It’s coming up to that busy period now where families are travelling far and wide to spend Christmas with loved ones, and even if you’re not, the whole period is filled with excitement children can feel really overwhelmed – don’t you from time to time? I do!
Anyway, it is at this time of year that I start to get less and less restrictive with the kids and their ipads/kindles, I mean, we all just want to chill out on a Sunday, and if they want to do it with a tablet then why not? I have to admit though, it’s also a very busy time of year for me work wise and Toby has been spending an obscene amount of time on his tablet – like crazy style. It’s been a bit OTT in truth and even when I have asked him to join in with things, the answer has been no. One thing I’ve decided to do is seek out some of the more educational apps that you can get (for free) on a tablet, in the hope of a.) making myself feel like less of a dreadful mother and b.) encouraging him to learn phonics and other skills before he begins school in January!
So, educational apps for kids? Which ones?
1. Zoo Train – This has always been one of my favourites – the kids love it, it’s simple and has a reward at the end of every task. Great for learning basic phonics and sounds.
2. Maily – I love this app. I’ve just downloaded it recently and it has to be a a fave already – it’s basically emails for kids but with super parental controls and guidelines for how to use the email system. Ideal for encouraging typing and mail writing.
3. Tetris animals – tetris? Educational?! Yep. Tetris has long been considered an educational game, it is perfect for brain stimulation and getting the juices flowing. It can be additive though!
4. Little digits – Great for learning about numbers and helping support counting, addition, multiplying and subtraction.
5. Around the clock – helps to teach kids time. This is one that Roo is using at the moment as he is learning elements of time telling at school!
6. Barefoot World Atlas – Roo LOVES learning geography, it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if he doesn’t move into a geography based field when he’s older because he is forever asking about the world, where places are and how the earth was made. This is essentially an interactive atlas for kids.
7. Osmo coding – I’ve just recently featured this on my Instagram and it is STILL a firm favourite with the boys. Teaches the kids basic coding skills while they play with a cute little figure called Awby.
8. Osmo tanagram – did I mention I love Osmo? I do. I’m not even sponsored to say it! The tanagram teaches the children to use shapes to build an object and has the physical aspect of the shapes. I love it!
9. Your fantastic elastic brain – a science based app that the boys are coming to love. Roo wasn’t entranced at first and Toby is a touch young but they are coming round slowly. Perhaps one to work on together in those quiet moments.
10. Famingo Sandbox – sort of for you as much as them but invaluable for an android tablet because this little gem will block off anything but kid’s apps, recommend apps based on your child’s usage and so much more.
So there are my top 10 educational apps for kids at the moment based on 4-6 year olds like my boys. You can make a quick view of games that are available across all devices by checking out Poki games, who have a wide range of apps for every age.
Want to get started with these apps? Well you can WIN a kindle fire (yes, an actual kindle fire) right now on the blog. I’m giving one away in collaboration with Poki, just follow the rafflecopter giveaway below!
Good luck,
H x
I’d really like this for my son who has managed to lose his and now pinches mine instead!
For my 11 year old daughter as she would absolutely love it.
I would love to win foe my mum. We both LOVE to read and she had to often travel for work. This would mean she could take her books for on the train, in the hotel ect dx
I’d like to win this for my nephew as a surprise Christmas present
I would like to win it for my son as his is broken, he dropped it earlier and cracked the screen
would like to win for my daughter
I would LOVE to win for my Husband Steve 🙂 Right at the very top of his Santa wish list! Thank you for the chance 🙂 x x
I think I would have to pass this on to my brother. Hopefully it will encourage him to read a little more!
I’d give it to my mum as an Christmas present, she doesn’t have a tablet and has been commenting on how bad TV is over Christmas due to all the repeats. I’m sure she’d find loads to do on the Kindle Fire to keep her entertained.
I would love to win this for my 7 y/o great niece in South Africa; when they returned there from Aussy hers got stolen on the plane! Since then the family havent been able to afford a new one; and she loved playing educational games and learning about things. So this would be amazing for her.
