Category: Creativity »

Pango Playground for kids is a charming universal app for babies and toddlers which adults will enjoy a great deal as well. This app opens up to a very nice assortment of children’s toys such as train tracks or building blocks. Do choose a scene and tap on a number flag 1 to 4 to be taken to a new area. All of these scenes are variations on the same basic assortment of toys, different colorful building blocks, train tracks and chunky wood blocks crafted to look like familiar characters from the Pango series of applications. The magic happens when any and all objects are tapped to be transformed into other objects such as a swing, slide, sea saw, rocking horse or merry go-round as seen in the first area of this app as well as a beach, garden and space themes as seen throughout as well. Tap the train for it to start moving along the tracks. A tap of the tree will make it bear fruit that will drop to the ground; a block will transform into a hopscotch course that a wood block animal will delight in jumping through. Balloons may be popped and cars may be driven. Flip a sun to its nighttime moon side for a lights-out sleepy moment. There is just so much to interact with here that it is difficult to avoid the ramblings of someone very impressed with what they see. I also admire the delightful, upbeat music and sound effects, especially how each tap of an object will trigger a wonderful percussive sound and how classic baby toys such as a wood shape stacker and other traditional busy table activities are included. There are also wonderful fantasy moments such as tapping wooden rain clouds to produce rain that makes puddles for these chunky characters to play in as well as growing produce which these characters can eat. This app is utterly intuitive to use and will hold the attention of any aged child. Although geared towards toddlers, there is so much whimsy here that I can imagine all ages will enjoy this app. Although these pages are cluttered with toys in a way that would make any parent smile, I also appreciate how clean this app comes across, with a stark white background and a hint of shadows seen for each item on the page - subtle yet highly effective in creating a sense of realism that I find quietly captivating. I am also smitten with the choice of including chunky wood characters which are animated, as I love to see these wood pieces come to life in a way more captivating than if they were simply illustrated animals. I utterly recommend this app for families with young children, especially those who fancy wood toys over plastic and have not found any apps yet they feel they can truly get behind. The creativity of this app is impressive, which in turn will lead to many creative moments as children will tap or drag objects and characters for the first time. I must admit that I find something new every time I check out Pango Playground for kids, and I am sure other families will delight in exploring this app as well. I have also enjoyed other apps from this Pango series. If interested, please search for my reviews here at GiggleApps.

Art Class with Dr. Panda is a charming new universal interactive app - part of a series of Dr. Panda role-playing apps for young children. As many readers may know, my family really enjoys these apps as they allow children to pretend to take part in many occupations and activities - be it a doctor’s duties or working in a restaurant, supermarket or farm. Here Dr. Panda is teaching an art class to animal children. I enjoy his costumes as he assists children who need help in six different crafts. Fans of these apps will enjoy that familiar animal faces can be seen, who I will assume are the same as those from the Daycare app as well as the young animals seen with a parent from the farm or supermarket app. To help, either choose a creature seen sitting around the art table on the main page of this app or choose an activity directly from the Art Book at the top of the page - a nice touch. Kite decorating is an option here as children can choose from five blank kites to complete. Choose a design with a tap - be it a butterfly, dragonfly, or airplane and color in with crayons. Children will quickly notice here that a swipe of color will appear on the other side as well to create symmetry - a nice touch especially for young children as the most rudimentary of finger markings can make interesting and colorful details. After coloring is complete, adding a few unique moving parts such as a spinning spiral, flower, or propeller rocket will come in handy when this kite takes off as seen in the next scene as well as other decorative choices including flashing Christmas light bulbs. Next, choose from a variety of tails to attach to one’s kite and then enjoy it rising into the sky with the help and encouragement of the animals. Do steer the kite into balloons to be popped to complete this area. Classic potato head-like figures can be crafted out of a few fruit and vegetable choices such as pear, lemon or apple. Choose from a selection of eyes, noses, mouths, hats and ties or other decorations which will become animated and include sound effects when added. When completed, this figure will come to life for a bit of dance - a nice touch. Paper folding and cutting can be practiced as one folds his selected sheet with help from prompts and then taps scissors to make simple cuts. Get creative with a paper cutting stamp wherever desired as this will cut a fancy pattern into this paper creating an interesting detail once unfolded and then hung on a window for decoration. Children will have a chance to fold and decorate a pinwheel that also includes a fun, fantasy-like scene as this pinwheel then shoots a choice of bubbles, hearts, flowers, or the like from its blades. Use a finger to spin this toy clockwise or back again, making this element nicely tactile and satisfying. Children can enjoy Perler type beads as children are able to add colored beads to a pegboard following the highlight offered as one chooses a specific bead to ultimately create a design that will need to be ironed on in order to melt together. This aspect of this craft in real life would need to be done by an adult so it is fun that children can work unassisted here. My personal favorite activity of this app is the chance to work with a potter’s wheel which is spinning independently. Simply touch the clay on the wheel to create wonderful shapes that I really enjoy without fear of overworking the clay or of the messy cleanup afterward. Also nice is that one’s pot or other clay creation is also found still spinning on the wheel for easy painting as a tap will create artistic stripes of all kinds that if one wishes, can later get baked in a kiln - which I appreciate a great deal. Young children will be entertained as they work on these cute art projects for some time, making this app one that is easy to recommend. I look forward to seeing what is next for Dr. Panda.