What’s APPening? Baby Geniuses
By Gail Suberbielle
Busy Shapes®
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This award-winning app for little ones age 5 and under is an electronic play on the traditional game where kids put blocks into correspondingly shaped holes. With more than 100 puzzles to engage little fingers and minds, Busy Shapes provides an easy design that also allows parents to readily monitor their child’s progress. The makers of Busy Shapes say that app was inspired by Jean Piaget, who believed that “children are little scientists.” Users match shapes to corresponding “holes,” avoid hidden objects and “sticky puddles,” and use tools to assist in moving objects. Cost: $1.99.
The Little Bug®
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Introduce your little ones to the wonders of science and the insects that reside in their backyards with this charming and instructive app. Your little one can read the story himself or herself, or let the narrator tell the story. With beautiful illustration, youngsters are introduced to ants crafting anthills, spiders spinning their webs, grasshoppers generating music and bees making honey. The app is designed for children ages 6-8, but suitable for younger children as well. We especially like the “discussion guide” included for parents and the printable worksheets available on the corresponding website, thelittlebugapp.com. Cost: $2.99.
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