The days when smartphones were considered a source of distraction for kids and students are long gone.
Parents and teachers tried everything to stop kids from using smartphones or at least limit their screen time. But since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of educational institutes, educators quickly realized the necessity of remote learning and skill-building apps.
Teaching kids prompt skills and helping them improve those skills can be pretty challenging. However, some apps and tools make this process a breeze. So whether you want to teach kids new languages, enhance their coding skills, or teach them how to read a map, there is an app for it.
In this blog post, we did some digging to find out mobile applications that can help kids learn the necessary skills. So, without further ado, let’s begin!
1. YouTube Kids
YouTube Kids is a video app specifically created to provide a more contained environment for kids. It is one of the best apps for kids to learn new skills and ignite their inner creativity with family-friendly content on different topics.
From music and entertainment shows to tutorials and educational videos, YouTube Kids make it simpler for kids to explore on their own and pursue their interests. The platform contains videos on arts, hobbies, crafts, skills, and cartoons.
YouTube Kids uses a combination of filters, feedback, and reviews from parents to keep the content on the platform kid-friendly. In addition, it allows parents to guide their kid’s journey by customizing the content, putting a screen time limit, and personalizing their experience on the platform.
2. Kids Academy – Talented and Gifted
Kids Academy – Talented and Gifted app is an educational application with courses on different elementary school subjects suitable for preschool to Grade 3. The app’s lessons are made of videos, games, quizzes, and interactive worksheets that can be both filled out on-screen and printed and checked with your back camera.
The scope of skills that can be acquired and improved through the app ranges from letter recognition and writing, phonics, early logic skills, and number sense to understanding social phenomena and science concepts like energy and states of matter.
The app is equipped with attractive motivational features for kids and a progress tracking tool for parents.
3. TapTyping – Typing Trainer
Touch typing becomes a necessary skill as kids and students now engage with the outside world through their keyboards. Like reading and writing, learning to type should be a skill that needs to be taught to kids early. In addition, since touch typing is a demanding motor activity, it can engage various cognitive aspects of the brain and help kids stay more focused.
Luckily, apps like TapTyping – Typing Trainer can help kids learn the essential touchscreen typing skills. The app offers various lessons on typing and lets them view stats about their typing speed and accuracy. TapTyping also provides a heat map feature, which shows the areas of the on-screen keyboard touched by the fingers. It can help children recognize their mistakes when they aren’t hitting the right keys.
The basic version of TapTyping is available for free, while the full features can be accessed at $3.99 on iOS devices.
4. The Social Express II
The Social Express II is an animated app for kids to boost their social-awareness skills. The app includes interactive lessons that present social situations using video modeling and suggestions on handling them daily.
Though the app can help every kid learn social skills, it can benefit kids on the autism spectrum or those who find it hard to navigate social situations.
Beginner lessons help kids to understand the importance of nonverbal cues and eye contact. Advanced lessons encourage them to transfer these skills and implement social rules in real life. Of course, kids can always stop and replay the content till they master the lesson.
The Social Express II is free to download, but access is managed through a subscription. Since the private social network in the app may require kids to reveal their names and hometowns, therefore, some parental control may be needed.
5. GEO-ME!
Geo-Me! is an interactive geography app that can sharpen your kid’s map skills and help learn about the world through attractive songs and visual keys. Kids can watch the short animated videos to learn about a demography and distinct location characteristics like climate, elevation, and population. Kids can also view a specific country or city and explore its various aspects at the touch of a button.
Geo-Me helps kids better understand various cultures and regional climates and explore the world without leaving their homes.
6. TYNKER: CODING FOR KIDS
It is hard to imagine a career that doesn’t need a coder. Learning and understanding basic programming skills can help kids appreciate how things work in the digital age. In addition, it can help kids solve everyday problems with the same creativity and logic that they apply in coding.
With apps like Tynker, kids can now learn to code even if it’s not a part of their curriculum. It is a free coding app that can teach kids essential computer programming skills through interactive activities. In addition, it includes interest-based courses that are designed to be accomplished at the kid’s desired pace.
The app allows kids to experiment with visual blocks to learn the basics before moving to intermediate programming concepts. More advanced levels include languages such as Python and JavaScript that can be learned in a self-paced manner.
7. AirG MiniMe
Children love playing video games and watching digital content. But striking a balance between educational and entertainment content can be challenging for parents. So to ensure that your kid is only exposed to the right kind of content, it is important to provide them educational games and videos.
AirG MiniMe is a platform that offers kid-friendly games and educational videos for children. Instead of consuming content that serves no purpose in developing cognitive skills, the platform delivers airG scam free games and videos that hone your child’s skills. With games like Count Faster and World of Words, kids can learn numbers and alphabets in a fun and exciting way.
The platform provides unlimited access to games and videos upon subscription. However, you will need constant internet connectivity to access the content.
8. Savings Spree
Savings Spree is an educational app with a game show format. It teaches kids about the value of money, earnings, and savings. The app contains six topics designed in the form of a game to save money for a nest egg.
Kids can learn about important values like earning or saving money and the actions that can help them save small amounts. Savings Spree is an excellent resource for introducing financial understanding into kids’ minds – a crucial area of education that is long ignored by our school systems.
Final thoughts
Kids are more driven towards consuming digital content. Thus mobile apps can be an ideal way to attract them to learn important skills. The apps mentioned here are easy to use and contain content curated for kids. If you know of any other apps that can teach kids some prompt skills, let’s know in the comments.
