There’s no doubt that today’s pre-schoolers are already technologically savvy. Read on to find some of the most educational apps for them.
When it comes to the pleasure of spending time swiping phone or tablet screens, toddlers and pre-schoolers are no exceptions to adults in today’s digital-focused world. It is safe to say that toddlers and preschool-aged children spend more time swiping screens than turning pages in books. Luckily, this development doesn’t have to be all bad news; the right educational applications can have a very positive impact on children’s interactions and learning. So, how to find the most child-friendly and most educational apps online?
Copyright: Yury Kozlov
Here are the 10 apps we think are fun, educational helpful, engaging and appropriate to be explored by toddlers and pre-schoolers:
1. Peg + Cat Big Gig
The app features the characters Peg and Cat who dance and sing along to easy math exercises such as counting up and down. Through singing, children learn to count, identify numbers and repeat patterns.
2. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox
Pre-schoolers are entertained by helping the monkey to fill up its lunchbox with healthy food. The Monkey Preschool Lunchbox app aims to introduce letters, shapes, patterns and colours by asking the children to solve puzzles, match pictures of fruits.
3. A Parcel of Courage
A Parcel of Courage focuses on the story of a family who help their grandmother in overcoming her fear of flying. This interactive book app combines story telling with solving story-based games. The four games provide educational activities by enhancing pre-schoolers’ working memory, eye-hand combination, and listening and problem-solving skills.
4. AlphaTots Alphabet
The app focuses on 26 action verbs that help toddlers learn the alphabet. Alphabet sing-a-longs and puzzles are two examples which the app uses to keep toddlers’ interested and encourage them to learn letters on their own.
5. LEGO ® App4+
Children can create their own truck and have to move it around a bumpy track to collect coins that unlock more parts of the game. Targeting kids between the age of four and seven, the LEGO App4+ is a game that helps to improve imagination and building skill.
Copyright: Twin Design
6. Hoopa City
The app features the Hippo names Hoopa who needs help to construct cities. Hoopa City is designed for pre-school children who have to combine elements in order to create houses, streets and gardens to ultimately. By using their imagination, children enhance their problem-solving skills in this interactive kids role-play.
7. Alphabet Flashcards
Alphabet Flashcards is an app that supports pre-schoolers to learn the alphabet by using digital flashcards. The flashcards show images of a word that begins with the chosen letter and children can also listen to the sound of the letter if they like.
8. Preschool Arcade
The Preschool Arcade app will make children feel as if they were at the boardwalk. The four educational games feature an ABC Invasion, Pinball 123, Claw-Crane Matching, and a Whack-a-Mole. While the games help to learn basic counting and the alphabet, kids will be drawn to the animations and sound effects.
9. Sago Mini Road Trip
Choosing between six destinations, the app allows children to enjoy their own road trip from packing a suitcase, choosing a car and stopping for petrol or a car wash on the way. The game is aimed at toddlers at the age of two to four years and enhances their creativity skills.
10. The Monster at the End of This Book
All children who enjoy Sesame Street will love this interactive app book which is a recreation of the classic picture book. The character Grover asks children to untie ropes, knock down brick walls and tickle Grover. The app offers a way to begin a children friendly conversation about emotions and fears by focusing on the monster at the end of the book.
Copyright: BestPhotoStudio
Learn Through Play
It seems that digital games on tables and smartphones were tailored-made for toddlers: easy to use, inviting animations and simple swipe instructions that have the ability to engage children for long times. But in the end, it’s not good for children to spend unlimited time in front of these apps. Recommendations made by the American Academy of Pediatric advise parents to limit the screen time for children to one or two hours a day and to schedule lots of outdoor activities.
The Academy also gives the advice to allow plenty of time for unstructured game activities during the day and to ensure that children are entertained when using apps. This is due to the risk that children get bored or lose interest in the activity when parents leave them with too many pieces of information. After all, the apps aim is to give children the chance to learn through play.
American Academy of Pediatric study.