I would like to win for my daughter so she can read and play games
I want to win for whole family, help daughter with home work, let mum read in bed and let me catch up on a few TV shows on a Sunday morning 🙂
I’d like to win for me so I can read eBooks and play games 🙂
My mum has been asking for one of these
I would love to win this for my friends daughter as the apps on it would help her learn even though she already learns stuff but this would be a more exciting way for her to learn through the apps.
I’d love to wear for my mum. She only has an ancient desktop computer and this would be so much easier for her
I would love to win it for my daughter, she can practise her maths on it.
I would like to win for myself please x
For me – using my phone at the moment and it’s too small!
I’d love to win for my daughter who always steals her big brothers tablet!
Would love to win for myself, always wanted one 🙂
It would be shared between myself & my partner? Great for ebooks, especially on holidays. Merry Christmas?
i would give it to my son to try and get him to read more
I would love this for my little girl she loves playing games going through the minecraft phase at min and watching Netflix
My daughter is a proper bookworm, I would love to win this for her. It would make her Christmas!
My Mum. As an avid reader, she regularly reads as often and as many books as she can. This lovely reader would be a fab Christmas reward, for all her hard efforts throughout the year 🙂
I would love to win this for my niece. She would love it and the great educational games.
I would love to win this for my daughter who’s likes to watch unboxing and surprise egg videos
I would love to win this for my nephew x
We have tablets so I’d like to give it to my Mother-in-Law who has AMD so can’t see to read books or do her craft any more. She can still use tablets though & can read by zooming in. She only has a Paperwhite at the moment so this would be a lovely upgrade for her 🙂
I would love to win for my dad who is 81 loves reading but struggles with the print x
I’d love to win for my little boy
I would love to win this for my nephew
I’d love to win this for my husband.
For my goddaughter. I think she would like it.
I’d give it to my mum as she lost her kindle
would love for my nephew
My son he’s always trying to get my laptop to play games so he would be able to play on this
Would love to win this for my son. Merry Christmas ???
I would love to win for my Grand-Daughter, she is an avid reader!
I’d love to win this for my three youngest children to share
Just need a new tablet
My kindle has just died
Such a fab giveaway – I think Id like to win…for me. 🙂 Nothing like a good book and feet up.
is it wrong to say for me? could do with a smaller tablet.
I would love to win this for me, would be great to have e books
I would love to win it for myself as both children got them last Christmas and if the youngest has problems I can’t help as I can’t use it. So, it would be nice to own one myself. 😀
I would love to win one for myself as I still don’t have a kindle of my own…..woe is me 🙁
Would love to win for us to share as a family.
I would love to win for my little boy because he’d love this
I would love to win it for myself so I can read my books on the go.
My youngest son would love this
I’d love to win for my grandson who has just started secondary school and has to fight for a share of the family computer to do some of his homework 🙂
Hubby’s tablet is on its way out so would be great to be able to replace it for him
Id love this for my 40th birthday xmas day as mines broken and i really miss it,thanks for the chance and MERRY CHRISTMAS
I would love to win this for my niece as her tablet has recently broken
Would love for my son for christmas, thankyou for the chance
I would love to win for my daughter, to stop her stealing mine
I’d love to win this for all the family to use, to watch films, keep up with social media and play games.
I would love to win for my niece so that we can sit and be entertained together when she visits
Great prize ??
I would love to win this as a birthday and Christmas present for my self,not that I would get a look In If I won as my children would soon borrow It
Merry Christmas to all
I would like to win for my hubby to stop him pinching my tablet.
My son would love this, it would be great for him to have his own
I want to win for my 14 year old son to try encourage him to read. Maybe as these dont feel like a book he might pick it up
Would love to win this for my husband has this his what he has asked for of Santa ,and he has been a good husband so fingers crossed
I would like to win for my wife as her 1 was stolen
I’d love to win for my Mum, she’d love a Kindle.
My niece would love this.
Would like to win for my daughter .x
I want to win this for my little brother!
