iPad for Toddlers : I Hear Ewe

Name: I Hear Ewe 

Developer: Claireware Software

COST: FREE

What does Free mean in this case? It is totally and absolutely FREE. There is no upgrade to pay for, or adverts to interrupt play or annoy parents. If you click on the info section there are two other apps mentioned, Ewe Can Count (also free) and I See Ewe (£0.69). 

Educational Focus: The app features 24 animals and 12 vehicles. It says "this is the sound a XXXX makes" and then plays the sound, so it teaches both the name of the animal or vehicle as well as the sound. 

Options: It is possible to disable the verbal descriptions and only have the animal noises. The verbal descriptions are available in 5 languages:- Chinese, English(American), German, Japanese and Spanish

Preview: I found a little video that gives you a good idea of what it's like

Objectives: 

• simply touch the animal or vehicle and listen to the sound it makes

Skill Practice: Hand/eye coordination, learning and saying names of animals and vehicles and the sounds they make.

Enjoyment: To be honest I was a bit disappointed when I downloaded this. I am not sure what I was expecting, but my initial thoughts were that it didn't do much. However, I am not the target audience and BB LOVES it. He copies both the name of the animal (or vehicle) and the sound and would happily play on it for ages if I let him. He also has his favourites, which he presses over and over again. 

Engagement: I think this does exactly what the developer intended. It can see it would be great distraction for a grumpy toddler in a time of need. I have download it to my phone too for that reason. It is also good to play together though, you can ask your shild to show you different objects, e.g., "Where is the truck?" etc. BB loves doing it back with words he can say, like Frog, and then he claps when I press the right button!

Overall comments/recommendations: You really can't go wrong with this, definitely worth downloading. Although it does seem to have some educational value as my son is learning the names of animals we have not encountered before, I would get it just for the security of knowing you have something to occupy your tired toddler in times of need when you are out and about. It does have the potential to get annoying if they play it too much though, so I would keep it for the moments of need!