Injini Child Development Game Suite

The only early childhood education app you’ll ever need

Grade: A | Age rating: 1+ | Price:$49.99

Injini Child Development Game Suite is a set of play-based iPad learning games for toddlers, preschoolers, and special needs kids.

Developed over two years in collaboration with early childhood experts and occupational and speech therapists, this is not your typical $.99 iPad app.

If you’re looking to entertain your child in the grocery store line, this one probably isn’t for you.

If, however, you want your children (with or without developmental delays) to practice spatial awareness, fine motor skills, and visual and memory processing skills, you’re in luck.  Oh, and it’s fun too.

Why we like it:

With nine intuitive and appealing learning games built in (including puzzles, pattern recognition, matching, and tracing), this app will provide countless hours of challenging fun to all kinds of kids.  They’ll be to busy shearing sheep, feeding frogs, and popping colored balloons to notice they’re learning.

Injini has been tested on children with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and developmental delays as well as on typically developing toddlers and preschoolers.

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We tested version 1.0, which is compatible with the iPad (version 4.3 or later). Developer NCsoft Corp. Read our disclosure policy.

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Free App Friday: Gum Drop!

A fast-paced falling block puzzle game for the iPhone and iPad

Gum Drop! is fast-paced puzzle game for the iPhone and iPad that requires you to match objects and words faster and faster.

On the left is a slowly inflating pile of gum drops with words on them (food words at first, but later there are animals, cute monsters, and toys too).  On the right is a stack of picture blocks.   Just match the two.

At first it’s easy, but later — for example when all the objects are green — it gets tricky.  We recommend turning off the music to clear the mind.

Kids will need to read very well to play, and still there will be unfamiliar words like “griffin”, “centaur”, and “joystick”.

Want to try it for free?

How to enter

It’s easy peasy.  Just leave a comment below by Tuesday, October 11th, 2011.  The next day, we’ll choose 10 people at random and gift this app to them via email.

And the winners are…

Jeremy, Amy, HB, Sandy, Gypsi, Janel, Steve, Ida, Jess, and Kevin G.  Congratulations and have fun!

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JibJab Jr. Books

Animated, personalized books make your kid the star of the show

Grade: B+ | Age rating: 2+ | Price: Free

JibJab Jr. Books has launched a story app that includes a free introductory book  called “The Biggest Pizza Ever”.

Simply upload a photo of your child’s face, trim and resize it to fit, and the app plugs your child into the animated story.

If you like the experience enough, you can buy additional stories a la carte for $7.99 or subscribe to monthly stories for $3.99.

Why we like it:

If you’re one of those people who can’t get enough of  Elf Yourself , this is the app for you.  There’s not quite as much dancing as in the web-based JibJab applications, but so what?  It’s still funny.  Since there’s only one character (your kid), it’s also much less work.

This is not award-winning children’s literature (spoiler alert: child makes ridiculously large pizza and must deal with the consequences), but it’s fun.  Don’t overthink it.

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We tested version 1.1, which is compatible with the iPad (version 4.3 or later). Developer JibJab Media Inc. Read our disclosure policy.

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Free App Friday: Kiwi and Pear’s Balloon Adventure

Fly up, up and away  with a basket full of monkeys

Kiwi and Pear’s Balloon Adventure is an arcade-style game in the spirit of Doodle Jump and Ninjatown Trees of Doom.  It’s geared toward people of all ages, but the oh-so-cute graphics will really appeal to younger gamers.

Accompanied by two uber-adorable primates, you pilot a hot air balloon ever higher by tilting left and right.

Happy stars, suns, hearts and rainbows give health, points, and power ups.  Not so, thunderclouds, birds, comets and aliens.

Want to try it for free?

How to enter

It’s easy peasy.  Just leave a comment below by Tuesday, October 4th, 2011.  The next day, we’ll choose 10 people at random and gift this app to them via email.

And the winners are…

C Giles, Ed Hsu, Andrew, Barbara, Laura, Liz, Heather, Kay, Susie, and Tanya, check your email.   If you like the app, please consider writing a review for the developer.

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My PlayHome

A sweet and simple dollhouse app that’s good for girls and boys

Grade: A- | Age rating: 2+ | Price:$2.99

My Playhome is a calming app that encourages open-ended play.

Kids as young as two (and as old as ten) will enjoy discovering the many interactive features built in to this seeming simple but multi-layered dollhouse app.

There are no scores, deadlines, power ups, or lives to lose.  Just four fun-filled rooms to explore in a sweet and simple house.

Why we like it:

There are so many fun surprises in every room!  Put in a new CD.  Take a bite out of an apple.  Fry an egg.  Brush your teeth.  Pet the cat.  Get some cold pizza out of the fridge.  Your kids won’t get bored any time soon.

As if that’s not enough, you can add family members into the tableau and make them part of your story too.

Maybe future updates will include the option to choose the family’s ethnicity.  If it had that, it would be pretty much perfect.

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We tested version 1.4, which is compatible with the iPad (version 4.2 or later). Developer Shimon Young. Read our disclosure policy.

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