educational games for 3 year olds on ipad

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

Check Out Our 32 Fave Amazon Picks! 📦

30 Best Educational iPad Games for Kids in 2024 (Free and Paid)

Learn while you play!

Tablets are a regular part of most kids’ routines these days, and teachers and parents can use that to their advantage. There are a lot of terrific iPad games for kids that are designed for learning but disguised as fun! Here are some of the best that cover reading, math, science, social studies, and more for kids of a variety of ages.

Free iPad Games for Kids

The earlier kids start to learn new languages, the better. When we’re young, our brains are more receptive to learning language in general. Duolingo no longer has a specific version just for kids (though they do have a reading program; see below). But the general app itself is still great for kids by upper elementary or so. It’s completely free, and offers more than 40 languages to explore. Teachers should check out Duolingo for Schools , too.

Duolingo ABC

Ages: Pre-K to Grade 1

The foreign language learning company has brought its same philosophy to teaching kids how to read. The entirely free lessons focus on phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, and reading comprehension, all the skills emergent readers need. The lessons increase in difficulty as children progress, with tailored reviews to help kids strengthen skills they struggle with. It’s aligned with Common Core standards too.

PBS Kids Games

Ages: Pre-K to Grade 2

You know you can trust PBS to provide safe, fun, and educational iPad games for kids. Their collection features stars from popular shows like Daniel Tiger and the Wild Kratts, with hundreds of games on just about every subject. This is one iPad app every parent and teacher needs, especially since it’s all entirely free (and available in Spanish too!).

iCivics Games

Ages: Middle and High School

iCivics has a suite of terrific social studies games that kids will truly enjoy playing. They’ll feel like they’re right in the action as they try to get a new law ratified, run in an election, or try a case in court. These apps are all free, and their website has lots of excellent accompanying resources for teachers.

Bedtime Math

Ages: Pre-K to Grade 3

Bedtime stories are a longstanding tradition, but what about bedtime math? That’s what this free app, along with its accompanying books , aims to do. Each day, the app adds a new fun math problem for parents and kids to do together. (Teachers could also use them as daily problems in the classroom.) Each math problem has three levels of difficulty, and many offer challenge questions too.

Little Alchemy 2

Ages: K to 12

Starting with just a few basic elements (air, earth, fire, and water), players mix these to create dozens of new items, both real and imaginary. For instance, mix water and earth to get clay, then mix clay and fire to make bricks, add brick to brick to build a wall, and so on. This robust free game is completely engrossing, and it encourages both creativity and logical thinking.

World Geography Quiz Game

Ages: Grades 3 to 12

This isn’t one of those iPad games for kids full of animated characters and flashy graphics. It’s a straight-up geography quiz game and a very good one. Kids who are into maps and globes will enjoy checking their knowledge of flags, capital cities, statistics, and much more. The game is free to download and play; you have the option to buy “hints,” but they’re not necessary to enjoy the fun.

Sushi Monster

Ages: Grades 2 to 6

Looking for a fun way to practice math facts? Check out this free app! Sushi Monster is hungry. Feed him the sushi plates to make the correct goal number and practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Lyrical Letters

Ages: Pre-K to Grade 12

Combine music with spelling and vocabulary in this charming game, enjoyable for anyone at any age. Listen to the sequence of notes, then play them back to spell the right word. You can also simply play around with the keyboard and synthesizer functions, composing tunes just for fun. Lyrical Letters is free to download and play; you can remove the in-game ads for $1.99.

Ages: Grade 4 and up

Build vocabulary and work on spelling with this innovative word game. As you connect letters to make a word, they disappear from the board, collapsing others around them. New letters are always rising from the bottom, though, so you’ll have to think quickly to stop them from reaching the top and ending the game. The game is free to download, but many reviewers note that it’s ad-heavy; pay $4.99 to unlock the full version.

More Great Educational iPad Games for Kids

Think of this collection of iPad games for kids as your personal set of Montessori activities on the go. From busy boards and blocks to music sequencers and a marble machine, the youngest learners will find plenty to keep them engaged as they develop key skills. Pok Pok is subscription-based ($6.99/month or $45.99/year), with a free 7-day trial.

Hands-On Equations

Ages: Grades 4+

The Hands-On Equations iPad games teach algebra skills in a fun and engaging way. There are three levels available, plus Hands-On Equations Lite, a free version you can try to see if you like it. Level 1 covers the basics of equations, while 2 and 3 build up the difficulty to include order of operations and negative numbers. Levels 1, 2, and 3 range in price from $2.99 to $3.99 each.

Endless Alphabet

Ages: Pre-K

This iPad game has been around for awhile, but parents and kids both continue to love it. Kids build their vocabulary and alphabet knowledge through interactive games and fun animations. They’ll also enjoy the adorable monsters that join in on the game! Get Endless Alphabet for a one-time purchase price of $8.99.

ABCmouse is one of the most popular educational iPad games for kids who are learning to read, count, and more. They offer thousands of learning activities across the curriculum, including hundreds in Spanish. It requires a subscription ($12.99/month or $45/year), but you can try it for free for 30 days to see if you like it.

Adventure Academy

Ages: Grades 3 to 8

Adventure Academy is ABCmouse’s older cousin. Upper elementary and middle school students can learn math, science, language arts, and more. They’ll create their own avatar and make their way around a fully interactive school environment, learning as they go. It has the same subscription rates as ABCmouse ($12.99/month or $45/year).

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Ages: Pre-K to Kindergarten

Everyone’s favorite caterpillar is now available in an app! Play games to match colors and shapes, put together puzzles, and learn to take care of plants and animals. The app is free to download, but it costs $4.99 to unlock all of the available activities.

Ages: Grades 1 to 5

Solve math problems and try to get five Bingo Bugs in a row. Be careful, though, because wrong answers will affect your end score. High scores earn you your very own Bingo Bugs for your collection! There are five modes: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and mixed. Math Bingo costs $2.99 to download and play.

Ages: Grades 3 and up

Everything you love about Mad Libs in an app! Kids will get sneaky practice in learning the parts of speech, while creating zany stories that make everyone laugh. You get a limited number of Mad Libs for free, with the ability to buy more packages starting at $1.99.

Sight Words Ninja

Ages: Grades 1 to 4

This is such a fun way to practice sight words! As various words appear on the screen, slice through the target word as fast as you can to score points. At only $1.99, this game is a terrific bargain and one that students will beg to play.

Wee ones will love helping Tim and his family as they learn colors and shapes. The game is available in multiple languages, so you can also use it to help kids learn basic words in Spanish, French, and more. Dino Tim is free to download and $2.99 to unlock all content.

Presidents vs. Aliens

Ages: Grade 3 and up

Learn more about U.S. presidents while you battle aliens in this silly but informative game. As you answer the questions and beat each level, you add a new president to your collection. Then, you can fling these presidents at the aliens to help defend the planet! The app costs $1.99 to download but has no in-game ads and doesn’t require any additional purchases to play. Kids will need to be able to read to play on their own.

Ages: K to Grade 4

This subscription-based iPad game for kids promises to make learning math fun and engaging. Kids set out on missions to earn monsters by solving math puzzles. This is a program that can grow with any child, starting with very basic counting skills and building through to multiplication and division. After a 7-day free trial, the program costs $7.99 a month or $49.99 annually.

Where’s My Water?

Ages: Kindergarten and Up

Swampy lives in the sewers under the city, but he loves to stay clean! His shower is constantly getting stopped up, though, so kids need` to dig through the dirt and avoid obstacles to guide the fresh water to Swampy. This game is a lot of fun, but it’s based on real physics and the movement of water, so they’ll learn while they play. This Disney game costs $1.99 to download and includes additional storylines for purchase.

Stack the States 2

Ages: Grade 3 and Up

Learn U.S. geography the fun way by answering questions and building your own collection of states. Kids master state capitals, cities, landmarks, flags, and more. The app costs $2.99 to download and play, with no ads or other in-app purchases to worry about.

Teach Your Monster to Read

They say the best way to learn something is to teach it to another. That’s the idea behind this popular iPad game, where kids “teach” a monster to read while learning the skills themselves. It covers early reading skills, from letter recognition through phonics and word-building. Download and play for $8.99.

Monster Physics

Kids who love to tinker will get a real kick out of this game. They can design and build their own inventions, then see how (and if!) they would work in the real world. There are 50 different missions for them to invent and conquer alongside their own monster avatar. At only $1.99 to download, with no in-game ads, this one is definitely worth a look.

Cut the Rope

Ages: Kindergarten and up

This game has been around for a while, but it’s popular for a reason. The concept is simple: arrange the objects on the screen and then cut the rope to release the candy into the hungry monster’s mouth. The laws of physics apply here, so kids will learn without even knowing it. The levels get progressively more challenging as you play. Cut the Rope costs $1.99 to download, with the ability to buy hints, solutions, and more puzzles in the app.

Slice Fractions

Ages: Grades 1 to 6

Learn fractions in an interactive environment as you slice through ice and lava to clear the mammoth’s path. There’s no reading involved in this game, so kids can focus purely on numbers and fractions. Slice Fractions costs $3.99 to download and play.

Ages: Grades 2 to 12

You don’t need any coding experience to play this game; you’ll learn as you go. Solve puzzles by guiding a robot to light up tiles with basic commands. Multiple players can save their progress on the same device, so this one’s great for classrooms or families. Some reading is required, but otherwise, even little ones can play on their own. Lightbot costs $2.99 to download and play, without the need for in-app purchases.

Reading Raven

This well-reviewed app teaches basic reading and writing skills, starting with letter recognition and tracing. As their skills advance, so do the challenges, until they’re able to practice reading aloud using voice recording. Reading Raven is a one-time cost of $3.99 to download and play, with no in-game ads.

Did we miss one of your favorite iPad games for kids? Come share your thoughts in the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, our favorite online games that are fun and educational too ., you might also like.

260+ Field Trip Ideas for Grades Pre-K Through 12 (In-Person and Virtual)

Get out of the classroom and explore the world! Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Screen time

These fun, sweet, thoughtful apps make it even easier to get a little break.

Need a second to finish making lunch? Or just one moment to complete a sentence without being interrupted by your energetic 3-year-old looking to you for round-the-clock entertainment? Truth be told, tablet time saves the day for all parents sometimes. The best iPad games for your 3-year-old are ones that will keep them busy and if they reinforce things your child has learned with you or in preschool, like letters or numbers, well, that’s a bonus.

There are so many apps for 3-year-olds, it can be almost overwhelming to try to pick one to download, especially if your kid is hopping around under foot. From a sea of plentiful app options for kids, we love these 13 apps best of all. From amazing, interactive apps for kids like ABC Mouse, for example, that encourages children to complete puzzles, songs, and games to earn points (with over 2,000 activities to choose from) to lighter fare (see Ballon Pop). And of course, most people know of Khan Academy, which is a go-to ‘educational’ app for preschoolers that kids seem to love, regardless of just how much learning they may or may not be really doing. Most of all, though, screen time is screen time, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) themselves say that about an hour of screen time for kids between the ages of 2 and 5 years old is just fine. So, don’t worry too much about making iPad app-based screen time “educational.” If you need a little break, hand your kid a fun app and take it, guilt-free. Bring on the tablet time!

We only include products that have been independently selected by Romper's editorial team. However, we may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

We love the concept behind this beloved PBS kids app. All of your kids favorite characters, and games for every level of motor skill ability, it’s an easy favorite. Oh, and it’s free. Get it on Apple or in the Google Play store.

Bluey: Let’s Play!

There’s a Bluey app, and your kid loves Bluey. Therefore, your kid will love the Bluey app. It’s simple math, really. Just do it, you won’t regret spending a little more time with Bandit, Chilli, Bluey and Bingo. Available on Google Play and Apple .

Khan Academy Kids

You may be more familiar with the name Khan Academy from your own high school days, but the educational company now offers online learning tools for children, and they're free. Khan Academy Kids (for ages two to five) was designed with the Stanford Graduate School of Education and provides dozens of activities across multiple subjects while kids collect bugs, hats, and toys as rewards.

Metamorphabet

Kids and parents alike seem to adore Metamorphabet , and alphabet-focused app for 3 year olds. What kid wouldn't enjoy poking, prodding, dragging, and spinning each of the 26 letters to "reveal surprising and luminous transformations." It costs $5, but the rumor is that it’s worth way more than that.

Peekaboo Barn Life

Your child is likely already obsessed with farm animals, now they can work on learning their names and sounds by playing Peekaboo Barn. For just $1.99 in the Apple app store, this sweet game as they tap to find out what an animal is called. With darling animation and super easy to navigate format, even the youngest users can take on this app on their own.

LeapFrog Academy

Whether it's math or STEM skills you're wanting your little one to develop, look no further than LeapFrog Academy . This app offers a variety of interactive games for children ages 3 to 6. Yes, it requires a subscription, but this is a tool you'll be able to use for a few years.

Balloon Pop

The concept of Balloon Pop is mind-numbling simple: Pop the floating balloons on the screen. But you might be surprised to find yourself stealing the iPad away from your 3-year-old so you can have a go on the free app. Regardless of your age, this game is wonderfully mesmerizing.

The Platypus' Search

This $3 interactive book is all about diversity and friendship. Children must take Platypus through the woods on an adventure meeting all kinds of unique characters along the way. As the app's YouTube page explains, kids help the main characters find their lost objects using a flashlight "to look even in the darkest corners. Then they can join the party in the wood, creating a real music band, getting all the characters in the story to play, sing and dance together."

Designed for children ages two to eight, ABC Mouse is a free app that some teachers even recommend. Kids create their own kid avatar and then explore the ABC Mouse classroom. If they complete certain games, they can earn points to go shopping. It’s fun, and your kid just might learn a thing or two.

Toca Doctor

For $4 you can help your curious child (ages 3 and up) start to explore and learn about the body with Toca Doctor . This app lets kids see what it’s like to be a doctor without the need for a voluntary patient (ahem, you!). They can apply bandages, erase scratches, and even squirt eye drops into their eyes.

Bingo ABC is a song-based game app that uses music to teach and entertain kids for free. That means your child will get an introduction to phonics concepts while singing along to classic nursery rhymes and playing games on a colorful animated farm .

Animal Sounds!

With more than 100 animal sounds, this completely free app should give you at least a few minutes to finish writing an email. And you can write it guilt-free, knowing your kid isn't just mooing at a screen, but really learning about animals (critters are divided into farm, Savannah/desert, jungle, insects, ocean, forest, mountain, city/countryside and dinosaurs sections).

Busy Shapes 2

Busy shapes and colors — which is available in both the Apple app store and on Google Play — offers 3D puzzles and 100 colorful levels. We love it as a great distraction for kids during travel, say on a plane or in a car.

Occasional iPad app time truly doesn’t hurt. It’s the same as all other screen time you might use to give yourself, or your kid, a little rest. Enjoy the break, and keep up the great work.

This article was originally published on March 25, 2020

• Shop Early Amazon Prime Day Deals
• I Tried Both: Ring vs Nest Doorbell

The 10 Best Free iPad Apps for Toddlers

iPad games, activities, learning, and entertainment for toddlers

• University of Texas at Arlington

The Apple iPad is an excellent educational tool for kids of all ages. If you have little ones, free iPad apps for toddlers can entertain, engage, and educate safely and securely. We selected our 10 favorite free iPad apps for toddlers, rated according to design, educational content, and appeal. Try them out the next time you need a few distraction-free moments.

Before you download apps, child-proof your iPad. Turn off in-app purchases to keep your toddler from accidentally buying something within the app.

Best for a Variety of Content: YouTube Kids

Kid-friendly, algorithm-curated content from YouTube.

Create an age-appropriate profile for each child.

Hand-pick channels for kids.

The algorithm allows some inappropriate content.

The content contains ads.

Need to monitor kids' viewing choices.

The free YouTube Kids iPad app delivers a selection of kid-friendly channels that range from Sesame Street and Peppa Pig to educational and music videos. Its best feature is voice-enabled search, which helps kids perform searches and find videos on their own.

Parents set controls for each child's profile, so it's important to select Preschool to enable the right content settings for little ones.

YouTube Kids features unboxing videos, which are videos of a toy being unpacked and played with. These videos are appealing to children and may introduce them to new toys they think they need.

The app is kid-safe. It has ads, but ads are limited and enable the service to be free of charge.

Enjoy YouTube Kids on the web at  YouTubeKids.com .

Best for Creative Play: Trucks HD by Duck Duck Moose

Toddlers and older kids will love this app.

This app has won parenting and industry quality awards.

Music is engaging and not annoying.

There's only an iPad version, so you can't play it on your iPhone.

Trucks HD is one of a series of excellent free iPad apps by Duck Duck Moose. This award-winning creative play app introduces your toddler to a variety of trucks, highlighting each truck's activities with games that teach problem-solving, sorting, sequencing, and more. For example, take the garbage truck for a spin and learn about recycling and composting. Use your tow truck to fix a flat tire, and create a car and truck parade.

Best for Learning Shapes and Colors: Laugh & Learn Shapes & Colors

A colorful and friendly app.

Sing along with embedded tunes.

Learn shapes and colors in a fun way.

The music keyboard and notes don't correlate.

The free Laugh & Learn Shapes & Colors iPad app is designed for babies six months and up. It's an easy, engaging app designed to grow with your baby as they gain more dexterity and mobility. Little ones tap and tilt the screen while interacting with colors and shapes, learning their names. When they get a little older, the app's Level 2 lets kids play a piano from a keyboard at the bottom of the app screen.

Best for Learning Farm Animals: Peekaboo Barn Lite

An award-winning game.

Play with no Wi-Fi or internet.

No ads or in-app purchases.

Must upgrade to the full version to gain more features.

This free iPad app is a sweet and carefully crafted interactive learning game for the youngest app users. Listen to animal sounds coming from the barn, and tap to find out which animal it is. The animation is beautiful and will help your little one learn animal names, sounds, and cause-and-effect scenarios.

Download and play Peekaboo Barn Lite for free. If your child really likes it, consider buying the full version for $1.99.

Best for Learning About Music: Musical Me! by Duck Duck Moose

Unique games teach musical principles.

Learn about drums, cymbals, triangles, maracas, and egg shakers.

The app has won multiple quality awards.

Some of these songs might get stuck in your head.

Featuring Mozzarella the Mouse as a guide, this free iPad app for toddlers features 14 popular children's songs while teaching little ones about notes, pitch, rhythm, and more. Play instruments, create songs, and learn how to read music notes while engaging in age-appropriate games.

Best for Kids' Videos: PBS KIDS Video

Livestreams of educational videos and PBS shows.

Familiar PBS characters.

Stream full episodes or video clips.

The content is ad-supported.

Children love watching videos, but that doesn't mean they should browse through Netflix or Hulu. The free PBS KIDS Video iPad app lets kids choose videos on their own while giving parents peace of mind.

Kids have access to thousands of free videos, including episodes and clips, featuring favorites like Curious George , Sesame Street , Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood , and more.

PBS also has a PBS Parents Play and Learn app that kids may enjoy.

Best for Educational Rhymes: Storybook Rhymes Volume 1

Fun sounds and songs.

High-contrast images with simple backgrounds.

Good for children with visual impairments.

Play in two modes: Sing to Me and Read & Play.

Only two rhymes are featured.

The free Fisher-Price Storybook Rhymes Volume 1 iPad app includes two classic nursery rhymes: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Little ones can sing along or read and play. The play mode encourages kids to tap the screen to produce sounds and effects. There are a few customization options for turning the narrator and background music on and off. Overall, this sweet app is entertaining and engaging.

Best for Multiple Activities: The Wheels On The Bus Musical

The app offers 12 fun games.

It's an interactive sing-along.

The coloring book, puzzles, and memory match are great learning tasks.

The app is free to download. However, to get the most out of it, you need the in-app purchases.

The free iPad app The Wheels On The Bus Musical is a delightful combination of games, activities, and entertainment for toddlers. A favorite activity for many kids is the coloring book, which lets a child tap a color, and then tap the drawing to paint an area automatically.

Download and use the app for free. You'll need to purchase the full version for $7.99 to take advantage of all the puzzles and activities. More song packs and puzzles are available for $3.99.

Best for Social-Emotional Learning: Peek a Zoo by Duck Duck Moose

Kids will learn social and emotional cues.

The amazing jazz versions of nursery rhymes.

Interactive play.

You may find yourself humming jazz kids' tunes all day.

Peek-a-Zoo is another excellent free toddler iPad app from Duck Duck Moose. This app combines lovable animals with subtle clues about emotions, actions, and sounds, all surrounded by jazz versions of favorite children's tunes. Toddlers will learn about social-emotional cues, such as smiling, crying, and being sad or surprised, while enjoying this award-winning game.

