Software Suggestions
Software does not usually require an internet connection to run and so there is no danger of your child finding inappropriate content or downloading malicious viruses by accident. Most of the titles that my kids loved are not available any more, but a web search can help. At this time there is a greater focus on creating education apps for the telephone, so software is not as accessible. However, here are some resources I found:
Baby Keyboard Game – This is downloadable software for baby. I downloaded this one and it worked well, offline, with every key.
Early Childhood Education Zone has a list of recommended software for kids and Amazon Best Sellers
Here are some old favorites:
Old Elmo Flash Games offer a range of games for different abilities. You can download the collection and then play these flash games on your PC, even when the internet is not available. Most of these game work – only about 6 out of 21 or so games do not work, but the other 15 games work great and there are some wonderful old favorites that my daughter was delighted to find again after many years of them not being available as online games. Download the zip file, then extract in the file manager for best results.
Magic Schoolbus & Millie and Bailey
You will be surprised how quickly they learn how to use the CD drive. CD Rom games can either have multiple games on them or 1 big game with little sub games. My kids loved a Candy Land CD, Care Bears and some Disney titles. Best wishes – and enjoy. This is where the joy of learning begins and I have found that there is a fun game to teach just about anything.
I will also say there are lots of wonderful apps for phones available, too, but I found it is best to save those for real waiting times, like doctor’s office waiting rooms, for as long as you can, so your child doesn’t expect to use it all the time. We must also be careful to model the behavior we want to see in our kids. If you are always on the phone, they will want to be, also. Maybe I should do a App Suggestions page, too. Let me know if that would help you.