For the discriminating six-year-old's iPod...

When I bought my son an iPod Touch, it wasn't just for the movies, television shows and songs he enjoys watching and listening to — there were applications he had enjoyed playing with on my iPhone from time to time, and I knew he'd enjoy them on a device all his own.

Many of them are musical instruments of one form or another — a xylophone, for example, or a drum set. Even a rain stick. (Cat Piano might not qualify as an instrument if it didn't also have the function of a piano.) And I'm sure I've already mentioned Bloom.

My favorite applications encourage creativity. SpinArt is deceptively simple — perhaps it is just simple, but that's what makes it so much fun to play with. (I have it on my iPhone, as well.)

More Toast is just silly — you put toast (or bagels, or english muffins, or in the most recent version, waffles) in a toaster, and wait a moment for it to pop up. When it does, you apply your toppings of choice — or, make more toast! What could be better? My son adores it.

iBonsai is brilliant and elegant. With the tap of a finger, a small tree begins to grow, delicately rendered in the sumi-e style of Japanese brush painting. You can guide the tree as it grows, or allow it to develop at random. As it grows, the image can be rotated, and viewed from all angles. It is both enigmatic and relaxing.

It's difficult to explain the appeal of Tesla. I know why my six-year-old enjoys it, though I'm not entirely sure why I do. Touch the screen with one finger and nothing happens — use two fingers, and a surge of electricity crackles between them. You cannot resist.

There's really no point to Jiggle Balls, either. It's just fun to play with.

On the other hand, I imagine Chirp! will be put to much good use as the weather becomes warmer. It features photos and sounds of common backyard birds, and can use the built-in location functions of the iPhone to show you the birds of your geographical location. We need never wonder about the call of the Yellow-rumped Warbler again.

And for no particular reason — Service Bell. It says what it does!

Most of these applications cost no more than 99 cents — many were free. And each week it seems there's something new, something I just know he'll have fun with.