Best for Creative Expression: Scribaloo Paint

Simply and elegantly designed.

No ads, like many other free drawing apps for kids.

It's great for learning colors.

Save your child's drawings and email or text to family.

Saving photos to the camera roll is sometimes glitchy.

Scribaloo Paint a simple and intuitive free painting iPad app for toddlers that teaches color recognition while allowing children to express themselves.

Your child will practice fine motor skills with freeform painting while exploring their creativity with lovely watercolor effects. Download and save your budding artist's work and share with family or make cards.

How Much Screen Time Should Your Toddler Have?

Expert recommendations on screen time for children have changed over the years. It's currently advised to limit screen time for kids aged 18 months to 2 years to educational programming watched alongside adults. For children between the ages of 2 and 5, experts advise limiting non-educational screen time to about an hour a day on weekdays and three hours on weekend days.

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

• Must-Have Apps for Kids Under 5
• The 6 Best Kid Coloring Apps of 2024
• The 8 Best Free Roku Channels of 2024
• The Best Educational YouTube Videos for Toddlers
• The 20 Best Free Learning Websites for Kids in 2024
• 9 Best Free Online Earth Day Games
• The 20 Best Free iPad Apps of 2024
• The 10 Best Android TV Apps for 2024
• The 10 Best Apps for Your High-Schooler
• The 19 Best Free Virtual Field Trips of 2024
• 14 Safe Podcasts for Kids and Schools in 2024
• 7 of the Best Video Streaming Apps Made Just for Kids
• The 10 Best Free Online Classes for Adults in 2024
• The Best Educational Apps for the iPad
• The 8 Best Parental Control Apps and Services of 2024
• 14 Best Free Apps for Streaming Movies in 2024

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Teaching Expertise

• Classroom Ideas
• Teacher’s Life
• Deals & Shopping
• Privacy Policy

30 Teacher-Recommended IPad Educational Games for Kids

May 5, 2023 //  by  Brittany Ray

There is no doubt that tangible technology has more than made its presence in schools over the last two decades. Most toddlers know how to work a smartphone in all of its functions by the time they reach kindergarten. So if you are interested in growing your child’s cognitive, reading, math, vocabulary, or any other type of brain skills, check out these iPad educational games below!

30 Ipad Games to Increase Learning

1. zebrainy – abc kids game.

This game was initially designed for children between two and six years old. Zebrainy has over 700+ educational activities for kids that develop many different skill sets. Even better, the language this app uses aligns with what is taught through the Common Core State Standards.

Learn More: Zebrainy Limited

The Noggin app features digital games with all of your child’s favorite characters with a learning boost. Download games easily for that long car ride so they can still play basic math and letter games on the road. This app features anything from interactive videos to silly stories with their favorite pig.

Learn More: Nickelodeon

3. HOMER Learn & Grow

The HOMER Learn & Grow app focuses on the entire list of things you would want your child to be practicing. This app features math games, social and emotional learning activities , and reading skills-building games .

Learn More: Homer

4. Preschool & Kindergarten Learning Games

I have used this app with my kindergartener, and we love it! This app allows us to have bonding time working through different games together. Your child will practice observation skills by recognizing shapes and colors, cognitive skills through various puzzles, and vision through finding differences between scenes. Build your children’s brilliant brains with these cute characters and games.

Learn More: Rosi Mosi LLC

5. Dino Fun – Games for Kids

Elementary school kids are at the age where they like to start taking care of themselves. The Dino Fun app is the perfect game for kids where they can brush their Dino’s teeth, take care of them at the salon, and even potty train their dinosaurs! Also, the educational kid’s games here practice motor skills through learning to tie a virtual shoe and logical thinking skills with math games! One big plus about this app is that there are no pesky game ads!

Learn More: Avocado Mobile Inc.

6. Math Brain Booster Games

Ages: 4 – adult

If you want an educational game for kids and adults alike, then download the Math Brain Booster app. This game lets you practice everything from basic multiplication and addition to more complex math problems . Give yourself or your children regular quizzes on math concepts to help sharpen the mind. This app even allows time limits on certain activities to practice speed with different things, such as multiplication games.

Learn More: Kirill Dyakonov

7. Water Sort Color Puzzle

Your children will love the interesting challenge of sorting all colors so that one single color exists in each tube. This game also has the familiar sounds of pouring liquid which makes this app one for kids who enjoy sensory-type activities .  What’s even better is that this app is free!

Learn More: Vicenter Viet Nam Company Limited

8. State the States and Capitals

Ages: All Ages

Whether you teach preschool or high school, all kids need to know the states and capitals! There is an entire generation of kiddos needing this knowledge! Click on the state to see its name, the capital cities, state abbreviation, flag, famous landmarks, and more.

Learn More: Ecom Enterprises, Inc.

Your child can use this app to learn all about the great unknown from rocket ships to shooting stars. The NASA app features news and stories on space, over 20,000 space images, interactive 3D models, and other educational learning activities with soaring user reviews. Both children and adults can enjoy these enjoyable space learning activities .

Learn More: NASA

10. Wordle!

This app is all the rage with my students and my older children. Teasers on this app are challenging and will help take complex thinking skillset to the next level. Also, Wordle features a variety of puzzles to keep anyone entertained!

Learn More: Lion Studios Plus

11. Jigsaw Puzzles Game

My family loves puzzles. One thing I hate is constantly having to track all the puzzle pieces down. With this charming game, you will never lose another puzzle piece again. You can challenge your kid’s critical thinking skills by choosing puzzles with many pieces vs. only a few. The Jigsaw Puzzle app also has many puzzles to choose from.

Learn More: Easybrain

Nothing says arcade-style games like Tetris. This classic video game challenges anyone’s thinking skills and is fun to play. Take the basic shapes and maneuver them to fit just right to fit this puzzle and keep from hitting the top of the play screen.

Learn More: Play Studios

13. Vocabulary Builder by Magoosh

This is not your classic vocabulary game . The vocabulary builder allows your child to build their skill level with various vocabulary words to build an overall higher level of reading. This app is free and allows you to start at a basic level and work your way up.

Learn More: Magoosh

14. 1st Grade Math Learning Games

Help your child learn the basics of counting with Splash Math! Your child can also practice addition and subtraction , word problems , and more. The learning process is easy for your child and they will use strategic thinking skills in solving various problems.

Learn More: Study Pad, Inc.

15. Trace Letters & Sight Words

Letter recognition is the first step to being a successful reader. Have your child learn their ABCs in real-time by tracing the letters with their fingers, then sounding out the letter. Child developmental specialists also recognize the importance of recognizing sight words in conjunction with early reading success.

Learn More: Vu Dang

16. Little Stories: Bedtime Books

I know my little one loves to read stories before bedtime, and this app has so many cute ones. Your children can choose the story they want, have you read it, or have them read it to you. One great feature of this app is that the stories can be put into “story mode” where the app will read to your child.

Learn More: Diveo Media

17. Flow Free

This popular puzzle game will have your child challenging their motor skills in an interactive environment. Kids will match and pair colors, and race against the clock to solve various puzzles!

Learn More: Big Duck Games LLC

18. Scrabble GO!

Nothing says family game night like a game of Scrabble Go! This app is free and has a few pesky game ads. Also, the learning process for Scrabble has never been easier than with this app. Put your vocabulary skill level to the test with Scrabble GO!

Learn More: Scopely, Inc.

19. June’s Journey: Hidden Objects

June’s Journey is one of the best and most challenging hidden picture games in the app store. Find the matching objects, follow the story, and search for hidden objects and clues. Also, I love object searches because they are challenging and test various skill levels.

Learn More: Wooga

20. Candy Crush Saga

All of you self-proclaimed shape gurus can potentially attest to the challenging concept of this game! My little one loves playing this game with me. This matching game allows my child to match colors, shapes, and sequence patterns. While this game does promote in-app purchases, you do not have to purchase anything to play.

Learn More: King

21. The Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail was an essential childhood rite for Millenials! This adventure game allows your child to learn the history of those traveling across the U.S.A in a covered wagon, all while having a ton of fun.

Learn More: Gameloft

22. US History Trivia 

Learn about American History in a fun and challenging way with this trivia app. Whether you have a history test coming up, or you just want to know about the founding fathers a little bit better, this is a fun and engaging trivia app.

Learn More: Google Playstore

23. Project Makeover

Learn self-care and individual style through this fun digital makeover app. Let your creative whims of fashion take you wherever you would like by styling various characters.

Learn More: Magic Tavern, Inc.

24. Pizza Maker Cooking Games

While the age says 4+, I believe this is a toddler-friendly app. Your child will have so much fun creating their pizza by virtually chopping ingredients, putting together their pizza, and eating it.

Learn More: Pazu Games Ltd

25. Google News

Have your older child understand the world by having them look at Google News Daily Headlines. This app will keep both you and your child up on current events and allow them to have a greater understanding of influential societies around the world. Check out our list of teacher-recommended reading websites for kids .

Learn More: Google LLC

26. Idle Human

Learn amazing facts about the human body with the Idle Human app. Your child will learn about all the bones, organs, and even how bacteria and viruses can affect the body.

Learn More: Green Panda Games

27. Shapes! Toddler Kids Games

Calling all children who are shape gurus, they will love the engaging challenge of finding and learning new shapes.

Learn More: Gennadii Zakharov

28. QuizzLand. Quiz & Trivia Game

Solve puzzles, compete against others, and complete your mission. This game will certainly challenge your knowledge retention.

Learn More: MNO Go Apps Ltd

29. Piano Academy

If you are wanting your child to learn piano, then download this app. It is totally free and your child will feel like they have an entire recording studio to compose their musical masterpieces.

Learn More: Yokee Music

30. Schulte Table

Have kids speed read, challenge their vision skills, and increase their mental agility with this speed reading app. The lightning-fast challenges in this app will make your child smarter and faster.

Learn More: Artem Tselikov

Advertisement

• Baby and kid

Some of the Best Online Learning Games for Kids

By Courtney Schley

To find our favorite learning apps and games for kids, we spent more than 40 hours researching and testing 50-plus apps recommended by educators, experts, and parents. If your family has a tablet and you want it to be more than a game-playing and video-watching device, or if you’re trying to find apps for your smartphone that will do more than keep your kids occupied in a pinch, we have some great suggestions.

As with our guides to STEM and learning toys, we didn’t test scores of apps to try to find the “best” ones. Rather, most of the apps here have been chosen by teachers for their students in classrooms, used by Wirecutter parents and their kids, or recommended by the experts and educators we spoke with. (For details, read more about how we selected the apps in this guide.) The apps we cover in this guide are great learning apps not because they’re designed to make kids smarter, to drill facts, or to replace in-school learning, but because they each offer something fun, unique, and interesting for kids and adults.

The research

Our favorite math apps, our favorite coding apps, our favorite science and exploration apps, our favorite social and emotional learning apps, our favorite ebook app, how we picked and tested.

These math games don’t simply drill facts or make kids memorize but rather use visuals, narratives, and storylines to help kids discover math concepts and build their skills. We like these apps because they offer games and exercises tailored to different ages and skill levels and because they encourage adults and kids to play together.

A family math app: Bedtime Math

Bedtime Math (iOS and Android)

Bringing math home.

This free app makes math a part of daily family life, like a bedtime story. A peer-reviewed study showed that it not only helps improve kids’ math performance but also makes parents feel more comfortable with math.

Buying Options

How it works: Bedtime Math ( iOS and Android ) seeks to do for math what the bedtime story does for literacy, by turning math into an enjoyable bonding routine between child and caregiver.

The free app offers a daily word problem for children to solve together with an adult during bedtime or anytime. Each exercise centers on a short narrative or interesting fact and poses questions at four difficulty levels, from pre-K through elementary school.

Why it’s great: Bedtime Math is one of the few children’s educational apps that have been evaluated in a peer-reviewed study . This particular study demonstrated that students who used the app significantly boosted their math scores; it also showed that Bedtime Math can help parents mitigate their own math anxiety , a phenomenon that can negatively affect their children’s attitudes toward math and their ability in the subject. Teacher Jennifer Auten told us she liked that the questions were written at a middle-school reading level, meaning an adult must facilitate the discussion but you have a choice of four levels of difficulty based on the child’s age and math level.

Apps for visual math: DragonBox Numbers and DragonBox Big Numbers

DragonBox Numbers (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

Visual numeracy.

Cute Nooms help kids visualize and conceptualize numbers and arithmetic operations.

DragonBox Big Numbers (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

More-complex arithmetic.

Kids follow characters called Nooms on adventures, solving long addition and subtraction equations in the process.

Ages: 4 to 8 and 6 to 9

How it works: DragonBox Numbers ( iOS , Android , and Amazon ), aimed at kids 4 through 8, introduces number sense, addition, and subtraction through cute characters called Nooms. (The characters are designed to resemble Cuisenaire rods , math learning aids that introduce kids to arithmetic operations in a hands-on way.) Kids feed, slice, and sort the Nooms, developing familiarity with addition, subtraction, fractions, and ranges. In DragonBox Big Numbers ( iOS , Android , and Amazon ), for kids 5 through 9, players follow the Nooms on more complex adventures, solving long addition and subtraction equations in order to gather and trade resources.

Why it’s great: The Nooms function as digital versions of what classroom teachers call math manipulatives , physical learning aids that help young children understand theoretical math concepts in a concrete way. For older kids, the DragonBox series continues on with algebra and Euclidean geometry.

Many great apps teach coding to kids as young as preschool and progressing through upper elementary grades. We’ve highlighted four of these apps because they’re particularly easy to get started with and don’t require reading or, for the child or the parent, a coding background. Regardless of what app they use, parents should think of coding apps as a family activity, said Pat Yongpradit of Code.org . “You will rarely have such a rich media experience as you can when coding with your kid,” he said.

Coding puzzles for beginners: Lightbot and Lightbot Jr

Lightbot (iOS and Android)

Coding puzzles.

The app’s simple puzzle challenges are easy to jump into for kids and adults with no previous coding experience.

Lightbot Jr (iOS and Android)

Coding puzzles for younger kids.

A slower-paced, easier set of puzzles for kids as young as preschool.

Ages: 9 and up (Lightbot); 4 to 8 (Lightbot Jr)

How it works: In Lightbot ( iOS and Android ), kids solve a series of simple puzzles by lining up commands that make a robot advance over obstacles and light up squares. As they master basic concepts, they add more-complex commands, such as conditionals, loops, and nested statements. Lightbot Jr ( iOS and Android ) follows a similar structure but at a slower pace and with simpler challenges that focus on reinforcing the basics. A minimal amount of reading is required, so pre-readers may need adult help at the beginning.

Why it’s great: Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a nonprofit educational organization that promotes and develops STEM curricula and resources, told us, “The best apps for young students without previous experience are those that teach and help build logic and reasoning skills [and] critical thinking skills, and provide brain teasers.” PLTW’s curriculum writers like the Lightbot and Lightbot Jr apps as ways to get kids as young as 4 started with the basic concepts and logical structures of coding.

A creative coding app: ScratchJr

ScratchJr (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

Visual programming.

Using graphical coding blocks, ScratchJr lets kids animate characters and create storylines.

Ages: 5 and up

How it works: In ScratchJr ( iOS , Android , Amazon ), kids select characters and backdrop scenes and drag graphical programming blocks, which snap together like puzzle pieces, to make animation sequences and storylines. Although the app has some written cues, the programming blocks largely use symbols (such as arrows and stop signs) to indicate what they do (such as move the character forward or make them stop). As kids become familiar with how to structure the code, they can create multi-scene stories.

Why it’s great: ScratchJr isn’t lesson-based (though you can consult a variety of curricula and tutorials for the app) but rather designed to give kids a sandbox in which to experiment, learn, and create through trial and error (the app offers sample animations as well). Pat Yongpradit of Code.org , which recommends ScratchJr among other coding apps and games, noted one particular benefit: “It’s very free-form; you’re not basically being directed down a particular path.” Younger kids will need an adult or older child to guide them as they get familiar with ScratchJr .

An app for hands-on coding: Osmo Coding Awbie

Osmo Coding (iOS)

Tangible coding.

The Osmo system uses physical game pieces in conjunction with the device’s screen, making scripting and coding tangible and accessible for pre-readers.

Ages: 5 to 12

How it works: Osmo Coding Awbie requires a base system—a stand and a mirror that attach to the device’s camera and that are compatible with other Osmo games —for the iPad , iPhone , and Amazon Fire . The system allows players to use physical pieces to interact with the screen-based game. Kids use bricks marked with commands, arrows, numbers, and loops to create scripts that direct a silly character through mazes and challenges, picking up prizes such as strawberries.

Why it’s great: Teacher Jennifer Auten, who uses Osmo Coding Awbie and other Osmo games in her classroom, said the fact that it combined an app with physical pieces made kids more patient and thoughtful as they worked through the challenges: “When something is purely on the screen, kids will sometimes end up just tapping as fast as they can, randomly guessing. With the manipulatives, it slows their thinking down.” Auten also noted that the physical pieces made it easier to play the game with multiple people, fostering discussion, collaboration, and group problem-solving. She also likes that Osmo Coding Awbie is open-ended: “Kids can explore and create their own paths.”

In this category we chose these three apps—focused on anatomy, the natural world, and space—because they offer kids unique, open-ended ways to explore science topics. Each app encourages kids to meander, linger, and dive deeper at their own pace.

An app to see what’s inside: The Human Body

The Human Body (iOS and Android)

Seeing what’s inside.

The Human Body offers a visually and aurally interesting way to wander through the body’s organs, systems, and functions.

How it works: In The Human Body ( iOS and Android ), kids explore anatomy by jumping around to different organs and systems—for example, watching a mouth chew food and swallow drink, sliding into a stomach breaking down food, and following flashing nerve signals as they race up to the brain.

Why it’s great: The Human Body focuses less on teaching kids specific anatomical lessons and more on sparking wonder and fascination toward the body and what it can do. The app’s engaging visuals are neither cartoonish nor graphic, and the thoughtful sound effects are as compelling and instructive as the animations: Gurgles, wooshes, creaks, and spurts give kids a visceral sense of what’s happening inside them. You can toggle on or off the text labels that identify the systems and organs, but no reading is required to get deep into the app, making it equally accessible to pre-readers.

An app for discovering nature: Toca Nature

Toca Nature (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

Natural-world building.

Toca Nature is an open-ended building app—similar to Minecraft—where kids can explore and shape the terrain, collect resources, and observe wildlife.

Ages: 4 and up

How it works: In Toca Nature ( iOS , Android , Amazon ), kids start with a simple plot of land where they can raise or lower mountains, create lakes, clear or plant forests, and make deserts. They can zoom in to different areas of their terrain to collect and distribute resources (like mushrooms, fish, or berries). As they change and shape the environment, different kinds of animals, plants, and fish will appear, multiply, migrate, or disappear.

Why it’s great: Similar to popular narrative-less building games like Minecraft , Toca Nature harnesses the enjoyment kids get from open-ended creating, wandering, and exploring games, with a unique focus on the natural world. Common Sense Media senior editor Christine Elgersma said that an app like Toca Nature doesn’t have explicit learning goals—it’s not trying to teach kids the names of animals or types of terrain, for example—but rather is “an exploratory app with experiences that a kid really couldn’t have off screen.” By creating and manipulating the environment, and then observing how the plant and wildlife change as a result, kids can see how animals, resources, and the environment interact.

An app for exploring space: Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System

Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

Cats in space.

Explore the solar system with a jet-propelled cat.

Ages: 8 to 12, or 6 and up with an adult

How it works: Kids explore the app much as they would read a book, delving into facts, illustrations, and animations about planets, moons, stars, and space exploration. At various points, quizzes and other challenges let you earn sardine treats for Professor Astro Cat.

Why it’s great: Jana Grcevich , an astronomer, science educator, and author , told us she enjoyed the Professor Astro Cat app ( iOS , Android , and Amazon ), along with the popular book series it’s based on, with her then 6-year-old niece. The app requires reading, but the entertaining storyline and fascinating facts make it fun for adults along with younger children.

Social and emotional learning , which includes self-awareness, empathy, communication skills, and building relationships, among other capacities, has increasingly been recognized as a critical component of children’s education. These three apps let young kids explore different aspects of self-expression, emotions, and social play.

An app for self-expression: Me: A Kid’s Diary

Me: A Kid's Diary (iOS)

A digital diary.

This app lets kids explore self-expression through drawing, writing, photos, and audio and video.

Ages: 7 and up

How it works: Kids create a digital diary of their lives by answering questions about themselves; making avatars for family members, friends, and other loved ones; and designing their own media. Kids navigate all these entries on their Me Map, a sort of multimedia landscape of their lives.