My little boy’s tablet is on its last legs, would love this for him. Thanks for the giveaway. 🙂
for my mum who needs a tablet as she just has a giant heavy laptop when a tablet is all she really needs
I would love to win for my eldest son so he can have his own rather than borrowing mine
I would like to win it for myself as i have always wanted one 🙂
I’d like to win this for my son.
I’d love to win this for my little fella who’s starting his new pre-school in January and me and his daddy are determined to make more time for sitting down with him and helping him along with his learning and doing this on a tablet would be lots more fun. x
I’d love to win for my niece!
I would love to win for my son who is always asking for a Tablet 🙂
Thanks for the Twitter follow!
I’d like to win it for my two-year-old… Yes, you read that correctly. He’s very tech savvy already, but I’d like to keep him away from mommy’s iPad. Plus, Amazon FireOS is one of the platforms on which I want to develop educational apps.
Warmest holiday regards,
Mike@Edubiquity
I’d like to win this for my wife because I sat on her Hudl and broke the screen…
I would love to win for my daughter
for me so I can read as my son always hogs the tablet
I would love this for my mum so she can stay connected with her grand kids
For my sister 🙄
I would love to win for my son as hes been wanting one for ages xx
I would love to win this for my daughter. It would allow me to use my own PC!
I would love to win for my little six year old sophia rose 🙂
for my wife who needs a new device
For my daughter. She likes to play the educational games.
I would love to win for my mum so she can get online and also read her favs. Trying to get her into technology.
For me to read to my son when we’re on holiday x
would love to win for my daughter
I’ve just popped over after seeing your, yet again, hilarious instagram stories! I was serious when I said you should Vlog! So funny. I’d love to win a Kindle Fire for my little monkey who would be double trouble with Edith x
I want to win it for my niece, so she will leave my sister-in-laws ipad alone.
I’d love to win the kindle
i would love to win this kindle for myself…i love to read and this would be fantastic for e books x
I’d like to win for my Daughter who would love this to play her games on.
i would love to win for myself ,
Aww wow I would love to win this for my daughter Heidi she loves gadgets, this would be great for her to play games and to read books! Great learning system! 🙂
I would love to win it for myself- never had a tablet and this looks fab – I would share with my teens and niece though!
I would really love to win for myself.xx
Would love one for myself, fed up of being stuck on this large laptop! it belongs in a museum! lol
For our daughter to try to encourage he to read a bit more
I’d love to win for myself…I managed to destroy my Kindle screen 🙁
I could really use this!
It would be shared between myself for travelling back and forward to college and school placement and my little girl as she loves the educational apps on her tablet; but love the idea of a kindle so I can put books on for us both too. Thank you for the chance!
for the grandchildren
I’d LOVE to win this for George, those apps sound amazing too. We’re obsessed with the CBeebies island one at the mo but would be fab to mix it up ? xx
Never used a kindle before, but sounds like a great idea, would be more convenient than carrying lots of different books taking up space in your bag.
For my sister, she would love a kindle!
I’d like to win for my nephew. I think he’d love this for his birthday!
I would like to win for me! I need something to keep me occupied on the train journey to work and this would do the job. I’d also share with Alfie and download some these apps as they sound fab. Thanks for a great giveaway!
Would love to win as my son broke my kindle & aftwe a replacement.
My son has broke mine so was after a replacement after Christmas. This would be amazing.
i would love this for my 2 boys, great for educational play 🙂
I want to win this to share with my husband. we’ve both been wanting one!
I want to win this for my mom because she’s mentioned several times how much she wants a kindle.
I want to win, because I think my son would love this!
I would love to win for my daughter because she loves reading.
I would win for my little girl as her tablet is broken annd can’t afford another
For my children to play some educational games
I would love to win this for my grandma 🙂
I want to win this for my wife!
I’d love to win this for my mum for christmas
I would like to win this for my mum
I would love to win this for my children because the one they had we lost on Holiday
I would love to win this for my daughter 🙂 Thank you for the chance x
I would love to win this for my daughter because she loves reading and I think the educational games would be fun for her.
