For Kids · Games
Games for 2-year-olds
A two-year-old does not need a game so much as something that answers when it is touched. The best of these do exactly that: tap the bear and the bear jumps, tap the star and it counts, tap the sky and it says what it is. Everything is read aloud, nothing is timed, and nothing is wrong.
What a 2-year-old is doing
Point and name
One, two, three. Pointing at one thing at a time.
- Touching one thing at a time, and having it answer
- The words for things: acorn, owl, rain, moon, geese
- One, two, three — said with a finger on the thing
- The same story again, which is how a two-year-old learns anything
The tip
Sit them on your lap and let them do the tapping while you do the talking. Five minutes is a long time at two; stop while it is still fun.
Ages are a rough guide and children are not their ages. If the four-year-old’s page fits better, use that one.
Start with these
Each card says how a 2-year-old actually plays it.
Game · about 10 min
The Big Jump
Taps the bear, holds the big button, and laughs at the splash. Again. Again.
Game · about 8 min
Land, Water, Sky
Picks up the animal and drops it on the land, the water or the sky; it then scampers to its real home. Wrong places just send it back; nothing scolds.
Game · about 3 min
The Barefoot Walk
Wiggles the feet into the puddle on purpose, over and over, for the SPLASH.
Game · about 2 min
The Frog Pond
Taps every frog to hear it croak. Catching one mid-hop is the best thing that happens all day.
Game · Only at sunrise
The Dawn Chorus
Taps a bird, hears it sing, taps the next. The whole chorus at the end is the treat.
Game · Only at night
Eyes in the Dark
Taps the glowing eyes and meets the animal. The hoot and the bark are the best bits.
Story · about 6 min
Jay Forgets an Acorn
Taps the acorn, the jay and the squirrel on every page; hears the same story every night.
Story · about 6 min
Hoo's Night
The bedtime one: hoots with the owl, taps the stars, goes to sleep.
Game · about 6 min
Down the River
Puts a finger on the water and the canoe follows it. Rocks just bump; the bears are more funny than scary with a grown-up there.
Game · about 5 min
Weather Window
Points at the window, then at the matching sky. Learns 'cloudy' and 'rain' as words for a thing outside.
Game · about 5 min
Walk Around the Sun
Taps to walk the Earth once round, and hears 'one!' — the whole of a two-year-old's lap.
Game · Only at dusk
Lights at Dusk
Taps the lights as they glow. Counting is the grown-up's job; the jar filling up is the child's.
Story · about 7 min
Where Does the Rain Go?
Taps the drop and makes it plip; likes the whale at the sea.
Later, or with a bigger brother or sister
Game · about 15 min
Fly Over Home
Sits on a lap and taps the map — the geese turn towards the tap. Names what is below: water, road, forest.
Game · Only at midday
The Noon Shadow
Drags the smiling sun about and watches the shadow move. That is enough.
Story · about 6 min
The Big Stone
Knocks on the stone and hears it knock back; the ice pages are pretty and slow.
Off the screen
Four things to do outside at 2
The screen is the small half. These are from the day planner, which builds a whole day of them around your children and today’s weather.
With the words to say
Lessons written for a 2-year-old
Counting
A hundred acorns
“Put one acorn in the bucket. One. Now another one — two.”
Counting
The five-minute bird count
“Bird! Point at it. Say bird.”
Living things
How many legs?
“Look — legs! Lots of legs. Can you wiggle your fingers like that?”
Shapes and patterns
Count the petals
“Flower! What colour? Point at a petal. Just one petal.”
Made for where you live
Tell it where you live
The games draw the clearing in your real season and sky, follow your own rivers to the sea, and fly over your own town. A town, postal code or ZIP is all it needs — and it is kept on this device only.
No ads, ever
The children's pages carry no advertising and no advertising scripts. Nothing is for sale inside a game.
No accounts, no tracking
Nothing to sign up for. No analytics on the children's pages, and no location or name leaves the device.
Read aloud
Every word is spoken by the device's own voice, and lit as it is read, so a child who cannot read yet can still play alone.
Nothing to fail
No scores, no timers, no wrong answers that scold. A wrong box bounces back; the story waits.
Real, and local
Today's weather, tonight's moon, your own rivers and your own town from the air. The game matches the window.
A lock for the grown-ups
One tap takes the whole screen and stops the back button; a press-and-hold gets out. A one-tap sound switch, too.