Why it’s great: Me: A Kid’s Diary helps kids creatively document their feelings, experiences, and loved ones through different media and modes of expression. In some ways, the app offers an experience akin to social media—uploading photos, making videos, writing reflections, and mapping personal connections—but in an entirely closed environment (there’s no actual communication or sharing within the app). This can create a space for kids to start to explore (and for parents to discuss) digital self-expression and sharing.

An app for emotions: Daniel Tiger’s Grr-ific Feelings

Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

Exploring emotions.

The beloved PBS character helps young kids identify, act out, and explore their feelings through games, songs and creative activities.

Ages: 2 to 5

How it works: Kids explore the familiar world of the PBS Kids series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood ( iOS , Android , Amazon ) through simple games, songs, and art activities that focus on identifying and exploring feelings and emotions. It offers different ways for kids to practice, talk about, and experience emotions, such as by drawing a picture, taking a photo of themselves feeling angry or happy, or practicing a calming exercise with Daniel Tiger.

Why it’s great: The app is simple and accessible for very young kids, with frequent verbal cues and reminders to help them through the easily navigable interface. “Even without the Daniel tie-in, it could actually still be a pretty successful app for teaching a lot of social, emotional, and self-care skills,” said Harry Sawyers, Wirecutter senior editor and father of three. “But having the familiar characters and songs really helps jump-start their interest if, for example, they ‘have to go potty—stop, and go right awaaaaay!’”

An app for social play: Toca Tea Party

Toca Tea Party (iOS)

Tea for two (or more).

Toca Tea Party presents the elements of a tea party—drinks, desserts, and dishes—for unstructured imaginative play.

Ages: 2 and up

How it works: Toca Tea Party couldn’t be simpler: You set a tea table with plates, cups, drinks, and treats for three guests, and the rest is up to your imagination. There’s no objective beyond pouring drinks, munching treats, and wiping up spills, and the app has a built-in end point: Once you’ve finished the snacks and beverages, the table clears itself and the dishes drop into a sink, ending the party.

Why it’s great: Toca Tea Party isn’t so much a game as a scene for unstructured imaginative and social play for young children. Kids can play alone (perhaps by inviting dolls or stuffed animals as guests) or with one or two others—a unique feature for a tablet game to pull off well. My two daughters, now 4 and 5, haven’t tired of Toca Tea Party after two years, and their play centers on chatting, pretending, and sharing.

An app for reading: Epic! ebook subscription

Epic! e-book subscription

Endless ebooks.

This app allows young readers to choose from up to 35,000 different books for a low monthly cost.

How it works: For $8 a month, kids gain access to some 35,000 children’s books in an intuitively designed app. Epic’s library is updated regularly with new titles, including classics and the site’s original content. Many of the picture books have a “Read to me” function, where a narrator reads the text aloud and the pages turn automatically. The app also suggests books by age and based on what a child has previously read, allowing kids to easily discover new titles at their reading level. Epic! works on iOS, Android and Microsoft tablets and smartphones.

Why it’s great: While some subscription kids’ e-book apps tend to be populated with the kinds of uninteresting titles you’d find in a bookstore bargain bin, Epic! offers an impressive library of children’s books, including many of the beloved classics and award-winning authors you’d find in a well-curated children’s library. (The Wizard of Oz, with the original 1900 illustrations, was one memorable find that gave us many nights of rapt bedtime reading.) The app is simple enough to use that both of my daughters can independently browse books by the cover art and find what interests them—even though they are both pre-readers. Fairy tales abound, but I’ve also found them paging through books about geology, Ramadan, and coding.

Since we began researching learning apps in 2016, we’ve spoken with a range of experts, including a classroom teacher, a child developmental psychologist, a pediatrician, an astronomer, education researchers, app developers, and others.

These have included Kathy Hirsh-Pasek , a professor of psychology at Temple University who has written about and conducted research studies on educational apps for young children; Jennifer Auten , an award-winning teacher in Cupertino, California, who has been using tablet and smartphone apps in her first- and second-grade curricula since the iPad was released in 2010; Christine Elgersma , senior editor, parent education, for Common Sense Media, an organization focused on children’s media; and Pat Yongpradit , chief academic officer at Code.org, a nonprofit that advocates for computer science education. Last, we’ve spoken with parents on our staff for recommendations of apps they and their kids love in categories such as science, music, and coding.

We read articles and reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and child developmental psychologists and educational researchers to learn about kids’ media use and about principles for designing learning apps. Finally, we read through reviews and ratings from well-regarded children’s media sites such as Common Sense Media .

Similar to what we found when researching learning toys , we discovered that developers and app stores often label apps as “educational” with little research or evidence, and few experts, to support those claims. In 2016, the AAP released a broad report on children’s use of digital media, calling for more-rigorous evaluation of apps that claim to be educational: “Unfortunately, very few of the commercially available apps found in the educational section of app stores have evidence-based design input with demonstrated learning effectiveness.” Similarly, in a 2015 article , Hirsh-Pasek writes that educational apps “present a significant opportunity for out-of-school, informal learning when designed in educationally appropriate ways” but notes later on that “[o]nly a handful of apps are designed with an eye toward how children actually learn.”

Experts are still studying what makes learning apps successful pedagogical tools, as well as fun and interesting activities for kids. But after speaking with experts, reading research, and trying out apps ourselves, we identified a few features that seem to be common among great learning apps.

• Offer unique experiences: Several of the experts we spoke to noted that a good educational app should offer children something they couldn’t simply do, learn, or explore in a classroom or the real world. If the app is “basically a worksheet on screen, [or] an experience that could be replicated off screen, then that’s not a good use of the screen,” Elgersma said. “You want it to be an experience that kids could really only have in that screen world.”
• Be open-ended, with limits: Most of the apps in this guide are open-ended in the sense that they encourage kids to independently explore, create, and navigate within the app. But researchers say it’s important to have built-in limits, as well. The AAP has pointed out that digital games have traditionally been designed with rewards and reinforcement designed to keep kids playing as long as possible. The organization recommends that learning apps instead have “automatic ‘stops’ as the default design to encourage children and caregivers to pause the game use and turn to the 3-dimensional world.”
• Be engaging but not distracting: Apps have great potential to engage children through interactive features, but some research has shown that too many bells and whistles can distract children or reduce their comprehension. A good learning app uses interactive, animated, and responsive features to engage kids or enhance their comprehension, not simply to entertain. Hirsh-Pasek has written that parents should evaluate an app’s interactive features and ask: “Do the enhancements actually add value and increase engagement, or do they cause distraction?”
• Encourage interaction: The AAP and other organizations say that learning apps that encourage real-life interaction among multiple people—adult and child, or child and peers—can be especially strong at facilitating learning. The apps in this guide are fun and interesting for kids and adults, and many foster conversation and play outside of the app itself.

As with our guide to learning toys , we focused primarily on apps aimed at kids 3 to 9 years old, though older kids can enjoy many of our recommendations, as well. We chose this age range because, as Hirsh-Pasek has written , “there are so many apps targeted toward [children in this range] that parents and educators do not know how to navigate the marketplace of possibilities.”

All the apps we recommend in this guide adhere to the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act . Among other things, COPPA requires that websites and apps directed at children under age 13 obtain permission from parents before collecting or sharing personal information from children, or targeting them with behavioral advertising. None of the apps in this guide require children to enter personal information in order to use the app’s functions, and none offer social media sharing or connectivity.

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, et al., Putting Education in “Educational” Apps: Lessons From the Science of Learning , Psychological Science in the Public Interest , April 20, 2015

Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos, et al., Children and Adolescents and Digital Media , Pediatrics , October 1, 2016

Jana Grcevich, PhD, astronomer, science educator, author , phone interview , December 1, 2016

Jennifer Auten, first- and second-grade teacher, Cupertino, California , phone interview , November 8, 2016

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD, professor of psychology, Temple University , phone interview , January 8, 2019

Christine Elgersma, senior editor, parent education, Common Sense Media , phone interview , March 12, 2019

Pat Yongpradit, chief academic officer, Code.org , phone interview , April 18, 2019

Meet your guide

Courtney Schley

Courtney Schley, a senior editor covering sleep and appliances, has been at Wirecutter since 2014. She has held several roles at Wirecutter, including research editor, as well as supervising editor of baby and kid coverage.

Further reading

How to Set Up a Remote Learning Space for Your Kids

by Melanie Pinola

With many schools closed this fall, it’s time to set up a remote schoolwork area for kids that’ll make learning a little easier.

Kids Exercise Videos to Help Keep Your Family Moving (and Sane)

by Ingrid Skjong

Free online exercise videos can help everyone from toddlers to teenagers stay active and calm during a coronavirus self-quarantine. These are our favorites.

These Four Video Games Are Fun for the Whole Family

by Haley Perry

If you’re looking for a video game for your next family game night, these are the games we recommend for all ages and skill levels.

8 Time-Tested Sidewalk Games We Love

by Dan Koeppel

Old-school games from the sidewalks of New York are still surprisingly fun—and require not much more than chalk.

• Home (current)
• App Categories
• App Reviews
• English Learning Apps for Kids
• Alphabet Apps
• Spelling Apps
• Math Resources
• Multiplication Apps
• Science Apps
• Chemistry Apps
• Physics Apps
• AI Tools Directory
• AI Tools for Education
• Apps for Parents
• Apps for Students
• Augmented Reality Apps
• Computer Science Apps
• Coloring Apps
• Special Education Apps
• Language Learning Apps
• Best of Lists
• Apps for Education
• Best Maths Apps
• Best Apps for Kids
• Free Apps for Kids
• Toddler Apps
• Preschool Apps
• Kindergarten Apps
• EdTech Articles
• Game Reviews
• Brain Training Apps
• Brain Games for Kids
• Word Game Apps
• iPad Games for Kids
• Free Games for Kids
• Website Reviews
• Best Websites for Kids
• Preschool Websites
• Math Websites for Kids
• Submit your App
• How we certify apps
• AI Assessment
• Try for free

Best Educational iPad Games

iPads for kids are quickly becoming a popular and powerful educational tool at home. iPad games for kids are being used in education around the world with great success. Come home with an iPad and your kids are going to want to play iPad games with it.

Lots of iPad games for kids are fun and genuinely interesting. Every game for iPad has an age-specific rating so that you can tell if the game is right for your child. We've taken care to play every game, so you know it's definitely worth a download. Whether you're new to iPad gaming or are just looking for your next game to download, here are my top picks for iPad games.

Check out the best educational iPad games that are fun and engaging for children of all ages.

• Best iPad Educational Games

1. Kids Academy

Kids Academy is one of the best iPad game for young learners. Their innovative program blends cutting-edge adaptive technology, artificial intelligence, custom learning paths, and game-like elements to enhance children's learning experience. It makes learning engaging and effective by offering interactive games across subjects like Math, Reading, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies.

Ages: 3 and over

Related: Puzzle Games

2. MentalUP Educational Games

MentalUP Educational Games for iPad offer learners a variety of problem-solving experiences and critical thinking challenges. The games start with concise instructions before launching into timed exercises. Users can customize the app to focus on specific skills and consider the player's age. It includes a reports page for tracking progress and achievements, and players can personalize their avatars with in-game currency earned by succeeding in games.

Ages: 5 and over

Related: Best brain training apps

3. PBS KIDS Games

PBS Kids Games is a top iPad game for kids, offering over 25 games featuring popular PBS Kids characters. It provides preschoolers with hours of entertainment and education across various activities like pattern matching, racing, and music. The games teach basics about weather, sea life, shapes, and more, while also developing reading skills and strategic thinking. The app regularly updates with new games, expanding its educational content. It's a free and effective choice for interactive learning with beloved children's TV characters.

4. Adventure Academy

Adventure Academy is a multiplayer game for elementary and middle school students, offering thousands of learning activities across subjects like math, reading, science, and social studies. Kids explore these through quests in a virtual world. The activities include videos, games, quizzes, and interactive elements aligned with U.S. and international curriculum standards.

Ages: 9 and over

5. Science Games for Kids - Tappity

K-5 Science for Kids - Tappity is a great app that is like having the perfect science teacher available for children all of the time. The app includes 200+ science lessons, activities, and stories in a curriculum designed for kids ages 4-10. Their content is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards for K-5th Grade.

6. Word Beach: Fun Spelling Games

Word Beach is an ideal iPad game for children aged 6 and older, enhancing their attention, language development, and spatial awareness. This word puzzle game improves their spelling skills, introduces new words, and reinforces the spellings of irregular words. The game involves finding words from letters of a longer word, with progress to the next level upon completion. With hundreds of levels and regular updates, it offers lasting engagement. A daily challenge, presented as a simple crossword, adds variety.

Ages: 6 and above

• Related: Best free games for kids

7. Kids Brain Games

Kids Brain Games is a fun iPad game for kids. The games are challenging children to develop their thinking skills. The variety of puzzles is excellent and cover many different topics and ways of thinking. One moment your child will be matching clocks to times and the next mentally rotating a scene to find its mirror image. Both of these have an element of maths to them but other challenges cover words, problem solving, planning, memory, general knowledge and all sorts of other aspects.

Ages: 5 and under

8. ABCya Games

ABCYa is an educational game for iPad designed for kids in grades K-5, categorizing games by grade and subjects such as letters, numbers, and holidays. The game collection includes arcade, word find, racing, and typing games, among others, with examples ranging from Alphabetical Order for kindergarteners to Division Drag Race for fifth graders. ABCya! allows children to identify their learning levels and select games that meet their educational needs.

9. Coding Games For Kids To Play

Coding Games for kids is a popular iPad game for kids that teaches sequential visual coding. The app comes with an array of free games and encourages children to solve problems, improve logical thinking and increase their memory in a fun and interactive environment. Its fun way to get kids to learn and problems solve in fun way with cool characters and plenty of great games to choose from.

You may also like:

• Android Games for Kids
• Baby iPad Games
• Children's Games

Popular App Lists

• Educational Apps
• Best Apps for Schools
• Best iPad Apps
• Best Android Learning Apps
• Best Apps for Families

Popular Website Lists

• Free Educational Resources
• Free Teacher Resources
• Best Preschool Learning Websites
• Best Online Homeschool Programs
• Educational YouTube Channels for Kids

Popular picks for playtime

Genius Starter Kit

Explorer starter kit, coding starter kit, creative starter kit.

Slider with 1 slides shown at a time.Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate.Use the slide dot buttons to jump to slides.

• Go to slide 0
• Go to slide 1
• Go to slide 2
• Go to slide 3

Learning well played

Make study time fun!

Hi, we’re Osmo!

Learning is best when it’s called play. Osmo puts the fun in building learning fundamentals through the magic of hands-on play, tangible pieces and digital fun!

How Osmo works

• 1 Place your tablet in the Osmo Base.
• 2 Secure the reflector over the camera.
• 3 Use physical game pieces to play digital games — draw, code, spell, and more!

Our award winning products

Our Kits and Games are building blocks for bright learners, helping build core skills in complex subjects like math, science, physics, coding and more

See What Parents & Educators Have to Say

“ Osmo is really a magical experience. ”

“ A rare blend of fun and education ”

“ Fun, engaging, versatile ”

Our trophy rack

Publications

On-demand strategy, speaking & workshops, latest articles, write for us, library/publications.

• Competency-Based Education
• Early Learning
• Equity & Access
• Personalized Learning
• Place-Based Education
• Post-Secondary
• Project-Based Learning
• SEL & Mindset
• STEM & Maker
• The Future of Tech and Work

Chris Coxon and Ryan Franklin on Educate Texas

Dr. gholdy muhammad on finding and nurturing joy in education, melissa byrne on connecting a learner profile to pathways and postsecondary workforce readiness, jennifer brandsberg-engelmann on teaching and updating economics in high school, recent releases.

Health Science Pathways Guide

New Pathways Handbook: Getting Started with Pathways

Unfulfilled Promise: The Forty-Year Shift from Print to Digital and Why It Failed to Transform Learning

The Portrait Model: Building Coherence in School and System Redesign

Green Pathways: New Jobs Mean New Skills and New Pathways

Support & Guidance For All New Pathways Journeys

Unbundled: Designing Personalized Pathways for Every Learner

Credentialed Learning for All

AI in Education

For more, see Publications |  Books |  Toolkits

Microschools

New learning models, tools, and strategies have made it easier to open small, nimble schooling models.

Green Schools

The climate crisis is the most complex challenge mankind has ever faced . We’re covering what edleaders and educators can do about it. 

Difference Making

Focusing on how making a difference has emerged as one of the most powerful learning experiences.

New Pathways

This campaign will serve as a road map to the new architecture for American schools. Pathways to citizenship, employment, economic mobility, and a purpose-driven life.

Web3 has the potential to rebuild the internet towards more equitable access and ownership of information, meaning dramatic improvements for learners.

Schools Worth Visiting

We share stories that highlight best practices, lessons learned and next-gen teaching practice.

View more series…

About Getting Smart

Getting smart collective, impact update, 30 of the best educational ipad games: kid’s edition.

“The 30 Best Educational Games for the iPad: Kid’s Edition” first appeared on OnlineCourses.com. Parents and teachers who trust little Muffy and Junior with their shiny iPads don’t have to worry about how access to shoot-‘em-up video games will rot their precious little gifted and talented program minds. Instead, they can download some of the following alternatives to help them build up their brilliant brains that will totally go on to win Nobel Prizes someday.

Math Ninja :

Stack the countries :, highlights hidden pictures :, the oregon trail :, lego super heroes movie maker :, math and letters air control :, brainpop featured movie :, early jamestown :, garageband :, thinkertoy :, kapu toys :, mathboard :, ultimate word search free (wordsearch) :, rocket math :, civilization revolution :, i spy riddle race :, coin catcher :, let’s create pottery :, iwritewords :, mathemagics – mental math tricks :, story wheel :, what’s the difference :, time, money & fractions on-track :, dr. frankenstein’s body lab :, soundtouch :, monster physics :.

Guest Author

Discover the latest in learning innovations.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Related Reading

The portrait model.

Three Keys to Making Game-Based Learning Student-Centered

What Educators Need: Building Cultures of Trust in an Era of Top-Down Educational Legislation

New Pathways Handbook

37 comments, scott strong.

Hello, I recently released an iPad game to the App Store that I think should be considered for your top-30 list. It's a simple memory matching game that allows kids to match concepts in order to learn about the particular topic. For example, in the Numbers topic, the user can select to match numbers to Roman numerals, or to the spelling of the number in English, French or Spanish. There are currently topics for the following: Animals, Colors, Countries, Shapes, Numbers, and Time. The name of the game is "Match To Learn", and it can be found at this URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/match-to-learn/id583563447?ls=1&mt=8 . Or, to learn more about the game visit my website at http://www.pureforte.com/match-to-learn. Thank you for your consideration, and please contact me if you have any questions. regards, - Scott

I recently released an iPad game to the App Store that I think should be considered for your top-30 list. It is Essay Starter. I want introduce you with Essay Starter. You can find it on next link. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/essay-starter/id593023126?mt=8 I want to invite you to feel free to try this app and write review if you are interested about it. What is Essay Starter? The new iPad app "Essay Starter" is here...Make writing easy. The new iPad app "Essay Starter" is perfect for students, writers, and professionals, anyone whose writing involves a research component. Use the split screen feature to view your research on one side, and take notes on the other. Select text from research material and insert it directly into your notes, along with an automatically generated footnote. Description Be inspired! Writing is easy when you have easy access and control of your sources. Automatic footnotes let you stop worrying about references and just write. Split screen mode lets you open and read multiple PDF files, and take notes at the same time. Get your writing started quickly: * Upload your research as PDF files * Automatic reference information for footnotes * Edit optional additional bibliographical information for footnotes * Read and highlight PDF files on the full screen or split screen * Easily navigate within PDF files with tile view * Create a new worksheet to make notes and start your essay * Use split screen to view the worksheet and PDFs at the same time * Select PDF text and send it to the worksheet, with an automatic footnote reference * Easy file management system * Left or right handed layout

Chuck The Turtle

Hello everyone! You should try Chuck The Turtle! It is a fun and educational game for kids. They get to paint, jump, do puzzles, cross some dangerous roads, jump, climb and much more! Chuck the Turtle is easy to play, rewarding and mind-challenging!! Check it out and also watch the video: http://itunes.com/apps/chucktheturtle http://youtu.be/ObGMIc9HgqI

Liz Griffiths

There are some things the iPad can't replace: http://buildingblocksmedia.blogspot.com/2013/03/there-are-some-things-ipad-just-cant.html

"Hello, Another great new app for kids is Jazzy World Tour. They have a free version. My kids have learned so much from it. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jazzy-world-tour-free-musical/id574909527?mt=8"

Love Space Exploration? This is the only ABC learning app that focus on Space. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kBGWoEaAuw

Ashley Wells

Nice to hear this thanks for sharing. I want this for my son.

