Updated March 16, 2020
The “edutainment” industry has a plethora of fun apps that can expand your child’s mind and reinforce school lessons.
Here are apps that are both educational and engaging, as well as some apps that can help kids (and adults) manage their work.
Educational Apps
DuoLingo
Want to learn a new language? It’s now fun, entertaining, and efficient to learn, right on your phone! Trust Duolingo like 300 million other language learners, and find a program that works. The secret? Duolingo feels like a game and makes sure you stay motivated. Take 10 minutes a day, and you’ll surprise yourself with how well you can speak a new language 3 months from now! (Apple, Google Play)
Fish School
A playful underwater experience filled with 8 educational activities, this award-winning app teaches children letters, numbers, shapes and colors with colorful fish and friendly sea life characters. AGES: 2-5. (Apple, Google Play)
FunBrain Jr.
Kids can practice letter and number recognition, sequencing, patterns, letter sounds, and more. With the help of colorful and quirky Funbrain Jr. characters, kids ages 2-6 will love practicing skills in early literacy, math, and problem solving. (Apple)
Happy Little Farmer
The first app to teach kids how things grow! Rake, dig, trim, water – there are endless things to do on your very own fruit and veggie farm. Quick, chase the bugs away before they eat all the leaves! Feed the hungry blue monster and pick all the veggies before they go bad. Happy Little Farmer includes 15 exciting activities to do around the farm. (Apple, $2.99)
Lingokids – English For Kids
Lingokids is the playlearning™ app in English that teaches kids essential skills through games. Designed for kids ages 2-8, Lingokids teaches more than just English for kids. Your child will practice over 3000 English vocabulary words and can learn about 60 different topics! They’ll practice the English alphabet (ABC), listen to audiobooks and sing songs in English. (Apple, Google Play)
Metamorphabet
Metamorphabet is a playful, interactive alphabet for all ages. Poke, prod, drag, and spin each of the 26 letters of the alphabet to reveal surprising and luminous transformations. (Apple, $4.99 | Google Play, $3.99)
PBS Kids Games
The number one educational media brand for kids, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital platforms and community-based programs. (Apple, Google Play)
Stack The States
Stack the States™ makes learning about the 50 states fun! Watch the states actually come to life in this colorful and dynamic game! As you learn state capitals, shapes, geographic locations and more, you can actually touch, move and drop the animated states anywhere on the screen. Carefully build a stack of states that reaches the checkered line to win each level. (Apple, $2.99 | Google Play, $2.99)
Study & Time Management Apps
Brainscape
The app lets users create their own flash cards and then share them with classmates. The really cool thing is how this app it spaces the repetition of each piece of information based on exactly the right interval for each user. It’s scientifically proven to slash required study times. (Apple, Google Plus)
iHomework 2
iHomework 2 is the perfect organizer for any student and makes tracking your school work a breeze. Let iHomework 2 organize your work so you can focus on getting it done. (Apple)
Khan Academy
The nonprofit educational organization has a comprehensive app for K-12 and beyond, covering mathematics, the sciences, finance, the humanities, SAT prep and more. Includes 150,000+ Common Core-aligned math problems, and a scratchpad powered by MyScript. (Apple, Google Play)
myHomework Student Planner
Students can track their classes, homework, tests and assignments. There’s also a great calendar display that supports time, block and class period-based schedules. (Apple, Google Play)
The StudyBlue app is like getting magical powers to transform everything from a music festival bathroom line to boring bus/train/plane trips into productive study time. Hold 10+ million students and 500+ million flashcards in the palm of your hand! (Apple, Google Play)
Tips for finding the right apps:
- Choose games that reinforce grade-appropriate lessons in fun and engaging ways and enhance what kids are already learning in the classroom while on-the-go.
- Find apps that access all different areas of a child’s education.
- Games that address multiple senses (e.g. compelling visuals, sounds) and are not too repetitive will keep kids engaged. Get help choosing apps by reading the user reviews before you download.
- Select games that are appropriate for both age and skill level.
- Get help choosing apps by reading the user reviews before you download.