Arthur and Helen's iPad World

Connor, like many fourth graders, loves playing games on his iPad. Helen, like many younger sisters, loves to look over his shoulder. I'm sad to report that she can probably play a mean game of Minecraft at this point and can definitely make a run in Temple Run, a byproduct of watching her brother play.

So finally, I have caved, and Helen gets her own iPad time a couple of times each week. She has two games that are hers, which she desperately adores. Her favorite is Arthur's Big App, which I received a free review copy of. It's rated for children ages 6 - 8, so Helen is definitely the target audience.

The game is based loosely on scenes from the book series, which Helen adores. So far, she has figured out four pieces to the game:

• A music game in which kids can play notes on a piano
• A smoothie game in which kids create smoothies for Sugar Bowl customers by moving ingredients into a blender
• A library game where Helen must shelve and find books 
• and a freeze tag game in which kids “freeze” ARTHUR characters

The game keeps Helen entertained. She only plays for about 10 minutes at a time, but my guess is that if I allowed it, she could play the game for at least a half hour.

Helen is so thrilled to have something of her own on the iPad, and I feel less guilty than I do when she's hovering over Minecraft, a game clearly designed for someone older than her.

The game is nice because it's challenging for Helen - possibly because she has limited experience, but she can figure it out - so she's not annoyed by it. Since all her friends are playing on their iPads, it's nice for Helen to get a little street cred and be able to talk about her games, too. Of course, when her friends come over to play, they don't sit and hover over the app like Connor's friends hover over theirs. They're still running around making all kinds of crazy and having fun outside or in the playroom. 

Elaine

As mentioned in this post, I received a free copy for review purposes. Helen adores it. And it has rekindled her love of the book series, which is one I happen to enjoy as well.