Sheer portability and convenience of app, makes learning activity a complete joyride for both parents and kids.

Maryna Petrenko

Hi, Our new educational app "City Letters" is now available on App Store. City Letters teaches children to identify alphabet letters, recognize their sounds, trace them, and solve exciting puzzles and mini games: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/frugoton-city-letters-education/id730991933?ls=1&mt=8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M66cp7ni958

Paweł Kitajewski

I would like to recommend you Joypa Colors. It is interactive coloring game for kids 3 years+ While making progress object on your screen are coming to life. Trees are bending, sun starts to move on the sky, animals are starting to move it's simple but brilliant :) It can be played on your tablet or smartphone. Game can be downloaded for free on Appstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/joypa-colors-free-interactive/id789651365?mt=8 And Google play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dm.joypacolorsfree

Superb list...Math ninja is best math game for kids ever. Math is always boring subject for kids and by this game kids will learn math vey easily.

igeniuspets

iGeniusPets is a fun pet game with 9 mini educational games. Available on both ios and android. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/igeniuspets-lite/id817614884?ls=1&mt=8

Our son loves playing this animal app called MiniPlaces on our iPad http://goo.gl/iXY6so. Games like these helped to stimulate his interests in animals and going to the zoo as he got older.

Great blog! I have published a new educational slide puzzel game for iPad called Scramble Fest that is available for free on the App Store. It features a total of 300 puzzels ranging in subjects from animals to people and architecture. Presented in an original manner this game includes a variety of stage designs that challenges the player to get ahead in the game. Why don't you take a look at the iTunes page? https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scramble-fest-free/id838310529?ls=1&mt=8 There's also a paid version that costs $0.99 and doesn't include ads. To see more of the game be sure to check out the Facebook page which features a number of videos here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scramble-Fest/515100568601397?ref=ts&fref=ts And the official website: http://www.royniginal.nl/ScrambleFest/index.html Enjoy! And feel free to contact me at any time. Best regards, Roy

Hello, Check this Fun & Educational Math App for kids:"Flappy Owlet - The Adventures of a Baby Bird". It’s a free game that test your reflexes and first grade math skills. App store url: goo.gl/w2eCWV

Excellent list, I would also add Bubble Shooter puzzle game - its educational value lies in rather something different than schools subjects.. This game can improve responses and fast thinking, absolutely love it!

Parks j Daniel

Such a fantastic educational game for kids listed here in this post. Educational game are best way for teach to child some educational activities. I like all the games appears here.

How about an educational game that is full of interactivity, animations, fun, vocal and sounds for many repeat plays? Jungle game provides endless entertainment and learning to your kids! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZuF_AtQV_E&feature=youtu.be https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jungle-educational-game/id929575979

Rodel Ednalan

More apps availlable at Educational Fun For Kids

learning system

Sheer portability and accessibility of app, makes acquirement action a complete joyride for both parents and kids.

Thanks. Play new filled puzzle game and help Astropup save Earth. The simple tap mechanic have some complex challenges. Discover black holes, radiation, space anomalies & the dastardly alien fleet in Astropup. Free to Download for ‪#‎iPhone‬, ‪#‎iPad‬ and ‪#‎iPod‬ touch. Download Link: http://bit.ly/astropup-ios

I try to review mobile games best for kids at my site here: mobileappsforkids.wordpress.com

Hey everyone! I'm super excited to share the project I've been working on for such a long time... Dino Kids Free is already for Apple : https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dino-kids-free/id958288574?l=fr&ls=1&mt=8 and Android : https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...e.DinoKidsFree See example in Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0asTg2Acw4 Thinks for your support.

parks daniel

awesome list..loved all these games..after i read these facts : http://goo.gl/KnRXAf

I think you could add this game to the list also. It is loved by kids of all ages from all over the world and it has over 200.000 downloads worldwide. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.dlgames.GuessThatAnimal

Great way to learn through play is to pick boardcraft game, which is a set of educational games adapted for children of all ages, supporting development, creativity, imagination.your child create new game by drawing and then play in tablet. very simple.

Hey! We are working on a puzzle game with deep narrative element. Both the story and the puzzles are designed to require deep concentration and the puzzles teach visual pattern recognition skills. It is designed both for adults and children. We will be searching beta testers in future and would love feedback from both adults and children. If you think this interesting please follow us: www.galacticechoes.com Best regards, Jaakko

"NUMBERS SWAPPER" is a smart educational game for ages 8 and up. it is published on iPhone but could play on other Apple devices. the player organizes and manipulates numbers that are close or look alike. it teaches digits/place value in a fun way. Also "MONEY MATTERS" can be played on the iPhone/Apple devices. It teaches budgeting, quick adding, decision making and avoiding bankruptcy. it has nice graphics and different levels of difficulties.

Taylor Donaway

I really think my new baby sister will like the game hangman and Braimpop.Maybe even Mathninja and Madlibs.

Patricia C.

Hi, I don't like to post these kind of comments but I would like to recommend this puzzle.. My son love it. I think is because of the colors and sounds. Sadly is only for android. But I'm using my husband's tablet. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.queleas.wheelspuzzlesforkids

Thank you for the list! Here is one more for children who are learning how to read: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/hales-tale-learn-to-read/id1184892804

Hello everyone! I would add to this list the educational website Koikiwi http://koikiwi.com/ where kids could learn about ecological issues while they playing games. It's set of games: action games, puzzle games, trivia and other fun games - which all are focused on ecology, the environment and the future of our planet.

Shweta Kale

Great! Thanks for sharing your information. They are really useful games. I have just come across an article, which says they are brain child award winner. You can give it a read to the link. https://logicroots.com/MathBlog/tillywig-brain-child-award-winner-2019/

The theme of kids' computer games is the same - an anonymous person brutally fights an anonymous enemy. This type of kids' computer game infuses violent behavior into kids. Playing computer games has become the biggest addiction among kids. They even save money to buy the latest game titles.

Please consider Rocket Mouse by Sofielafée in your selection. Rocket Mouse is an original English French learning game for preschoolers, made by parents and available on iPad, iPhone and Android

Diya Kapoor

Thanks for sharing this useful list. During lockdown, I am trying to engage my son in taking some brain games or learning quizzes. One of his favorite learning app these days is : The Quizopedia. You can also install for your kid for free GK and many more quizzes and practice tests. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/thequizopedia/id1480799124

reetamorson

Hi, You have build such an amazing site. thanks for sharing this amazing information with us. It is really going to be very helpful for kids. You may also visit: https://www.thelearningapps.com/

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required.

Nominate a School, Program or Community

Stay on the cutting edge of learning innovation.

Subscribe to our weekly Smart Update!

Smart Update

What is pbe (spanish), designing microschools download, download quick start guide to implementing place-based education, download quick start guide to place-based professional learning, download what is place-based education and why does it matter, download 20 invention opportunities in learning & development.

18 Fun and Educational Toddler Apps to Help Kids Learn

Download these apps and turn screen time into learning time.

We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

We updated this article in March 2023 to add new picks based on recent testing.

Our top picks:

Best Overall

Pbs kids games.

Best Educational

Abc mouse abc mouse.

Best Personalized

Homer learn & grow.

The experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute test and review all kinds of apps, from workout apps to dating apps . When it came to finding the best apps for toddlers , our on-staff parenting experts and real-life parent and child testers got hands-on with dozens of popular apps to evaluate them for ease of use, age-appropriateness, ability to engage and more.

Here, we review our favorites — some feature your toddler's favorite TV personalities, like Elmo and Daniel Tiger, some will get them up and moving so screen time isn't also sedentary time and many of them are even free. But the good news is that all of them should keep your kids' attention long enough for you to get something — anything! — done.

PBS Kids Games should be a staple in any house with a toddler. GH Chief Technologist Rachel Rothman and her little ones use this app daily in their house. "PBS Kids Games is great because it covers a lot of popular titles with content and games you can feel good about ," she says. You'll find Daniel Tiger, Arthur and all the other popular characters come together to create games so fun kids won't even realize they're educational, making it a great app for kids and students alike . The app is also constantly updated with new games so your kids won't run out of content to explore.

Price	Free
Ages	2-8
Availability	Available on Android or iOS

Make learning fun with this educational and exciting app that uses stories, quizzes, games and videos to get kids started on a path to learning about reading, math, science and art. Our testers said they loved and used this app even before they began officially testing it for GH, and our experts appreciate that you can follow your kid's progress on a virtual map that outlines their learning progress so you can both see how far they've come in real time (and celebrate their victories).

Homer Learn & Grow

This app earned itself a GH Parenting Award in 2022 for its exciting way of teaching a variety of important topics like math, reading and social-emotional awareness. Our parent testers like the personalization options that let families with more than one kid customize their learning for each little one, and appreciate the diverse offerings for those of different ages and education levels. Our kid testers liked that the app gave them the chance to record their own voices so they can show off their mastery of each skill.

Price	Free for 30 days, then subscriptions start at $7.99/month
Ages	2-8
Availability	Available on Android or iOS

Elmo Loves 123s

Learning your 123s can be difficult for toddlers, and this app will help get them on the path to becoming a math wiz. The free preview lets little ones learn 123 and you can download the full version to get games, videos and more on all numbers 1-20 . In fact, all of the iOS apps and Android apps by the Sesame Workshop are great, putting all the Sesame Street friends to good use helping kids do everything from learning their letters to using the potty. But Elmo Loves 123s is one of our favorites because of the cute ways Elmo helps kids learn their early numbers.

Price	Free, but offers in-app purchases
Ages	2-5
Availability	Available on Android or iOS

Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings

You can never have too much Daniel Tiger, and kids and parents will adore this app that helps them explore and understand emotions . This fun pick features games, sing-alongs, art exercises and a "feelings photo-booth" that lets kids take pictures of themselves to better understand expressions. We're fans of all things Daniel Tiger, and appreciate how this app helps little ones get more in touch with recognizing feelings, expressing themselves in positive and valuable ways and understanding social-emotional cues.

Price	$2.99
Ages	2-5
Availability	Available on Android or iOS

Ring ring! It's Elmo. Your kid can learn valuable social skills while making important phone calls to their favorite Sesame Street character. Like FaceTime but with Elmo, this app helps little ones get used to talking over video chat , and lets them practice for those long distance calls with Grandma. Rothman notes that her kids were particularly enthralled by this app during their early toddler years. Aside from video calls, this app also lets you receive voicemails and listen to messages from your furry friend at any time.

Price	$1.99
Ages	0-5
Availability	Available on Android or iOS

Khan Academy Kids

Kids can learn reading, writing, math, social-emotional skills and more when they hop on the Khan Academy Kids app. Just like the regular Khan Academy app, which kids can graduate to once they turn four, this toddler-friendly app will help them learn the important skills they'll need once they enter preschool. It allows you to create a personalized learning path for your child , plus, you don't need to worry about paying a subscription fee or slogging through ads since this app — and all the educational content that's constantly being updated — is completely free.

Price	Free
Ages	2-8
Availability	Available on Android or iOS

Beck and Bo

This beautifully animated app lets kids put characters in different scenes, from everyday locations like the grocery store to exotic locales like the jungle. T hey can place characters and objects in the scene, or tap on items to find out what things are called and learn new words . It's a great introduction to pretend-play and online gaming, letting kids play games like matching and ball, learn logic by building each scene and manipulating characters and objects to different areas, expand their vocabulary and more.

Price	$3
Ages	0-5
Availability	Available for iOS and Android

Epic! will inspire and encourage early readers to fall in love with books. With more than 40,000 bo0ks on the platform that are ready to read, it's easier than a trip to the local library, and you can search through them by age or interest. Plus, there's even books and quizzes in foreign languages to help introduce your little ones to Spanish, French or Chinese at a young age. You get a free month-long trial before being charged a monthly fee; check with your school, though, because sometimes they can set up free subscriptions for their classrooms.

Price	Free for 30 days, then $8/month
Ages	2-12
Availability	Available on Android or iOS

2-3.com Baby Games

Your baby gamer will adore the games found on this app that tiny tots won't be able to get enough of. Using sounds, animations and numbers, this app makes it simple to introduce a variety of topics to your kids. Created by a dad who wanted to give back, these free and simple interactive games for the littlest of kids include balloon-popping games, virtual instruments to play and even fireworks so that the youngest members of your family can join in the app fun, starting as early as six months.

Hungry Caterpillar Play School

Nostalgic parents probably remember the Very Hungry Caterpillar from Eric Carle's beloved books from their own early reading days. Not only has this books stayed a staple in the nursery for decades, but its app version helps introduce kids to educational themes with one of their favorite literary characters. This app lets kids take the Caterpillar through games that tackle very basic math, problem-solving and science .

Starfall ABCs

There are a million apps that claim to help kids learn the ABCs, but this one is backed by a nonprofit education company . Kids interact with letters and learn how to make sounds and words. While you can chose to pay for the upgraded version to get a few more bells and whistles, like math lessons, we found the free version to have an impressive amount of content all on its own.

Price	Free, option to upgrade to Starfall membership for $35/year
Ages	2-5
Availability	Available on Android or iOS

Goodness Shapes

Friendly-looking shapes help kids learn colors, matching and sorting in this preschool-friendly app. You might want to use it as a de-stressing tool, too. Kids can challenge their brains while they practice shape, color and pattern recognition and play some fun games with cute shape characters. One of our favorite things? It's offline, so you don't have to worry about being hooked up to Wi-Fi while playing, and since you pay a couple dollars upfront for access, there aren't any additional paywalls or ads to wade through while playing.

Price	$2
Ages	0-5
Availability	Available on iOS

It can be hard to get your steps in if you spend the majority of your time at home on screens, but this adorable app helps encourage your little ones to get active. When it's time for a movement break, this app has videos that gets kids up and exercising so they don't spend all day lounging on the couch. From dance to yoga to mindfulness, there's over 300 videos on here to get you started. The simple, follow-me videos even have an educational twist sometimes (one of our favorites teaches kids about making patterns ). That might go over your toddler's head, but they can still try the moves. While it's geared toward a little bit older kids, little ones can get in on the fun and copy the moves with you.

Price	Free
Ages	4-8
Availability	Available on iOS and Android

Cosmic Kids!

Yogis and meditators will appreciate this app geared toward giving toddlers their first taste of mindfulness. A bit of meditation can help everyone manage their emotional wellbeing and stress levels , and Cosmic Kids has over 80 yoga videos and 28 mindfulness sessions. For families looking to get into yoga, this mindfulness app offers videos of workouts geared for kids. (Your toddler may have to do modified versions of the moves since the app is made for a little bit older kids.) The host, Jaime, puts routines together that are themed to Frozen , Star Wars , Minecraft and other kid faves.

Price	Free, but offers in-app purchases
Ages	4-11
Availability	Available on iOS and Android

It's a little bit like the game Guess Who, where kids have to identify animals who are dancing, wagging their tails or crying. There's also a social/emotional learning component to it, since sometimes they have to identify animals by what they're feeling and pick out who is surprised, crying, happy, sad and more. This app lets kids interact with animals of all sorts and learn more about emotional cues and what they mean. We appreciate that it engages a variety of skills and senses.

Price	Free
Ages	2-5
Availability	Available for iOS

Lego Duplo World

Winner of the KAPI Best App award in 2020 (amongst a variety of other awards throughout the past few years), this open-ended app lets kids explore the in-app world and build 3D structures. It's all the fun of Legos without the fear of your kids leaving them on the floor for you to step on. Featuring games with animals, cars, trains and more, this app lets your kids use 3D bricks to build while learning more about how the world and the many things in it function. When they get older, they can connect and play with friends.

Price	Free, but offers in-app purchases
Ages	2-5
Availability	Available for iOS and Android

Moo, Baa, La La La!

Classic children's book writer Sandra Boynton is known for her dozens of board books for little ones, and this app brings one of your favorite ones to life. With this app, her Moo, Baa, La La La! book becomes interactive , and kids can hear animal sounds and do things like tap the screen to turn day to night. This e-book experience is great for traveling, since you don't have to bring anything along with you to create the perfect bedtime routine and read your little one's favorite book.

How we test apps for toddlers

We know many apps are out there on the market, and how difficult it can be to find out which ones are worth downloading and purchasing for your family. To find the best apps for toddlers, we tested dozens of popular kids' apps designed primarily for 2 to 4-year-olds. After consulting our consumer panel, made up of real parents and their children, we were able to narrow down a list of apps worth considering.

Then, our experts evaluated each app on a variety of factors, like how easy it is to use for both parents and children independently, whether or not it's worth its price, how long and effectively it can hold your kid's attention, whether or not it's age appropriate, if there are any tech pitfalls and more.

What to look for in apps for toddlers

✔️ Safety: To avoid getting scammed and protect your own safety, there are a few things you can keep in mind when signing up for a new app. Consider how much information the app is requesting from you and whether or not it feels necessary. Is there additional verification required when you log in? Parents can check out the number of times the app has been downloaded, the rating and reviews on the Apple or Google Play store to make sure it's even safe for download. Don't forget to look over the permissions list and app description before downloading.

✔️ Features: Some apps offer personalized learning plans or include features that let more than one kid track their own plans at the same time. Others simply offer fun games to keep your kids entertained for a few minutes. Keep an eye out for the extra features of each app depending on what you're hoping to achieve.

✔️ Ease of use: While toddlers are a little young to be navigating apps on their own, some will be able to do so once they get a bit older. Not only will this help them develop their independence and strengthen their problem-solving skills, but will give you a much needed break while they're entertained. Make sure the app is intuitive enough for them to handle on their own.

✔️ Age: The right apps for your kids are age appropriate for many reasons. Not only will this avoid unnecessary frustration when you accidentally put them in 3rd grade reading far before they're ready, but it means you don't have to worry about the content they're consuming. To get the most benefit out of each app experience, make sure that they're not learning at too low or too high of a level.

✔️ Price: Many of our favorite picks are free, but a few of the more specialized apps feature paid upgrades or monthly subscriptions with access to all of their unlimited games and videos. It may be worth a few bucks if it's an app your kid is particularly engaged with.

✔️ Engagement: Keeping your child entertained and engaged is one of the most important aspects of a good app. If your kid isn't excited to hop on and spend time learning new things, watching videos or playing the app's games, then it doesn't matter how helpful the app is if they can't even be bothered to log in.

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; she previously wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother . She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found dominating the audio round at her local bar trivia night or tweeting about movies.

Jamie (she/her) is a parenting and pets reviews analyst at the Good Housekeeping Institute , where she spends her time testing, researching and writing about pet and family products. Prior to starting at GH in 2021, she worked at BuzzFeed and People , covering a combination of product reviews and lifestyle content. She's a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and psychology and a master’s degree in journalism.

Rachel Rothman was the chief technologist and executive technical director of the Good Housekeeping Institute for over 15 years , overseeing testing methodology, implementation and reporting for all GH Labs. She also managed GH's research division and the analysis of applicants for the GH Seal and all other testing emblems. 

@media(max-width: 64rem){.css-o9j0dn:before{margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-right:0.625rem;color:#ffffff;width:1.25rem;bottom:-0.2rem;height:1.25rem;content:'_';display:inline-block;position:relative;line-height:1;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}} Product Reviews

The 10 Best Travel Strollers

The Best Running Shoes for Flat Feet

The Best Sandals

The Best Self-Emptying Robot Vacuums

The Best Bras for Older Women

The Best Melatonin Supplements of 2024

The Best High School and College Backpacks

The Best Mattresses at Walmart

The Best Inflatable Paddle Boards

The Best Laptop Bags

The Best Comforters

• Apple Watch
• Accessories
• Digital Magazine – Subscribe
• Digital Magazine – Info
• Smart Answers
• Amazon Prime Day
• Apple Watch 2024
• 11th-gen iPad
• New AirPods
• Best Mac antivirus
• Best Mac VPN

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn't affect our editorial independence .

Best kids’ apps & games for iPhone/iPad

Put a child in the same room as an iPad or an iPhone and they will instinctively reach for it. Perhaps it’s the bright colours and the feel of the touchscreen; the simplicity of the interface in iOS and iPadOS also plays a part. No matter the reason, kids love messing with smartphones and tablets.

Mobile devices can do a great job entertaining and educating your offspring, but not all apps are created equal. In this article we present the apps and games most beloved of our editors and their children; there’s a blend here of learning, creativity and fun.

