Tickled! Tickle Tap iPhone Apps

BigGirl likes to play on my phone. the iPhone touchscreen is just too much fun! i have a handful of kid-friendly applications that i downloaded just for her, and i let her play when i need her to be still and quiet, like in the pediatrician's waiting room, while i'm vacuuming, or if Mama and Daddy need to have an adult conversation with no interruptions. hey, whatever works, right?!

so you can see why i was really excited to be selected to try out and review Tickle Tap Apps. Tickle Tap Apps are age-appropriate educational and interactive games for the iPhone or iPod Touch. the games are simple, colorful, and are designed to teach or reinforce sounds, numbers, colors, patterns, and shapes.

i gave Tickle Tap Apps bonus points for being developed by a leading preschool games consultant and tested by kids ages 3, 4, and 5 years old. perfect.

i downloaded two of the Tickle Tap Apps, Count Caddy and Sound Shaker. at first glance, these apps seemed too simple for BigGirl (age 4). but then i realized, iPhone apps are not really for the challenge but for the fun. so let's give it a whirl.

Sound Shaker is hilarious. i mean, we were all laughing so hard- literally tickled- by this silly game.

the child chooses which sound she wants to play with: the chime, whistle, drum, barnyard animals or mystery sounds. and then, by tapping and tilting the phone, the selected sound, depicted by a colored circle on the screen, changes audibly and visually. it's noisy, and it gets noisier the more the child taps and tilts the phone. but it's hilarious. the longer you tap in one spot on the screen, the bigger the circle gets until eventually SUPRISE! a little chick hatches and tweets across the screen. that part cracks BigGirl up every time!

Bubba thought the animal noises were fun, but mostly he wanted to grab my phone and do it himself. uh...no sir.

Count Caddy is cute, too. it focuses on counting by ones, by twos, by threes. BigGirl wasn't too crazy about this one, she didn't get past counting by ones. but Bubba loved it. he watched the screen in anticipation as the kitty cat counted her balls of yarn. he held up his fingers, counting. making me one very proud Mama.

the games teach sounds and counting, but i noticed it also helps with the child's development of coordination, concentration, spactial concepts, and small motor skills, just like the Tickle Tap App website promises.
Tickle Tap App developers zinc Roe design does all the research and testing to create the best apps for preschoolers. i thought they did a great job by making these apps simple, cute, fun, and funny, without being obnoxiously colorful or noisy, or over the top in the design sceme.
 
my kids are so tickled by the games, i'm keeping Tickle Tap Apps on my phone for sure.
 
check out Tickle Tap Apps at http://www.tickletapapps.com/ and watch video clips to see the games in motion. they're available for download online and at the iPhone App Store. download Tickle Tap Apps for your little ones to enjoy, too!
 
 
{full disclosure: i was given two promo codes to download Tickle Tap Apps for free, and asked to review them.}

i need your prayers this Thanksgiving

i'm going to get a little personal here. because i need your prayers, please.

this Thanksgiving is different. difficult.

i don't cook the turkey or ham. i'm not stressed out about recipes or side dishes. i didn't set a fancy table or even clean my house. i didn't make place cards. i didn't bake a pie.

this is the first Thanksgiving without Larry. my sweet Father-in-Law went to heaven in March, and nothing here on earth will ever be the same.

there will be tears. there will be silence.

there will be an empty seat at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

i'm staying strong. i'm going thru the motions. i'm holding up so that i can be the shoulder for my husband or my Mother-in-Law to cry on. i'm staying distracted by the children, wearing a smile for their sake, changing the subject. but it hurts on the inside. i miss him so much.

i am most thankful that God is my Father and He gives me supernatural strength to get thru times like these. i'm thankful that i can fully lean on Him to pull me, us, thru this holiday season. i'm thankful that i can call on my God to step in and fill the emptiness, and i know He will.

won't you please lift us up in your prayers this Thanksgiving?