e-Tots, Educational and Fun!
I have mixed feelings about using technology with little ones. I love having Skype so that I can see my baby nephew who lives on the other side of the state, but it seems as though apps have taken over as “babysitters” in many cases. But, if parents are using technology with their little ones, I decided that we want them to be well-informed and made aware of some of the better apps on the market! Enter our e-Tots program. Today was the first day we tried it out. We have 10 iPads in our department and I chose to offer the program for up to 15 families, thinking that a few families may not show up. So instead of having too many people, only one child came with another one showing up 20 minutes late! So, rather than doing an entire program for one person, I gave the mom the book and iPad and let them explore on their own!
At the beginning of the program, I was planning on opening with “Open, Shut Them” and “Bananas Unite.” Then I would read one of my favorite books, Press Here by Hervé Tullet. This would lead right into our app exploration as we discovered all the fun games that the Press Here app has to offer. After we spent some time on this particular app, I would allow the families to continue using that app or explore a few others that I had downloaded. The apps include:
I chose apps that do require a small amount of money, but these usually have richer content and can be a better quality. Plus, by paying for them, you don’t have to worry about advertisements and paying for extra content.
I was able to hand out a new iPad apps brochure that I created with a list of 30 apps geared toward toddlers and preschoolers with a gentle reminder that using apps with little ones needs to be done together!