Ordering iPad Cases for Nursery!

By now, I know that my child's nursery have ordered 3 iPad Airs, and that they'd like some help with set-up etc. As I have been fortunate enough to use iPads within my lessons (secondary) for the past year, I am more than happy to help, but also have to admit that I am no expert in set-up procedures! I have been spoilt at Ysgol y Preseli as our excellent Network Manager, Robert, has been a godsend, and does all the syncing etc for me.

So, where to start when looking for ipad covers for nursery children?

ESSENTIAL FEATURES
Here's a 'hit list' of my requirements:

• robust (hopefully meaning that the iPad would not break if it was dropped)
• lightweight
• child-friendly handle (making it portable, and hopefully reducing the possibility of children dropping it)
• colourful (ideally would have 3 different colours, and not necessarily pink and blue to avoid problems at nursery!)
• durable (I'm a firm believer in "Buy cheap, buy twice"

Although there are plenty of options on the market for iPads, I'm afraid that the choices for iPad airs are slightly more limited. After quite a bit of research, I knew that I was down to a list of 5:

1. Speck iGuy (my favourite with regards to how it looks, colour options etc, but reviews state inability to stand well)

2. Griffin Survivor Military Case (an outstanding case for quality; unfortunately, it does not stand on its own)

3. Snugg Kids Case with Lifetime Guarantee (amazing Guarantee and looks FAB! However, no stand)

4. Evecase iKiz (2 colour options and stands well; slightly concerned about the reasonable price!)

5. HDE Kids Light Weight (plenty of colours, stands and has carry option; not enough reviews?)

6. iBlason (3 colour options, ability to carry and stand; not enough reviews?)

MY FINAL DECISION?!

All things considered, I knew that it was important for the iPad to be able to stand on its own easily, thus options 1-3 were unfortunately put to the side.  Although the HDE had plenty of colour options (and I really did not want to go for the traditional blue and pink!), I was worried that there weren't enough reviews. So, I finally bit the bullet and opted for the Evecase iKiz (pink and blue were the only options, unfortunately!) and then one black iBlason (it only has 33 reviews so I didn't want to risk buying three of these).

SCREEN PROTECTORS

Although I have no personal experience of using screen protectors, after reading so many reviews on Amazon I knew that one of the main faults of most iPad covers was the fact that the screens were still able to be scratched etc. So, I decided to buy some screen protectors. Apparently, placing these on the iPads are quite a fiddle, but I still think it's worth it. I bought two of the Anker Screen Protectors which cost £11.98 for 4 protectors (leaving me one chance to make a mistake!)

FINAL COST?

• 2 x Evecase iKiz: £14.48 (Blue - this was the cost at time of purchase, August)  + £11.99= £26.47 
• 1 x iBlason: £10.98
• 2 x Anker Screen Protectors: £5.99 x 2 = £11.98

TOTAL = £49.43

WHAT NEXT?

My main concern is about the quality of the iPad covers, but having considered everything, I believe that I had little choice when it came down to covers for the iPad Airs  (as I really did want them to stand on their own). Now it's a case of waiting to see! The next post will be about those covers, and the screen protectors. Remember to get in touch (@serenadavies1) if you have any comments/tips!