Why We Love These 7 Amazing Learning Apps for Kids!

There are SO MANY apps to choose from these days that it can be hard to figure out which ones are worth your time and/or money. Believe me, I know.

I feel like I’ve tried a ton and rarely pay for any app unless I am VERY confident it’s going to be a good one.

Over the past couple years of homeschooling, I’ve really discovered some learning apps that both me and my kids enjoy.

My hope is that by sharing them with you, maybe you’ll see something that works for your family and it will save you some time…and money!

Let’s get to it!

(for reference…my kids are 10, 7, & 5 at the time of this post)

#1: Math Tango

My girls have LOVED this one for two years now!

This math game for ages 5-10 (give or take) covers adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. Kids practice math problems to earn coins and monsters that live on these cute little planets that they get to decorate/design as they finish different “missions”.

It’s another very well done app by Originator in my opinion and we’re getting ready to use it for the third year!

PRICE: $7.99 Month or $39.99 Year

Disclaimer: I am NOT a fan of apps that require subscriptions. I’m fine with paying for something good, but only once, ya know? However, Math Tango has been worth it for us. 🙂

#2: Duolingo ABC

Yep…this is the same language learning Duolingo that can teach you how to speak multiple languages. 🙂

This kid version is for kids learning how to read, providing practice with phonics, letter formation, name spelling, sight words and more through games.

It’s simple, cute, fun, and my 4-turned-5 year old enjoyed using this app last school year. I think we’ll keep with it for one more!

PRICE: Free!

#3: Stack the Countries/States

What a gem this is!

Overall concept:

answer questions about different countries around the world
if answered correctly, the shape of the country drops down to a platform
you’re job is to try to balance the countries so they don’t fall until reaching a certain point on screen
if you succeed, then you earn the shape of a country to place on your personal map…and you try to earn all of the countries!

We have done several of the Gather Round Homeschool continent units so far, and this geography app is so useful in keeping the locations of the continents and countries fresh in their mind.

It’s highly customizable with where you want to focus and the kinds of questions that are asked. It allows for multiple profiles which means all three of my kiddos can each play at their own pace…which I love!

The kids truly enjoy it, too. It should be noted that kids need to be able to read to use this app, though.

PRICE: $2.99 for Countries and $2.99 for States (same concept only with the 50 states)

#4: Slice Fractions 1 & 2

I wasn’t sure what to think when we first downloaded this one. It looked fun but I was worried the concept of equivalent fractions might be too difficult for my kids at the time.

Boy was I wrong, though! Both the 10 and 7 year old really took to this app and started understanding that two 1/4 pieces were the same as 1/2, and so on.

They enjoyed it so much that they completed Slice Fractions 1 and were super excited when I told them there was a second one! 🙂

This is another great math app in my book.

PRICE: $3.99

#5 Piano Maestro

Last summer I was looking to find a way to start teaching my kids piano without having to pay for an instructor. With multiple kids, instructors get expensive, so I wanted to test the waters and see which kids would actually be interested.

I came across Piano Maestro and it has been fantastic! It has a great interface, allows for multiple profiles (which mean my hubby and I are learning too!), and teaches how to play by use of a wide variety of songs in multiple genres. All you need is a piano or keyboard!

It doesn’t completely replace an actual piano instructor. There is some music theory that needs to be learned outside of this app, but overall it has been teaching us all how to play! I highly recommend it!

PRICE: Free to try with limited access, $59.99 Year for Full Access (it’s a lot of content!)

#6 Scratch Jr.

We first heard about this program when I bought this coding book from Usbourne books a couple of years ago.

The book walks you through how the app works and teaches you how to use the program and create different coding sequences step-by-step and with pictures. I highly recommend the book if you decide to use the app!

This app has been enjoyable for our girls, especially the 10 and 7 year olds. They are learning the basic concepts of computer coding while creating fun scenes!

PRICE: Free!

