Image: Shutterstock
Learning apps for kids make learning new concepts fun, arouse children’s curiosity, and boost their creativity. These apps are also user-friendly and interactive. So, children find the concepts interesting and retain them for long.
If your child has a penchant for gadgets and is frequently glued to their mobile devices, it is a good idea to introduce learning apps to them. These educational apps enhance learning outcomes and enable them to understand new information better. They also keep children engaged and ensure the child’s time is not randomly spent on the Internet. Here is a list of some engaging free learning apps for kids that will help them acquire knowledge and become more productive.
Key Pointers
- Apps such as “MathTango,” “TABI Learning,” and “Prodigy” aim to make math easy.
- The “Papumba: Preschool ABC Games” app teaches children new languages.
- For a fun-learning experience, use the “Khan Academy” app or their YouTube channel.
30+ Free Learning Apps For Kids
For Toddlers And Preschoolers
1. Sago Mini World
Sago Mini World includes more than 20 games that can also be played offline when you don’t have an internet connection. Children can participate in many exciting activities such as building robots and creating monsters, or become a superhero, promoting active engagement and participation.
Available For: iOS 10 or later and Android 4.4 or later
Age limit: 2 – 5
2. Montessori Preschool
Certified Montessori teachers have created this math games app that introduces your child to numbers, counting, and other interesting activities. The phonics and reading sections help your child read on their own. Reasoning games nurture your child’s brain power, while shapes and colors learning games prepare them for school.
Available For: iOS 10.0 or later and Android 5.0 or later
Age limit: 3- 7
Quick fact3. Papumba: Preschool ABC Games
Image: Papumba.com
With 500+ games for kids on call, this app comes with a free seven-day trial. It starts with the alphabet and numbers and then introduces children to new languages and more. The app gives you the convenience of offline play too.
Available For: iOS 11.0 or later and Android 6.0 or later
Age limit: 2- 7
4. Accelerating Young Minds
Designed especially for early learners, this app has interactive educational games that are not just limited to academic themes but also life and social skills. The app focuses on vocabulary and communication.
Available For: iOS 10.0 or later
Age limit: 3- 6
5. Hungry Caterpillar Play School
Your children might feel thrilled to find their favorite characters from Eric Carle’s books in this app. The app introduces the child to relaxation techniques. This app is deservedly popular with themes covering math, spelling, problem-solving, nature, and more.
Available For: iOS 11.0 or later and Android 5.0 or later
Age limit: 2- 5
6. BrainPop Jr.
Unlike usual learning games, BrainPop Jr has an interesting movie format. Every week, you have a new movie to watch, do quizzes, and explore other exciting features. The app covers various topics, including social studies, math, writing, science, arts, and even technology.
Available For: iOS 9.0 or later and Android or later
Age limit: 4- 9
7. Little 10 Robot
The Little 10 Robot app comes with several activity ideas that cover counting, logical thinking, reading, and writing, math, and geography. Interactive, colorful visuals of these learning games keep the child engaged and attentive
Available For: iOS 9.0 or later and Android 2.3.3 or later
Age limit: It has versions for all ages
8. Khan Academy
This app has dynamic visuals with a focus on making social-emotional learning fun. Plenty of printable formats allow parents to stock up, and there are YouTube videos too. Khan Academy’s interactive games introduce children to basic concepts that they will also learn at school.
Did you know?Available For: iOS 9.3 or later and Android 5.0 or later
Age limit: 2 – 8
9. Busy Shapes
The Montessori method-based app for toddlers offers educational games that teach the basics of manipulating objects, thus promoting reasoning. These puzzles for kids comprise fun activities with shapes and colors that boost critical thinking skills.
Available For: iOS 7.0 or later and Android 4.4 or later
Age limit: 2- 8
10. ABCmouse
Image: ABCMouse.com
This comprehensive app is free for a month after the first download, and it covers math games, social studies, science, art themes, and more. Videos, activities, and a variety of other offerings help parents ready the child for elementary school.
Available For: iOS 10 or later and Android 5.0 or later
Age limit: 2- 8 (ideal for pre-schoolers)
11. Beanstalk
Interactive classes and camps that entertain the child make up the bulk of this app. Direct interaction with the teachers and other children creates a school-like atmosphere that many children love. The app is available for free for a limited period.
Available For: iOS 9.0 or later and Android 4.4. or later
Age limit: 2- 6
For Children Aged 6 to 8
12. MathTango
Help your child learn the basic concepts of addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication through engaging math games that are designed to keep them attentive. A seven-day free trial lets you try out all the app’s features at your pace before you subscribe.
