What kid doesn’t love playgrounds? I know my kids always beg to go to one near our house, regardless of the fact that it might be below freezing temperatures or raining like there’s an epic flood on its way. I love playgrounds because it helps my two young kiddos to build free-play and socialization skills, and it also gives them the chance to hang on something else besides my left leg. But sometimes hitting up the jungle gyms and teeter-totters isn’t realistic.
Tita Playground is just that – a virtual playground for preschoolers in the 2-5 age range. It’s a safe, non-vertical way for players to engage in open-ended play while teaching early learning vocabulary skills. Intuitive game play and quirky, endearing characters add to the appeal and are age-appropriate for the target audience of the youngest of iPad users. There’s a special section where parents can track their kids’ progress and follow as the list of learned words grows.
The app opens up on a lush, green playground with a motley crew of cartoon heads peaking up from the bottom of the screen. Kids can make their own unique music by dragging one of the heads – dog, robot, little girl, dinosaur, mouse, or what looks like a pear fruit – to one of the pieces of playground equipment. There are a ton of different combinations of characters and sounds and it could take literally hours to try them all.
There are also five vocabulary mini-games based on some of the different characters. My favorite was the dog game: he sits patiently, waiting for the food specified by a spoken prompt. After he eats everything players are told to give him, he produces a – shall we say – steaming, stinky “gift” in a bright color. Yeah, it’s a little gross but I’ve found that poop is generally pretty funny when it’s animated and comes out of a purple dog.
At 3, my daughter is the prime candidate for playing this game. She loves that it’s intuitive and doesn’t require any reading, and she’s a bit of a goofball so the dog poop always gets her giggling. My just-turned-6 kindergartner is “over” this game; it’s probably a bit too easy for his age group – but I should mention he’s recently been on a “but that’s for BABIES” rampage. From a parent’s perspective I would say that Tita Playground is definitely a great app for the under-5 crowd.
Packing a good content punch at a fair price point of $1.99, Tita Playground is an affordable download that will keep your younger kiddos engaged and learning. Open-ended, unlimited play without levels or points or time limits helps boost imaginative and creative play skills, with rainbow-hued dog poop as the real clincher.
Pros:
– Intuitive game play without any reading required
– Fun, goofball characters delight young children
– Vocab-based mini-games help players learn new words
Cons:
– Depends on how you feel about Crayola-hued dog poop
Price: $1.99
Age: 2-5
