I often am questioned by parents who know that listening, language and social skills are learned best when interacting with children and apps together but there are times when they want or need their child to listen and play independently.
Q - ”Lynn, I've heard that one of the most important part of using apps for listening and spoken language development is to interact with my child while he's using the app(s). What about the times when I'm just exhausted and want my child to play an app by himself?”
A - Dear Parent,
Listening, language and social skills are learned best when interacting with children and apps together. But rest assured, there are many well-chosen apps that open an universe of books, games and music for listening and spoken language learning. Apps can provide practice for your child listening to a variety of speakers or voices. Some apps allow you to choose to allow background music which is an auditory challenge for older kids.
Apps that I recommend for a child to play independently would be those that target following auditory directions, storytelling and identifying sounds in our environment. Below are some of my favorites.
Classic Stories By Nosy Crow
Fun With Directions Apps By Hamaguchi (There are free lite versions available)
One Step Two Step by Synapse Apps, LLC (There is a free lite version)
Funny Directions By Speecharoo Apps
Food Frenzy Following Directions By Super Duper Publications
Seasonal Directions By ViritualSpeechCenter
Auditory Memory For Quick Stories By Super Duper Publications
Sound Touch By Sound Touch
Touch The Sound By Alligator Apps