Learning Apps Kids and Parents Love

Kristy Pepping said:  If your child is interested in how their body works from the inside, this is a great science app geared toward an elementary audience. The Human Body by Tinybop explores a working model of the body. Every part is interactive with sound effects.

Erynn said:  This all-inclusive app from PBS spans tons of shows our kids know and love- Daniel Tiger, Wild Kratts, Super Why, Dinosaur Train, and more- and it's free! Topics include science, math, language arts, and more, but my kids didn't even notice- they were too busy working through each interactive challenge.

The app uses a lot of storage, but you don't have to stay on WiFi while playing- and it's ad-free.

Kelly R. said:  Kids love playing with this app, filled with quirky monster animations and interactive spelling puzzles that teach letter recognition and build vocabulary. Expect mind-stretching words like "miniscule," "lopsided," and "gargle."

Katie G. said:  Created by a teacher, ABCya is a series of learning games organized by grade level. Games help students learn sight words, spelling, typing, grammar, math, thinking skills and more. Six free games are available each week through the app. With a monthly subscription, students can play more than 300 games and activities each month.

Yoli B said:  This app has 10 mini-games that will help your child remember up to 320 sight words. The app provides exposure to high-frequency words that appear in over 50% of the text. The app is run in a secure gaming environment and contains no ads, external links, or in-app purchases.

Kristy Pepping said:  Super Why! Phonics Fair is based on the popular TV show. It is also a winner of the Parents' Choice Award. Kids will learn word families that are the building blocks for reading and spelling. The app is a carnival-themed program that will entice kids to want to learn to read. Kids will also learn word-building and phonics.

Kelly R. said:  I will admit I almost never pay for apps, but I have more than gotten my money's worth on this one. Preschoolers help a monkey pack his lunch through 7 educational games that teach letter and number recognition, colors, fine motor skills, and matching. If your child likes this one, there are a variety of other Monkey Preschool apps as well.

Kristy Pepping said:  Montessori Letter Sounds has won several awards as a learning to read app. There are four easy to follow steps and your child will progress through the steps the older they get. Steps include: age 3: “I spy” to play sound games, around 4: “letter sounds” to memorize the letter sounds and shape, ages 4 and 5: “Mix and match” to bring together the two first steps and finally around 4 1/2: “sound it out” to write their first words using a moveable alphabet.

Jennie Utsinger said:  All of the applications by Originator are fantastic (including Endless Wordplay, Endless Alphabet, Endless Numbers, and Endless Reader). Each features amusing, lovable monsters and engaging sound effects to guide little learners through word identification, spelling, reading, and number recognition.

Kristy Pepping said:  Sago Mini has several apps that are great for toddlers. Sago Mini Puppy Preschool teaches young children about colors, numbers, music, and shapes through simple, intuitive activities. The app also promotes free play and exploration, which has enough navigation even for antsy toddlers.

Vanessa M. said:  Elmo makes learning about letters fun! The Elmo Loves ABCs app teaches young children letter sounds and recognition (both uppercase and lowercase) through tracing letters, letter games, music videos, and more.

Lisa R said:  Learn about specific artists and paintings, artistic techniques and styles of arts through games inspired by National Gallery of Art's collection. In the NGAkids App, kids add and subtract elements from famous paintings with sometimes hilarious results, all while becoming more familiar with the style and types of objects found in each work. Art Zone has more ways to play, including a module that teaches camera settings like speed and aperture, a doll house inspired by Vermeer and other artists to decorate, moving mobile and collage makers, and more!

Katie G. said:  If your child needs a little extra help with their letter formation, download the Writing Wizard app. This app will help kids learn to trace letters, numbers and words using motivational strategies such as stickers, sound effects and animated games. Parents can choose from one of five fonts and create their own word list for their children to practice. PDF worksheets are available for download to continue writing practice on paper.

Katie G. said:  Bugs and Bubbles offers over 18 educational games that help kids learn colors, letters, numbers, shapes, matching, patterns and letter formation. Kids pop fun bubbles to solve problems and if they get stuck, hints will pop up to help them understand the concept. The app gets more challenging as your child completes each level. The graphics and music are very enticing for the preschool age group.

Kristy Pepping said:  HOMER is fun and easy to use, and can work for beginners as well as more advanced readers. A membership gives access to two apps: HOMER Reading, a learn-to-read program and HOMER Stories, a library of interactive stories. Kids will learn phonics, sight words, ABCs organized by reading stages, and more. Parents have a dashboard to track their child's progress.

Lisa R said:  This multi-faceted program teaches reading, math, science and more through stories, puzzles, and other games that advance with your child. Kids accumulate tickets each time they complete an activity, which they can redeem for clothes, toys, and pets for their avatar. My daughter loves visiting the virtual farm and zoo, where she can listen to facts about animals while watching them move around the screen and feeding the fish in the virtual classroom.

Kristy Pepping said:  Moose Math is a math game that takes kids on fun adventures. They won't even know they are actually learning to count, add, subtract, do geometry and much more. Kids earn rewards which in turn lets them build a city and keep adding to it. Plus, this app is aligned with Common Core Math so the teaching methods match what they are already learning in school.

Katie G. said:  Math fact fluency is important for elementary age kids to master as they move forward in math. XtraMath provides a great resource for students to practice their math facts quickly and easily. Students are evaluated at the start to see what they know then placed in a level. Once they master all the facts, they'll receive a certification of achievement and move onto the next level. Parents receive a report each week showing your child's progress.

Lisa R said:  Though not an app, this is a mobile-friendly online resource from Scholastic featuring hundreds of animated and interactive eBooks read by celebrity narrators. Each of the stories is accompanied by additional learning activities, such as word match games, recall quizzes, puzzles, and more. Access is only available through a library subscription, however members of participating libraries can get free at-home access.

Gina I. said:  This kid-friendly language app is the perfect tool to help your kids learn a new language! Choose from more than 30 languages including Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Hindi, Greek, Japanese, and others! Kids will get practice reading, listening to, and speaking their chosen language, and the lesson "gamification" makes learning engaging and fun! Little kids may need assistance, but school-age children should be able to use the app with relative ease.

Speakaboos is designed to turn children's screen time into reading time with fun stories that keep kids entertained. The app features hundreds of stories with much loved characters, offers read-along highlighting, and publishes reports for parents that highlight your child's favorite stories, time spent reading, top interests, and the educational concepts your child covered.

Vanessa M. said:  Young children will enjoy learning to count, playing number games, tracing numbers, watching music videos and more with the Sesame Street app Elmo Loves 123s. The 123s tracker allows parents to keep tabs on what their child is learning.

Kelly R. said:  This whimsical app allows kids to interact with each letter of the alphabet to trigger a variety of animations portraying words beginning with the same letter. A fun and vocabulary-expanding experience.

Kristy Pepping said:   If you have an elementary aged child that could use some extra math help try Marble Math Junior. Your child will solve a variety of math problems by collecting numbers as they roll or drag a marble through a series of fun mazes.

Sarah C. said:  This is a cute little app that can teach kids coloring and using the correct colors when they draw. They can also record videos for their pictures. My children love drawing pictures for family members, including a video and sending to them. Would be good for ages 2-6.

Gina I. said:  Using puzzles, drawing exercises, and challenges, this educational app from Montessorium makes learning world geography fun! Kids will learn to identify the locations, shapes, and flags of countries around the globe, while developing a curiosity about their world.