“While we don’t recommend screen time for babies or real little ones, preschoolers ages 2 and older may benefit from playing educational apps with a parent. Each DBRL branch now has a crayon kiosk with at least one iPad attached to it (and four iPads attached at the Columbia branch). These iPads each have the same app – an educational preschool app that will be switched out periodically. Each app is chosen for early literacy learning.

The current app is “Moo, Baa, La La La!” by Sandra Boynton. This digital story is narrated, and children can touch the animals to see them move and make sounds. My favorite is the dancing pigs, but many in the department prefer the snorting rhinoceros! Since these apps are for preschoolers, we encourage parents to play the apps with the children.

We also occasionally run a feature on DBRL Kids called “Get Appy.” Some of these apps are appropriate for older kids, too.

• Get Appy: Toca Kitchen
• Get Appy: Faces iMake
• Get Appy: Cut the Rope

Feel free to check out the crayon kiosk with your child and explore the digital world in a safe way!