Available For: iOS 13 or later and Android or later
Age limit: 5- 10
13. TABI Learning
The typical school curriculum, encompassing social studies, math, science, and reading skills, is efficiently covered by this app. Experienced educators have designed the app and it comes with a seven-day free trial and a discounted annual package.
Available For: iOS 10.0 or later and Android 5.0 or later
Age limit: 7- 11
14. TinyTap
Content curated by teaching professionals and designed in a gaming format with over 200,000 learning games gives your child plenty of playtime. You can find counting, alphabet, colors, and more, and a seven-day free trial is offered with the app.
Available For: iOS 14.0 or later and Android 4.4 or later
Age limit: 2- 8
15. K-5 Science for Kids
This app explains complex science topics in kid-friendly ways. The lessons are interactive, so the child is actively involved in them throughout. The weekly live experiments and trivia are fun additions, which make it one of the best iPad apps for kids.
Available For: iOS 13.2 or later
Age limit: 4- 10
16. Epic
Introduce your child to the wonderful world of books with this app. Over 35,000 digital books from the library are available on this award-winning app. The app may also be useful for advanced spellers. The basic version is free to use, and you can upgrade to a feature-rich version on subscription-based payment.
Available For: iOS 10.3 or later and Android 4.2 or later
Age limit: 2- 12
17. Prodigy
Image: Prodigygame.com
A basic version is available for free, and you can pay to upgrade to a more comprehensive one. Through creative video games, the app hones and strengthens math skills of children up to the eighth grade. The fantasy world-based theme makes it easy for parents to ensure the children choose this as an alternative to other gaming options.
Quick factAvailable For: iOS 12 or later and Android 5.0 or later
Age limit: 6- 14
18. Science360
This is a free app from the National Science Foundation, and it offers exciting and fun content for kids who love science. The app uses plenty of visuals plus videos and text covering various topics. The 360-degree view is one of the most loved features of this app.
Available For: iOS 11 or later/ Android 4.2 or later
Age limit: 8- 18
19. Samsung Kids+
With plenty of apps, games, and TV shows to pick from, this is one comprehensive solution when you are looking to keep your child engaged with productive activities. It comes with a month-long free trial. Favorite animal characters, fun games for kids, music, and more can aid in the development of your child’s critical thinking skills.
Available For: Android Pie 9.0 or later
Age limit: 3- 12
20. Beanstack Tracker
If you want to encourage your child to read more or help them hone their reading skills, Beanstack Tracker is a great option. This app tracks the books read by the children. The reading challenges are designed by librarians and educators to sync right in with the reader’s age-appropriate abilities.
Available For: iOS 14.0 or later/ Android 4.1 or later
Age limit: 3 and above
For Children Aged 9 to 11
21. Quick Math
Here’s a straightforward math games app that helps children master mental arithmetic with ease and covers the basics of addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. The app comes with a timer feature.
Available For: iOS 8.0 or later/ Android 2.3 or later
Age limit: 7- 12
22. Hop Scotch
An app that acquaints children with basic programming concepts, Hopscotch is customizable with fun characters. Using drag and drop commands, children can make their own programs, see how it works, and learn the basic concepts via a fun gaming format.
Available For: iOS 12 or later
Age limit: 10- 16
23. Barefoot World Atlas
Acquaint your child with the world without having to step out of home with this innovative app. With an immersive experience, this app introduces your child to different exciting places on Earth. The 3D globe lets the child get a ‘hands-on’ experience. Interactive quizzes test and cement what the child has learned.
Available For: iOS 12.0 or later
Age limit: All ages
24. Seek by iNaturalist
If your child is a budding botanist, this free app is for you. The Seek camera can be used outdoors to scan and identify various organisms and flora around you, and this means your child is encouraged to go outdoors and explore.
Available For: iOS10.0 or later/ Android 6.0 or later
Age limit: 9 – 11
25. Droplets
Get your kids to learn 35 new languages right at home with this app. The highlight of this app is the visual medium used to teach the child. Words are categorized by theme and voiced by native speakers, so the child gets the exact pronunciation right.
Available For: iOS10.0 or above/ Android 5.1 or later
Age limit: 7- 16
26. Babbel
Another popular language learning app, Babbel, has been designed by linguists to equip children to use language in real-life situations. With interactive dialogues, the child gets to test their skills thoroughly before using the language outside. There are reviews to help the child quickly recap what they have learned. Try out the free version for a month.
Available For: iOS 12.0 or later/ Android 7.0 or later
Age limit: 10 and above
27. Flow Free
This is a puzzle-based fun game for kids. Two thousand puzzles are up for grabs for free, and you can pay to access more. This game for kids comes with color-based puzzles that start easy, and the child can progress to truly challenging ones.
