Accidental learning

Natali has been using an Ipad since she was 4 or 5 months old. Back then it was just tapping and swiping. None on purpose.

Around 7 months she was pretty good at tapping. She played one game called "Itsy Bitsy HD" for months. It was simple and fun.

Over time she has become more and more comfortable with the Ipad. She knows how to close apps, swipe to different pages of apps and the most important thing is...she knows which folder has "her"apps.

Kelli and I each have Ipads. We have some of the same apps in the "Natali" folder. There are some differences. I have an Elmo learning game Natali loves and an app called iTot Cards, which is a flash card game.

Natali has been using iTot Cards for about 3 weeks off and on. iTot Cards has flash cards for letters, numbers, shapes, food and more. Natali has been using (thanks to my helping) the food flash cards the most.  As she swipes a photo of an item appears and a female voice says what it is.

Most of the time Natali is zipping through the cards quickly. I thought for sure she was just playing....until yesterday.

Natali was sitting on my lap playing with the Ipad. She opened the iTot Cards app and then I clicked on food. She then swiped to a card, turned to me and said ""Pasta". I looked down and saw it was indeed pasta. She swiped to other cards and said the following words ; Cherry, Carrot, Bread, Chocolate (not great pronunciation though), Banana, Salad, Sandwich, Ice Cream, Cereal, Orange, Juice, Apple, Milk, Pizza Peas, and Egg. She stopped at each card and turned to me before saying the word. I was stunned. She really was learning.

I spend 10-15 minutes a week looking for new apps for her. I read reviews online and try out an app or two if they have a free version in addition to a paid version.

I wish more apps were both Android and iOs (Apple) as the tablet I bought for her (HP Touchpad running Cyanogendmod) is Android. There are a few great apps, but few of the exact same apps.

Maybe the Easter Bunny will buy her a Ipod Touch?