The best education apps for your kids

Make screen time meaningful with these tried-and-tested educational apps for children.

Devices are now a big part of our children’s lives, so it’s important to make sure that their screen time is as beneficial as possible. With over 10,000 apps being uploaded to app stores every month though, it’s nearly impossible to search through them all yourself and choose the right ones for your kids.

Here are some of the best educational apps that have been recommended by independent website Educational App Store – and have received a thumbs up from this writer’s five- and eight-year old daughters.

Khan Academy Kids

Age range: 3-7 years old

This app can teach your kids everything from reading and writing to maths and social-emotional skills. The app really makes learning joyful by including whimsical and engaging characters. It supports topics that other educational apps don’t, such as emotional and creative development, and includes a weekly planner so you can track what your kids are learning.

Applaydu

Age range: 4-9 years old

This app has mini ‘edutainment’ games, augmented reality experiences, a storybook builder, visual arts and crafts, bedtime stories, and so much more. All of this is designed to encourage them to be an active, creative participant in their own knowledge building. The storybook builder was especially popular with this writer’s daughters.

Playtime Island from CBeebies

Age range: 3-7 years old

CBeebies Playtime Island is a collection of free games, with more added regularly, that helps kids learn as they play. Whether you want to collect musical notes with Mr Tumble in Mr Tumble’s Rhyme Time, help Gem win her jewels back in My Swashbuckle Adventure or solve fun engineering problems with Bitz & Bob in Let’s Get Bitzy. The personalisation feature was a particular hit with this writer’s daughters.

For older kids, we found these apps to be particularly engaging.

Kings & Queens: 1,000 Years of British Royal History

Age range: 11-14 years old

Running like a spine through the history of Great Britain is the story of its Royal Family. War, intrigue, love, loyalty, and betrayal feature in this story and shape the country as they do so. This app (only for iOS and iPadOS) leads you through the stories of these kings and queens, making use of royal portraits from the Royal Collection Trust.

The portraits are superbly captured for digital viewing and are often far superior to the lower-resolution ones that you will see elsewhere online.

Lumosity

Age range: 14 years old and older

Lumosity focuses on training your memory with exercises that are quick to play yet challenging at the same time. The games tap into cognitive processes like speed, attention, memory, flexibility, and problem solving.

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