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There are so many apps for toddlers out there on the market but what do our kids really like playing with and what do we mothers think about these apps?
(if you came from pinterest for the winning an ipad mini the giveaway is over, a winner will be announced shortly)
Here are my 5 apps for toddlers that my kids love.
1. Farm 123
Free limited play / upgrade for $2.99
Quick summary: Kids will love learning to count as they help Farmer Jo around the farm in this magical pop-up book and game. They’ll have hours of fun playing with cheeky farm animals: chasing them, putting them in the pen, and giving them a good wash!
My 3 year old loves this one so much I bought the paid version to unlock more games.
Actual screenshots from game play. Notice all those award stars my 3 year old has racked up learning to count! 
2. Lazoo ZOO
Free
Quick summary:It’s snack time at the zoo, and everybody’s hungry. Of course this is no ordinary zoo, it’s Lazoo Zoo, filled with giraffes whose spots magically change depending on what they’re fed, an ape who sprouts new hairstyles when he’s overfed and a finicky lion who tells you what he feels like eating.
My 3 year old loves playing this game there is an area for drawing as well.
Actual screenshots of the game in use. 
3.Shape Builder LITE
Free (15 puzzles) /Can upgrade for more puzzles $0.99
Quick Summary:Shape Builder encourages cognitive thinking and fine motor skills plus exposes young minds to new music instruments, animals, produce, objects and the alphabet in a fun and engaging format with LOTS of fun sound effects!
Another of the apps for toddlers my 3 year old loves. My 4 year old use to play this one as well but he found more interesting apps since. 
4. Amazing Ants
Free / in app purchases.
Quick Summary:Help these Hungry Ants bring fruit home. Make these jumping ants FLY with Rocket Sticks, TUNNEL underground, FLOAT in soap bubbles, and BOUNCE off water sprinklers to get golden apples, luscious berries, and much more! Loaded with fun physics game play, challenging puzzles, and gorgeous graphics, Amazing Ants will keep you on the edge of your seat.
This one is by far my 4 year olds favorite app and he has been playing it since he was 3. I love that it encourages him to think of solutions to get his ants to their food and to the exit. He has unlocked many rewards and extra levels just by playing. 
5. Ubooly
Free / Upgrade packs available
Quick Summary:Ubooly is an interactive learning companion that listens and responds, with 100+ fun and educational activities for ages 3-10. Ubooly is your child’s companion, tutor and gym coach all in one.Ubooly tells stories, plays games, sings songs, teaches lessons and more. This is one of my personal favorite apps for toddlers.
All 3 of my kids love Ubooly. Although the summary says from age 3 the company is currently testing out a toddler pack that my 19 month old just loves. There are so many adventures to go on and many funny jokes to listen to. Ubooly also has a plush toy that fits your iphone or tablet inside. Take a look.
I asked a few friends to share theirfavoriteapps for toddlers and what they thought of them.
Heidi says her 2 love these apps for toddlers.
6.Cut the rope
Free / Paid version for more levels
E (4) adores this game, getting the candy to the frog by cutting the right ropes at the right time. It’s all about timing and strategy.
7.Paint melody
Free
Pick an instrument and draw, it plays each time you touch the screen. A great music app for toddlers,G (3) loves the colors!
8.Map Puzzles for Kids
Limited Free / $0.99 to unlock all puzzles
Puzzles that say the name of every country you touch. E and G love puzzles, the trickier the better. 🙂
Heidi’s favorite series on our blog is called Raising Boys and includes 10 heart felt topics.
Laura of Lalymomsays these apps for toddlers get the most play.
I follow a couple blogs that share when good apps go on sale or are free soover the past year we have banked up quite a few educational and playful apps. My three and ahalf year old daughterwill cycle through most of them over time but there are some that she plays more than others.
9.Lazoo Squiggles
Free
This company has several great apps that are art-based. I love this one because it is aplayful invitationfor kids who are not drawing actual pictures yet to begindeliberate mark making.
Each scene asks you to make specific marks to compete the picture, then you click the go button and the app animates the picture with your child’s marks along with it.
10.Endless alphabet
$6.99
This app even makes me giggle. Endless Alphabet starts with a listof words in ascrolling screen. Once you select a word the word appears on the screen with letters in place only to be scattered by monsters running through. Youmoveeach letter to the matching spot in the word, like a peg puzzle, and each letter makes a silly letter sound as you move it. Onceyou match all the letters monsters appear to demonstrate the word and a narrator tells you the meaning.
Ithink it appeals to a wide range of ages because even young kids will get a kick out of moving the silly letters around and hearing the sounds each one makes, yet older kids can actually learn new vocab words in a fun way.
11.Letter school
$2.99
Letter school has really gotten my daughter to enjoy trying to make letters on her own. The app includes three levels of participation for each letter. The first one requires you only to touch the circles at the staring point for each letter stroke and an animation competes the stroke.
The second one requires you to follow the lines to make the letter and the last one requires you to connect the dots with no guide lines. Each one rewards you with an animation. It’s fun but tricky…challenging but rewarding.
Check out 2 of my favorite posts from Laura on her blog Lalymom! 50 COOL DIY Toys for Fine Motor Skills DevelopmentandDIY Back Massage Shirt: A Musical Massage from Your Kids!
George of Craftulate says her toddler loves these kindle apps for toddlers.
12.Itsy Bitsy Spider
$1.99
This popular song gets a VERY interactive makeover! There are lots of items to select or swipe, and the spider acts out the story. In addition to the story there are eggs to collect, numbers to count, hats to place and a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly. When my son was 2 he could play this for a long time, because each time he would find something new.
I like it because there is so much going on, and it really engages him.
13.TooTooNi
$3.99
This transport-theme app is really a collection of lots of games, including Match pairs, water paint, join dots, finger paint, “scratch” to reveal image, draw tracks, build blocks (like a free form Tetris), vehicle noises, puzzle and blackboard. Although it isn’t the cheapest option, I still think it is great value because of the range of games.
My son has played this from when he was around 20 months to now – he is nearly 3! Over that time he has preferred different games, but he keeps going back!
14.Super Why
$2.99
Based on the TV show, there are five sections, one for each character and a “sticker” screen. Super Why’s game is finding the word that completes the story sentence. Wonder Red’s game is finding words that rhyme. Princess Presto’s game is about forming and writing each letter, and Alpha Pig’s game is about finding the correct letter to form a word.
The latter game is the easiest, and one that my son started with when he had just turned 2. He slowly grew into the other games and I believe it was highly instrumental to him learning his letters. He is also a fan of Super Why ABC Adventures – which is the for the next level up but equally excellent.
My favorite posts by George on her blog Craftulate!10 Best Kindle Apps for Early Literacy andFine Motor Clothes Fastenings Board.
Check out my Pinterest board for tons more apps for toddlers as well as preschoolers!
Also one of the best tips I have ever put to use with my kids playing on my iphone is to limit all sorts of things such as in app purchases, accidental deletion of apps (happened ALL THE TIME!) and even exiting the app.
Tips you will want to read:
- How to lock iPAD / iPhone screen so kids stay within the app?
- How to Manage In-App Purchase?
- How to Save iPhone Battery Life by Adjusting Screen Brightness
- How to Child-Proof iPAD
