Top 3 iPhone Apps for Kids

Ahh, the iPhone. A phone, a music player, a game player. And, for a mom on the go, a chance to avoid a tantrum in the waiting room or catch up with a friend. The following applications can provide at least 10 minutes of peace.

Spin Art

Terrific introduction to entertainment on the iPhone for kids. It works just like the offline game - choose a color, spin the canvas, hold down a finger to "paint". Each design is unique. Younger players remember each color choice and design and will often spend upwards of ten minutes quietly experimenting, creating, clearing canvases and saving creations.

Blocked

The premise is simple, move the blue block out from behind the gray ones. Employ a strategy similar to “Rush Hour”. What’s complicated is that horizontal blocks only move left to right, while vertical blocks move only up and down. Adults as well as children will enjoy the challenge—no reading required.

Touch Physics

Looks simple—draw something on the screen to get the purple ball to hit the yellow star. Gets complex fast. While the description says ages four and up, I'm not so sure it's good for the pre-literate set. My seven year old is alternately entranced and dismayed, her younger sister lost interest at level 4.

Bio: Julie Shanson lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with two elementary school-aged daughters and an engineer husband who compel her to keep trying new iPhone applications just to keep up. She runs a consulting practice helping small businesses and solo-preneurs use social media to grow online, and she blogs at tenminutesofpeace.com.

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