A couple months ago I shared my top ten Android apps for kids. I’m constantly on the search for more apps and since we’ve started Mommy school, I’m looking for apps that are worth my kid’s screen time. Occasionally, I’ll give myself some crazy excuse and let Little Monkey play a good-for-nothing game, but for the most part, it’s gotta have some sort of educational something behind it, even if it’s just a little eye-hand coordination… Ah, see, there’s the crazy excuses coming out.
1. Spaghetti and Marshmallows. My hubby introduced me to this game like two and a half years ago. It was tons of fun. Now, Little Monkey is getting old enough to understand the idea behind it and he enjoys it too. He doesn’t always play the levels, but he is building eye-hand coordination while building the towers. And he thinks destroying the towers with the red blocks is the best thing ever. Such a boy. Using uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows, you construct structures that will hold a marshmallow inside each ring on the level. Some levels have multiple rings. You battle gravity and greedy frogs while you build structures that will support your marshmallows and turn the rings gold. In the Play Store for $0.99. There is also a lite version of the game for free. (Photo is from the Lite version.)
2. Alphabet Find. This is great practice with letters (both upper and lower cases), numbers and shapes. There are two types of game play – timed and endless. Start out endless for a little practice and then bump up the challenge with a timed game or two. Free in the Play Store.
3. First Words. This is fantastic for practicing letters and learning how they make words when you put them together. I really like this game because it’s got multiple levels and skill ranges. You can choose between spelling animals, fruits or colors. You can also choose between uppercase letters, lowercase letters and cursive letters. Then there are three difficulty levels to choose from as well. The first level is more of a letter match, and the other two are more like a spelling game. I love the diversity available with this app. In the Play Store for $1.99. There is also a free Lite version. (There is also a French version for $1.99… Oui, c’est vrai. And don’t laugh too hard if that’s wrong… Freshman year of high school French was a long time ago!)
4. Greedy Spiders. Basically, you cut the strands of the spider web to free the bugs before the spider can get to them. I like this game because it’s all about critical thinking and order. The other day I caught my three-year-old putting undies on over his shorts because he “forgot to put them on first, so [I’ll] just put them on now.” Hmm. No, son. There’s an order to that sequence. Undies, then shorts. On some of the levels, you have to cut the strings in a specific order to keep the bugs safe. There are two versions to this game: Greedy Spiders and Greedy Spiders 2 (shocker, I know). They are both available in the Play Store for $0.99. Or grab up the free versions for free and give the game a test run first.
5. Rope Rescue. This game is another critical thinking game. You have a spool of rope, a variety of wheels and a caged baby bird. You have to take the rope, touch all the wheels and then hook it to the cage to free the baby bird. You get a set amount of rope on each level and the less rope you use the higher you score. There are also a variety of dangers or obstacles to maneuver. Knives, fire, and darkness are just a few. This is a game for the kiddos and Momma and Daddy.
The full version is a bit steep ($2.99) in the Play Store, but there is a Lite version for free if you don’t mind dealing with a little advertising. Word of warning… there are in-app purchases with this one and they do have purchase pop-up screens. Ask me (and my credit card) how I know… If you let the little ones play the lite version, sit with them or turn off your mobile data connection. I got the full version of the game a while back for free with the Amazon App Store
6. Router and Router Aqua. Little Monkey likes the colors mostly, but he is getting old enough to actually understand the concept of the game as well. He can complete the first few levels on his own and he enjoys watching the other levels. You have a set of dots on the screen and the objective is to connect the dots of the same color with the shortest lines possible.Router Aqua is in the Play Store for $1.99. There’s a lite version for free as well.
7. ShapeBuilder. This one is a combination of letter and shape practice mixed with puzzle building. Little Monkey doesn’t totally adore this one, but he will play it for 5-10 minutes, which is sometimes all you need. In the Play Store for $0.99. (I saw a banner on the app in the Play Store advertising half off, but I couldn’t tell if it was $0.99 at the half off price or if it was half off $0.99 and since I’d already bought it, it didn’t even display the price.)
9. Aces Traffic Pack. It’s the classic traffic game. The graphics and animation is great. The sound effects are fantastic. The puzzles are a little hard for Little Monkey to actually beat very often, but he likes to slide the cars around the board. When he gets tired of that, we can play the game together. In the Play Store for free.
10. Spinballs. This is an app that I really enjoy playing too. You have seven discs with six balls of varying colors on each disc. The objective is to spin the discs so the colors match up. The matching color balls then explode and are replaced by new balls. This one is a little difficult after a while, as it is a timed game, but the first three or four levels Little Monkey can do mostly on his own. In the Play Store for $1.49. There is a free version, but it will give you the basic idea of the game and that’s about it. This is another Amazon App Store Free App of the Day for me.
Do you have any other favorite Android apps for kids?
Don’t forget to check out my first set of Favorite Kid Apps. You may also be interested in Must-Have Social Media Apps, and my favorite Apps for Momma: Part 1.
*The above link to Amazon’s App Store is an affiliate link. I receive a small percentage of any sales made by following this link. The insertion of all links are at my sole discretion and only included if and when they prove relevant and helpful to the post.
