Nick Jr. App
Nick Jr. App gallery
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Nick Jr. App lets kids stream Nick Jr. shows on the iPad. An Internet connection is required to watch shows; you can't download content onto your device. Some content is available automatically -- mostly short features and a few full-length episodes. To watch Nick Jr. programming live or to see most of the full-length shows requires simultaneously logging in to a cable service provider. Even though the content is streamed, the app takes up quite a bit of storage (about 500 MB) once loaded. Unlike the Nick Jr. website and the Nick Jr. Draw and Play app, Nick Jr. App is more about watching and less about applying skills.What kids can learn
Very few preschool-targeted sites can rival Nick Jr.'s quality content. The games are fun, age-appropriate, and educational, with obvious tie-ins to popular Nick Jr. TV characters.
Kids learn by playing games like memory, connect the dots, and matching common items with their shape. Math concepts aren't presented in depth and feedback and instructional support are very limited.
The excellent parent section has lots of activities to print and do offline, like quick rainy-day crafts and birthday party theme ideas. Nick Jr. could provide more guidance to children who play games on the site.
What's it about?
With the Nick Jr. App, kids can watch full episodes and short clips featuring Nick Jr. characters. Dozens of programs, including Yo Gabba Gabba, Olivia, Franklin and Friends, Team UmiZoomi, Paw Patrol, and Dora and Friends, are available with a tap. Kids can browse shows by "friend," show title, or seeing all the content intermixed with short animations teaching letters of the alphabet. To get started, kids can tap any picture, and the content starts playing. Once an episode ends, another begins automatically. Kids can also watch live TV (the show currently playing on Nick Jr.) by logging in with a cable subscription.
Is it any good?
Nick Jr. App is easy to use for even the youngest Nick Jr. fans, and it's chock full of quality content. And the fun goes beyond just watching Nick Jr. shows. Kids can explore the whole screen, which is full of tiles of characters and letters of the alphabet. Some of the tiles lead to full episodes, which are labeled, and some open into shorter clips. Many of the short clips deliver engaging, educational information. Others are exciting teasers for the shows. Each alphabet tile contains an animation about that letter. The video quality is excellent. Kids will feel in control of what they watch, but there's no way for parents to limit how much they watch, and since episodes advance automatically, playing the next in line every time you finish one, parents may want to actively monitor how long kids are watching.
Families can talk about...
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Families can talk about what kids are watching. Ask kids questions to build comprehension and critical thinking skills: What's this character feeling right now? What do you think will happen next? What would you do?
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Ask kids why screen time rules are important. How can you make sure you stick to them?
App details
| Device: | iPad |
| Price: | Free |
| Pricing structure: | Free |
| Release date: | December 10, 2014 |
| Category: | Education |
| Topics: | Cars and trucks, Dinosaurs, Adventures, Music and sing-along, Numbers and letters |
| Size: | 61.70 MB |
| Publisher: | Nickelodeon |
| Version: | 1.0.1 |
| Minimum software requirements: | iOS 7.0 or later |
