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| (Image: via Flickr by jenny downing) |
Toca Nature
Combining a fun game with critical thinking skills, Toca Nature lets kids build and cultivate their own mini-ecosystems. Created by Toca Boca, a leader in apps for children, this charming and beautifully illustrated game lets kids build mountains, dredge rivers, and plant all kinds of different trees to see what wildlife flourishes in their own personal ecosystem, including bears, beavers, and all kinds of delightful wildlife that your child can feed by collecting different nuts and berries. The art in this game is gorgeous, especially when viewed on the 5.5-inch Retina HD display of the Apple iPhone 6 Plus, and it’s sure to keep your little one engaged on long car rides, in waiting rooms, et cetera, while learning about nature. It’s only $2.99, a great deal for an app this immersive.
Twelve a Dozen
This math-focused app is a lot of fun for kids, and helps them learn the math skills they need to succeed in school. Following the heroine, Twelve, and her sidekick Dot as they try to save Twelve's family from a number of disasters happening in their town of Dozenopolis, Twelve a Dozen is filled with fun and unique math problems. The problems are seamlessly integrated into the game play, reducing jerky moves from the game to math, which keeps kids engaged—they won't even realize they're learning! As they solve more and more advanced problems, they gain new super powers and move to higher levels, keeping the game fun and the kids interested. The app costs $3.99 in the app store.
Teach Your Monster to Read
This adorable interactive app is designed for children ages 3-6, and takes them through a magical world where their goal is to teach their monster to read by playing fun games in colorful environments. Teach Your Monster to Read helps children begin to recognize letters with more speed and accuracy, as well as how different letters and word segments blend together to create sounds and language. It is an app that includes speaking out loud, so it may not be appropriate for quiet places, but it’s a great app to help them learn to speak and read. There are no extra-cost add ons or in-game purchases, so you don't need to worry about your kid spending money without you knowing, nor are there any in-game apps. It runs at $4.99, and the developers are working on creating an online multi-player version.
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox
Designed with preschoolers in mind, this fun little app has seven different monkey themed games to keep your kids engaged and help them with colors, matching, letter sounds and identification, and counting, as well as solving puzzles and spotting differences. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox's streamlined, simple layout makes it easy for little ones to navigate from game to game without needing parental guidance every time they want to change, and its colorful design makes it a joy for youngsters to play. It costs $1.99 in the iStore, and includes no in-app purchases or ads.
LumiKids Park
Created by the award-winning team at Lumosity, which makes educational games for adults, LumiKids Park is a fun, colorful app filled with different games and activities to keep kids' brains active and engaged. The games are intuitive and adaptable, the app changing with each successful attempt, scaffolding children toward higher learning without being too difficult or frustrating. The app will also send reports to parents, including tips to help keep their child learning at successively higher levels while staying interested. This app is free and is a must-have for parents who want to see their children’s learning advance daily.
Each of these apps is great for kids, and helps supplement their education while keeping them interested and entertained for long periods.
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