08 Nov The top 5 educational apps for children
Children are now growing up in the age of technology, a world nothing like the one older generations (or any over the age of 20!) experienced during their childhood. There are heaps of apps, websites, games and videos for them to browse. This abundance of technology is so easy to take advantage of, with kids often growing up more handy on the phone or tablet than their parents! However, it can be difficult to discern which apps are worth the time, and which ones aren’t, which is why we’ve compiled this handy list of the 5 best children’s apps!
The best educational apps for kids
Duolingo and Duolingo ABC
Duolingo is possibly the best app around if you want to dip your toe into a polyglot’s world. One of the best features of Duolingo is that you are able to choose how you learn to suit your own learning style. True to traditional language learning, you have the options of setting the lessons in such a way you are able to work on your reading/listening/writing and speaking.
If you need more convincing then we’ve got you; Learning a language is much easier as a child, and once you have learned another language, it becomes far easier to learn the next, and the next, and so on so forth. And it’s not just good for kids, the simple and fun user experience has hooked millions of people around the world. Find out more here.
For younger kids, Duolingo also has Duolingo ABC, which is well worth checking out too.
Youtube Kids
YouTube kids is one of the most widely used children’s apps. It is a version of the regular YouTube app, with features specifically for children! These features include disabled comments, voice searches, time limits, no personal data collection, and the ability to block certain videos and creators. The interface is simplified, making it easy for kids to navigate, and has content which is restricted to only be appropriate for children. So you can let them watch safely.
However, as we all know, YouTube can be a great learning platform, but conversely can be a recipe for wasted hours as you tumble towards the ‘funny cats’ blackhole. Furthermore, YouTube has earned a little bit of criticism recently, due to the fact the app still features adverts targeted towards children. But overall, it’s an awesome app for letting kids watch YouTube without having to worry about what might be coming up! Check it out here.
Daisy the Dinosaur
Daisy the Dinosaur is right up Code-it Cody’s street! It’s a simple and easy way to introduce coding to kids! They’re given 5 coding challenges to tackle and master before unlocking the ‘freeplay’ feature. This game mode allows the user to then implement the skills they have learned to give Daisy the Dinosaur different commands.
This app is great for kids wanting to get started in coding, however, it can get a bit repetitive after a while, so it’s a good idea to have a few coding apps in your back pocket for when your child’s skill-level surpasses the limitations of the app!
Check it out here.
Star Walk 2
This app is brilliant! A great investment for any kids interested in the night-sky! You can choose to look at the sky through the lens of ‘augmented reality’, which allows you to see the night sky and all the stars overlaid over whatever your phone camera is looking at! Pretty cool, right? You can tweak a handful of settings too like brightness and detail of the constellation lines, the removal of which, allows you to get an unaltered view of space.
The best feature (in our eyes anyway), is the ‘Time Machine’ option, in which you get to travel through time and see the universe how it stood millions of years ago or will look millions of years in the future. It is worth noting, however, that this app contains in-app purchases. Which is something to bear in mind if you want to get this for your children!
You can download it here!
Quick Maths
Quick Maths is a fun app aimed at kids between 7 and 12. It guides children through various levels of difficulty and provides them with the means to improve their understanding of basic mathematical principles. With maths being one of the most decisive subjects out there for children, and vital when it comes to getting onto a university degree in a STEM field, it pays to have a solid foundation from a young age.
Download Quick Maths here
Many children love to spend time on phones and tablets, so it seems almost crazy not to take advantage of this and encourage them to learn while they’re having fun! The apps we’ve listed are just some of the best educational children’s apps on the market, so we’d definitely like to hear your kids’ favourite! Getting you kids used to using the right technology in the right way is really important right now. Technology is advancing so fast that our kids will have a very different relationship with it than we do, including the massive impact of AI on our kids’ lives.
