App Review: Toca Band

If your toddler likes music, check out Toca Band for iPhone and iPad. So so cute! It's rare that an app entertains ME to the point of laughing but I enjoyed this app quite a bit! 

This app lets you play with 16 different characters that are all playing musical instruments or singing. Each musician you put on the stage adds to your song in a unique way and you can play with them as soloists, exploring their abilities to sing, play, whatever. It's a lot of fun! 

Toca Band is made by the same company that makes another one of our favorite childrens' apps, Toca Robot Lab. They're doing good work over there! Toca Band costs $1.99 in the iTunes store. 

App Review: Boats

I don't mean to stereotype but I'm guessing little boys will like this one more than little girls. My son really likes Boats by Oceanhouse Media. We received a promo code for it the other day and it has become one of his new favorites. And I need new apps constantly with potty training these days!

Boats is a digital book that explains various types of boats - from tugboats to fireboats to cruise ships. Everything on the page is interactive, meaning that you can touch it and the name of the noun will be repeated. 

This app is simple but engaging for toddlers. And if your child likes planes as much as he/she likes boats, you might also enjoy Planes by Oceanhouse Media. Boats is 99 cents in the iTunes Store. Planes is $1.99. No Android version as far as I can tell yet! 

App Review: Wood Puzzle

I recently became aware of some fun wood puzzle apps from a company called Tropisounds. They are SO cute and Little Mo LOVES them! They keep his attention far longer than any other app I've reviewed in recent months. 

If your children are fans of puzzles, especially the wooden Melissa & Doug shape puzzles, they will like these apps. They have the same look and sound of wooden block puzzles but they are virtual. 

My son's favorite is called Wood Puzzle First Years for iPad. It is also available for iPhone. Both costs $1.99. He likes to put the shapes together and call out the name or color of the shape as he places it. Some of it can be a little complicated for him because some puzzles require you to put objects inside of another object and he doesn't quite get that yet. But that makes it fun for him and I to do together. 

You can also change the language to Spanish if you would like so that your child can learn shapes, colors, and other words in another language. 

Other fun apps from this developer that we have tried include: 

• Wood Puzzle (Different from First Years edition. A little more complicated because shapes can rotate as well as move off of their places.)
• Wood Puzzle Easter (Holiday edition of course.)
• Wood Puzzle Maze HD

App Review: Disney's It's A Small World

Click here to read my weekly children's app review for Consumer Reports discussing Disney's new It's A Small World app. This is a very cute app for Disney fans everywhere! 

App Review: Christmas Sound Shelf

Click here to read my weekly children's app review in Consumer Reports. This is a fun one! Baby Mo's new favorite considering his new obsession with Santa!