Educational Apps for Elementary-Aged Kids

Spring is usually a busy travel time for our family. For our elementary school-aged daughter, travel also means more time on the iPad when going from place to place. Aside from movies and shows, we make sure her iPad also has educational apps. 

Here are apps that I love for elementary-aged children because they’ve worked well for us.

Art 

Since age 5, Isabelle has had the Crayola Create and Play app. She still thinks it’s fun. This app allows painting, drawing, stamping, and much more. The graphics bring the world of Crayola to life. One of the best features is the ability to design your own pets. The app includes interactive games that range from spelling to coding and mixing colors. The app is well-suited for ages 4-12. If art without the mess sounds good to you, this is worth the download. 

Coding

There are an increasing number of apps that teach kids the fundamentals of coding. Based on reviews and recommendations, we chose codeSpark Academy a few years ago. This app uses a variety of games and easy-to-understand visuals to get kids coding. What I love most about the app is that it helps with problem solving on a larger scale. Kids must figure out how to make characters do what they need them to do, and it can be challenging at first. I sat with Isabelle the first few times she used it, then the frustration turned to fun. She loves the variety of settings you can select (games) within codeSpark Academy. 

Curriculum 

During the pandemic, we tried out the IXL app for both kids, then kept it. This is a traditional K-12 learning app where you select grade level and/or subject and answer questions. It assesses how your child is doing and makes recommendations on what the child should consider trying next. When kids hit milestones such as a certain amount of time spent using the app or a certain number of questions right, it unlocks “prizes.” The prizes in one subject at one grade level might look like animal stickers, for example. It has never been a struggle to get Isabelle on IXL. It is user friendly and an encouraging experience for kids. 

These are just a few of many apps out there to keep kids learning. There are some language learning apps I’ll share at a later time. If you have a young child who is just learning to read, consider Epic – Kids’ Books & Reading. Another app Isabelle has aged out of, but was her go-to for years, is ABC Mouse. This broad educational app serves children as young as 2.

Head’s up — the apps mentioned here either require a subscription and/or in-app purchases, but our family has found them worthwhile.