. The child drags the tiles to the matching spaces to spell the name of the animals. $1.99 with free sample, by Learning Touch

_Bob Books #1 -- Reading Magic: This game also features letter tiles, but has additional levels that emphasize letter sounds. The skills taught are great, but the levels advance pretty quickly, and it can get difficult for pre-readers in a hurry. $1.99 with free sample, by Learning Touch

_Toddler Counting: This simple game counts aloud as kids touch the items on the screen (two strawberries, 10 cars, etc.) It's mesmerizing for younger toddlers and seems to help teach counting concepts. 99 cents, by iTot Apps

_Park Math HD: Games that teach counting, adding, subtracting and sorting. One game might ask kids to place items in order from biggest to smallest, while another has them add or remove items to balance a seesaw. $1.99, by Duck Duck Moose

BRAIN TEASERS:

_Monkey Preschool Lunchbox: This app offers matching, puzzle and letter games. They're pretty basic, but the sticker prizes are a winner at our house. 99 cents, by Thup

_Wood Puzzle HD: This cute app is a great introduction to puzzles. Just drag the pieces into the right position and they get sucked into place. In the intro mode, the scattered pieces all stay in the right orientation. Advanced options require rotating the pieces to make them fit. $1.99 with free sample, by Tropisounds

_Animal Hide & Seek Adventure: Find jungle, circus and ocean creatures hiding in their respective environments. It can be pretty challenging to pick out some of the critters, but your child can make them wiggle in their hiding places if he's really stumped. $0.99, by Awesome Giant

_AniMatch: Animal Pairs and Sounds Matching Game: This memory game is so much fun that we're willing to overlook that it's made for the iPhone. A traditional 20-card matching game, it makes animal sounds when the cards are turned over. Other matching games offer more options, but our daughter keeps coming back to this one. 99 cents, by Lima Sky

BOOKS:

_MeeGenius! Children's Books: This app offers classic e-books for kids. The beautifully illustrated stories are read aloud (slowly), with the words in the text highlighted as they're spoken. This free app comes with a handful of books; additional titles are 99 cents to $1.99 in the MeeGenius bookstore.

_"The Monster at the End of This Book": This is one of many children's books that are available for individual purchase on the iPad, and it's one of my personal childhood favorites. While some, such as "The Cat in the Hat," stick to the original illustrations, this one has been entirely reanimated. $3.99, by Sesame Street

JUST FOR FUN:

_Elmo's Monster Maker HD: This game ostensibly teaches parts of the face as kids choose silly eyes, noses and hats to make their own monsters. $3.99, by Sesame Street

_Itsy Bitsy Spider HD: The critters and characters in this app do all sorts of fun and random things when poked. $1.99, by Duck Duck Moose

_Kid Art for iPad: Kids can draw pictures with their fingers and accent them with stickers of every sort. 99 cents, by GP Apps

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