Children’s first five years are critical for their cognitive and social-emotional skills development. What kids learn at age five has a huge impact on their later outcomes throughout schooling and adulthood. While schooling plays the main role in this developmental process, parents and legal guardians should also support kindergartners’ early learning.
Learning apps are a convenient and accessible way to do so. These apps are highly interactive and appeal to kids with gamified lessons and activities, perfect for making them more interested in learning.
While an infinity of educational apps and platforms are available, not all of them cater to kindergartners’ specific needs. So, it’s important to choose a learning app carefully with your child’s interests and requirements in mind.
Best Learning Apps for Kindergartners in 2023
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ABCya
All games have child-appropriate sounds, animations, and positive reinforcement voice memos. There are also interactive exercises with drag-and-drop tools, which help develop kids’ fine motor skills. Moreover, many interactive activities and printable worksheets cover various topics and meet Common Core standards. With all this in mind, it’s no surprise that ABCya is the best option for kindergartners.
The cherry on top is that kids can enjoy all games for free on a desktop and six games each week on mobile devices. However, the free version displays ads supported by third parties, which may distract kids or lead them to inappropriate content. Still, being COPPA certified means it’s safe for kids to use independently.
Access to all games and activities on the mobile app and an ad-free experience on a web browser is only possible with a paid subscription like Premium Family. It may be wiser to go for an annual subscription of the Premium Family plan, as it results in 40% discount on the monthly price.
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TeachMe: Kindergarten
TeachMe: Kindergarten is a fantastic learning app for kindergartners, as it’s specifically designed for them. The topics it covers are in line with what 5 and 6-year-olds study in school. With the app, kids learn about writing letters and numbers, addition and subtraction, sight words, and spelling.
Plus, children’s progress in each subject is tracked so parents can check their kid’s performance history. Without this feature, it’s hard to know which subjects your child is excelling in and which require more attention.
In addition to being highly interactive, another reason why TeachMe: Kindergarten is hugely appealing to kindergartners is its unique positive reinforcement system. It rewards kids with coins for every three correct answers, and the coins can be used to purchase stickers to place in sticker scenes created by the app.
Regarding pricing, the app is available for iOS and Android mobile devices for just a few dollars and doesn’t require additional subscription plans.
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HOMER
Additionally, kids can easily and independently interact with the app, as it has big buttons and a captivating layout. Plus, HOMER’s methodology is scientifically proven and is molded to each child’s age and abilities.
Moreover, up to four profiles can be created under one HOMER subscription, and committing to the annual plan results in generous discounts. Those unsure whether the app meets their requirements can take advantage of a 30-day free trial to fully test the software before subscribing.
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codeSpark
codeSpark’s lessons are delivered by expert teachers with step-by-step instructions that help kids create their own games within just a week. There are also hundreds of highly interactive puzzles and activities to attract kids’ attention and keep them engaged throughout the learning journey.
What’s more, there’s a 7-day free trial that gives you the opportunity to test the service before subscribing, and up to three children can use the same account.
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Mondly Kids
The platform features easy-to-use drag-and-drop functionalities, as well as kid-friendly illustrations and sounds. Plus, it includes popular topics like animals, nature, food, family, and sports. All these make the app highly appealing to kindergartners, who learn a new language as if they were playing games, so they don’t even realize they are studying.
Mondly Kids is free and can be used on desktop and mobile devices. However, additional features like unlocking certain languages and removing ads are only available as in-app purchases.
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Key Features To Look for in a Learning App for a Kindergartner
Educational apps and platforms for kindergartners can be found in all shapes and sizes on the market. However, not all of them suit your kid’s specific requirements. When looking for a learning app for your kid, pay attention to the following details:
- Age-appropriate content: The app must offer lessons, activities, and games related to early learning development, such as letters, sight words, number recognition, phonics, as well as fine motor and social skills.
- Ease of use: The app must allow kindergartners to use it independently. Its instructions need to be clear and straightforward, its layout should be designed to appeal to kids, and its buttons and controls have to let kindergartners navigate easily.
- Interactivity: The app’s learning environment has to be highly interactive and engaging, with activities that contain hands-on elements like drag-and-drop tools, swiping, and tapping.
- Progress tracking: It’s fundamental that parents, guardians, and educators are able to follow and assess kids’ progress throughout the learning process.
The Benefits of Educational Apps for Kindergartners
Learning apps stimulate kindergartners’ cognitive and social-emotional development while making screen time meaningful. The benefits of educational apps for 5 and 6-year-olds include:
- Skill development: Educational apps help kindergartners learn and improve fundamental skills such as reading and math, which are crucial for building a strong educational foundation.
- School reinforcement: Learning apps are parents’ and educators’ allies in complementing what children learn in school. They provide additional exercises in a more fun and attractive way to kids than traditional textbook activities.
- Independence: Kindergartners can explore the educational apps independently and at their own pace, which helps them develop self-directed learning skills.
- 21st century skills: Several educational apps include creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking topics among their subjects.
- Add value to screen time: Nowadays, kids’ exposure to screens is nearly impossible to avoid. Learning apps are an excellent resource as they truly make screen time count.
Free vs Paid Learning Apps for Kindergartners
Although it’s easy to find many free educational apps for kindergartners, most have a few drawbacks. For instance, the number of resources they provide tends to be limited. However, the biggest issue with free learning apps is that they may be less secure, as they usually display ads and in-app purchases.
For these reasons, paid learning apps are better than free ones, as they offer more resources in a safe, ad-free environment. In turn, this reduces distractions and guarantees that kids aren’t exposed to inappropriate content that ads may lead to.
Still, whether paid or free, learning apps complement kindergartners’ cognitive development perfectly. Their interactive learning environment and gamified approach help kids learn through play, so parents and educators should use them to their advantage to create purposeful screen time and keep them interested in learning.