Build a Bug Workshop?... Create Cute Bugs With Your Toddler

Bug Builder App
$1.99




If you're like me, bugs make you a little squeamish...but with this cute app for your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad,  bugs are adorable and...creative.

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The Bug Builder app by Tickle Tap Apps is full of bright colors, charming music, and fun sound effects. It is a very simple concept; in fact when I purchased the app, I was thinking that you could choose what kind of eyes the bug would have, antenna, legs, etc., and was a little disappointed at just how simple it really was.

I later showed the app to my two year old daughter however, and realized that this simplicity is perfect for toddlers (which we all know have shorter attention spans). Toddlers love creating things, but don't want to be patient and go through a lot of steps and details to get to their final product. Duh mom! The app developers recommend this app for children ages 3-5, though I'd say some two year olds can grasp this app also.

Let me explain this simple concept: first you choose from 4 different designs for the body of your bug. Then you choose from several different colors to draw on your bug. Next you tap the smiley bug face in the top right-hand corner, and your design is placed in an "egg". Now it is your job to hatch it! You tap on the egg six times, and voila, your bug creation is hatched with a face, wings, antenna, legs, and whatever else they may have. Then you can click on the camera image in the top right-hand corner, and take a picture of your bug, which is saved in your photos section on your device. Goodness, I probably have at least 20 bugs in my phone! What can I say, my daughter loves this app! She laughs so hard when her bug hatches and she sees what crazy creation she's made.

What's also great is that there are many different bug features the app adds onto your  bug, so you're sure to have a different-looking bug each time!

The app is $1.99.

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Learning Letters: Toddler's First Spelling App

FirstWords: Animals App

Your toddler always grabbing for you phone? Why not keep their fingers occupied while engaging him/her with a great app teaching them letters and forming words?

I love the FirstWords: Animals app for iPhone, iPod, and iPad. My two year old daughter absolutely loves it. She loves the animals, and I love that she is learning letters and how letters make up words.

The app basically works like this; there is an image of an animal, and the animal word is spoken. A jumble of the letters that make up the word are below it. Your child touches one of the letters in the jumble and drags it  up to the boxes to match it up to the same letter. The app also has a "magnetic" feature about it, so when your child drags the letter close to it's place, it automatically snatches the letter in correct position in the word. Your child can also touch the letter in the box, which triggers a hint by "shaking" the letter in the jumble below as another method of playing the game. This feature can also be turned off for older kids needing more of a challenge, and you can also change the settings to how long you want the words to be, and adjust difficulty levels. Once the word is completely spelled, the speaker audibly spells out the word for further reinforcement, followed by a little animation of the animal.

Only after a few demonstrations on my part, did my daughter pick up on the concept of dragging the letter to it's match. It's really an easy app to introduce to your toddler to get their mind thinking about spelling. Right now we are working on selecting the letters from left to right in order. 

There are several different kinds of FirstWords apps, like a Spanish version, the Deluxe, etc., so go with the one that you think your child will enjoy the best. There is also a free sampler of this app, if you want to try it out before purchasing it. The app is $1.99, and it comes with 39 animals/words.

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Fun App for Toddlers; Peekabo Wild

App Name: Peekaboo Wild
Platform: iPhone 3G
Version: 1.0.2
Developer: Night & Day Studios, Inc.
Fee: $1.99


Peekaboo Wild is a fun and cute app for toddlers. The app is a simple peekaboo game where your child taps on the grass in the African savannah to uncover a hiding animal. An adorable little child’s voice reads the name of the animal out loud, while it is written on the screen. Then, the animated creature comes to life on the phone.

This app is another great distraction to keep your child occupied while driving, waiting at the doctor’s office, etc. You know when you need a distraction to keep your toddler quiet and busy. This app definitely steals my daughter’s attention, and I love watching her smile and laugh when she discovers what animal is hiding in the grass.

Click here to get this app.