By - 12/14/2022
The fast-paced technology has made it pretty easy for today’s children to adapt to technological innovations. We all have seen toddlers and adolescents having a knack for iPads and smartphones, and it’s understandable why parents despise the idea of too much screen time at this age.Screen time is inevitable. Kids spend most of their days using their gadgets. The good news is you can put that screen time to good use with educational apps.
With the boom in online learning, it may be a sensible idea to introduce your kid to online education outside classrooms. Educational apps not only offer a personalized learning plan but may also help parents conquer their kid’s strengths and weaknesses.
Teachers can also utilize learning apps for kids as a supplement to further aid their students’ development, particularly in virtual learning environments. Even many teachers have started using tablets in their classrooms.
Also, interactive visuals coupled with practice lessons enhance cognitive skills and seem quite interesting rather than traditional book learning.
Here, we have compiled the best educational apps for kids, spanning different age groups, subjects, and purposes.
As the gold standard for educational apps, Khan Academy offers a wide range of courses for learners of all ages. The app is easy to use and doesn't require a subscription to access learning resources across many subjects. It's 100% free, making it a helpful tool, especially for children from low-income families with limited access to computers and the Internet.
Khan Academy has a fun educational program for learners aged two to eight. Creative lessons, games, and activities captivate children's attention in core subjects, such as reading, writing, math, and languages. Research has shown that Khan Academy boosts pre-literacy skills among four- and five-year-olds from low-income families.
But with the Khan Academy Kids app, children don't only learn how to read, write and communicate. Some resources teach learners to develop their social and emotional skills as well as their creativity. If you need an app that can help your kids establish strong foundations, this won't disappoint. With Khan Academy's individualized and independent learning, children can learn at their own pace.
With over 40,000 books, audiobooks, and learning videos, Epic is a great educational app to engage your kids in interactive reading. The ebook library is accessible on multiple devices such as computers, laptops, mobile phones, and more.
You can assign specific books to your children based on age, reading level, and interests. It also includes a read-to-me feature for children who are still learning to read. The app gives badges and rewards, motivating kids to finish more books. Plus, parents can track their kids’ progress and gain insights into how far their reading has developed.
Epic has a free version called Epic Basic. The downside is that it will only let your kids access one free book per day from a limited selection. If you want unlimited reading time, you'll have to get the Epic Unlimited subscription, which costs $9.99/month or $79.99/year.
This is one of the best educational apps for kids who have recently started talking or who have a language deficiency. It's also an excellent tool for allowing your child to learn a second language. Learning a language is challenging, but language learning apps like Duolingo have made it easier and more fun.
With free courses in more than 40 languages, the app benefits early readers and writers learning English, Spanish, French, and more. Preschoolers and school-aged children can talk and converse through the app's interactive speaking challenges.
Duolingo Kids has 300 bite-sized activities that teach young learners about the alphabet, phonics, and sight words. Through the app, they can quickly learn phrases, sentences, and expressions that are applicable to their everyday lives.
Your kids can use Duolingo at zero cost and study many languages. However, subscribing to Duolingo Plus might be a good idea if you want them to enjoy the full features. This will cost you $9.99/month, or $6.99/month if you subscribe for a full year.
Consisting of thoughtfully made learning games and stories, Homer is an excellent early learning app for developing critical thinking skills. Although designed for younger kids aged two to eight, older children may also benefit from the app.
Homer ensures an optimal learning experience for your children. Its interactive lessons, stories, and activities are customized based on the learner's individual needs, skills, age, and interests. The app has an easy-to-use reading program to help develop your kid's literacy skills.
According to research, those who used Homer for 15 minutes a day for six weeks boosted their reading scores by 74%. With playful learning resources across various subjects, Homer is a positive way for your kids to use screen time. They can learn both academic, social, and emotional skills while using the app.
Besides academic skills, children need a broader skill set when they start school. Educational apps like PBS Kids Games are the perfect way for your kids to achieve early learning success, as they have interactive content to help your child explore and nurture their natural curiosity.
The app has free science and math games for Android and iOS, which younger learners can enjoy. They can also learn skills that will prepare them for school along with their favorite PBS Kids characters.
With appealing visuals, fun prizes, videos, music, and learning games, PBS Kids is a reliable way of preparing your children for elementary school. A survey found that 66% of parents trust the app to provide high-quality, kid-friendly content. One section of the app lets parents learn more about PBS Kids Games, including its intended age and learning goals.
ABCmouse is one of the most interactive and educational children's apps, featuring fun storyline-based videos, quizzes, and activities. It is designed to educate kids ages two to eight, so you don't have to worry about inappropriate content.