Best kids’ apps: Ages 5 and under

Here are our recommendations for children aged 5 and under. Age guidance is approximate, of course, and you won’t need to be told that kids learn and mature at different speeds.

Be sure also to click through to the App Store using the links provided. Have a look at screenshots, any available preview videos and so on, to see if the difficulty, complexity and reading level are appropriate for your child.

• Price: £3.99/$3.99 ( Bloom on the App Store )
• Age rating: 4+

There are tools for making music and others that are more about experimenting with sound. Bloom is an iPhone take on the latter, a collaboration between software designer Peter Chilvers and musician Brian Eno that enables you to explore generative audio composition.

That probably all sounds a bit highbrow for kids, but it really isn’t in practice. Essentially, you tap on the screen to play a note, which eventually loops. Keep tapping and a composition appears. It’s a beautiful, relaxing app, and simple enough that even a two-year-old can grasp the basics of how it works.

• Price: Free ( Dino Tim on the App Store )
• Age rating: 4+ (made for ages 3-6)

Dino Tim’s family has been abducted by witches, and kids have to solve various educational puzzles in order to save them. The game involves solving colour and geometric shape puzzles, as well as running, flying, jumping and even a little bit of magic.

The aim of the game is to teach kids to recognise basic geometric shapes, as well as to learn about colours and even their first words. The game has been fully translated into a number of languages (French, Spanish and Italian to list a few) which provides your child with a great opportunity to learn a foreign language in a fun way, from a young age.

Endless Alphabet

• Price: £8.99/$8.99 ( Endless Alphabet on the App Store )
• Age rating: 4+ (made for 5 and under)

Endless Alphabet proves that dialling down the surreal doesn’t mean an app about letters has to be boring. On the contrary, Endless Alphabet is a lot of fun as you choose a word, watch the letters scatter, and drag them back into place.

The letters come to life when touched, wriggling under your fingers, and once the word is complete, you’re treated to a little animation that explains what the word means.

It’s more expensive than many of the apps listed here, but hugely popular on the App Store with hundreds of positive reviews.

Laugh & Learn Shapes & Colors

• Price: Free ( Laugh & Learn on the App Store )

Designed for babies and toddlers, this app from Fisher-Price offers two simple games. In the first, you tap to hear the name of a shape and tilt the device to make it bounce around. In the second, there’s a keyboard to prod, and each shape has its own song to sing along to. This is, in all honesty, not a terribly elegant app, but in our experience it seems captivating to tiny humans grappling with technology for the first time.

• Price: £1.99/$1.99 ( Miximal on the App Store )

There’s nothing especially innovative about Miximal – it’s yet another of those sliding games, where you make strange combinations of animals. But what sets Miximal apart from its peers is the sense of craft and care that’s gone into the app.

The style is cartoonish, yet all of the animals are very recognisable. Each is animated, too.

Tap one of the sections and it moves and jiggles. Fashion a ‘complete’ animal and it will offer a celebratory alternate animation. Additionally, if your child wonders at any point what strange mixed-up creature is currently on the screen, a quick tap of the play button will give you (and read out) its name.

The Monster at the End of This Book with Grover!

• Price: £4.99/$4.99 ( The Monster at the End of This Book on the App Store )

This updated and improved digital version of the classic Sesame Theme-themed kids’ book is a lot of fun. As Grover performs, the words appear on the screen, highlighted as they’re spoken. And you can interact with the app by touching a knot, for example, to make it unravel. Tap Grover to tickle him.

Monster Mingle

• Price: £2.99/$2.99 ( Monster Mingle on the App Store )

There’s a lot to be said for exploration and play when a child is developing. Monster Mingle’s free-play nature makes it ideal for such things.

You create your own friendly monster by dragging parts to it that are lying about the place, and said monster can then amble about, dive into the ocean or soar into the air. The world features all kinds of strange creatures to discover and interact with, and the goal-free nature of Monster Mingle makes for a stress-free and highly entertaining time.

Montessorium: Intro to Colors

• Price: £4.99/$4.99 ( Intro to Colours on the App Store )

With Intro to Colors, your child learns the basics of colours through a series of matching games. So it starts out matching red, blue and yellow before moving on to secondary levels and gradients. Kids learn to mix and match paint, as well as how to learn to spot and name different colours.

Intro to Colors is a pretty app, which is one reason we like it. But it also makes use of the iPad to deliver something young children would not get from other more traditional means.

Mr Thorne’s

• 99p/99c for Mr Thorne’s Divide + Conquer or Mr Thorne’s Addition Space Station
• £1.99/$1.99 for Mr Thorne’s Times Tables Terra
• All have age rating 4+

London teacher Christopher Thorne must be one of the coolest Sirs on the planet (although he does appear to own several pairs of Timmy Mallet-like specs), and he uses the planets as the theme for his three maths apps.

When you score 10 out of 10 on a particular addition, times table or division test you get to keep a space station or planet, depending on the app you’re using. There’s a mystery challenge when you’ve unlocked all the tests, which is an extra incentive – and different to the Squeebles and Math Bingo reward games.

Each game has three levels: Beginner/Newcomer, First Class/Elite and World Class/Legend. The top level is going to test adults, too, so you can join in and have sum fun.

We recommend all the Mr Thorne maths apps, as they’re simple to use, look great, and should really engage kids in these maths basics.

My Very Hungry Caterpillar

• Price: £5.99/$5.99 ( My Very Hungry Caterpillar on the App Store )

The Very Hungry Caterpillar has munched its way through countless books, a telly animation, and even the odd activities-based app. But My Very Hungry Caterpillar takes a different approach, transforming the ravenous larva’s surroundings into an interactive game.

The result’s not unlike a no-lose Tamagotchi, with you feeding the caterpillar, playing with it, helping it doze under a leaf, and watching it grow. Eventually, like in the original story, the caterpillar transforms into a beautiful butterfly, at which point a new egg is laid for the adventure to begin anew.

• Price: Free ( Peek-a-Zoo on the App Store )

There’s an elegant simplicity at the heart of Peek-a-Zoo, and it might at first appear a bit too simple. But any time spent with the app and a small child will dismiss any lingering concerns.

You’ll grow to love the gang of sweet cartoon animals, and the simple questions for the child to answer: who is winking? Who is dressed up? And so on. You soon realise that although this app is very straightforward, it’s cunningly teaching your child all kinds of things, from identifying animals to types of clothing and actions.

Sago Mini Monsters

• Price: £3.99/$3.99 ( Sago Mini Monsters on the App Store )

One for younger monster-creators, before working their way up to the likes of Monster Mingle or DNA Play, Sago Mini Monsters has you coax a monster from gloopy green slime. You then tap colours and paint your beast before interacting with it.

Most interaction comes in the form of feeding the monster dishes that appear, along with prodding and poking horns, eyes and mouths to change their appearance. A quick brush of the teeth and some decorations and the monster’s time is done. You can then take a photo to share before starting the process again.

Shape Gurus

• Price: £2.99/$2.99 ( Shape Gurus on the App Store )

In this interactive story, children are regularly challenged to complete puzzles based around shape-matching. In one case, a little bird flutters towards the outline of a nest, while five brown triangles wait to be dragged into place. Elsewhere, shape and colour matching creates flowers and a watering can.

The voiceover isn’t the best around, but the 27 puzzles and story should keep a child engrossed for a good while, and the journey’s fun enough that it will warrant repeating a number of times.

Teach Your Monster to Read

• Price: 99p/99c ( Teach Your Monster to Read on the App Store )
• Age rating: 4+ (made for 3-6)

Kids will love creating personalised monsters who help them learn the basics of reading, starting with letters, phonics and sound combinations before moving on to combinations of sounds and words. The app takes children through the various stages of teaching their monster to read using various mini games, and we suspect they’ll be having so much fun they won’t even notice that they’re learning.

Thinkrolls 2

• Price: £3.99/$3.99 ( Thinkrolls 2 on the App Store )

Thinkrolls 2 is a slight but engaging platform puzzler for tiny hands to tackle. The aim is to help a little ball traverse various traps, collecting coins on the way to meeting up with a friend.

All of the objects you can manipulate (such as expanding platforms, and barrels to drag into water traps) are suitably chunky, and the game is forgiving when it comes to errors, enabling you to replay sections when a mistake is made, such as when tumbling into a hole.

It’s designed for young children and even toddlers can grasp the basic mechanics – although the very young may need a little help from a parent when it comes to the more complex interactions.

• Price: £3.99/$3.99 ( Toca Band on the App Store )

This smart, uncomplicated game is all about creating music from a band of colourful characters. You simply drag them to the stage and they get on with playing their instruments; move them to a spot with a different colour and they’ll change what they’re playing.

Any character plonked in the star position (unsubtly marked with a massive yellow star) gives you the chance to explore more sounds as part of a solo performance – perfect for when you think pianist Dancy Nancy or maracas player Shaky McBones hasn’t had enough of the limelight.

Best iPhone & iPad apps for kids: Ages 6 to 8

Now for some apps that are suitable for a slightly older audience. Here are our recommendations for children aged 6-8.

We’ll repeat ourselves, and point out that age recommendations are approximate. Check out our choices on the App Store before spending any money, to see if the difficulty, complexity and reading level are appropriate for your child.

BBC iPlayer Kids

• Price: Free ( BBC iPlayer Kids on the App Store )
• Age rating: 4+ (made for 6-8)

The standard version of iPlayer is the best catch-up app around, providing fast access to shows recently broadcast on the BBC. But while it has age-gating, there’s always the risk a youngster will access something you don’t want them to see.

iPlayer Kids gets around this problem by restricting content to shows from CBBC and CBeebies. The interface is also simpler and chunkier, making it suitable for young children. That said, it still retains important features, notably the option to download shows for offline playback.

• Price: £2.99/$2.99 ( DNA Play on the App Store )

The suggestion that DNA Play can teach 6-to-8-year-olds the basics of genetics is perhaps pushing it a bit. But what this toy does allow for is the creation of almost limitless monsters.

This is achieved by completing ‘DNA puzzles’ (basic shape-matching) and subsequently manipulating the ‘DNA’ relating to a monster’s limbs, torso, face and features (by dragging shapes or just prodding the relevant bits of the monster). There’s also a modicum of interaction, where you can take your monster dancing and skating, and take a photo to share with friends.

Smartly, the app enables you to save a monster before creating another, enabling you to revisit favourites at a later date.

Journeys of Invention

• Price: £9.99/$9.99 ( Journeys of Invention on the App Store )

One of the most ambitious digital books in existence, Journeys of Invention aims to chart the course of science and technology. It’s essentially a series of interwoven chapters, detailing how various inventions have impacted what followed.

Many pages enable you to interact with objects, spinning 360-degree ‘photographs’ with a finger, clambering inside the Apollo 10 Command Module, or sending coded messages using an Enigma machine. Packed with insight and spectacular imagery, it’s the best educational tome on the iPad.

• Price: Free ( Kodable on the App Store )

One of the most valuable skills for a youngster to learn in the digital economy is coding, which is where Kodable comes in (at a very basic level).

SurfScoreLLC’s premise is very simple: “The fuzz family have crash-landed on Smeeborg and they need your help navigating the Technomazes.” The commands to get the fuzzballs through the mazes are all drag and drop so with a little trial and error we can easily find our way through, earn the rewards and get to grips with the fundamentals of coding.

Read our full Kodable review .

Lego DC Super Heroes Chase

• Price: Free ( Lego DC Super Heroes Chase on the App Store )

There’s not much educational content here, but our six-year-old reviewer literally cannot get enough of it. Very useful for rewarding good behaviour.

It’s a simple racer in which you navigate a superhero through the level, avoiding obstacles and collecting coins, then take down the baddy du jour by chucking batarangs or similar. There doesn’t appear to be any significant chance of failure, but kids still appear to get a kick out of succeeding, and from collecting the various characters.

• Price: £3.99/$3.99 ( Loopimal on the App Store )

The idea behind Loopimal is to teach children the basics of making music by way of a colourful and simple-to-use loop sequencer.

That might sound complicated, but it really isn’t. You get a bopping animal, and drag coloured shapes to a looping timeline. When the playhead moves over one of the shapes, the animal performs an animation that alters the music in some way.

Once your child has figured out how it all works, you can split the screen into two or four, creating an oddball four-track menagerie-cum-band that will entertain for hours.

• £2.99/$2.99 ( Math Bingo on the App Store )

Play the game that’s all about numbers to learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Yes, bingo.

Math Bingo’s questions vary according to your child’s maths abilities and personal preferences. There’s a timer, but to start we’d advise disregarding the clock as this can put on undue pressure.

Math Bingo is colourful and features a collection of weird bug aliens to make things more fun. Kids love to win the Bingo Bugs and they can then use them in a game of Bingo Bug Bungie – a sort of pinball game where you fire your collected bugs to knockout coins to beat your highest score. It’s enough to make even reluctant mathematicians give multiplication another chance.

Metamorphabet

• Price: £4.99/$4.99 ( Metamorphabet on the App Store )

This Apple Design Award winner transforms letters into words, often by way of surreal animations. If you fancy seeing a caterpillar gamely driving a car that you can fling about the screen (complete with crashing noises when it lands) or an ostrich tentatively playing with a very solid-looking orange, this is the app to buy.

For kids, it’ll almost certainly captivate more than traditional fare in this space, because of its playful, interactive design. And although the app was created for the 6-to-8 age range, it’s perfectly suitable for younger children (or, for that matter, much older parents).

Monument Valley

• £3.99/$3.99 ( Monument Valley on the App Store )

One of the most beautiful and captivating games ever released, Monument Valley will keep children and adults engaged for hours working our how to help the silent princess Ida through mysterious and mind-bending, fantastical architecture, uncovering hidden paths, unfolding Escher-like optical illusions of impossible geometry, and outsmarting the barking Crow People.

Monument Valley is both surreal and serene exploration and will surely go down in game history as one of the unique greats.

And once you’ve finished it, Monument Valley 2 is available too.

Novation Launchpad

• Price: Free + IAP ( Novation Launchpad on the App Store )

Although we’d argue GarageBand is an approachable and accessible music-making app, it’s perhaps a bit too much for very young children, if only because of the sheer wealth of options. For an initial foray into making a noise, Novation Launchpad is a better bet.

On selecting a genre, you simply tap pads to trigger loops that repeat until they’re turned off or another in its group is selected. Performances can be recorded and shared, and for older kids intent on making their own loops, there’s a one-off IAP that unlocks import capabilities.

(Just make sure with very young kids that you don’t miss them hitting record and merrily leaving the app open for ages, or you’ll wonder where your device’s free space has all gone!)

• Price: Free ( Pure Math on the App Store )

Pure Math has a simpler and cleaner interface than many of the colourful apps in this round-up (hence the ‘pure’ in its name), and a faster difficulty progression, too, so it suits older children best.

You start each level with a score of 1,000, which decreases as time ticks by, and each time you get a question wrong. To begin, the sums are very easy, but with each level, they get harder and harder until even the adults will struggle.

The addition mode is free, but to unlock the subtraction, multiplication and division modes you’ll need to upgrade to the full version for £1.99/$1.99.

Squeebles Times Tables 2

• £3.99/$3.99 ( Squeebles on the App Store )

Squeebles Times Tables 2 features an expanded reward system, fun mini game, six tables modes, unlimited players and plenty of stats and reporting for parents and teachers – thankfully without any in-app purchases or adverts. It’s great for testing kids on their times tables and rewarding them for getting them right.

There are other Squeebles apps for addition, division and so on. See the Key Stage Fun Squeebles website for details of all on offer.

Star Walk Kids

• Price: £2.99/$2.99 ( Star Walk Kids on the App Store )

There are quite a few apps that transform your iPhone or iPad into a virtual means to explore the heavens, but the interfaces can be too complex for young children. Star Walk Kids strips back the popular Star Walk app, simplifying how everything works, thereby optimising it for younger users.

That doesn’t mean it’s bereft of information, however: you can still explore the solar system’s planets, constellations, the ISS and Hubble; and there are nine animated films that enable you to delve a bit deeper into the facts and figures behind some of these objects.

Toca Blocks

• Price: £3.99/$3.99 ( Toca Blocks on the App Store )

Toca Blocks has the appearance of a platform game, but it’s really more about world-building and discovery. You add blocks to a large 2D plane, crafting a chunky world to explore. You can then take control of one of the three characters, each of which has unique abilities that affect how they travel about your tiny world (one can sort of fly, for example, while another smashes through blocks).

Much of the joy in the game comes from experimentation and just seeing what happens, such as when blocks combine to form something new, or a character starts dancing when walking over a glittery floor.

• Price: £3.99/$3.99 ( Toca Dance on the App Store )

We’ll fully admit a sense of bafflement on first opening up Toca Dance, with its icon-heavy interface that doesn’t appear overly concerned about telling you how anything works. But then perhaps that’s the point – you play and figure out what everything does.

On doing so, a strange world of choreography opens up, with you helping a trio of dancers fashion a routine to be performed on stage. The show itself can be interacted with, too, by way of sound effects, or lobbing things at the stage (money; confetti; tomatoes). And everything’s recorded, so you can share a video with friends.

Toca Nature

• Price: £3.99/$3.99 ( Toca Nature on the App Store )

The developers of Toca Nature aim with their app to capture some of the magic of the great outdoors, and we reckon they’ve succeeded. You get a little square of land, raising mountains or digging rivers with a swipe of a finger. You then tap to plant trees and watch as an ecosystem comes to life.

Brilliantly, you can use a magnifying glass to explore your tiny world, collecting fruit and fish, and using them to feed the animals and birds you find. The blank canvas aspect whenever the app restarts is a pity – it would be nice to have a save slot for ‘your’ world, but otherwise this is one of the finest children’s apps on iOS.

Best iPhone & iPad apps for kids: Ages 9 and over

Finally, here are our recommendations for children aged 9 and over. (Almost all of these focus on the ages 9-11, but we couldn’t resist including Dumb Ways To Die, which is for those aged 12 and over.)

One last time, we will emphasise that age recommendations are approximate. Have a look at screenshots, preview videos and descriptions on the App Store before spending any money, to see if the difficulty, complexity and reading level are appropriate for your youngster.

Comic Life 3

• Price: £4.99/$4.99 ( Comic Life 3 on the App Store )

There are plenty of photo apps that enable you to slap on a couple of stickers, or use filters to transform the look of any image. Comic Life, though, is for the more ambitious storyteller. You select a theme (several are included, from elaborate takes on classic comic styles through to bare-bones pages), and import photos into the panels.

You can then add sound effects, speech balloons and other stickers, thereby creating your very own comic book. For those who get really into the apps, there’s a script editor and the means to add multiple pages. Whatever you make can then be exported to a range of formats, including PDF and flat images.

Dumb Ways to Die

• Price: Free ( Dumb Ways to Die on the App Store )
• Age rating: 12+

Originally conceived as a public safety animation for an Australian metro company, Dumb Ways To Die morphed from a brilliant cartoon and maddeningly catchy tune that kids love to sing into an equally fun game of lethal possibilities. Kids love it and learn how not to get themselves killed at the same time. There are numerous sequels and spinoffs, should the idea appeal.

All together now: “Set fire to your hair, Poke a stick at a grizzly bear. Eat medicine that’s out of date, Use your private parts as piranha bait.”

Earth Primer

• Price: £9.99/$9.99 ( Earth Primer on the App Store )
• Age rating: 4+ (made for 9-11)

This beautifully designed app is essentially an interactive textbook, explaining how our planet works. As you leaf through the digital pages, you create volcanos and sculpt mountains, along with, of course, reading through the succinct but informative text alongside the simulations. That should be enough to keep most kids engrossed, but Earth Primer also includes a sandbox that enables you to create and shape a landscape with tools that are only unlocked as you progress through the rest of the book.

We’d say experiencing Earth Primer is reward enough, but turning a textbook into a game is a clever move if a reader needs a little extra encouragement.

• £4.99/$4.99 ( MathBoard on the App Store )

Although more expensive than most maths apps MathBoard can be easily configured for school children of all ages, beginning with simple addition and subtraction problems, multiplication and division, and algebra.

The blackboard theme is cute, although most kids won’t come anywhere a blackboard in school these days.

It is built around multiple choice but encourages working out solutions with a neat scratchboard area where pupils can chalk their sums.

MathBoard’s Problem Solver walks students through the steps required to solve the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division equations. There are also quick reference tables to hand.

We especially like the configurable nature of MathBoard, where you can determine number ranges, omit negative answers, etc. Activities and quizzes can be timed, either as a countdown timer or elapsed time.

There’s a free version that tackles addition only so you can have a play before forking out for the full version. You don’t need to be a maths boffin to see the value in that!

