Bugs and Buttons, Oh My!

***UPDATE***

I discovered another great app from Little Bit Studio, creators of Bugs and Buttons.  Bugs and Bubbles is another fantastic app that is already one of Quinn's favorites.  Best part?  18+ games for only $2.99!  This app is colorful, motivating and will engage your child for hours on end.  Because there are so many games, they won't get bored quickly.  My favorite games so far are Whack'em, Pinch Garden and Follow Me.

Whack'em:

Similar to the arcade game, Wack A Mole.  Bubbles come out of a blower and you have to pop them before they float off into space.  You have to beware of the ones that have bees inside them and not pop those.  I like that it starts off with just one bubble and then moves up to five bubbles at once.  Great for visual tracking, grasp development and focus/attention.

Pinch Garden:

A fun way to work on developing pinching and grasping skills.  Watch the flowers grow and when you see a bubble come out of it, pinch it and pop it.  I find pinch and grasp skills difficult to work on at times (the children get bored with the manipulative toys we work with) so when I find a game like this that has a pinching/grasping component, I am all over it.  An iPad can motivate the most unmotivated child!  

Follow Me:

This is a cute game that works on teaching letters.  There is a foggy window and a bug will fly to form each letter.  Once you trace the letter, the fog disappears.  They only do one part of the letter at a time and seems to follow the Handwriting Without Tears format.  If you are using this app on the iPad and working on pencil grip, be sure to use a stylus.  

I hope you enjoy this game as much as Quinn and I have been!!  Would love to hear from you all about your favorite game on this app and why.  I am just a click away!  

I am constantly on the lookout for new apps for the iPad that will motivate me, I mean the children, I work with.  It's overwhelming to sift through the thousands and thousands of apps out there and when I find a good one, I want to share it!

When creating my 2012 Gift Guide, I included an app recommended by Jacqueline Barredo, my speech therapist colleague.  Bugs and Buttons is worth the $2.99 price tag!  Not only does my 2 1/2 year old daughter love it, the children I see for occupational therapy (ranging from ages 4 to 7 years old) have all loved it and found mini games perfect for the goals that we were addressing.  Fair warning though, if you are afraid of bugs at all, this might not be your kind of game! The bugs look so realistic and I've found myself jump away from the screen at times at bugs coming at me!

Regardless, I've shared a few of my favorite mini games and the goals that they work on:

Pinch and Grab

One of my favorite mini games, Pinch and Grab, works on encouraging a fine pincer grasp.  Without a proper fine pincer grasp, a child has a difficult time developing an appropriate grasp when using writing instruments.  As you can see in the picture below, a child will eventually have to sort the bugs, cans and papers into the right containers so this will also work on sorting and organizational skills.   

Connect Dots

This is great to work on number recognition, sequencing, motor planning and organizational skills.  It also works on visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  You're encouraged to connect the dots to make a variety of animals and then watch the bugs parade around the completed picture.  I encourage children to use just their pointer finger to work on finger isolation and pointing skills. 

Tic-Tac-Toe

I have always thought this game is great for so many reasons, but let me share two of them.  First of all, it's a great social game and once children have mastered it, they can be completely independent.  Secondly, this is a great game for improving executive functioning, motor planning, sequencing and organizational skills.  When I play this game with my children, I encourage them to take their time and not rush into making a decision.  

These are just three of the 18 games on the Bugs and Buttons app for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch.  I highly encourage you to buy this game for your preschooler to school age child.  If you have any questions on what goals are addressed with each mini game and what would be most appropriate for your child, remember I am just a click away.  Also, please share your favorite mini games with us in the comment section of this post.  As always, I am happy to answer any questions you might have about this app or any other apps and toys that I have recommended.