Ipad Apps for Young Toddlers

We recently made the trip from Florida to Michigan for the summer. We just can't take the heat ya'll. When getting ready for our trip, I was feeling a little panicky about the three hour plane ride now that Jacob is older and likely wouldn't sleep the whole time. 

I started asking around for ways to occupy him and I received some really good iPad app suggestions. Starting with those recommendations I did some research on my own and before we left I had our mini iPad loaded up with toddler games I hoped would keep him busy. 

Jacob is fairly inexperienced with the iPad. He knows how to tap it, but swiping and tracking are still somewhat difficult for him. I looked for simple, engaging programs that I hoped would hold his attention, and it worked! Jacob played quietly with the iPad, ate his airline cookies, and even took a nap! 

Here are the Apps he really enjoyed: 

Peekaboo Barn

This tops our list. It's so simple. Jacob taps on the barn and an animal appears. He likes to say it's name (the app also says it) and make it's noise. He then taps on it again and the barn closes back up. Once he taps on it again, it reopens with a new animal. This repeats for 15 or so animals before the sun goes down and they all fall asleep. We recently discovered Peekaboo Fridge as well, some concept but food in a fridge instead of animals in a barn. 

Bubble Pop

This is another one that doesn't require your toddler to know how to do anything other than tap the screen. Bubbles float across the screen and when you tap them, they pop! 

ABC Train 

This educational app does require swiping, but it just needs to be a general swipe in one direction, which Jacob can handle. (as opposed to swiping to move an object from one place to another). Everytime you swipe you move to the next train car which has a letter, and an object that starts with that letter. Jacob loves trains and my teacher heart loves the alphabet. 

Animal Match

Only tapping is required here. You tap to flip over two cards and if the animals match, they stay. If they don't match they flip back over and you pick two more. Jacob is getting really good at this game, and I can see his memory improving as he now takes the time to think about where he saw that animal before. 

Mickey's Wildlife Count Along

Mickey is an absolute favorite around here, so Jacob loves this app. There is some tapping and swiping involved but with my help he could do it. Mickey and his friends travel in his car (it narrates and reads a story to you as it goes) and you get to make some choices about where they go by tapping on the signs. In each place you tap the animals and they take pictures of different animals that live there. At the end, there are some counting games, but we skipped over those since Jacob isn't counting yet. 

What are your favorite toddler apps? We'd love some new suggestions!