Would love to win this for myself as I’ve been after a tablet for ages 😉
I’d like to win it for my Mum – she’d love it….Thanks
I want to win for my mum because she would love it
My daughters hudl 2 stopped charging a few weeks ago. She’s got enough toys to entertain her but she misses playing a cat game, think it was called ‘Neko Atsume’ or something along those lines!
I’d like to win for me, I’ve never used anything like this and fear I’m getting left behind haha!
I’d like to win this for my friend who live alone & reads a lot lol
Id like to win this for my children this Christmas
I’d love to win for all the family! (Especially me, not gonna lie!) I really want to start reading at least one book a month again.
I would love to win this for my little Grandson
I’d like to win for my husband as my 8 year old daughter dropped his kindle and now he has nothing to read on his commute!
I would love to win this for my daughter! She lost her Kindle Fire over the summer while at my Aunt’s house on vacation. They think they left it laying in the bathroom at one of the rest stops 🙁
my old kindle has died so id keep it for myself x
always wanted one o these for top reading
I would love to win this for my daughter 🙂
i would love to win for my son
i would love to win for my daughter
I want to win for my family so we can all enjoy reading and playing games.
I would like to win for my niece who has just started getting into playing games on her mums tablet! 🙂
I’d love to win one for my husband! He used to be an avid reader but hardly gets the time to pick up a book so I think this would really help! Great post too, if Tetris is educational then I guess I’ll have to play it some more! x
I’d like to win so my niece can play some educational games.
I would love to win this kindle for myself. I’m fed up of reading books, I want to read books on a kindle haha!
I want to win for me because I love reading and some of the novels I like to read are too big to carry around in its book format
For me so
I can buy e-books
Would love to win this for the kids gran. The kids loose books at her house and it would help her to have them to hand when she wants to read to them. She would love it!
I’d really love to have this for myself if i’m lucky enough to win, thanks.x
I would love to win for my husband – would be great for travelling we have planned
Would love to win one for my son as it has been on his wishlist for a while!
Id love to win this for my daughter
Looks like the best option for our youngest daughter who is going through at a rate of knots.
for my two gorgeous bookworm kids they eat through ?
I would love to win for my daughter – within a week she has achieved an award for a well above reading age for her age, a swimming badge, level 6 in her gymnastics, was the narrator of the christmas play at her school and finally was star of the day at school. I am over the moon with her achievements and was looking at getting her a kindle however i feel a kindle fire will be more suited as she can use the kindle app to help advance her reading skills further, and use other apps to educationally help her learning develop, use the kindle fire to develop her IT skills and of course just use it in general in her spare time. I don’t tend to spoil my kiddies but i feel my daughter deserves a kindle fire for all the above reasons mentioned. Im one super proud mummy
i would love to win this for my niece shed love this
I’d love to win this for my Daughter, she’s gadget crazy!
Always wanted a Kindle
I would love to win this for my daughter she has wanted one for ages,she loves reading!
Mine is broken unfortunately, so I’d like to win for myself!
I would love to win this for my son thank you!
I would love to win it for my daughter as I think she would really like it.
I would love to win this for myself, very handy for travelling
Would love to win the kindle for my daughter who loves to read
I’d like to win this for my nephew. He’d love it!
I would love to win this for my mum who was upset to learn her library will be closed in December. 😥
I would like to win this for a friend of mine in hospital who wants just this.
Myself (naughty!) because I am a dreadful insomniac and could stock up on audio books to listen to during the night
I would love to win for me & my Mum to order our food shopping & play games 🙂 x
I would give it to my mum as I know she is after a new one!
I’d love to win for ME as my kids always steal mine!!
Would love to win the Amazon Fire for my mum for Christmas. Her original Kindle has just given up the ghost x
I would so love to win the kindle as I’m such a bookworm I’ve worn mine out and our 2 year old has discovered games & is so much better than me (that’s not hard ?) Great that you can use Kindles for all sorts & wouldn’t be without mine!
Kindle fires are brilliant. It would be great to have an extra as Biggest needs his so desperately ☺
Great list. Do you have any recommendations for a three year old? ?
Yes – a lot of the above, especially Zoo Train are fab for a 3 year old! H 🙂