Casual Mom

We recently had the opportunity to check out a couple of educational games for preschoolers for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Count Caddy and Sort Slider are two apps that are part of the Tickle Tap Apps series.

Tickle Tap Apps are developed by zinc Roe design and are geared at being educational and fun, yet simple enough for kids to do on their own. My daughter Izzy, who is 3, did the “testing” of these apps and had no problem following the simple verbal instructions. There is no reading required so she didn’t need me to help explain what to do and could play on her own.

Count Caddy (app store link) teaches counting by having kids drag various items into a circle while the game counts them. Unfortunately, this game didn’t hold Izzy’s attention long and she didn’t make it far.  I do plan on encouraging her to play because it is a great way to teach counting by twos and threes.

Sort Slider (app store link) was more successful at entertaining her.  She played this game for awhile and seemed to really enjoy it.  Instead of dragging their finger on the screen, kids tilt the phone to slide the shapes to the matching silhouette (dragging can still work too).

We both enjoyed the animations, music and style of the games and look forward to trying the other Tickle Tap Apps in the series.  These are great games to have handy for those times you might need to keep younger kids occupied, for instance while traveling or waiting at the doctor’s office.  Definitely worth giving a try.

If you’re looking for some online games for younger children, then take a look at Izzy’s Page.   We have put together a list of sites that have free games you can enjoy with your child.  It’s a great way to spend time together and at this age playing is learning so have some fun!

If you have suggestions of sites that should be included, please feel free to share them and we’ll take a look and add them to the list.