As a parent do you ever feel like you could get lost in the iTunes App Store? Looking for great apps for kids can be a bit daunting. There are just so many out there. While it’s fun browsing all of the different apps sometimes parents just need a little guidance pointing them in the direction of apps that are worthwhile. That’s why I decided to start a new series here on 2 Wired 2 Tired to share with you round-ups of our favorite apps.
In this first installment we’ll share our collection of apps for elementary age children.
Here’s how we evaluated each app. Kora is 7 and Logan is 6 so the app has to meet their age range or challenge them a bit at an older level without being too frustrating. We also require that 95% of the games they play on the iPad are educational. Kora & Logan really love to learn so we are always looking for apps that teaches something of value. Our last requirement is that the apps must be fun. If they aren’t fun, the kids aren’t going to play and then they won’t learn anything.
So here’s our selection of 8 Must Have Apps For Kids Enjoy and if you have any to add to the list leave a comment below or send me an email, we’d love to take a look!
Kidobi App
Kidobi is actually a website that is filled with a massive library of fun and educational videos for kids. The app and a Kidobi account gives you access to the videos. There are many videos with songs that help teach multiplication, science, and other subjects in fun ways. There are also clips of some of their popular characters from Sesame Street, Pocoyo, and more. The app makes it easy to watch videos through playlists so the videos will automatically play one after another. Searching for specific videos is a breeze too and can be done in any number of ways: popularity, age, rating, category, and more. All of the videos are prescreened by educators and child development specialists. Learn more here or download it for free from the iTunes App Store.
The Electric Company Party Game: Lost On Prankster Planet
This app offers a new way to interact with The Electric Company crew. Marc & Jessica are stuck on Prankster Planet and children can help them by completing physical challenges, competing in counting races, drawing, answering math questions and more. It’s also a multiplayer game so more children can play together. The app offers hours of unrepeated fast-paced games, group activities, and more. You can download The Electric Company Party Game for free from the App Store.
Wild Kratts Creature Math
The ever popular kids show Wild Kratts is now available as a fun and challenging app that has kids practicing addition and subtraction as they create their very own animal habitats. This app keeps kids busy caring for animals while doing math and learning about nature all at the same time. It also automatically adjusts math difficulty as player’s math proficiency increases and it automatically saves progress so kids can manage habitats and animal pals over time. You can download Wild Kratts Creature Power for $1.99 from the App Store.
National Geographic GeoDash
Join Geo the adorable little robot on his mission to explore Earth’s habitats and earn animal abilities along the way. As kids explore they’ll collect cards with animal pictures, facts, trivia, jokes and more. It’s a fun way for kids to learn about animals and their habitats. Each new ability and card reveals new things making the game even more exciting. You can download National Geographic Geo Dash for $1.99 from the App Store.
Bill Nye The Science Guy
The app celebrates the 20th anniversary of Bill Nye and his unique and fun ways of keeping kids interested in science. Kids love scanning their thumb to gain entrance to Nye Labs where they can watch clips from their favorite Bill Nye shows, learn about science experiments they can do at home, take a rocket to Pluto, and dig for scientific treasure. You can download this app for free from the iTunes App Store.
Madagascar Math Ops
Kids who love the Madagascar penguins are sure to enjoy this app. Marty, Alex, Melman, and Gloria are in trouble and it’s up to the penguins to save them. Kids help Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private as they set on a mathematical covert mission to help the Madagascar zoo crew. With 80 levels and thousands of math problems there’s lots of math fun and missions to be played in popular places around the world like Paris, New York and more. You can download Madagascar Math Opps for $2.99 from the iTunes App Store.
Disney Creativity Studio
Do you have a child who loves Disney and to draw? Then this app will be a big hit. The app offers step-by-step instructions showing kids how to draw famous Disney characters including the cast from Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Sofia the First, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Doc McStuffins, Monsters University and more. You can download this app for free for a limited time from the iTunes App Store.
Amazing Alex
From the creators of Angry Birds comes a fun new physics based puzzle app where kids help Alex build amazing chain reactions to help with his toys and other objects found around his house and in his yard. There are 100 challenging levels in four fun locations and there may be more than one right answer to each challenge. This app will really get kids thinking in a fun and creative way they can even build and share their own levels with friends. You can download Amazing Alex for $.99 in the iTunes App Store.
Stack the states is fun. You learn facts about the states and learn how best to stack them up, too. 99 cents. Recently I was in a 3rd grade classroom and a kid was playing this in a school iPod touch. It looked like fun to me, so I put it on my iPod, too.
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These look like such fun Apps for little kids. I will have to share this list with my sister for her son. I loved the The Electric Company when I was a kid. I bet that App is fun.
Thanks For This Great Review Of Apps For Kids, I’m Always Looking For Great Apps That Are Educational And Fun
Thank you for this review! Love having different learning apps available for the grandkids! These look like some real good ones.
Thank you! I’m always looking for something new & educational for them to play!
THE National Geographic GeoDash looks like a great app and a lot of fun for kids.
I love the learning apps but I also like how some just fun apps that promote imagination were added too!
I will check these out. Thanks for sharing!
It’s so hard to find good apps for my boys. I will buy them and then they are not all that great so I waste more money. Most of these apps my boys would really enjoy thanks for sharing!
I will have to go over these with my seven year old Granddaughter, I’m sure she will love all of them!
Thank you for sharing these apps. Some of these are new to me. I think the National Geographic one looks very interesting.
Those are great looking apps. Can people over 60 use them???
No joke..I have been scouring iTunes for an app that was the same as a computer game I loved to play as a teenager. It went by a different name but it was the same as Amazing Alex, hoping its the same. You had to connect random objects with tubes, rubber bands to get the ball from point a to point b. Going to check this out
I didn’t know Bill Nye had his own app! I remember watching him in school