Toddler iPhone App Review: Preschool Adventure
Price: $0.99
Pop Culture Mom Rating: 5 out of 5
This is one of the great bargains as far as iPhone apps for toddlers goes. You get eight games in one. Each game involves a different skill: colors, numbers, shapes, parts of the body, matching, “art” (which is actually coloring), sounds (animal sounds) and typing.
Colors
This game is often my daughter's favorite. Pop Culture Toddler is really into sea creatures right now, so this game is right up her alley. When your toddler touches on the colored splotches above, they temporarily transform into the following:
Yellow - fish
Blue - whale
Purple - octopus
Orange - starfish
Green - sea turtle
Red - sea horse
Pink - sea anemone
A child's voice announces the name of the color and the name of the creature. Although I know my daughter only truly knows a few colors, if you ask her to find the proper color/creature combo, she gets it right every time.
One frustrating part of the game is that toddlers will have trouble with accuracy, especially at the beginning. PCT often tries to click on something such as the seahorse, but gets the sea anemone instead. In fact, the errors almost always result in the sea anemone.
Numbers
"Numbers" is your classic connect-the-dots game. This game is still a little too advanced for Pop Culture Toddler (which is why, I guess, this iPhone app is called "preschool" adventure rather than "toddler" adventure). We try to play it every now and then, but I don't think she'll fully appreciate it for a number of months.
Shapes
Honestly, this is really similar to "Colors," only instead of sea creatures, you get shapes with googly eyes which disappear when they jump out of their respective craters. But since toddlers are apparently impervious to boredom via repetition, PCT loves this game.
Artist
In this game, there are four pictures to "paint" any way you choose. Pop Culture Toddler only plays with this when she is absolutely bored with the other games. I, however, think it's fun. If only there were more colors!
Body
This game teaches your little one the parts of the body by saying the name and putting them on the correct spot on the monkey when clicked. PCT already knew her body parts when we got Preschool Adventure, so this isn't really a teaching tool. She just likes the monkey.
Matching
This game looks like it should be boring at all get out, but Pop Culture Toddler giggles every time she plays with it. There are three sliding parts, and you have to click to change each one out until you filly form one of a bear, a pig, an alligator, or a caterpillar (which then turns into a butterfly). Very cute.
Sounds
Honestly, we rarely play this game, because we have another farm animal game Pop Culture Toddler enjoys more. She doesn't mind this game, however. It's just not at the top of her to-play list.
>Typing
Pop Culture Toddler occasionally likes to play with the typing game, which involves pressing a letter on an on-screen keyboard, then seeing a large block version of the letter (you can shift between caps and lower case), followed by an animal whose name starts with that letter.
I think some of the animals chosen for the letters are a bit random [for instance, would you automatically think “giraffe” or “gorilla” would be the “G” animal? I would. It’s a gazelle. And the "N" animal is a newt. Really?!]; but my daughter seems to enjoy it anyway. She gets to "type" and keep her grubby little hands off my computer. Everybody wins.
Overall Impression
Certainly, not every game is a clear hit, and some children are going to prefer certain games to others. As far as value for the money and educational value, however, it's pretty hard to argue with paying less than a dollar (before tax) for eight games. Even if your child only likes one, you've gotten your money's worth.
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