• Price: £1.99/$1.99 ( Mathmateer on the App Store )

Mathmateer is a fun space-themed maths game in which children can build and customise their own rockets using money they’ve earned while soaring through space.

There are 56 different games ranging from simple counting to division and multiplication, so kids of all ages can enjoy playing. Five player profiles can be created, so you can set up one for each child depending on their skill level.

The only downfall (depending on where you live) is that the money system (used to buy extra rocket parts) is in dollars rather than pounds.

• Price: £3.99/$3.99 ( NAMOO on the App Store )

The idea behind NAMOO is to encourage children to explore the life of plants. The main screen features a tree and component parts you can tap and then interact with by way of 3D simulations. Each is twinned with some simple but engaging text that explains what’s going on.

The app is perhaps a little slight – it doesn’t take long to work through – but it looks and sounds gorgeous. Most notably, the artwork has a striking low-poly design that helps it stand out from more traditional textbook fare, helping it feel modern; this might rope in a few younglings who’d otherwise give it a pass.

Operation Math

• £2.99/$2.99 (App Store links: iPad version and iPhone version )

The Americanism in the app’s name might be mildly objectionable to British buyers, but this action-packed maths app has a lot to recommend it. The app mixes basic maths skills for children with a time-based spy game.

You’re a secret agent battling the evil Dr Odd, and you get new uniforms and spy gear for each mission completed. This game is all about beating the clock, so try it first in training mode when the player has more time to think about the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division equations.

The spy theme is a great idea for making maths a fun adventure.

• Price: £8.99/$8.99 ( Redshift on the App Store )

And here’s another delightful astronomical option. Redshift uses your current location to show you which stars, constellations and planets you should be able to see. If you enable the Follow Sky option, RedShift will update what you should expect to see as you point your iPad or iPhone at different spots in the sky while you pan around. It’s not a cheap option at £9.99, but a deep and rewarding experience.

• Price: £4.99/$4.99 ( Solar Walk on the App Store )

If your kids are feeling bored later tonight, how about a spot of astronomy? The amazing Solar Walk is a great app to get you started. The £4.99/$4.99 app lets you explore the solar system in exquisite detail. You can pinch and zoom around the heavens, examining celestial bodies in an immersive 3D environment from any angle or perspective.

Read our full Solar Walk review .

Xooloo Messenger

• Price: Free ( Xooloo Messenger on the App Store )
• Age rating: 4+ (designed for 6-13)

Xooloo proved a big hit with a six-year-old who was required to stay home from school during the 2020 virus lockdown, and very much missed his friends. On the whole, however, it’s probably better suited to a slightly older crowd.

It lets you create an avatar and then safely and easily send messages, emoji, pictures and a small number of jokey visual effects (a custard pie, a kiss, confetti and more, gradually unlocking as you make more friends) and keep in touch with friends and family.

To make the app more child-friendly, parents are informed when their kids make new contacts, and can view the contacts list at any time (but not the contents of conversations); it complies fully with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The fact that the app is free yet contains neither advertising nor in-app purchases is a further advantage.

Warnings about iDevice use, and further reading

That concludes our roundup of the best kids’ apps for iPad and iPhone, but it’s certainly not our last word on the subject.

If you’re considering a tablet for your offspring, you should first ponder the question are iPads safe for young children?

Remember to protect the device with a kid-friendly case and protect it using parental controls . Be aware also that some apps are expensive to buy or contain in-app purchases designed to tempt unwary kids. Others aren’t appropriate for youngsters.

If you’re looking for more app recommendations, you’ll be delighted to discover that we’ve also compiled lists of the best iOS games , the best free iPhone games and the best free iPad games for the older kids (and adults) to enjoy.

• Math for Kids
• Parenting Resources
• ELA for Kids
• Teaching Resources

How to Teach Number Recognition to Kids in 8 Easy Steps

How to Teach One to One Correspondence To Kids: 4 Easy Steps

How to Teach Odd and Even Numbers in 4 Easy Steps

How to Teach Long Division to Kids in 6 Easy Steps

15 Famous Mathematicians in History That Kids Should Know

How to Prepare a Schedule for Kindergarten With Examples

How to Prepare a Schedule for Preschoolers With Sample

12 Best Funny Short Stories for Kids to Read in 2024

6 Best Alternatives to Public Schooling: A Guide for Parents

How to Cope With Test Anxiety in 12 Easy Ways

List of 58 Best R Words for Kids in 2024

List of 180 Animal Names in English for Kids

How to Teach Pronouns to Beginners in 6 Easy Steps

12 Best Spelling Apps For Kids in 2024

How to Teach Parts of Speech: 15 Fun Ways for Kids

13 Best Assessment Tools for Teachers in 2024

12 Best STEM Programs for Kids in 2024

12 Best Tips for Substitute Teachers

30 Best Classroom Reward Ideas for Elementary Students

12 Best Websites for English Teachers

25 Best Educational Games for 3 Year Olds to Uplift Learning

5 Online Games for 3-Year-Olds

5 toy games for 3-year-olds, 5 board games for 3-year-olds, 5 card games for 3-year-olds, 5 active games for 3-year-olds.

As your precious little one grows, so does their amazing brain! At three years old, their brain is like a sponge, soaking up everything around them. It’s a fascinating time for their development, and the games you play with them can have a big impact.

SplashLearn: Most Comprehensive Learning Program for PreK-5

SplashLearn inspires lifelong curiosity with its game-based PreK-5 learning program loved by over 40 million children. With over 4,000 fun games and activities, it’s the perfect balance of learning and play for your little one.

Did you know that during these early years, their brain is forming connections at an incredible pace? Did you know that 80% of a child’s brain develops during the first three years of their life? When your child’s brain produces excess synapses during the first three years, it becomes more responsive in later life. So it is important to stimulate the 3-year-old’s brain as much as possible. And there is nothing better than games for 3-year-olds to develop their mental and physical strength.

This article will take you on a stroll through the best 25 games for three-year-olds to improve their mental and physical abilities while keeping them fruitfully engaged.

25 Learning Games for 3-Year-Olds for Fun Learning and Entertainment

It is difficult to grab a three-year-old’s attention for a long time. They have the shortest attention span with interested in everything bright on Earth. Games for three-year-olds have to be fun yet educational. Here are the best games for 3-year-olds:

We all love playing online games, and so do our kids. Online games are another reason for screen exposure for our kids and an opportunity for them to learn from it if we, as informed parents, choose the right games for our children. So, it is wise to allocate a portion of the screen time we have allotted for our kids to online learning games. Take a look at some of the best games available online.

1. SplashLearn

Skill: Math and reading skills

Price: Free for teachers and a 7-day free trial for parents. Subscription starts at $4.99 per month.

SplashLearn is one of the best games for 3-year-olds to improve their math and language skills . This platform has interactive visuals, sound quality, and a storyline to engage young children. All the games have a simple interface and language that toddlers can easily understand. In addition, this platform has several helpful resources for parents and teachers to educate young students, like blogs, research notes, curriculums, etc.

2. Balls and Boxes

Skill: Memory improvement 

Price: Free 

Balls and Boxes is a challenging and one of the many free games for 3-year-olds available online. It is an award-winning educational game that is easy to play but hard to get right. It has three boxes, and each box has a ball. The balls get shuffled at each level, and players must remember which ball belongs to which box. It is a great brain teasing game to improve your toddlers’ memory and overall brain development.

3. Create Mosaics

Skill: Memory and logical reasoning skills 

This free game for 3-year-olds online can help them learn colors and improve their logical skills. It is a simple grid of four and six different colors. Children have to follow the color grid and fill in the right colors in the large blank grid in the center of the screen. 

4. Counting Pizza Party

Skill: Counting skills 

Price: Monthly subscription starts at $8.00 per month

Counting Pizza Party is a fun game where kids make pizzas and improve their counting skills. They get to decide what type of pizza they want to make and select its topping as well. When the customers make a request, it is up to your child to get the correct amount for topping on their pizza.

5. Learning Shapes

Skill: Shapes

By playing this game, 3-year-olds can learn basic shapes with the help of animated characters such as squares, rectangles, circles, hearts, and so on. The game has two types of exercises – coloring and shape-recognising activities. 

After online games, let’s explore kids’ very first and favorite love, toys, and learning toy games for them.

A 3-year-old kid is exploring their world curiously. Everything from insects to planes piques their curiosity. In this arena, toys cater to their developmental needs and natural curiosity. Toy games provide them with sensory experiences, encourage imaginative play, and offer them a sense of control and mastery. They allow kids to mimic real-life situations, experiment, and create, fostering enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment. Following are some of the most amazing toy games filtered from a whole lot just for you!

6. Toddler Chicken Egg Toys

Skill: Color matching and motor skills

Price: $18.99

It is one of the top educational games for 3-year-olds and is perfect for stimulating their color senses and motor skills. This game is also ideal for children suffering from sensory disorders. This simple game can enhance their contextual understanding and color-matching skills.

7. The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game

Skill: Math skills, social and strategic planning 

Price: $15.79

A family of four can enjoy this strategic game and improve the mathematical skills of their toddlers. In this game, 3-year-olds will learn to win a game by feeding their squirrels first. The gameplay is simple — spin the spinner, squeeze the matching colored acorn with the squirrel squeezer, and place it into a log. This game involves multiple elements,  perfect for entertaining your toddler.

8. The Honey Bee Tree

Skill: Hand-eye coordination, strategic thinking, and dexterity

Price: $17.97

This honey bee game is educational and fun for a 3-year-old. Your toddler will experience thrill and excitement while removing leaves from the tree without disturbing the honey bees. Players who have fewer honey bees in their trays at the end will win this game. It is a strategic and sensory game that can develop your child’s brain and keep them entertained at the same time.

9. WinkleStar Dartboard

Skill: Motor skills, color matching, and identifying fishes

Price: $12.59

Unlike the traditional dart boards with sharp darts, this is a unique kids-friendly dartboard with round balls as darts. So, it is a completely safe and educational game for young children. The dartboard contains different colors, fish images, and patterns to improve toddlers’ color, shape, and print recognition skills. It is a perfect classroom and party learning game for 3-year-olds. 

10. Cootie Bug Building

Skill: Color matching and motor skills 

Price: $8.99

Cootie is a classic educational game for three-year-olds. This is a fun party activity for toddlers to learn color-matching skills and improve their hand-eye coordination. Players have to spin the spinner and hope to land on the bug part they need to complete their Cootie bug. The player who builds the bug first wins the game.

Everyone has fond memories of playing board games as kids. Their popularity lies in their ability to create suspense and happy feelings in moments of victory.  Board games enhance children’s strategic thinking and problem-solving skills. Through them, kids also learn qualities like teamwork and sportsmanship. Now that we know how important board games are for children, let’s see a few best ones around.

11. Candy Land

Skill: Color matching and strategies 

Price: $12.99

Candy Land must have brought your childhood’s nostalgic memories back. It is a classic board game that every child has played. Over the years, different versions of the game have been created. But the traditional version with colored cards, sweet illustrations, and four gingerbread players is the best. Children must pick the cards and move their plastic players on the board to explore different landscapes and mountains while targeting the castle.

12. Chutes and Ladders: Peppa Pig Edition

Skill: Counting, addition, and color recognition 

Price: $9.99

Chutes and Ladders is the best party game for three-year-olds. Four players can play this game at one time. There are multiple versions of this game available today. So, based on your child’s interest, you can get the game. This game helps toddlers improve their counting and number-adding skills. Children have to spin the spinner and count numbers to move their player on the board squares and aim to reach the 100th square. This way, Chutes and Ladders inject a dose of thrill and excitement into the gameplay.

13. Magnetic Maze

Skill: Creativity, imagination, and motor skills

Price: $22.99

As the name suggests, it is a magnetic board with vibrant images and graphics. Your child has to use a magnetic ball to move it from point A to B while crossing a maze. Children will use their imagination and strategic skills to move balls in the magnetic maze. It is a simple game to stimulate imagination and creativity among toddlers.

14. Hi, Ho! Cherry-O

Skill: Math Skills

Price: $11.99

Hi Ho! Cherry-O is yet another classic board game for three-year-olds. In this game, children have to spin the wheel and pick cherries from the tree based on their instructions, like 1, 2, 3, etc. They will learn to read, count, add, and subtract while picking the cherries. 

15. Disney Classic Characters Matching

Skill: Identify similarities and differences

Price: $14.39

If your child is a big fan of Disney movies, this game is perfect for them. You will get 72 tiles with Disney character pictures like Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Dumbo, The Incredibles, Donald Duck, Goofy, etc. Children have to pick the matching photos and name the Disney character. You can also make this game fun by giving a time limit for finding the right Disney character match.

Card games are ageless as much as they are entertaining. It is a perfect way to spend quality time with your friends and family. A session of card games builds memories you cherish for years to come. Kids can also be introduced to card games for their age and understanding. Card games often involve memory, math, and critical thinking, entertainingly enhancing cognitive skills. Let’s take a look at a few superb card games we have put together below!

16. Lingo Cards

Skill: Language and memory skills

Price: $14.99

Do you want to teach your mother tongue to your toddlers? If so, you can play lingo cards with them. These are regular 52 cards with two jokers. However, a phrase from your selected language will be printed on each card. So, you can show different cards to your children and teach them words with phonetic pronunciation. These lingo cards are available in various languages like Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, etc. 

17. Smack It!

Skill: Memory and motor skills

Price: $6.99

It is a fast-paced and rowdy card game for three-year-olds. Your entire family can play this game together and spend some quality time. Players must sit in a circle and swiftly swipe cards in the center. But they must remember when to say smack it and win the game. These cards are also perfect for playing classic games like wars and Slapjack. 

18. Gimme 5

Skill: Counting and patterns

Price: $4.99

This game is a toddler version of Snap. It has a hundred colorful cards that you can divide equally among your toddlers and let them put cards individually in the center pile. However, they will try to use their power cards to make their opponent give away their card as a punishment. It is the perfect classroom card game you can play with over ten kids.

19. Steal The Bacon

Skill: Matching skills 

Steal The Bacon is the tastiest fun game for 3-year-olds. This card game contains delicious breakfast cards like pancakes, bacon, etc. Players have to match breakfast cards, and when their breakfast plate matches their opponent, they rush to steal the bacon from their plate. The player who steals the bacon first obviously wins the game.

Skill: Matching and memory skills

Price: $9.94

BLINK is a fast-paced family card game. In this game, two players race against one another and try to match different colors, shapes, and counts of two cards. You can play a card with four yellow stars on any card with yellow symbols (color), on a card with any number of stars (shape), or a card with four symbols of any kind (count).

It’s a game of speed & focuses with no reading or counting, so it’s perfect for young children.

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”

Yes, active games make children anything but dull. When children involve themselves in active play, they experience an adrenaline rush that makes them more robust, confident, and intelligent. Therefore, there should be no undermining of physically active play for children. Qualities a child does not learn in the physical constraints of a classroom; he learns effortlessly in the playground. Following are a few great active games for 3-year-olds:

Price: $26.99

Elefun is a cute elephant that produces butterflies from its trunk. It is the best activity game for toddlers. The game is pretty simple, you have to plugin the Elefun, and it will first produce a trumpet sound before throwing butterflies out of its trunk. After that, children can use a net to catch butterflies, and the one who catches the most butterflies will win the game. With this game, you will get 20 butterflies and three nets. So, three-year-olds can play this game with their friends and do some physical activity.

22. Toy Rocket Launcher

Skill: STEM skills

Price: $19.99

For unlimited outdoor entertainment, you can give this toy rocket launcher to your toddler. It is not only a fun toy to create foam rockets. It is a scientific and technical toy that teaches children how to apply the right amount of pressure at the right angle to fly a rocket. Also, assembling this toy rocket requires some basic engineering skills. So, if you have a little engineer or scientist in your family, you should definitely play this activity game with them.

23. RaboSky Bean Bag Toss

Skill: Motor skills and important sensory development

Price: $24.99

When toddlers toss bean bags into the interactive holes, this will not only improve their motor skills. But it will also improve their tracking, visual, coordination, and aiming skills. It is a perfect party and classroom game to keep energetic three-year-olds active all day.

24. Whack A Mole Game

Skill: Motor skills  

Price: $38.99

Whack A Mole Game is the best educational and entertaining game for 3-year-olds. It is an electronic game that automatically pops up moles, and children have to use hammers to whack them all. You can set the game’s speed based on your child’s ability. It is also available in eight languages that help improve language skills among children. With hand and eye coordination improvement, this game improves visual and tactical senses in young children.

25. Hover Ball

Skill: Motor skills

Price: $45.95

To tire out energetic toddlers, this is the perfect indoor soccer game. It is a football, but it is made of foam and travels in the air. Kids will have a blast kicking around this hover ball. The best thing about this ball is that it travels in the air. Therefore, it is perfect for playing indoors without breaking anything.

“Play is the primary way children were designed to learn” – Kathy Hersh-Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff

These captivating learning games are tailored for the enjoyment of 3-year-olds . They effectively blend education with entertainment, ranging from engaging board games to interactive online experiences. With a variety of options available, some offered at no cost while others require a fee, you can immerse your toddlers in these games and witness their developmental progress firsthand.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How can i pick the best games for my three year olds.

While selecting the best games for three-year-olds, check the educational and entertainment levels in the game. The game should teach a skill or value to children. In addition, it is an advantage to have some entertainment value in the game because it is hard to retain the attention of young children.

Should I allow my kids to play online games?

Online games are helpful to entertain and educate children when parents are busy with other errands. Having said that, monitoring your child’s screen time is equally essential.

How many hours of play does a 3 year old need?

Toddlers should be allowed at least one hour of free, unstructured play and at least half an hour of structured adult-led structured play.

10 Best Educational Classroom Games for Kids in 2024

15 Fun Decision Making Games for Kids

20 Best Board Games for Preschoolers in 2024

• Pre-Kindergarten
• Kindergarten

Most Popular

76 Best Report Card Comments Samples for Teachers

117 Best Riddles for Kids (With Answers)

40 Best Good Vibes Quotes to Brighten Your Day

Recent posts.

40 Best Scavenger Hunt Riddles For Kids [With Answers]

How to Teach One to One Correspondence To Kids: 4 Easy...

Math & ela | prek to grade 5, kids see fun., you see real learning outcomes..

Watch your kids fall in love with math & reading through our scientifically designed curriculum.

Parents, try for free Teachers, use for free

• Games for Kids
• Worksheets for Kids
• Math Worksheets
• ELA Worksheets
• Math Vocabulary
• Number Games
• Addition Games
• Subtraction Games
• Multiplication Games
• Division Games
• Addition Worksheets
• Subtraction Worksheets
• Multiplication Worksheets
• Division Worksheets
• Times Tables Worksheets
• Reading Games
• Writing Games
• Phonics Games
• Sight Words Games
• Letter Tracing Games
• Reading Worksheets
• Writing Worksheets
• Phonics Worksheets
• Sight Words Worksheets
• Letter Tracing Worksheets
• Prime Number
• Order of Operations
• Long multiplication
• Place value
• Parallelogram
• SplashLearn Success Stories
• SplashLearn Apps
• [email protected]

© Copyright - SplashLearn

Make study-time fun with 14,000+ games & activities, 450+ lesson plans, and more—free forever.

Parents, Try for Free Teachers, Use for Free

Top 18 best educational kids games for iPhone and iPad (iOS)

Some scholarly kids games to play on your iPhone and iPad

Children are put in front of screens quite often these days, and with the variety of educational and kid-friendly apps, I totally understand why. However, note that none of these educational kids' games will substitute the real methodical education, they are rather here to keep them interested and hooked up to learn and educate themselves!

If you’d like your child to lean towards the more scholarly route when it comes to their screen time, we have compiled a list of the best educational games that are children friendly to play on your iOS device! That said, I’d also suggest picking up a strong case if you’re going to let young ones play!

• Take a quick glance at our list of the best free phone games in 2023 !

Click through below to find out what are, in our opinion, the 18 best educational kids' games on iPhone & iPad.

1 Metamorphabet

Metamorphabet is the most wonderful alphabet-learning game out there. Each screen shows you a letter that you can pinch, zoom, tap, and otherwise play with to reveal words that start with this letter. A calm voice reads you the words, tells you what the letter is called and allows you to explore.

Once you have discovered all the words that letter has to offer, a star appears, and in your own time, you can tap to move on to the next letter. It’s a very engaging way to look at the alphabet.

