23 Best Educational Apps for Kids

Educational apps for kids are an excellent tool to keep the learning fun at home and in the classroom.  Some of the best learning apps offer assessments, data tracking, differentiated instruction, games, and so much more.

As a former teacher, and a mother of 2, I have put together a list of my favorite educational apps for kids (ages 3-9). To make my list even better, I have also included suggestions from fellow teachers, friends, and parents who are homeschooling young children.

***Note: All prices below are accurate at the time of this post**** If downloading or purchasing, please check for any price changes.

 

Favorite Educational Apps to Enhance the Learning Process

This list of the best educational apps are great for your kids to learn at their own pace, or by grade level. Different than social media, these mobile apps are a great way for younger children to build math skills, language learning skills, social studies, science and critical thinking.

1. Boom Cards

This app allows teachers and parents to purchase digital learning activities for the kids. Each Boom deck is made up of fun digital task cards for the kids to complete. Erin, from Classroom and Cats, says teachers love the Boom Cards because they are self-checking, require no prep work, and provide data to measure the student’s growth. You can easily differentiate to meet the needs of each student’s learning path. Simply choose boom cards based on the skills and level you are looking for.  Boom cards are a fun way to practice any skill. 

This app, and website, ranges from Free to $35/month depending on how many decks and students you will have listed.

 

2. Homer Learning App

For ages 2-8 HOMER Reading is the learn-to-read program that is personalized to your child’s interests and reading level. Homer is also designed to grow with them as they learn. HOMER is not only fun, but also proven to increase early reading scores by 74%. This is one of my favorite educational applications for kids. Start your free trial, HERE. 

 

 

3.  ABC Mouse

This popular learning website for preschool and kindergarten is also an interactivel app for kids. ABCmouse teaches letters, letter sounds, phonics, numbers, counting, shapes, art, science, music, and much more! The kids start at the level you choose then progresses through levels by completing puzzles, visiting virtual field trips, reading books, singing songs, coloring, and playing educational games. Perfect for elementary school aged kids.  Try ABC Mouse free for one month, HERE.

 

 

4. Teach a Monster to Read

Several kindergarten teachers have recommended Teach a Monster to Read as their favorite educational app for kids. This website and interactive app is an award-winning reading and phonics game that has helped millions of kids to read.

This fun learning app will cost you only $2.99 a month. Try Teach a Monster to Read, HERE.

5. 99Math 

This free multiplayer math game, 99Math,  is new and worth checking out!  With 1000 math skills to choose from, your kids will have something to work on in the classroom or remotely. 

 

6. BookFlix

This is a digital literacy resource, created by Scholastic. BookFlix was created for kids ages 4-9. There are both fiction and non-fiction animated stories for the kids. This would be a great educational app for kids to use at home as well as in the classroom. You can set up a reading center, and have a small group of kids listening to stories while you are working with a guided reading group.

BookFlix has a free trial period to see if its best for you.

 

7. Zearn Math

I was first introduced to Zearn Math when daughter began using it in her first grade classroom. Zearn is a top-rated math app for kids, created by teachers for teachers. According to the Zearn website, “students using Zearn Math 2x more likely to improve state test scores”.

Zearn Math is available at no cost to teachers and students. However, Zearn offers implementation tools for purchase to support schools and districts.  

This is a web-based program that can be used on computers, laptops, and tablets.

 

8. Infinut Math

This educational app for kids was recommended by fellow early childhood education teachers. They like this app, because it doesn’t require a lot of work to get the kids active from home. Parents can get their own account and setup their kids’ profiles. Infinut Math starts at K and goes up to 2nd grade. 

Available on the app store and google play.

New customers can sign up for a FREE 2-week trial. Then, if you decide to purchase, you pick which level you’d like. 

 

 

9. Epic

Over 94% of US schools use Epic as their go-to reading app! You can use the listening portion as a reading center in your classroom, during read-alouds or shared reading lessons, and create book reviews and book commercials for your kiddos favorite books!

Parents get a 30 day free trial. Teachers can get it free for in class use.

 

10.  Raz-Kids

I first discovered Raz-Kids as a reading tutor for kindergarten, first, and second grade students, and loved it for independent reading time in the computer lab.

Raz-Kids is great for independent reading practice, building comprehension, vocabulary, inferencing, and more. At the end of each book, non-fiction and fiction, there are multiple choice questions. The differentiated student reading levels (based on assessments) could be why fellow kindergarten teachers, Nikki Miller and Beth recommend this educational app for kids. 

There is a free trial, which pricing options varied for parents and classroom use.

 

More of the Best Educational Apps for Kids

11. Starfall

This fun app for PreK, kindergarten, first, second, and third grade is one of my favorites. You will love how there are no ads, and they don’t sell your information.

Starfall activities are available for both language arts and math. However, their emphasis is primarily on phonemic awareness, systematic sequential phonics, and common sight words. These activities are research-based and align with Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics.

There is a free version that is very limited. Opting in to the low-price cost opens access to everything, and it’s totally worth it!

