This information is brought to you by Dumb Ways JR. All opinions are my own.
My kids are always asking to play apps on my iPhone. They are a huge help when we are waiting at a doctors appointment or if we are stuck in traffic. But there are many apps out there that I don’t want my kids playing with. I want apps that are fun and educational.
Dumb Ways JR has 2 apps available: Dumb Ways JR Loopy’s Train Set” and “Dumb Ways JR Boffo’s Breakfast. The creators of this app have another extremely popular app Dumb Ways to Die. Dumb Ways to Die began as a PSA in 2012. It was a little too much for younger kids, so they developed a new app that is more appropriate for younger children. They still have fun, but it helps them to think twice about staying safe.
Dumb Ways JR is perfect for kids ages 3- to 7-year-olds. There’s no blood and no dying, but just as much fun, and still with safety education. (My older boys that are 8 and 11 also had a lot of fun playing this app!)
Your kids will love it too! It’s very funny – you will love the silly things that happen to the characters and the characters are fun to play with. In the app they are able to create or explore different outcomes on different uses of an app. They can also experience playful explorations and problem solving.
It’s not just fun – it is challenging so that children develop a sense of mastery, create their own narratives and games using the provided elements, and perform constructing and deconstructing tasks (e.g., combining ingredients to create a meal).
There are 2 Dumb Ways JR app available:
Dumb Ways JR Boffo’s Breakfast.
In Boffo’s Breakfast, Boffo (the younger version of one of the characters in the original Dumb Ways to Die video) is hungry, and the child playing with the app is his personal chef. Children make him an awesome cooked breakfast by chopping and grating ingredients. They can also add sloppy items such as eggs and milk, stir the mixture, cook it, add seasonings, and serve their meal to Boffo. Players are encouraged to experiment with how many different creations they can make for Boffo.
This app engages children in fun, imaginative play where players can create endless food mash-ups for a hungry Boffo.
Watch Boffo react when he bites into a whole chilli or when weird ingredients are combined – sprinkles with eggs just don’t go well together! Kids think it’s hilarious when Boffo screws his face up to combinations he doesn’t like. Players create fun meals from 20 ingredients, learn about food combinations and experiment as they tap, stir, mix and swipe.
Children can learn about various aspects of kitchen safety in the app such as when Boffo gets worried when the heat is too high on the stove cooktop.
It is available at the Apple Store or Google Play.
Dumb Ways JR Loopy’s Train Set
With train safety at the core of Dumb Ways to Die, and trains having universal appeal for both young boys and girls, creating an app centered on a train network seemed logical.
In Loopy’s Train Set, players can select from two modes of play: Drive or Build. In Drive mode, children interact by using onscreen controls to drive Loopy’s train around a prebuilt track. The design encourages children to create their own narratives as they assist passengers to board and exit the train as well as select the train speed and more points to alter the route.
In Build mode, the children are the makers. They create their own train track by arranging and connecting different-shaped pieces of track. They can also add items such as houses, trees and animals to their scene. After they have built some track, players can drive the train along it.
Children can learn about various aspects of train safety in the app such as the characters cannot cross the tracks and the boom gates at the level crossings automatically come down when the train approaches.
Purchase it at the Apple Store or Google Play.
We dowloaded Dumb Ways JR Loopy’s Train Set on my phone and the kids liked it so much we purchased Dumb Ways JR Boffo’s Breakfast for their tablet. (We need a third game so they can each have a app to play!)
One more thing that I really like about the app – they have a section for parents so you can talk to your kids about the app. It even gives you questions you can ask them to help them talk through what they learned.
This game is a lot of fun and it has a great message. Check it out Dumb Ways JR for more information.