10 Best Free Educational Apps for Kids
Summer holidays are quickly approaching, which means your child’s screen time will likely increase exponentially. However, this does not mean that moments spent on a tablet cannot have some value. There are plenty of free apps that can help you feel good and, in some cases, even help you avoid the summer slump.
PBS CHILDREN’S GAMES
A favorite of both of my kids, this gaming app boasts more than 250 educational and entertaining games for toddlers and older kids from a variety of PBS KIDS properties, including Wild Kratts , Sesame Street , and Odd Squad . My youngest is a fan of the drawing game Scribbles and Ink , which brings his art to life.
Breathe, think, do with sesame seeds
This app was created to help children find ways to find peace and mindfulness when their feelings begin to become overwhelming. It features five missions involving a monster who must be brought to rest in order to help him find solutions to seemingly enormous problems. Parents can personalize the app with encouraging phrases to encourage children to take a step back and peacefully find a solution, as well as a section to help caregivers replicate the lessons the app teaches in their child’s life.
GoNoodle
My family watched a lot of GoNoodle videos during the pandemic to keep the kids moving, and we constantly caught each other singing catchy songs like “Banana, Banana, Meatball.” When my kids went back to school, their teachers would play a video in class, only for them to come home singing “Purple Stew.” These videos are about physical activity and fun, and they never seem to get old. It’s nice to have GoNoodle’s library of over 300 songs and activities in one place so my kids can find their favorite songs or classics like “Clap It Out.”
NASA
This app will satisfy your child’s interest in space by learning news about current space missions and the International Space Station. It also offers free access to podcasts, NASA+ videos, interactive augmented reality experiences, galaxy tours with real astronauts, and more than 20,000 images directly from the space agency.
Aardman Animator
While my family eagerly awaits the release of the next Wallace and Gromit movie, we’re hoping to learn more about the process that was used to bring the beloved duo to life with this easy-to-use app from their studio. There are plenty of tutorials to help kids get started, and easy-to-use tools, including a dialogue and sound recorder, will allow them to unleash their creativity and create stop-motion animation masterpieces in no time.
Duolingo
Learning a new language doesn’t have to be boring and monotonous, as evidenced by how this popular app has gamified the process of learning and understanding Spanish, French and German. Duolingo has some downsides – it gets most of its revenue from advertising. However, his bite-sized lessons are a good starting point for children (and adults) who are just beginning to communicate in another language.
ScratchJr
Developed by Tufts University, the MIT Media Lab and PBS Kids, the app won’t teach code to five- to seven-year-olds. Instead, like its counterpart , designed for children ages eight and up, it will introduce and reinforce programming concepts to create stories using puzzle pieces that control characters. Parents who have used the app say that parents should work with their children when they first start creating their stories, but once they get the hang of it, they will have a lot of creative fun.
Sushi Monster
If players don’t want the main monster to get angry, they must feed it numbered plates of sushi to reach the creature’s assigned number. It takes someone with excellent math skills to reach the next level in this addictive game, but kids can always ask for a hint if they get stuck.
Children of Khan Academy: Let’s study!
Are you a parent who wants to give your little one a head start in learning? Or maybe you’re looking for a fun way to review the reading and math lessons your first-grader is learning in school. If so, many would consider this to be the standard for educational apps. Cody the Bear and her friends guide users through more than 5,000 games and activities that teach reading, writing and math. There is also a library of books about dinosaurs, vehicles and other kid-friendly topics, with no ads or subscriptions.
Choose your plate!
Developed by the Smithsonian Institution, users travel with the magic plate around the world to learn about food and cook healthy meals. While planning breakfast, lunch and dinner, children can learn about the baobab fruit or how the Finns prepare venison. They will also learn about the music and monetary systems of countries such as Cambodia and Argentina.