12 Fun Learning Apps for Kids

ByNadia Tahir Updated on Parenting
Happy,African,Family,Having,Fun,With,Device,At,Home,,Black

Learning apps for kids are fun, and engaging tools parents can use outside school hours. Kids love learning with technology, and interactive games and apps are an excellent way to learn without feeling like they are doing work.

Learning apps available for kids of all ages are either free or affordable. You can easily find apps teaching kids subjects like math, science, reading comprehension, spelling, and more. The following is a list of apps from which kids will love playing and learning.

Best Learning Apps for Kids

1. Khan Academy Kids

You would be hard-pressed to find a list of best kids apps without Khan Academy Kids on it. A favorite learning app for many parents and teachers alike, Khan Academy Kids help children learn, practice, and improve their math skills. A series of mini tutorials in the form of instructional videos provide examples showing every step of solving math problems.

From preschool math and beyond, Khan Academy Kids works for almost every grade level, including preparation for tests like SATs for college entrance and GMAT for admission into the master of business administration program.

Features

  • A personalized dashboard so students can learn at their own pace.
  • Thousands of instructional videos and examples.
  • Although widely known for teaching math, Khan Academy also helps with science, economics, history, and more.
  • All lessons are free.

2. Math Games for Kids

The Math Games for Kids app focuses on the age range of preschool math until grade 1. Kids can learn basic concepts through mini math games to learn counting and simple addition and subtraction.

Features

  • Parents can track progress and customize game modes to increase or decrease difficulty.
  • Kids earn stickers after completing each game to motivate them to continue.
  • Easy to navigate, kids can drag and drop the correct answer.

3. Moose Math

Moose Math is another math games-focused app that provides instructions in a fun and engaging way on different math subjects, including counting, sorting, addition, measurements, and shapes. Khan Academy Kids helped create Moose Math which also indicates that it’s an excellent app for kids.

Kids enter the city featuring three shops: Moose Juice (a smoothie shop), Puck’s Pets, and Lost and Found. While making smoothies, the app introduces kids to recipe cards showing basic measurements and simple addition. The interface is intuitive for kids, with simple movements such as dragging the correct number of fruits to the blender to make a smoothie. Kids can tap a bird in the corner if they are stuck and need a hint. The other two shops teach similar math concepts.

Each shop has games that reach six levels. At the end of each level, kids can choose an item to customize the city, such as adding a new door for the shop, etc.

Features

  • Moose Math is suitable for ages 3 to 7.
  • Parents can monitor their child’s progress.
  • Kids get rewards with various items that allow them to decorate and customize their city.

4. Super Simple Songs

Super Simple Songs app is a collection of songs, classic nursery rhymes for preschoolers, and similar songs to what you would see on their Youtube channel. Super Simple Songs captivates its young audience with animated stories, narrated books, and episodes demonstrating arts and crafts and science experiments using animation, puppets, and people.

Features

  • Some content is viewable offline.
  • There is a monthly subscription.
  • Parents can create playlists for the kids.

5. Star walk

Star Walk is more than just stargazing; it’s an interactive and detailed astronomy app. When you point your mobile phone to the night sky with the app, it will show you the stars, planets, satellites, and constellations in their proper place from your location. Features

  • Every object has detailed information you can project to a big screen for everyone to learn.
  • The star map updates as you move around in real-time.
  • There is a free option, but the paid option removes ads and gives access to the calendar with astronomical events, deep space objects, meteor showers, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, and satellites.

6. PBS Kids

PBS Kids has many apps available for preschoolers and young learners in the early elementary school years. Most kids will already be familiar with the characters from television shows in the games. There are many educational games from popular shows like Dinosaur Train, Wild Kratts, Super Why!, Daniel Tiger, and more. Explore science, STEM concepts, and nature, and learn basic math and reading comprehension with the apps. Kids will love learning from their favorite characters while having fun.

Features

  • Kids can play games offline.
  • No login or username is required, so games are quick to access.
  • Easy-to-use interface.
  • Teaches various subjects, including ABC, math, coloring, reading, health, problem-solving, and more.

7. Duolingo

Duolingo is a free language learning app that can help kids learn a new language through fun and interactive games. Duolingo has lessons for more than forty languages available. The lessons are short, just three to four minutes but help kids practice speaking, reading, listening, and writing to help them build their vocabulary and grammar.

Duolingo was designed by language experts and boasts that its app has a science-based teaching methodology that helps foster long-term language retention.

Features

  • It’s a free learning tool, but paid premium features are available.
  • Kids can track their progress with language learning goals and receive rewards and achievements for reaching them. It motivates kids to make using the app a daily routine.
  • The lessons are all in the form of a game to keep kids engaged.

8. Sago mini world

The Sago Mini World App is for preschoolers ages 2 to 5, with over forty games to help spark imagination and curiosity.

Sago mini encourages imaginative play by allowing kids to create their characters and explore different environments around them, like a neighborhood, farm, amusement park, and more. Children can move things around and experiment with the characters and various elements.

  • Build robots, design monsters, explore space, and more.
  • Encourages open-ended play with no rules or instructions.
  • You can download the games to play offline, so it’s great for road trips.
  • Can use one subscription across multiple devices, and there’s a seven-day free trial.

9. Thinkrolls Play & Code

Thinkrolls Play & Code is an award-winning STEM learning program for ages 3 to 7. There are over 1,000 games to play, and as the name suggests, kids have to think of ways to get through various mazes while a ball-shaped character rolls around. The games gradually increase in difficulty and help develop fine motor skills.

Features

  • Learn coding through creating your puzzle games.
  • Kids have fun learning math and science with arcade-style games.
  • New content is added monthly.
  • No third-party ads or in-app purchases for subscribers but requires a monthly subscription.

10. Dr. Panda

Dr. Panda is an app for early learners beginning preschool age that offers an extensive collection of games and interactive storybooks. TotoTime videos try to teach emotional intelligence and life skills through role play, exploration, and imagination to help children transition well when they enter school.

Features

  • Dr. Panda’s games help teach counting, simple math, tracing, good habits, and problem-solving.
  • The games contain little hidden secrets, with items kids can collect to create excitement.
  • No in-app purchases or 3rd party ads
  • There are a few different Dr. Panda apps, like Dr.Panda Town, Dr. Panda’s Ice Cream Truck, Dr. Panda’s Art Class, and more.

11. Hungry Caterpillar Play School App

Inspired by the famous book The Hungry Caterpillar, this app helps develop early math, language, literacy, creativity, and more in children ages 2 to 5. The app boasts an extensive library of books, videos, and activities.

Features

  • Kids can free play and select any game or subject they feel like.
  • Games include tracing, art activities, numbers, early coding, match pairs, solving jigsaw puzzles, completing fun puzzles, practicing meditations, and more.
  • Songs and videos help enhance the learning experience and make it more fun.

12. Toca Life

Toca Boca is an app development studio that makes a variety of digital toys and games to spark imagination in kids. The company has several apps under the Toca name, one of the most popular being a series called Toca Life.

In Toca Life, kids can create their own stories in several locations, such as a hair salon, shopping mall, food court, apartment building, and more. Total Life allows kids to explore many different environments and roles and take control with open-ended play. For example, any character you choose at the hair salon can walk in and get their hair dyed any color of the rainbow they want.

Features

  • Customize your world and environment any way you want with a collection of locations, objects, and characters.
  • Kids receive exclusive surprise gifts with regular visits.

Final Thoughts

Parents can finally allow screen time guilt-free with these learning apps for kids. By playing bite-sized games and puzzles on these learning apps, kids will feel more confident about basic math, science, word recognition, and reading concepts.