10 Educational Apps We Love

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When I first got the iPad, I knew we’d probably use it for some school related things, but I had no idea how much we’d find that would make learning fun and interesting for all ages of kids. Here are 10 of our favorite apps:

MathBoard

 

this is a simply awesome app for math practice for all ages. We love how easy it is to set up practice quizzes, track progress and customize. From the app store: “MathBoard is appropriate for all ages from kindergarten (with simple addition and subtraction problems) to elementary school where learning multiplication and division can be a challenge. You can control the range of numbers you want to work with, the amount of questions you want to answer and even assign a time limit per quiz. MathBoard will make learning math fun.”
Price: $4.99 Device: iPad

SpellBoard

 

this is an equally awesome app for spelling. You can import lists they’ve created, which include Dolch sight word lists, or you can create your own. The app will not only quiz your student, but it will create a word search and word scramble puzzles for them to practice with. The student can hear the word aloud and used in a sentence, and there is a “scratch pad” of sorts, where they can try out different spellings before submitting their answer on the quiz. This app ROCKS.
Price: $4.99 Device: iPad

TeachMe

 

this is a group of graded apps that teach colors, shapes, letters and phonics to the littler ones, and math, spelling and sight words as they get older. There are 4 levels so far: Toddler, Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade. Part of the genius of the app is the rewards system. Students earn coins, which which they can purchase a variety of items from the store, including fish, and items to furnish their fish tank and feed their fish!
Price: $0.99 Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

BrainPop

 

just like their online site, which is one of the best educational sites online, this app is high quality, fun and chock full of information on many subjects. Each day there is a new video and a quiz to go along with it. My son loves this app and has several times said something like “oh yeah, I know all about that. I learned about it on BrainPop.”
Price: FREE for the daily video, $6.99/month for access to all content. Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

Barefoot World Atlas

 

Pure geography fun! This app lets you travel around the world on “an interactive 3D globe for iPad that invites children to explore the regions and countries of the world, discovering hundreds of fascinating features and immersing themselves in the rich wonders of our planet.” This is one of the pricier apps we’ve purchased, but it been good for hours and hours of learning that doesn’t feel like learning.
Price: $7.99 Device: iPad

Presidents vs. Aliens

 

This app makes learning about the US Presidents lots of fun. From the app store description: “Presidents vs. Aliens makes learning about the presidents fun! As you learn presidential facts, quotes, nicknames and historical events, you can use your knowledge to help the presidents defeat the aliens. Fling the presidents at the aliens to knock them all down. Use the many special objects and “Executive Powers” to increase the fun!”
Price: $0.99 Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

GeoMaster

 

This is another great geography app where you can learn states, countries, world capitals, world monuments, mountains and more.
Price: $0.99 – $3.99 Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

Letter School

 

I cannot say enough good things about this app. It makes learning to write letters and numbers so much fun! First the child discovers the letter’s shape, name and sound, then they learn where to start, change direction and finish by tapping the dots. They learn the letter trajectory by tracing it and finally they test their knowledge by writing it from memory. My preschooler has so much fun with this app. I like that there are several different handwriting styles to choose from as well.
Price: $2.99 (there’s a free “lite” version too) Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

Stack the States

With this app, kids learn about the states, capitals and other geographic facts while stacking the states to the top for each level. They earn a random state for every successfully completed level. All of their states appear on their own personalized map of the United States. Try to collect all 50! As you earn more states, they begin to unlock the three free bonus games: Pile Up, Puzzler and Capital Drop. My son loves this one and the similar Stack the Countries game as well.
Price: $0.99 (there’s a free “lite” version too) Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

Science360

 

With hundreds of science related images and videos, this app will keep the kiddos busy learning about the world and how it works. Content ranges from videos about DNA, the science of skiing and music, to pictures of elephant seals and indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Tons of interesting stuff!
Price: FREE Device: iPad

What are your favorite learning apps? Let us know in the comments!