USBORNE BOOK PRICE: $14.99

OFFICIAL SCRATCH JR. CODING BOOK PRICE: $19.95 (Amazon)

#7 Explore the USA with Roxy

I was so surprised by how thorough this game is….I mean it’s free. My expectations are usually pretty low when it’s free. lol.

BUT not only is it fun to play, but it covers a lot of content!

We did a 50 States Unit last school year and that’s what led me to this app. I wanted something that would give each of my girls of varying ages a way to practice US Geography.

This app not only gives practice with locations and mapping but you can also choose to learn abbreviations, capitals, rivers, landmarks, and more!

Our 5 year old could tell me where almost every state was by the end of our unit…and I give this app some credit for that!

PRICE: Free!

EXTRAS:

As a bonus, I’m sharing below some of the other apps that we’ve found useful through the years both educationally and just for fun. 🙂

Educational Apps

Endless Learning Academy: $7.99 Month or $49.99 Year
- Great for kids 6 and under!
Endless Alphabet: $8.99
- A fun way to practice letter sounds on long car trips! 🙂
Teach Your Monster to Read: $8.99
- Kids create a monster and take it through different phonics and reading games…my 4 year old loved when she got to play this.
ABC Mouse Music Videos: Free with ABC Mouse Subscription
- I can’t say enough good things about these videos! I thought they were amazingly done. Each letter of the alphabet has it’s own super catchy song with video and all three of my girls enjoyed watching these…it was a go-to when they were little and we were going to be in the car for awhile. This app was free at the time we used it, but now it looks like they are on YouTube if you don’t have a subscription to ABC Mouse!
Stop Animation: Free or $4.99 for Full Access
- We did Gather Round’s Careers and Trades Unit last year and found this app after learning about animators. We worked together to make our own Lego Friends animation…and it was really fun! Now the oldest two enjoy creating their own animations when they have some free time.
Merlin Bird ID: Free!
- Found this one during our Gather Round North American Bird Unit…two years later and we still pop it out to photo ID birds we see at the beach or out walking. It’s become a great learning tool in my back pocket!

Just for Fun

Lego Duplo World :Free with In-App Purchases
Lego Friends Heartlake Rush: Free with In-App Purchases (fun car racing game)
Fairway Solitaire: Free with In-App Purchases (where golf meets solitaire)
The Cat in the Hat Builds That: Free!
Strawberry Shortcake Bake Shop: Free with In-App Purchases (for your little bakers)
Bike Race Pro : $.99 Fun, no-ad version of a bike racing game where your child has to balance a biker through different terrains. My girls love this on the rare occasion they get free play time on the iPad. 🙂

Apps I’m Looking into for the Upcoming Year (2024-25)

At the beginning of every school year I usually take a little time to see if there’s any new and interesting apps that have been created or that are out there for the level and ages my kids are at now. Here are some I am currently looking into but can’t recommend yet!

Math Makers: 7 day free trial then $49.99 yearly subscription…this looks like a good option if your interested in Slice Fractions 1 & 2 above as this app includes both of those with the addition of early numbers, multiplication and other things. This may be too easy for my girls at this point but looks like a great app for families with younger children…although it does say 9+! I also like that each kid can have their own profile on this one.
Dragonbox Algebra 12+: I’m looking at this for my daughter who is now 12 for some enrichment with harder level math concepts. This company does have another app for younger kids called Dragonbox Algebra 5+.
Thinkrolls 2
Duolingo….for Math and Music: Free!
Dragonbox Learn Chess
The Human Body: $3.99
Inventioneers: Full version $4.99
Roller Coaster Kit: $3.99
Monster Physics: $1.99

There you have it!

Whether you’re looking for useful apps for your homeschool, classroom, or just long car rides…I hope that this list introduced you to something that will be a great fit for your family!

If you have any apps not listed that I should know about then please drop them in the comments below!

Some other lists you may be interested in checking out:

Blessings!