If your kids regularly use tablets and smartphones, you might as well make some of their screen time educational. In today’s digital-savvy culture, there are many ways to harness the potential of online learning and the wealth of information at your child’s fingertips. One way many parents are doing this is through the use of some of the best learning apps for kids!
Want to learn about some of the best educational apps for your child? This article is for you. Let’s look at some of the top-rated apps and each of their strengths and weaknesses.
Want to read more about educational apps? Check out our article on what features to look for in a kids’ learning app, no matter what subject.
Kids’ Learning Apps for Elementary Students
Learning apps are fun, engaging, and useful to play with your children at home. Get into an educational groove with these recommended apps for kids ages preschool through 5th grade.
Khan Academy Kids (Math, Reading, and Logic)
The ever-famous Khan Academy Kids is a fun, engaging educational app for kids that covers math, logic concepts, and reading. With its progress tracking and adaptive learning features, it supports at-home learning for kids ages 2-7.
Strengths:
- Curriculum is based on educational standards
- Intuitive user interface
- High-quality activities
Weaknesses:
- Limited content for users who want reading and literacy instruction
- Limited practice in decoding skills
Prodigy Math Game (Math)
Prodigy Math is a fun, fantasy-inspired math education app for kids ages 6 and older. Parents love it because it allows them to customize the difficulty levels to meet their child’s current stage of math development while making sure it’s challenging enough to foster improvement. With gamified rewards like pets and accessories, kids stay motivated to keep learning.
Strengths:
- Immersive gameplay
- Covers a comprehensive set of math skills
Weaknesses:
- In-app purchases
- Some of the games may be too tedious for kids
Duolingo Kids (Language Learning)
The popular language-learning app, Duolingo, has a kids’ feature that teaches writing, speaking, and reading skills in multiple languages. It offers interactive mini-lessons and rewarding games that encourage language repetition and comprehension.
Strengths:
- Delightfully gamified
- Adaptive learning technology
- Free version (with ads)
Weaknesses:
- All players must start at the beginning even if they have prior language knowledge
- Limited number of mistakes allowed per session (free version)
- Limited word-reading (decoding practice)
Sushi Monster (Math)
Sushi Monster is a cleverly designed math game that helps kids ages 6 and older learn arithmetic while making “sushi.” It uses adaptive learning features to adjust difficulty levels and game rewards. Additionally, it has a multiplayer option which is perfect for friends and siblings who want to play together.
Strengths:
- Colorful, fun animations
- Substantial coverage of math skills
Weaknesses:
- Animations move too quickly for some players
- Lots of memorization involved
DragonBox (Math)
Another math learning app for kids is DragonBox, an innovative game that instills beginner to advanced math skills in kids ages 4 and up. Its immersive puzzles and challenges introduce basic counting, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and even calculus to players as they progress their abilities.
Strengths:
- Unique approach to teaching advanced math
- Approachable lessons
- Visually appealing interface
Weaknesses:
- Limited to math only
BrainPOP Jr. (Science, Social Studies, Reading, Math)
BrainPOP Jr. is a fun, animated learning app that involves many subjects such as science, reading, math, and social studies. Kids learn through animated videos, interactive practice lessons, quizzes, and printable activities. There are also many resources for teachers and parents to use to help their children through the learning process.
Strengths:
- Many subjects available
- Interactive animations make difficult concepts approachable for kids
Weaknesses:
- Video-based activities risk a passive learning experience
Scratch Jr. (Coding and Programming)
Scratch Jr. is a free coding program that introduces children to basic programming concepts. Created and provided for free by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Scratch Jr. uses a block-based interface that contains visual characters, backgrounds, coding blocks, games, and other elements that kids can combine to come up with fun creations. Teachers claim it’s effective at introducing kids to coding, even as young as 5 years old.
Strengths:
- Free to use
- Teaches computational thinking
- Limitless creativity
Weaknesses:
- Reading ability required
- Limited to beginner coding concepts and capabilities
Lightbot (Coding)
Lightbot is a puzzle-based coding app and website that lets kids learn programming logic and practice problem-solving. Its lessons progress in difficulty sequentially so kids can build new skills from the beginning.
Strengths:
- Engaging gameplay
- Effective learning curve
- Cute, fun animations
Weaknesses:
- Consistent practice is required to make progress
Reading.com (Literacy and Reading)
The Reading.com app is a comprehensive literacy education app that helps kids develop early reading skills. The app was developed with a research-backed, scientific approach to reading instruction that makes essential literacy concepts fun and engaging to learn.
Reading.com contains 99 lessons that take children from letter recognition to confident reading, helping children through various stages of literacy development. It’s also intended to foster parent-child bonding through mutual engagement during app use.
Parents can take a placement assessment for their children to make sure they start with a lesson that matches their skill level. There are also 60 interactive, decodable books and 4 phonics games for independent play and skill reinforcement.
Strengths:
- Effective teaching program that covers phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, printing, and reading fluency
- Systematic, research-based instruction methods
- User-friendly interface for children and parents
- Access to digital books that can be co-read or independently decoded
Weaknesses:
- Subjects are explicitly literacy-focused
- Parent or teacher engagement required
Reviews (4.8 stars) in the App Store and Google Play say that teachers and parents praise the app for helping their children learn to read. Overall, the app is a useful and credible learning app for kids’ literacy instruction.
The Best Kids’ Learning App for Reading
Learning apps for kids offer fun, low-pressure ways to encourage a love of learning. Whether your child loves or hates a particular subject, an engaging app can make a big difference when used responsibly and with parental guidance.
At Reading.com, we develop science-backed literacy lessons and games that kids—and their parents!—love to play. Want to help your little one strengthen their literacy skills at home? Download the Reading.com app for free today.