 

12. Osmo

If you have kiddos that love learning through play, Osmo is highly recommended by parents and teachers. Purchase an Osmo base for your ipad or fire tablet, and let the hands-on learning begin! This learning system and educational app teaches abstract concepts by connecting them to physical objects and actions.

Once you purchase the Osmo base, the apps are free.

 

13.  ABCya!

Added to the list of Best Educational Apps for Kids, ABCya! has over 400 fun and educational games for PreK-6th grade students. The activities are designed for both parents and educators to keep the learning fun for kids.

You can visit ABCya.com or download the ABCya app which allows access to 6 free games a week. To unlock over 300 educational games, you will need to purchase the premium package.

 

14. Reading Eggs

Targeted for parents, homeschool, and teachers, Reading Eggs was created by educators to build strong readers. Get progress reports and downloadable worksheets to go along with the interactive activities. After completing a placement quiz, your kiddos will read books online, take quizzes, and earn rewards.

Get a Reading Eggs free trial with various price points for monthly memberships, depending on the programs you want access to. 

15. PBS Kids

If you’re looking for educational videos for kids, I would recommend the PBS Kids app. Parents and teachers can have access to thousands of free, full-episode, educational videos. Plus, you can also get the PBS Kids games app, or the PBS Parents Play and Learn.

PBS is working hard to strengthen their selection of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) content.

PBS LearningMedia, is also an app for Pre-K through 12th grade educators to access thousands of free, classroom-ready resources.  

 

16. Draw and Tell

This storytelling app for kids is an award-winner, and highly recommended by teachers and parents. Kids ages 3-9 can use animal characters and food to create a story with i-movie. This educational app has been awarded the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, and the Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award.

This free app, with no ads, is only available through the apple store.

 

17. TestingMom.com

The pressure to pass tests is real. Unfortunately, not all kids are great test takers. This is where TestingMom.com comes in to save the day, helping over 650,000 kids pass their tests.

I am not familiar with the interface of this website, but am taking the advice of a friend. She works with her children often at home, and has seen success with this program.

Start practicing test taking with 100 free questions, today.

 

18.  Smarty Ants

Designed for all students in grades PreK-1, Smarty Ants® is an effective, research-driven app that differentiates instruction and accelerates students literacy paths. This fun game will help your kids meet the different common core standards. 

You can get Smarty Ants on the google store, apple store, or on your kindle, for free.

 

19. Shape Builder

If your kiddos love to do puzzles, then they will love this interactive puzzle app. With puzzles ranging from 5-10 pieces, the kids will snap shapes into place on top of silhouette puzzles. The puzzle games include musical instruments, the alphabet, fruits and veggies, animals, objects, and numbers. Build vocabulary, improve fine motor skills, and feel a sense of accomplishment. When a busy shapes puzzle is finished and the real image is revealed, the kids will hear a verbal affirmation and the object’s name is pronounced. 

You can get Shape Builder on the app store, google play, or on your Amazon Kindle.  

Shapebuilder Lite lets you test the app for free, or you can get the full access version for only $.99

 

20. Endless Reader and Endless Numbers

My friend, Chelsea, from TeachandCo, highly recommends both Endless Reader and Endless Numbers.

Endless Reader introduces sight words, phonics, and reading fluency.  Whereas, Endless Numbers is a fun, interactive, math app to build letter recognition, counting, and overall number sense.

The best part – both are available for free (with in-app purchases for full access) to help your kids get to the next level of reading and math.  Try Endless Reader and Endless Numbers

 

21. Letter School

The #1 alphabet tracing and words spelling app for toddlers & preschoolers. Recommended and used by parents, teachers, and occupational therapists!

Get Letter School on the google play, apple store, and Amazon kindle. This alphabet hand-writing app is free with in-app purchases to upgrade. Most of the best free educational apps offer a service, or more fun activities, at a low rate.  Try Letter School, HERE

 

22. Sound it Out

Practice word-building and phonemic awareness skills with this phonics app for kids.

Sound it Out was developed by a kindergarten teacher to promote beginning phonics. It has beginning, middle and ending sounds. It has trace or spell options, including two levels of play.  

This app is extremely affordable, costing only $.99 on google play, the apple store, or for your Amazon kindle.

 

24. SeeSaw

Many teachers turned to SeeSaw when forced to teach online during the pandemic.  I’ve heard teachers say things such as “couldn’t have survived without it”, ” excellent way to communicate with parents”, and “best investment ever”. Those are great SeeSaw reviews that can’t be overlooked. You can add more than one teacher to the account, and use it as a platform for kids to complete and turn in work, as well as share information with parents.

You can download SeeSaw for free, and there are in-app purchases to help you even more!

 

Free List of Educational Apps

Grab this free list of educational apps to send home with a welcome packet, or to hang on the fridge as a reference guide.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Thank you for stopping by to check out this list of best apps for kids. Whether you’re on android devices, or purchasing from the apple app store, there is a great app for young kids to have fun learning. To protect their social-emotional development, be sure younger and older children are not getting too much screen time.

 

 

Before you go, here are a few blog posts you may enjoy:

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Educational Apps for Kids