The Best Educational Apps for Kids
Just because social distancing has hit the pause button on schools, it doesn’t mean our kids’ education has to stop cold turkey. There are tons of educational apps available for kids that will keep their minds busy until it’s safe for them to head back to school. Best of all? They’re so stimulating and fun, they’ll keep them busy for hours, which is a great way to entertain kids at home.
The Best Educational Apps for Kids
1. Stack the States 2
Stack the States 2 is only $2.99 and it’s perfect for kids ages 9 to 11, but the app is so insanely fun, you’ll probably want to play too. This app, which is part educational tool, part game, will help children learn geography while they watch the states come to life.
The stacking game helps them identify state capitals, flags, landmarks, cities, and so much more. Kids will get a kick out of the states’ super cute facial expressions, particularly the look in their eyes as their stacks wobble or fall. It’s available on iPhone, iPad, or Android.
2. MathTango
If you want to give kids ages 5 to 10 an interactive math lesson that’s fun and fast, then get the MathTango app for iPhone or iPad. It’s completely free!
Kids will learn all about basic math skills while they earn monsters, build a tropical island, solve interactive math puzzles, and discover tons of surprises along the way!
They’ll also get to build up a starbase for multiplication, division, and basic algebra. As I mentioned earlier, the app is free, but there are some in-app purchases.
3. Barefoot World Atlas
The Barefoot World Atlas app, (iPhone or iPad) is $4.99 but it’s worth every penny. Your kids will be able to fly around a magical globe and explore the wonderful corners of our planet, discover stories about other countries, cities, and people along the way. There are also interactive quizzes and kids can also personalize their world to have more fun and interactive experience.
4. Fish School HD
The Fish School HD app is a fun way for preschoolers ages 2 to 5 to learn about letters, numbers, shapes, and colors through a series of colorful and adorable fish who form shapes. This free app comes with 8 educational activities. Touch, tap, and drag a fish and watch them do funny things, too. Kids will also learn to recognize numbers and count to 20. The app is quite simple but it’s entertaining and really fun for toddlers.
5. Droplets: Drops for Kids
Droplets: Drops for Kids is an interactive free learning app that comes with some in-app purchases. The Droplets app gives you free access to all their content for 5 minutes every day.
It’s perfect for kids ages 7 to 16. And thanks to its super user-friendly features and colorful illustrations, kids will learn how to read, write, and say words and phrases in 37 different languages. They focus a lot on pronunciation and making each session as fun and effective as it gets, so this one’s a must if your kids are interested in learning a new language.
6. Epic!
The Epic! app is an e-book library with over 35,000 children’s books for kids ages 2 to 12, and it pays homage to its name. It’s by far one of the best reading apps for kids. It’s available on iOS and Android. You get a one-month free trial. After that, it’s $8 a month, but it’s a great way to keep kids interested in reading. Plus, it also comes with a “read to me” feature for children who are starting to learn how to read.
7. Hungry Caterpillar Play School
The Hungry Caterpillar Play School app is free and it’s available for iOS and Android. It’s only $6 per month and is perfect for kids ages 1 through
The app has 5 main areas of learning: shapes and colors, alphabet, numbers, book reading, and arts, and puzzles. The Caterpillar Play School helps the little ones with reading, writing, science, problem-solving, and teaches them about creative arts. And the insanely adorable 3D illustrations are guaranteed to keep your kids hooked.
8. Toca Hair Salon 3
Toca Hair Salon 3, (works on iOS or Android) is just $4 and is perfect for crafty and creative children who love playing dress-up.
Kids ages 3 to 7 will get the chance to let their imagination explode by styling hair, cutting it, coloring, curling, braiding, and shaving it. Best of all, there are no rules or instructions, so kids can pretty much do whatever they want to the character’s hair.
9. Elmo Loves 123s
Elmo Loves 123s is a great app for kids ages 5 and under. The app will teach them how to count from 1 to 20 with a little help from Abby and Elmo. They’ll also learn how to do simple math addition, subtraction, and number tracing, which unlock other fun activities like coloring pages, puzzles, and Sesame Street videos. And it’s only $4.99.
10. Lightbot: Code Hour
Lightbot: Code Hour for iOS or Android is free, and it teaches kids ages 8 and up about the concepts of coding and the reasoning behind writing code for computer programming. Kids will use functions found in coding to help get Lightbot through various pathways. This allows them to learn about coding without overwhelming them with a lot of technical computer programming jargon. Who knows, this might inspire them to become the next Bill Gates.
11. Khan Academy Kids
The amazing Khan Academy Kids app is free for iOS and it teaches children all about reading, writing, math, problem-solving, motor development, and even social-emotional development through a series of games as well as activities like storytelling, coloring, and drawing that encourage self-expression and creativity.
12. Habitat the Game
Habitat the Game is free on iTunes and it teaches kids ages 4 to care for the environment in a super cool way. Children will get to adopt a virtual polar bear while completing actions such as conserving water and turning lights off in order to keep the creature alive and healthy. It’s a great way for kids to learn about the environment and how their actions affect the life around them.
13. Winky Think Logic Puzzles
Download the Winky Think Logic Puzzles app for $2.99 for iPhone and iPad. It will give kids ages 6 through 8 the chance to exercise those brain cells with over 180 logic puzzles that include activities like mazes and complex obstacle games. These mind-bending logic puzzles are addictive and fun, so don’t be surprised if you end up joining them to try to solve them all in one sitting!
14. The Sight Word Adventure
The Sight Word Adventure ($3.99 for iPhone and iPad) teaches kids ages 5 and under how to read, write and recognize 320 sight words, and it’s so much fun, they will not want to put it down. This will stimulate their active listening, visual memorization, and attention. The mini-games will also expose kids to high-frequency words that often appear in text.
