Qustodio team
Experts in digital safety
Looking for the best educational apps to keep your kids entertained (and mentally engaged) on and offline? While many apps often describe themselves as educational, that’s not always the case. We’ve broken down the 10 best educational apps for kids and tweens, designed to really get them learning – so they can still have fun with technology, while you can be sure their time spent online is productive.
The best educational apps for younger kids
1. Droplets: Drops for Kids
Learning a new language is a useful skill at any age – so even better when you can use an app to make it fun. Drops is an app that does just that, with an easy-to-use, beautiful interface designed to make language learning visual and enjoyable. Initially designed for adults, the team behind the original app developed Droplets for Kids to help children aged 7+ take their first steps in a new language. With over 37 languages available to choose from, children will love signing in for just 5 minutes every day to practice and unlock new achievements. They’ll learn the alphabet in their chosen language, food and drink, words for family members, and much more.
2. DragonBox Algebra 5+
Algebra is for older kids, surely? DragonBox Algebra 5+ begs to differ. It’s designed to make math and algebraic concepts easy for your child to digest, using step-by-step levels that teach them how to isolate “X” through fun game play. If you’re keen to get your child into STEM, the earlier the better – so go for games like Algebra 5+ to help them to “learn in secret” and gain a better understanding of mathematical concepts.
3. Solar Walk 2 – Solar System 3D
Gaze at the stars any time, anywhere with Solar Walk 2 – Solar System 3D, which allows your child to take an interactive trip to the planetarium without getting down from the couch. Think of Solar Walk 2 as a guided tour of the solar system, where your child will learn by exploring beautiful but realistic 3D space visuals of missions, satellites, planets, and deep space objects. Your child can time travel, too, choosing any time and date they want to discover important celestial events throughout history. For real space aficionados, there’s also a “latest news” section, where your child can learn all about what’s going on in the world of astrology.
4. DIY Human Body
If you like merging on and offline learning, DIY Human Body is one of the best educational apps that will get your kids excited to learn more about how their body works, and get the whole family involved. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the app gives easily understandable explanations about the human body, accompanied by hands-on activities that get them learning with day-to-day objects you have around the house.
5. Scratch Jr.
In today’s world, coding is a skill that it never hurts to know the basics of. Coding is literacy for the digital age, and it allows kids to problem solve, design, and be as creative as they want in the digital environment. If you want a way to introduce your kids to coding, Scratch Jr is the ideal app for younger children to learn, using graphical programming blocks that they join together to build their own stories, games, and animations. The possibilities are endless, and with the app’s help, your child will be able to grasp the fundamentals of coding.
The best educational apps for tweens
1. DragonBox Elements
If you’re looking for educational apps that don’t feel quite so educational in nature, DragonBox Elements is the perfect fit. It’s designed to help children learn geometry, but without them noticing. The goal is to build an army to defeat Osgard, the evil dragon. In order to build this army, your child will go on an adventure in which they’ll use geometry and math to solve fun, interactive puzzles.
2. Hopscotch: Programming for kids
With Hopscotch, your kids can design their very own games, animations, and online worlds. The brightly colored, beautiful interface helps keep children entertained and engaged as they explore and bring their ideas to life. Designed for 10-16 year olds, the award-winning app allows children to learn and experiment with code. Once their ideas have been brought to life, they can share their games and creations for others to play and enjoy.
3. Think like Churchill
In search of one of the best educational apps for your history buff? Put your child in charge with Think Like Churchill, an app which places them in the shoes of Winston Churchill, and encourages them to make difficult decisions based on real-life scenarios. Churchill faced challenging – and often controversial – dilemmas, which shaped history for better or worse. Told in the style of a graphic novel, this app puts your child in command, and analyses each decision made at the end of every scenario, encouraging them to become better thinkers and decision-makers.
4. Storybird
If you’ve got a budding storyteller on your hands, Storybird is a great place for them to experiment with their creative ideas and boost their writing skills. Storybird allows children to make visual stories, including picture books and comics, poetry and longform. The app offers lessons, writing challenges and prompts for when inspiration has run dry, and quizzes that help your child learn and flex their knowledge. Once their work is finished, they can share it with the online community, which includes expert authors, artists, teachers, and professional editors. A must-have app for any creative writer in the family!
5. MentalUP Educational Games
Get your tween’s gears grinding with MentalUp, a 20 minute brain-training app designed especially for kids. Featuring memory, concentration, visual, logic and fitness games, it offers access to over 100 different exercises that help improve your child’s mental development while keeping them entertained – and active! In addition, the app provides dashboards and reports that help track your kid’s progress, so you can keep an eye on how the app is working out for them and the skills they’re developing. A win-win!
This great list of apps will help your family to make learning something that happens any time, any place – education doesn’t have to be confined to the classroom. One of the huge benefits of technology is that it allows children to develop so many skills and interests, at very little cost to us. Take advantage of technology, and explore the positive side of technology, using the best educational apps available to help bring you and your child closer through learning. You never know what you might learn too!
