20 Educational Android Apps for Kids
Written by Jen Betterley
Filed under: Raves Family fun Retail Therapy Preschool Ages 3-5 Kids and media
In need of a little "edutainment" during that long car ride or wait at the doctor's office? Here are 20 of our favorite Android apps that will help strengthen your tot's early learning skills with shapes, numbers and letters -- all while making boredom a thing of the past!
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Be sure to check out our articles on:
40 fab iPhone apps for families
30 Windows Phone 7 apps for kids and parents
Educational Android apps
1. Alphabet Car. Learn the alphabet letters, words and spelling in this fun educational app. Use the phone as a steering wheel to drive the bus towards the correct letters and words for a big win! With over 40 levels ranging from easy to hard, this app features 3D graphics and personalized car customization. $3.08; lite version is free.
2. Math Flash Cards. This math-tastic app features big buttons for small hands and various levels of difficulty for children in preschool and up. Practice simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with traditional cards or test your skills in quiz mode with multiple choice answers. $0.99
3. Animal Sounds. Hear animal sounds and learn how to properly say animal names as they are pronounced by an actual child's voice. Featuring easy-to-use large buttons, the Animal Sounds app offers a child lock mode to prevent small hands from opening other apps or making phone calls while it's being played. $0.99; lite version is free.
4. Dr. Seuss's ABC. Learn your ABCs with Dr. Seuss in this app version of the classic children's book! Featuring highlighted words as the story is narrated, this educational app is great for Seuss lovers who are just beginning to learn the alphabet. Check out Oceanhouse Media for a variety of other Seuss classic tales available as apps. $3.99
5. Kids' Flashcards: Fruit & Vegi. Your child will get a kick out of seeing and naming all of their favorite fruits and vegetables in this early learning app. View fruit and veggies pictures and learn how to pronounce and spell their names while following the audio and animation. Visit the website to see more flashcard subjects available in apps. $1.99
6. Kids Finger Paint. Spin the color wheel to choose a color and get ready to create a masterpiece! This finger painting app features fun, seasonal backgrounds to color and easy prompts for young children to understand. Change the brush sizes by adding pressure to your fingertip and shake the phone to erase your artwork when you're finished! $0.99
7. Kids Connect the Dots. Your child will love connecting the dots to see what common object, fruit or animal is revealed! This early learning app features over 90 adorable, dot-connecting cartoons and you can connect the dots by using numbers or alphabet letters. $2.99; lite version is free.
8. Kids Alphabet. Learning the alphabet will be a snap with this educational app! Walking you through the pronunciation and spelling of the alphabet letters, Kids Alphabet features adorable graphics and fun accompanying sounds. Words are written in both print and cursive. $1.49; lite version is free.
9. Preschool Basics. Strengthen those early motor skills with the Preschool Basics flashcards. Your child can choose from five different flashcard decks, including alphabet letters, numbers, colors, shapes and words -- all in one app! Shuffle the cards for increased difficulty or sit back and listen as the voice explains and pronounces each object. $1.99
10. CardDroid Math. More in math fun! Kids will love earning gold stars for accomplishing addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems. This app features large buttons for small hands, a timer for testing your speed, fun narration and various levels of difficulty. $0.99
11. WordUp! Similar to the classic game of Boggle, this app is great for children who are learning to spell (and parents who love sneaking in a good word game!). Watch as the letters jumble on the grid and try to find the longest words possible out of connected letters for extra points. $2.99; free for ad-supported version.
12. Shape Builder Preschool Puzzler. Put together the colorful pieces to complete the jigsaw puzzle and see what the mystery shape is! This app includes 144 different puzzles, narration from a professional speech therapist, fun sound effects and cute images. $0.99
13. Concentration for Kids. Kids will love testing their memory skills with this classic game of concentration! Packed with three different themes and ten different levels, this app lets you choose from well-known animals, sea creatures and letters for plenty of matching fun. $0.99
14. Toddler World. This awesome app features a handful of different educational activities for kids -- including four different flashcard decks, a classical memory game and a painting canvas. Talk about variety! Kids will love the fun cartoons, silly sounds and the ability to switch between games. $0.99; lite version is free.
15. Kids Numbers and Math. Strengthen your math skills -- in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese or Russian -- with these number counting flashcards. Match, subtract and add numbers, or choose from an advanced exercise to test your growing skills! $2.99; lite version is free.
16. Colors. Learn all about primary colors from viewing well-known objects and listening to the voice narration. Parents can customize this colorful app by adding their own object pictures and voice prompts or by starring particular cards for a personalized deck. Plenty of color to go around! Free
17. Kid Mode: Play + Learn. This award-winning app truly includes it all -- and it's free! With specific game sections for ages 2-8, Kid Mode features coloring books, puzzles and math and word games with popular character such as Dora the Explorer, Thomas the Train, Curious George and many more. Free
18. Sound Touch. Touch the cartoon images of animals, vehicles, birds and well-known objects to find real life photos and sounds for each. With a total of 336 varying sounds and images this app will surely be a lot of fun, all while introducing your tot to common animals and everyday objects. $2.99; lite version is free.
19. Spelling Bee. See what all of the spelling buzz is about with this fun, educational word app! Spelling Bee includes over 2,300 words and offers various levels of difficulty from easy to hard for beginners and more advanced spellers. $0.99
20. Toddler Music Jukebox. Rock out to twelve fun children's songs, including Wheels on the Bus, Old McDonald, B-I-N-G-O and Itsy, Bitsy Spider. Shuffle capabilities and individual song play are both included. $1.50