2 Ruffy the Husky: On Ice

Taking you into the article, Ruffy the Husky: On Ice gives you an adorable dog to help you solve a bunch of different little puzzles and games. This app can help children identify shapes, learn to count, listen to animal noises, practice speaking and more. There are a bunch of other cute characters that are also featured, from penguins to seals, which will keep any animal lover captivated as they learn more.

The top one, however, would have to be the husky. This smart dog has a super entertaining way of teaching toddlers and pre-schoolers the shapes, numbers and alphabet, and have a blast while doing so.

Tappity is a science game for ages 4 and up, which breaks down a variety of topics from outer space, to dinosaurs, to tectonic plates and explains them in bite-sized games that any child will enjoy. It's one of our top picks in terms of educational apps because it showcases a little bit of everything.

The game has its own teacher, who walks you through each area, explaining more as you go along. There are interactive experiences, choices to be made, and more in this game, which really brings a fun twist to education!

4 Oinky the Piggy: On Farm

More for toddlers and preschoolers, Oinky the Piggy: On Farm allows younger children to solve sliding puzzles, and then interact with animals. This game is completely focused on barnyard animals, introducing them to the player through these sliding puzzles, before allowing the player to watch them play around on the farm, eat, grow and make sounds.

It’s a familiar world as every child has grown up playing some sort of farmyard game, understanding animals, but this time it’s taken to the digital world. The best part, however, has to be the puzzles. They're as entertaining as physical puzzles and equally challenging.

5 Masha and the Bear Educational

Masha and the Bear Educational is a single app that has a lot of different mini-games within the app that showcase different learning skills. Masha and the Bear is a children's TV show, so this game has the two main characters of that TV show going on an adventure! On the main screen of the game, children can pick from a bunch of different categories; math-related games, spelling games, reading games, and even musical games. Each category then has a bunch of simple to play games within them, that showcase this skill. It's great for children who like playing a variety of games and jump between them quickly.

6 The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Based on the classic children’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar has a lot to offer in its 3D book form, providing a variety of games which help you learn to count, sort and about healthy eating (we wouldn’t want our caterpillar eating too many sweets!) Sprinkled between games are facts about real-life animals - which are just as fun to learn about after you’ve been playing.

This beautiful app is the equivalent of the physical 3D book, with pop-ups and what looks like stunning hand-drawn graphics. It's brilliant.

7 Coco – Educational Game

Another variety game for younger players, aged 5 to 10 years old, Coco focuses on a bunch of children’s puzzles, from math games to memory games to keep children entertained.

The interface for this game is quite soft in color and design, which is quite appealing for children both young and old, and the variety of puzzles and games are very nice - it is worth noting that the game does work for free for a week, then is subscription-based, depending on what you want to use it for.

8 Pinky the Hippo: In the Wild

Pinky the Hippo: In the Wild focuses on teaching children age two and up about colours, jungle animals, and languages. The interface is very child-friendly, with cute animals that can easily have their environment coloured and explored. You can see their shelters and their world, as well as learn about the noises they make. You can also learn different languages through the app, learning how words are said and should sound.

It's an app that will be well-liked by kids, with beautiful graphics and an entertaining play style. That's exactly what makes it one of the best educational kids games for iPhones even today.

9 Endless Alphabet

Endless Alphabet is an interesting app where you are able to select a word, then watch the letters run away, and bring them back to place. These letters are lifelike, wiggling and attempting to get away, but once the word is complete, they all animate together and the game explains what the word means, teaching you exactly what you have been creating.

This is much more than teaching the alphabet. It brings a lot of joy to reading, so it's on our list of best educational kids games for iOS for a reason. Make sure you check it out.

10 Baby Panda's School Bus

Baby Panda's School Bus is a bright and colorful game that has children taking on a bunch of different puzzles, that they can learn from! The game has a big focus on buckling up and driving the bus around, going to various locations where mini-games are waiting. Your child will be taking children to the hospital for check ups, rescuing people who have gotten themselves into dangerous situations, and even bringing your car to a car wash! There are little mini-games around understanding numbers and colors, as well as learning day to day skills. It's a really well made kid's game!

11 Montessorium: Intro to Colors

A look into coloring, Montessorium: Intro to Colors aims to teach you the basic foundations of primary and secondary colors, shades, gradients, names of colors, mixing colors, and practicing fine motor skills. You are able to paint canvases, bringing the world to life in your own way. There are recaps throughout the app, testing to see if you can listen to the name of a color, find it, and select it.

This game is not only beautiful but also oddly satisfying. You'll get to enjoy a world filled with colour and gradients, and let's be honest - it is great for adults too (if you want a beautiful and relaxing game)!

12 Star Walk Kids: Astronomy Game

Made for children aged 6 and above, Star Walk Kids teaches you more about the galaxy. Unlike other apps about the stars, this game is kid-friendly, providing a good interface for younger audiences. You can explore the solar system, see constellations, find the ISS and Hubble - as well as view different animated videos that give more facts and details about what can be found in outer space.

It’s a great dive into the world beyond ours. It should really be included on the list of educational games that you'd play with your kids on your iPhone.

13 Where's My Water? 2

What should you do when your kid does not want to play a regular educational game? That's right! You should find a game that will be both useful and exciting for your child. Where's My Water? 2 is a great game where your kid will have to solve puzzles and complete levels.

In the game, you will find more than 100 interesting levels, cute graphics, and an adorable soundtrack. Moreover, you will find challenge modes that make the puzzles more complicated for older children. Also, your kid can use the hints if he gets stuck.

14 Quick Math Jr.

Quick Math Jr. allows you to adjust the difficulty depending on the age, for 3 and up, learning through different maths games as you play. Questions can be answered in the form of multiple-choice or you can use your finger (or a stylist) to write in the answers, practicing handwriting as you learn.

Quick Math Jr. also has little monster characters that you can create, to help you connect with the games that you are playing. It's actually quite fun from an adult perspective and makes math pleasant and easy to learn for children.

15 Shape Gurus

Shape Gurus aims to teach younger children to identify shapes and place them into their slots, creating larger pictures that can then come to life. They can play mini-games where they must find the shape that doesn’t match the others and ones that can be sorted by size. Creating pictures is where the real fun begins, as shapes are placed into slots, creating more of a picture.

This is the ideal game for pre-schoolers, and it's easy to see why - it's simple to get into, it's fun, and it's highly educational. Everything you could want in one place.

16 Minecraft: Education Edition

Minecraft is a big platform that works like a game engine. Inside the game, you can make a bunch of different content, mechanics, and add interactive elements.

In addition, Minecraft is understandable to children. It is easy to learn due to its simplicity and accessibility, plus, it is convenient that the game has a large children's audience. That is why Minecraft has become a popular tool in education: it is a convenient platform for creating content, and the interest of children around the world in it is huge.

17 Math Bingo

Math Bingo does exactly what the name says - allows younger children to play bingo by answering math questions and putting little bugs on the correct number of a bingo card. To make things more challenging, a timer can be added to see if you can answer the math question in a swift manner. Though the game itself is simple, it’s a fun way to practice mental math.

And with Math Bingo we are closing our list of best educational kids' games for iPhone and iPad! Hopefully, you found the games you were looking for on this list, and if you've got some more title suggestions for us, make sure to let us know!

18 Sago Mini World

Sago Mini World is a game full of games - with over 40 to choose from, there is a lot to keep a young one busy! Instead of focusing on Math and Reading skills, Sago Mini World focuses on understanding feelings and being accepting. There are diverse characters that your child can meet and help out. They can learn what makes characters happy and what makes them frustrated or upset. There is also a lot of freeform play, so kids can build confidence while playing this game!

Joyful learning starts here!

Inspire a lifetime of learning and discovery with our free, fun educational program for children ages two to eight.

100% FREE! No ads, no subscriptions.

Kids will love to learn.

Focused on the whole child

Our program engages kids in core subjects like early literacy, reading, writing, language, and math, while encouraging creativity and building social-emotional skills.

Five whimsical, charming characters—including narrator Kodi Bear—guide kids through activities and stories.

Original interactive activities, books, animated videos, games, and creative lessons captivate children’s attention. 

Developed by experts 

Khan Academy Kids was developed in collaboration with learning experts at Stanford and aligned with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework and Common Core Standards.

You’ll never see ads. You’ll never need a subscription. 

Adaptive Learning Path

Our personalized learning path dynamically adapts, ensuring each child is presented with activities, books, educational videos, and creative lessons that allow them to learn at their own pace, creating an individualized experience for every learner.

Independent Learning

Kids can also learn independently in the Khan Academy Kids Library—a curated collection of activities, books, videos, and coloring pages. Our book reader allows kids to follow along with recorded audio narration or read on their own across our fiction, non-fiction, and fiction leveled books.

Parents love us.

“Every day I am amazed @khanacademykids is free, and I am so grateful for how much it has contributed to my kid’s development.”

J. Hernandez, via Twitter

“Parents: If you are looking for an educational app for your 2-5 yr old, download @khanacademykids - seriously most research-based, engaging, non-annoying app.  AND IT’S FREE.”

T. Peltier, via Twitter

“ My 4-year old is working on @khanacademy’s app @khanacademykids this morning and loving it. The combo of school facts along with social/emotional content is outstanding. ”

M. Nemerow, via Twitter

Award-winning program.

Download the app!

Our Partners

© 2024  Khan Academy Kids  |   Terms of use   |   Privacy policy  | Cookie preferences

100% FREE! No ads. No subscriptions.

Joyful 

You’ll never see ads. You’ll never need a subscription.

Unique for every learner.

Kids can also learn independently in the Khan Academy Kids Library—a curated collection of activities, books, videos, and coloring pages. Our book reader allows kids to follow along with recorded audio narration or read on their own across our fiction, non-fiction and fiction leveled books.

“ My 4-year old is working on @khanacademykids this morning and loving it. The combo of school facts along with social/emotional content is outstanding. ”

© 2024  Khan Academy Kids   Terms of use   |   Privacy policy  |  Cookie policy

Get free summer learning activities!  Click here to sign up.

Get free summer learning activities!  Sign up.

What's new.

Camp Khan Kids

Fun summer learning program for kids ages 2-8. Learn more

Teacher Tools

Schools and Districts

Powerful new tools for teachers. Learn more  

Get support for your PreK-2nd grade classrooms. Learn more

Studies show Khan Academy Kids boosts pre-literacy skills. Learn more  

Fun, educational off-screen family activities. Learn more

Circle Time

YouTube videos with interactive stories and lessons. Learn more

• How To Get Pregnant
• Infertility
• Pregnancy Week by Week
• Second Pregnancy
• Giving Birth
• Post Pregnancy
• Breastfeeding
• Development
• Browse Names
• Play & Activities
• Coloring Pages
• Food & Nutrition
• Health & Fitness
• Style & Beauty Care
• Collaborations
• New Parents
• Single Parenting
• Relationships
• Baby Eye Color Calculator
• Online Pregnancy Test
• Chinese Gender Predictor
• Implantation Calculator
• hCG Calculator
• Period Calculator
• ovulation calculator
• pregnancy due date calculator
• Child Height Predictor
• Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator
• Breast Milk Calculator
• Child Growth Percentile Calculator
• Baby Cost Calculator
• BMI Calculator For Kids & Teens
• Contraction Calculator
• Immunization Scheduler and Chart
• C-Section Checklist
• Online Twin Pregnancy Quiz
• Numerology calculator
• Child Blood Type Calculator
• Nakshatra Calculator
• Diaper Bag Checklist
• Baby Name Combiner

Home • Toddler • Play And Activities

23 Fun And Learning IPad Apps For Toddlers

Seek the best from digitization and help kids learn through their favorite medium.

Dr. Maymunah Yusuf Kadiri, popularly referred to as ‘The Celebrity Shrink,’ is an award-winning neuro-psychiatrist and mental health advocate with over 15 years experience.She is the medical director and psychiatrist-in-chief at Pinnacle Medical Services. Read full bio of Dr. Maymunah Yusuf Kadiri

Harshita is a graduate in commerce and holds a PG Diploma in Patent and Copyrights Law from NALSAR University. She has also pursued CA and has more than three years of internship experience in auditing. Her love for travelling has taken her to various parts of the world, and writing the travelogues was what brought out her love for content writing. Read full bio of Harshita Makvana

Rohit Garoo is a writer-turned-editor with over 9 years of experience in content writing, editing, and content marketing. He did his bachelors in Science at St. Xavier's College, Hyderabad, and masters in Business Administration at Osmania University. Read full bio of Rohit Garoo

Trisha worked as a schoolteacher for three years before taking up professional writing in 2021. She completed her masters in English from the University of Calcutta and bachelors in Education from the University of Burdwan. Read full bio of Trisha Chakraborty

MomJunction believes in providing reliable, research-backed information to you. As per our strong editorial policy requirements, we base our health articles on references (citations) taken from authority sites, international journals, and research studies. However, if you find any incongruencies, feel free to write to us .

Image: Shutterstock

In today’s digitized world, each generation appears to be becoming more tech-savvy, with even toddlers using phones with ease. So, here are some iPad apps for toddlers to help you choose the right one. Even if you try to keep toddlers away from electronic devices, they will find a method to play their favorite games or apps by scrolling down the screen. Thus, the best thing you can do is provide them with apps that are educational, engaging, entertaining, and child-friendly. According to new research, iPads offer three unique features that can improve children’s early education (1) . With many applications available, you won’t have any trouble coming up with new approaches to teach your toddler. You can install effective learning apps and turn your device into a cutting-edge teaching tool for toddlers. If you’re not sure what fun apps to get for your toddler, you can go through our list of high-quality apps to choose a suitable one.

Top 23 iPad Apps For Toddlers

1. pbs kids games.

It is a super fun app for children under five years.

The app plays over 50 free learning games anytime and anywhere with PBS Kids characters. The app is full of games that encourage your toddler to learn math, science, etc.

Some features include Daniel Wild Kratts, Tiger’s Neighborhood, Sesame Street, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, Super Why, and Dinosaur Train.

Parent resources include learning more about a TV series , finding local PBS KIDS station schedules, downloading other PBS KIDS apps, managing storage amount, etc.

Seller: PBS Kids Rating: 4 Genre: Games Compatibility: Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: Free Language: English Download Link:   Here

2. Elmo Loves ABCs

Elmo is full of videos, activities, and games. It is an educational app that teaches toddlers about sounds, letters, and words. The app is suitable for ages two to five years.

The engaging, multi-faceted app teaches alphabets.

One mode allows toddlers to choose a letter and trace it as if they are writing. The app plays three video clips of the items starting with the letter.

They can color the pictures of those items and the game also has options for playing hide and seek.

In another mode, a letter from a group can be identified. This letter not only plays its sound but also a related video.

A music note link plays one of the four video renditions of the alphabet song. In one version, Elmo invites the toddler to sing along.

Developed by: Sesame Workshop Apps Rating: 5 Genre: Games Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPad. Price: $4.99 Language: English Download Link:   Here

Dr Jazmine, a child psychologist, recommends Elmo Loves 123s as a great Ipad app for toddlers. She says, “It’s a nice introduction, especially for the young toddlers on math and counting ( i ).”

3. Cut The Rope

The famous app has 750 million downloads worldwide. The app has a physics-based award-winning game. Your toddler would love to win gold stars and discover hidden prizes. Unlocking exciting new levels is fun. The little monster in the game has only one request… CANDY!

The app features a cute green monster called ‘Om Nom’.

Players cut dangling ropes holding candy. The goal is to make the candy fall into the monster’s mouth while collecting as many gold stars as possible.

Seller: ZeptoLab UK Limited Rating: 5 Genre: Games Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Price: $1.99 Language: English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish Download Link:   Here

4.Wood Puzzle

The game is fun, relaxing, and challenging. The app is designed to spend free time in a healthy manner. This colorful game can make the toddler more intelligent and sensitive to colors and blocks. Also, it works in development of hand-eye coordination. The Luck Dip of London-certified app is a ten category seller in over 40 countries.

Featured as an in-store demo in Apple stores, it is ‘kid tested and mother approved’.

Rotation Off makes it easier for beginners to solve puzzles.

Rotation On makes the pieces rotate, making puzzles natural and realistic.

Baby mode is animated puzzles that help the little one with problem-solving skills.

Seller: Tropisounds Corporation Rating: 4.5 Genre: Education Compatibility: Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: $0.99 Language: English Download Link:   Here

5. AniMatch

AniMatch is a great fun app that comes with a button big enough for easy navigation. It is very simple and engaging. Nature-themed, the little jiggle by the animals when a successful match is made peaks tots’ interests. The puzzles in the app, featuring animal graphics and funny animal sounds, are easy to learn. The New York Times travel section has mentioned AniMatch as a great game to have on trips for restless toddlers. They can develop cognitive skills , memory, and concentration. Ensure you keep giving them feedback so they are improving.

The app has four selections. Toddlers can match pictures to shadow images.

Toddlers can play the animal bingo game, where they must pick the animal based on the voice made by the app.

Match shows a written word. The game features a classic concentration card game.

Several buttons on the first page of the app feature other apps from the publisher.

The app comes with retina display graphics and native iPad support.

Toddlers get to know 31 different animals (10 in each game).

Developed by: Lima Sky Rating: 4 Genre: Games Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: $0.8 Language: English Download Link:   Here

[ Read: Free Apps For Toddlers ]

6. Endless Alphabet

It is an interactive educational app, teaching the alphabet and building vocabulary with adorable monsters. Each word features an interactive puzzle game.

The game features short animation illustrating talking letters and the definition of the word.

In total, the app features 100 words, letters, and words reacting to the 3D touch.

The specialty of this app is that it does not show scores or failures, making sure the little one can interact at his pace.

Note: You must be online while using the app and need enough disk space to see the words beyond G.

Developed by: Originator Rating: 4 Genre: Education Compatibility: Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: $8 Language: English Download Link:   Here

7. The Wheels On The Bus

The app is an ‘all in one activity center’ for toddlers. Through the classic song, the little tots are exposed to different languages and instruments.

The app features 12 games with sing along, adorable graphics and sounds.

It has 11 beautiful verses of the classic rhyme “The Wheels On The Bus”.

New version features ‘play road trip’.

Toddlers can collect puzzle pieces to build vehicles.

Touch the screen to make the bus roll along the road, open the doors, and move the wipers.

Lyrics can be heard in English, German, Italian, Spanish, and French.

Note: This app is free to play, but it has in-app purchases for a few items. However, you can disable it.

Developed by: Kids Games Club by TabTale Rating: 5 Genre: Education Compatibility: Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: Free Language: English Download Link:   Here

8. Super Why

The Super Why App allows toddlers to play four different mini-games based on spelling, reading, letters, phonics, and rhymes. It allows reading stories.

Each game features a different character from the Super Why! TV series.

Toddlers can handle the games’ controls with ease.

Virtual stickers earned as rewards from each successful game can be used in a design-a-scene bonus game.

This app was featured by Apple at the launch of the iPad2 and the Parents’ Choice Silver Award winner.

Developed by: PBS Kids Rating: 3 Genre: Educational Compatibility: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire Price: $3.67 Language: English Download Link:   Here

9. Press Here: The App

The app includes an interactive picture book with 15 delightfully simple games and activities . It reinforces basic concepts in math and art.

A few of them are:

Photo: Draw a picture and then take a picture of it. Rain: Make it rain colors. Many Roads: Draw roads with your finger. Are You Coming?: Drag the dots to each other and try to combine them. Tap Tap: Tap to create dots everywhere. Get Inside: Try to get the little dot into the big circle and more. Seller: Chronicle Books Rating: 5 Genre: Education Compatibility: Requires iOS 3.2 or later. Compatible with iPad. Price: $1.99 Language: English Download Link:   Here

10. YouTube Kids

The delightful, free app for toddlers is designed for the curious minds. It is a portal to YouTube. Toddlers can enjoy videos even on the big screen with Apple TV, Chromecast, smart TVs, or game consoles.

For easy exploration, the videos in the app are divided into Music, Shows, Learning, and Explore.

Videos also include intro to sports, games, animals, crafts, and more.

The app comes with big buttons, instant full-screen, and easy scrolling.

Toddlers enjoy their favorites such Thomas & Friends and Talking Tom, Sesame Street, on-line hits such as Mother Goose Club, TuTiTu, Stampylonghead, and a lot more.

They can watch them offline to avoid ads.

For your child’s safety, parental control features such as timer, blocking channels, and disabling search features are available, making it age-appropriate.

Note: The channels and videos are subject to change due to regular updates.

Seller: Google, Inc. Rating : 4 plus Genre: Entertainment Compatibility: Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: Free Download Link:   Here

Language: English, Arabic, Armenian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Cambodian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Danish, French, Finnish, German, Greek, Georgian, Hindi, Hungarian, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Kazakh, Korean, Japanese, Laotian, Latvian, Malay, Mongolian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Norwegian Bokmål, Romanian, Russian, Portuguese, Serbian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Slovak, Thai, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.