With a carefully designed program of more than 850 lessons in 10 levels, your children can learn and master various skills. The app will keep your kids and toddlers engaged in learning, with activities ranging from letter recognition to reading to math, arts, and more. You can also change the level of learning to ensure your child is developing their skills.
ABCmouse.com's Tickets and Rewards System is an effective tool to motivate children to complete their learning activities. As they complete each lesson, they will get a ticket reward that they can use to purchase items for decorating their virtual classroom. This app is beneficial in getting your kids ready for elementary school, but it will cost you around $10 per month.
With different levels and activities, Breathe, Think and Do with Sesame is a great app for building resilience in younger kids. The app is available for several devices, including iPhone, iPad, and Android.
As children help a Sesame Street monster calm down and solve a unique everyday challenge, they will learn various skills. These include self-control, problem-solving, and task persistence.
The app exposes your kids to essential emotional vocabulary, a breathing technique to promote calmness, and personalized encouraging phrases. This is an engaging way to teach your children to regulate their emotions and cope with stressful situations.
In the Breathe, Think, and Do with Sesame app, there's a parent section that offers strategies for navigating everyday challenges with children. It also lets you monitor their progress and identify which challenge they need the most assistance with.
The app provides age-appropriate resilience material for toddlers and preschoolers. Thus, it may not appeal to children older than five.
This storytelling game allows children to learn about the adult world through the power of play. There's no set aim in Toca Life World. Instead, young kids interact with the world and create items or drama by moving objects around. From a safe and fun distance, they can explore many real-life areas, such as cities, hospitals, and vacation retreats.
The app has a free version that you can download. With eight different in-game locations and 39 different characters, it's an interactive and fun way to spark a child’s imagination. Children can create and play out any story they like, and you can purchase additional content with real money if they want more characters and locations.
Designed from the kids' perspective, Toca Life World provides children with a fun, safe, open-ended gameplay experience. The game is designed for children, so you can allow your kids to play the game with little supervision.
This digital learning app is ideal for children to explore literacy concepts or develop math skills at their own pace. The app focuses on exploration, play, and positive reinforcement, which intrinsically motivates children.
There's an animated language feature that teaches letters, words, and phonics. A good thing about the Starfall app is that it’s applicable to children of different learning backgrounds. Even children with language delays or other special needs can use the app successfully.
Early readers can actively discover letter sounds and usage through well-paced videos. Meanwhile, more advanced readers can enjoy short books or comics on Greek mythology and Chinese fables.
With the Starfall app, your kids can make the most of their screen time. Besides the exciting and fun activities, it has entertaining graphics and vibrant colors that keep children engaged. The app's free version has plenty of valuable resources. However, a paid subscription will give you access to a curriculum that helps your kids master math and social science skills.
This app is a great tool to engage your children, featuring the best-loved characters from the kids’ TV channel Nick Jr. Besides watching their favorite shows, kids can also play recreational games on the go. Children can enjoy various learning activities with random, exciting surprises that are only a tap away. This can include trying out some stickers, using creative coloring, dressing up, and racing.
Unlike other apps that only offer entertainment, Nick Jr. has educational videos that will help kids as they grow older. With an intuitive interface, the app is child-friendly and easy to navigate. You can use the app for free, although you will unlock more features if you connect the app with your cable provider's credentials.
This app is an exciting and interactive way to learn to play the piano. Simply Piano will help anyone to grasp the basics of reading music and playing chords. Also, since the program progresses gradually, young kids can use the app to learn and improve their piano skills.
It has a guided program that shows learners what to practice. The app's format is also easy to use and appealing for all ages. There are colorful designs and images that kids will love. Since the setup is difficult to skip through, even older kids can't move on unless they play the chords correctly.
With their element of fun and engagement, educational apps are remarkable tools you can use to build young children's confidence and learning habits. But note that these learning apps are not created equal. You must consider their safety, age appropriateness, and educational features according to the needs of your own children.
If you also encourage your kids to play word games like Scrabble or Wordle to enhance their vocabulary and word recognition, introduce them to Unscrambled Words. It is a safe way for your kids to learn new words while having fun.
Constant access to the Internet should not prevent your kids from using fun learning apps. Even if you don't have an Internet connection, the following educational tools are accessible:
Busy Shapes
Animal Antics
Thinkrolls
Jump Numbers
Tales Untold
Fiete Math
The Robot Factory
Besides learning apps, young children and older kids love to use the following apps:
Youtube
Snapchat
Netflix
Facebook Messenger
Your kid's safety is likely your top concern when you let them go online. There is a lot of content on the Internet that is not appropriate for children. The good news is you can supervise their offline and online activities with parental control apps for Android and iOs.