Available For: iOS 10.0 or later/ Android 4.4 or later
Age limit: 7 and above
28. Spotify Kids
Image: SpotifyKids.com
Child-appropriate content custom-picked for them by experts makes this app a safe and fun tool to expose children to. There are audiobooks to choose from, and music from different genres and children can add a soundtrack to their day to make things more exciting. The singalong option makes this app fun for budding singers and performers. This comes free along with your Spotify premium family subscription.
Available For: iOS 12.0 or later/ Android 4.3 or later
Age limit: 6- 12
29. Lightbot Code Hour
This app introduces your child to the basics of coding but without having to write the code. It uses functions that frequently appear in code and encourages the child to ‘plug and play’ in a way to discover what different pieces of codes do. The app has a friendly robot guiding the child through the various steps of different levels of difficulty. A version with fewer levels is available for free.
Available For: iOS 5.1.1 or later /Android 2.3 or later
Age limit: 8 and above
30. Duolingo
Learning different languages helps children communicate with ease and confidence. And the best way for anyone to learn more of them is to start young. Duolingo has a host of languages on offer that the child can learn at their own pace. This language learning app grades the child instantly on the challenges given and has a reward system to motivate them.
Available For: iOS 12 or later/ Android (varies with the device used)
Age limit: 9- 14 (basic English learning for age three onwards)
31. ScratchJr
ScratchJr is a coding app designed for children aged 5 to 7. It is considered an introductory programming language and teaches children the basics of programming in a fun and interactive way. Developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab, ScratchJr allows children to create their own interactive stories, games, and animations by snapping together graphical programming blocks. The app features a visually pleasing and user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, which is appealing to young learners. This app also enhances children’s coding skills, problem-solving abilities, and creativity through interactive activities. It introduces children to the exciting world of coding in a child-friendly environment.
Available For: iOS 12 or later/ Android
Age limit: 5-7
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do educational apps improve the learning process in kids?
Educational apps help improve the learning process in kids since:
- Children can learn at their own pace
- The visual representations keep them interested
- The incentives or rewards upon completion of a quiz or a topic can motivate children to learn and excel
2. How can kids benefit from using educational apps in the classroom?
Using educational apps to teach in classrooms may help children promote an interactive class by:
- Keeping them engaged through the visual triggers
- Keeping a record of the past lessons as they allow easy access to the last topic
- Easy assigning and answering of questions
3. What are the potential drawbacks or limitations of learning apps for children?
Potential drawbacks or limitations of learning apps for children include excessive screen time, potential for passive learning, limited social interaction, lack of personalized instruction, and potential distractions. It’s important to balance digital and offline activities, ensure active engagement with the app, supplement real-world experiences, and monitor usage to maximize the benefits while addressing any limitations.
4. How can learning apps supplement and reinforce the school curriculum?
Learning apps can supplement and reinforce the school curriculum by providing additional practice, interactive exercises, and access to educational content outside the classroom. They can offer a variety of subjects and topics, personalized learning experiences, and opportunities for self-paced learning.
5. How do learning apps support parental monitoring and progress tracking?
Learning apps offer parental monitoring and progress-tracking features. Parents can create profiles, set goals, and track their child’s progress within the app. This helps parents stay informed and involved in their child’s learning journey.
6. How can I ensure my child’s safety and privacy when using these apps?
Download apps that have strong privacy policies and comply with child data protection laws. Enable parental controls to monitor the content viewed, block in-app purchases, and turn off app permissions that are not essential. Most importantly, talk to your child about data privacy and safe online habits. Ask them not to share personal information, such as their full name, address, and school name.
Learning apps for kids can make learning a positive experience. Young children like to use electronic gadgets, and turning their interest and curiosity in the right direction can do wonders. Sago mini world, Montessori preschool, accelerating young minds, hungry caterpillar play school, little 10 robot, khan academy, busy shapes, and ABCmouse are some popular online learning platforms for kids. You may choose the apps based on your child’s age and interests. Always remember to limit screen time and utilize parental controls and encourage your child to play outdoors and learn from other sources.
Infographic: Helpful Learning Apps To Download For Children
It’s almost impossible to keep children away from phones and tablets. So why not utilize them for learning? Explore our infographic for the best educational apps available to boost your child’s attention span and curiosity through fun interactive lessons and games on various subjects.
Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Illustration: Free Educational Apps For Kids
Image: Dall·E/MomJunction Design Team
Online learning is not just a trend but a new norm. Check out these free educational apps that may enhance your child’s learning experience without weighing heavy on your pocket.
References
- What is Maria Montessori Theory?
https://rms.wa.edu.au/what-is-maria-montessori-theory/
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