If you were to look at the apps on my phone, in addition to all the social media apps (and the requisite farming games), you’d also find quite a few preschooler apps. She thinks they’re fun, and I love that she’s learning while playing them. I’m pretty sure I didn’t know what a habitat or all the planets when I was 3; score one for technology.
ABCMouse.com has quite a few educational apps for kids available. Here are five that you might like.
A to Z Music Videos
This free app comes with three videos pre-loaded, for the letters A, B, and C. From there, just by listening to and watching the videos they already have kids can earn virtual tickets to unlock the remaining 23 videos at no cost. Or if you don’t want to wait, parents can use the in-app purchase feature to buy any or all of the remaining videos.
Search and Explore
There are two apps in this series – Search and Explore: The Grand Canyon and Search and Explore: Mount Rushmore. These apps teach young kids about geography, national landmarks, and points of interest throughout the world with engaging stories featuring computer mice that come to life. These would be really great for roadtrips.
Zoo Series
The ABCmouse.com zoo apps feature five popular zoo animals per set where each animal comes to life through animations of it in its natural environment. Tapping an animal brings up interesting and educational facts about the animal —characteristics, diet, etc. After visiting the exhibit, kids can join the Zoo Guide for an interactive quiz using the information learned throughout their tour of the zoo. There are three different apps in the series, each with different animals.
Aesop’s Fables Series
The Aesop’s Fables Series brings classic tales to life with illustrations, narration, and an easy-to-read font. Each fable includes Parent Tips written in collaboration with child literacy experts that offer specific suggestions of things to do and talk about with young readers to support their vocabulary development and comprehension. Also contained in each of the two book app is an illustrated glossary with kid-friendly definitions.
Beginning Reader Series: Word Families
The three apps in this beginning reader series introduce young learners to the joys of reading through stories that emphasize word families (a word family is a group of words with the same ending sound, such as hot, pot, and not). Each story in the Beginning Reader Series is told in an engaging rhyming format in which words from the featured word family appear frequently. Each book app features Parent Tips that suggest things to do and talk about with young readers to develop their ability to relate letter combinations to the sounds that those combinations represent.
What are your favorite apps for kids?
I received a complimentary subscription to ABCMouse.com in exchange for sharing these apps. All words are my own.