Note: The YouTube Kids App is only available in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, and Canada (excluding Quebec). YouTube Kids is available with YouTube Red in the US, New Zealand, and Australia.

11. Five Little Monkeys

The interactive book app is designed for toddlers to explore pictures, personalize the story, and learn vocabulary. While the toddler explores the story, the parent can encourage literacy skills, teach vocabulary, and also own record narration.

As the toddler taps the monkey, it falls off the bed. The monkey then starts twirling around the head. It is then that a song commences. And the mommy monkey calls the doctor. Easy-to-use navigation is toddler-friendly.

Seller: Oceanhouse Media, Inc. Rating: 4 plus Genre: Books Compatibility: Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Price: $0.99 Language: English Download Link:   Here

12. Drawing Pad

The app allows your toddler to play with colors, shapes, and also lets him create his own designs. The little one’s artistic piece could be shared via Facebook, Twitter, SMS, or email.

The other features of the app include the accessibility and importing photos from camera or library, saving photos, selecting color pencil, customizing color, opacity, and brush size.

There are no instructions so let your tot use all his creativity!

Tap on your tool to start drawing, stamping, painting, or erasing.

Seller: Tiep Nguyen Rating: 4 plus Genre: Entertainment Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Price: Free Language: English Download Link:   Here

13. Petting Zoo

The engaging app is full of surprises, witty, and quirky animations! With over one million downloads, the app is rated as “Absolutely adorable”, “A wonderful app for all ages!” by USA Today.

The app is an interactive picture book featuring 21 hand-drawn animals with great animations, and playful, musical sounds for each animal.

It combines animations and humor with state-of-the-art technology.

Developer: Fox & Sheep Rating: 4 plus Genre: Educational Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Price: $2.79 Language: English, Dutch, German, Italian, French, Korean, Portuguese, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Traditional Chinese Download Link:   Here

14. Nighty Night!

The popular app is perfect for daily go-to-sleep ritual with cute animals, stunning narration, and lullaby music. The toddler watches all the animals going to bed, which lulls him into sleep.

“Nighty Night!” is brought to you by Oscar-nominee Heidi Wittlinger.

The interactive book combines little sets made of paper, 2D illustration, and animation. It is not a reading app, though.

The little one finds 13 different animals, including duck, dog, pig, cow, sheep, fish, pony, chicken, spider, cat, goat, rabbit, etc.

They can tap the rooms of the house and turn lights off to put the animals to sleep.

It features cause-and-effect lessons for toddlers, accompanying the soothing going-to-sleep music.

Seller: Fox and Sheep GmbH Rating: 4 plus Genre: Books Compatibility: Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: $2.99 Language: English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Swedish, Turkish, Spanish. Download link:   Here

15. Little Red Hen – Interactive Reader

The app comes with the classic fable that tells the story of the industrious hen. Your toddler would learn about the value of hard work and teamwork by interacting with the scenes and characters in the story.

The app takes your little explorer on an adventure while making them learn about the animals on the farm.

The kid-friendly narration makes the story more accessible than ever.

Your darling would love to read it again and again. There is an option to read the story in two ways, Read Aloud (listen to the narration) and Read It Myself (reads the story by self).

Seller: McGraw-Hill School Rating: 4 plus Genre: Education Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.2 or later. Compatible with iPad. Price: $1.99 Language: English Download link:   Here

16. Bubbles

The app is a fun distraction for toddlers. It also improves their hand-eye coordination.

Bubbles pop up, making sounds

Gravity pulls the bubbles downward. Toddlers can draw bubble letters, shapes, and numbers.

As toddlers run their fingers over the screen, the bubbles fly through on the screen.

Seller: Jesse Grosjean Rating: 4 plus Genre: Entertainment Compatibility: Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: $0.99 Language: English Download link:   Here

17. Pat the Bunny

Pat the Bunny is the first interactive book of its kind and the best iPad app for preschoolers. Based on a book by Dorothy Kunhardt, the app is perfect for little fingers and little one’s imaginations. It is particularly designed for preschoolers and toddlers with playful sound effects and impressive music.

The app has a play mode for toddlers to feed and interact with the bunny.

They can tap, swipe, and explore 14 interactive scenes.

The bunny becomes the toddler’s interactive pet. You can  hear your darling’s delightful giggles as he plays hide and seek with the bunny, catches butterflies, makes music in the kitchen and pops bubbles in the bathhub.

Seller: Random House Rating: 4 plus Genre: Books Compatibility: Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: $0.99 Language: English Download link:   Here

18. Talking Carl

Sing, talk, and play with Carl. As your baby tickles, punches, and irritates Carl, he can hear the funny growls, laughter, and more! This game can help improve your baby’s communication and social skills.

Strike Carl by lightning

Feed him bones

Talk to hear him repeat your words.

Poke his eyes to hear him yell and shout.

If you forget him, he will grumble to remind you of him.

Carl is very polite as well. He says goodbye every time you are about to shut the app.

Note: The app might encourage misbehavior.

Developer: Tayasui Rating: 4 plus Genre: Entertainment Compatibility: Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: $0.99 Language: English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Spanish Download link:   Here

19. Sound Touch

This is one of the best educational apps for toddlers and irresistible too. It plays many different sounds to inspire little minds.

The toddler can choose from the extensive list of sounds such as trumpets, boats, trains, sheep, cats, horses, etc.

They can just tap a picture in one of the six categories: vehicles, domestic or farm animals, birds, wild animals, household items, and musical instruments.

The sound-touch features an intuitive interface, engaging learning, simple controls, quality sound recordings, photographs, and graphics.

It is optimized with the latest mobiles, flawless use, and new bonus.

Note: A picture like a cobra (ready to strike) or growling voices of some animals might disturb your toddler.

Developer: Eran Talmor Rating: 4 plus Genre: Education Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: $4.41 Download link:   Here

Language: English, Arabic, Catalan, Afrikaans, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Filipino, Danish, Finnish, French, Greek, Hebrew, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Persian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Swedish, Turkish, Traditional Chinese.

20. Toddler Flashcards

The app acts as a great tool for the toddlers to learn basic words. The toddler gets engaged and learns through the app.

It comes with 20 cards, spoken pronunciations in multiple languages such as English, French, Chinese, Spanish, German, Farsi, Greek, Russian, Hindi, Portuguese, Arabic, and Japanese, besides animal sound effects.

Flashcards teaches the names of animals, things, foods, and colors. Toddlers are also introduced to numbers, alphabet, and animal sounds.

Seller: iTot Apps Rating: 4 plus Genre: Education Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: Free Language: English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Simplified Chinese Download link:   Here

21. Moo, Baa, La La La! – Sandra Boynton

The Moo, Baa, La La La! Digital book app will amuse toddlers. It is an interactive version of the classic board book by Sandra Boynton. The app is rated by Kirkus Star, Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice, and Common Sense Media – 5 Stars.

It has an appeal of a traditional pop-up book.

Each animal makes its unique sound. Touching the moon turns day to night.

Your little one can slingshot the running cats away from barking dogs.

Your darling touches a duck to hear its quack and brings another duck and the chain continues. So, touch the animals to hear them moo or oink or quack.

You can read it loud or the app reads out.

Seller: Loud Crow Interactive Rating: 4 plus Genre: Books Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: $3.99 Language: English Download link:   Here

22. The Going to Bed Book – Sandra Boynton

The app offers lively interactivity and thoroughly mesmerizing and delightful discovery. Characters in the app respond to touch with movement and sound. Toddlers can enjoy turning the tap water on and off as well as adjust the steam levels that fog the screen. They can, interestingly, write their name on the steam. They can also brush their teeth, besides doing a session of group exercises with ten pajama-clad animals (each animal exercises in its own way).

More features include:

Help the piggy turn off the lights and rock yourself to sleep to the soothing sound coming from the music box, containing twinkling stars.

The gentle narration by British Invasion legend, Billy J. Kramer is simply amazing.

Tilt the device to watch things slide.

Make the animals move by touching, pulling, and turning them.

Realistic page turning interactions are highlighted.

Hear individual words pronounced with the tap of a finger or read them yourself.

Developer: Loud Crow Interactive Rating: 4 plus Genre: Books Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Price: $3.67 Language: English Download link:   Here

23. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

This is an exciting educational game for preschoolers between ages two and five.

Kids may learn about colors, the alphabet, counting, shapes, sizes, matching, and distinctions through seven games.

A charming, animated monkey assists children while they play the game.

Dozens of voice recordings and noises representing letters, colors, fruit names, and other concepts.

Stickers with animations! Children receive stickers as incentives for their accomplishments.

Designed with children in mind—no complicated navigation or menus.

Infinite play! Every game seamlessly leads onto the next.

Seller: THUP Games LLC Genre: Education Rating: 4+ Age: Made for Ages 0–5 Compatibility: Requires iPadOS 10.0 or later. Price: $1.99 Languages: English Download Link: Here

Frequently Asked Questions

1. At what age should a child have an iPad?

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that parents refrain from allowing any sedentary screen time (including watching shows and playing screen games) for children below one, and those above two may be allowed no more than one hour of screen time. Therefore, you may allow your child to use the iPad only after two (1) .

2. How much time should a toddler spend on an iPad?

Children between the ages of two to five may be allowed to use an iPad or watch TV for an hour on weekdays and three hours on weekends. However, they must avoid using screens during meals, bedtimes, and family events (2) .

3. What are some iPad apps for toddlers that teach problem-solving skills?

Numerous Ipad apps for toddlers focus on teaching problem-solving skills in various interactive ways. These apps include Brain Out- Tricky riddle games, Draw It, Logic Puzzles, and Paint by Number Coloring Games.

4. Are there any iPad apps for toddlers specifically designed for children with special needs?

SoundingBoard, Braille Academy: Play & Learn, Otsimo Special Education 1+, and Lexico Cognition are some iPad apps designed to support children with special needs. They focus on children with speech and communication difficulties, developmental delays, and cognitive challenges.

5. What iPad apps can help my toddler develop fine motor skills?

LetterSchool, Busy Shapes, and Edoki Academy are popular Ipad apps designed to improve fine motor skills, spatial awareness, and body coordination.

Ipad apps for toddlers can help them learn basic language, numbers, and other activities. PBS kids games, Elmo loves ABCs, wood puzzles, cut the rope, etc., are some of the iPad apps for toddlers. You may choose the app based on your child’s requirements and interests. These apps are one of the best ways to learn the alphabet and colors without hassle. Video apps such as YouTube kids can also be beneficial for toddlers. Although iPad apps help learn, limiting screen time for better eye health and learning from other sources is essential.

Infographic: iPad Apps For Toddlers That’ll Help In their Early Learning

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Key Pointers

• It is important to provide toddlers with iPad apps that are entertaining, educational, engaging, and child-friendly.
• Toddlers above two may use the iPad under the watchful supervision of an adult with limited screen time.
• Toddlers with special needs can consider iPad apps like SoundingBoard, Braille Academy: Play & Learn, and Lexico Cognition.
• To improve fine motor skills, toddlers can try iPad apps like Cut the Rope, PBS Kids Games, and Elmo Loves ABCs.

Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team

Personal Experience: Source

MomJunction articles include first-hand experiences to provide you with better insights through real-life narratives. Here are the sources of personal accounts referenced in this article.

• To grow up healthy children need to sit less and play more. https://www.who.int/news/item/24-04-2019-to-grow-up-healthy-children-need-to-sit-less-and-play-more
• Screen Time and Children. https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-And-Watching-TV-054.aspx
• Fact-checker

Dr. Maymunah Yusuf Kadiri MD

Harshita makvana b.com, pg dip, rohit garoo bsc, mba, trisha chakraborty ma, bed, latest articles, top 15 bumblebee coloring pages for your little one, communication skills for kids: importance, tips and games, 30 adorable toddler girl haircuts and hairstyles, 6 interesting easter activities for teens, 38 soulful easter worship songs for children, 11 very interesting fun facts about tennis for kids, 22 very simple art and craft ideas for babies, 16 fun camping activities and games for teens, 16 fun picnic games and activities for kids, 10 cognitive activities for infants to boost development, 30 best educational games and activities for 8-year-olds, 43 easy learning activities for 2-year-olds.

20 Teacher Approved iPad Apps for Kids

Preparing kids for the 21st century means exposing them to technology. And for many kids, that means spending some time on an iPad.  But what iPad apps are best for kids?

With so many iPad apps on the market for kids these days, it can be hard to know which ones are age-appropriate and purposeful, so I went on a hunt to gather together my favorite 20, teacher-approved suggestions.

When you’re done with the list, take our 5 Day Challenge where you can set up a STEM system that works for your classroom, as well as STEM centers your students will love!

The list includes favorite math games, building apps, reading activities… loads of ideas that will keep kids entertained and learning at the same time!

Whether you’re looking for ways to incorporate iPads into your classroom or you need a quick way to entertain the kids on a long flight, these 20 teacher-approved iPad apps are sure to do the trick.

iPad Apps for Kids: Ages 3 to 5

Learn with Homer is one of those multi-purpose apps. It includes storybooks, learn to read games, drawing… but my favorite feature is its post office. Children can send and receive digital postcards from pre-approved family and friends. It’s a brilliant and easy way to encourage long distance communication with far away relatives.

I’m a big fan of the Words Their Way Spelling Program because of how nicely it identifies what kids already know and what skills they need to work on next. So I was thrilled when This Reading Mama developed an Alphabet Sounds Word Study app based on the series. It’s a perfect combo of motivating and developmentally-appropriate!

Another great iPad app for kids?  One of the most popular preschool apps on the market is ABC Mouse Early Learning Academy and there’s a good reason why. The engaging games take the guesswork out of teaching kids how to read – leading them through alphabet sounds, word families, sight words and more.

When kids are ready to learn about numbers ,  Kids Academy free apps  are a great way to go. The preschool-friendly lessons include games, stories and songs that help kids grow a strong number concept.

And speaking of math, kiddos will love learning about shapes and counting with Preschool Math · Basic Skills School . It won a Parent’s Choice Award so you know it’s good!

PBS KIDS offers a free app giving you access to their most popular kid-appropriate shows including “Curious George” and “Wild Kratts.”

Work on writing alphabet letters with a playful round of Trace it, Try it – Thomas Wilson . The program practices letter names, letter sounds and (of course!) letter writing at once. It’s a three-in-one!

iPad Apps for Kids: Ages 5 to 8

Once kids tackle letter sounds, they’re ready to move on to reading short, three-letter words . This Reading Mama’s Short Vowel Word Study app is a motivating way to practice sounding and spelling CVC words. My kids could sit and play the games for hours if I’d let them!

Learn with Homer focuses on helping kids learn to read by providing entertaining storybooks, learn to read games and drawing activities. But what sets it apart is its digital post office where children can send and receive cards from pre-approved family and friends. It’s a genius way to get kids reading and writing!

Make building vocabulary a blast with Ellen Degeneres’ high energy game, Heads Up!

Practice reading sight words and writing alphabet letters with Ollie’s Handwriting & Phonics , a two-in-one app developed by a teacher.

Get kids excited about learning sight words by playing  Sight Words Ninja ! There’s an alphabet and number version, too!

Kids who love puzzles will go crazy for Free Flow – a pipe building game that challenges kids to connect matching dots with pipes to create a flow.

And speaking of building, Block Craft 3D gives young iPaders practice creating and growing cities . (My six year-old is obsessed with gaining villagers and adding to his virtual town!)

Sushi Monster makes math fact practice fun by having kids gobble plates of numbered sushi to make a target addition sum or multiplication product.

Work on memorizing multiplication facts as you play “Show Me” and “Peek” in the Multiplication Flashcard Quiz and Match Games App for 2nd graders and up .

For hours of entertainment on the go, play That’s Baloney! a kids’ quiz game filled with out of the box facts. Is the largest living spider a camel spider… or is that baloney?!

And finally, for those just-want-to-play kinda’ days, Despicable Me: Minion Rush and Crossy Road are guaranteed to be hits!

5 Day Challenge

Take our 5 Day Challenge where you can set up a STEM system that works for your classroom, as well as STEM centers your students will love!

Similar Posts

Valentine Number Order Clip Cards

Leprechaun Toothpaste

Farm Animal Puzzles

Valentine’s Number Puzzles – Numbers to 100

Elf Secret Message Decoder

Telling Time STEM Cards

One comment.

• Pingback: أفضل الألعاب التعليمية للأطفال على الأيباد لسنة 2024 - ألعابك

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Best ipad games for 3 year olds in 2023

As an Amazon affiliate, we earn a commision from qualifying purchases.

We recently recommended best app games for 4 year olds(educational)

As a follow-up, this article is a collection of the best ipad games for 3 year olds to keep your 3YO occupied for long periods(of time) including some of the best fun educational games on App Store.

Let’s get started!

Best ipad games for 3 year olds

This is one game that your child will never get tired of playing.

It has so many levels, games, and lessons that make learning fun(it not only teaches the alphabet and vocabulary but also math, arts/colors, and even music).

Download ABC Mouse app game

Busy Shapes 2

The ability of your child to see something and replicate it using his/her hand is very important (Eye-hand coordination, and fine motor skills).

With the puzzle game, this is sorted out.

Read its reviews or Download the game from AppStore.

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

This is an educational and really funny game that will help your kid to identify colors, letters, and shapes.

In addition, he/she will start learning to count as well as spotting differences between objects and memorizing by sight as they help the monkey pack lunch!

My son’s favorite part of the app is that he gets rewarded with “stickers” after every couple of games.

Download Monkey Preschool Lunchbox app

Balloon Pop

This is another greatly entertaining app game that is easy to play for 3 year olds..

There’s never-ending fun as your child pops the colorful balloons while progressing through the many different levels(the challenges keep children immersed for long periods-of time just popping balloons).

Download Balloon Pop game app

This is a super fun free game(there are some cheap In-App Purchases however)  that your kid should not miss.

It is part of the immensely popular Toca Life World mega game app and kids enjoy it a lot -It is a simple app game and the child play by collecting other places and characters.

Bear in mind that even if it’s rated 4+ years, it can be perfectly played (and enjoyed) by most 3-year -olds.

Download Toca Boca game app

Daniel Tiger’s Day & Night

There are many interactive activities in the app and most kids favorite is setting the table and making the pancakes.

Kids also love brushing Daniel’s teeth and picking out his pajamas..

Honestly, your child will love everything within this app

Oh, and the app works without data/Wi-Fi access.

Download the app/read reviews

Your son/daughter is missing out if he/she has not tried this iPad game app.

What makes it such a fantastic app is the collection of some 40+ award-winning educational and fun games (in one app) meaning your kid is unlikely to ever get bored.

Additionally, the characters are super cute so your child will obviously love them, especially if he/she likes imaginative play.

Animals for Toddlers and Kids

This is another pretty engaging app about animals that can be an easy and playful way of educating your 3 year old son/daughter about different animals.

My son (3 year old) really loves the animal pictures and he tends to become deeply engrossed whenever he takes the book.

Remember the app also teaches kids different animals’ unique sounds!

PBS kids games

there’s no dull moment with PBS kids games as 240+ educational fun-filled games -from your kid’s favorite shows- are just mind-blowing.

Your son/daughter will thoroughly enjoy playing classic games like Wild Kratts, Daniel Tiger, Alma’s Way, Donkey Hodie, and more.

Thomas and friends-go go Thomas!

This is an exciting kiddos’ racing game whose graphics match the cartoon perfectly. It actually includes all their favorite Thomas characters

Another educational game we really like – it’s worth every penny (there’s a monthly subscription)

Just to be clear, it’s a comprehensive educational program whose numerous interesting activities make it so engaging.

Sago mini games

Your little one builds, creates, and pretends with this thoughtfully-designed collection of games that sparks curiosity.

He/she explores outer space, meets funny dinosaur friends, builds a robot, becomes a superhero, serves customers at a dinner, and more – all these in their whimsical world.

Best ipad games for 3 year olds-free games

Peekaboo barn life.

Here children learn about farm in a playful manner –from their names to sounds.

Remember that while peekaboo is a free game, you need to pay if you want to upgrade to the official Peekaboo Barn app(there are more kid-centric features).

This free games app is designed to help get your kiddo ready for school as they play- it teaches a lot of essential early learning concepts including letters (with Alphablocks) and numbers(with Numberblocks) in the two fun games.

This is a song-based app that uses music to teach and entertain children for free.

With Bingo ABC, your child will learn phonics while singing along to classic nursery rhymes and playing games on a colorful animated farm .

Animal Sounds

This is another app if you want your kid to learn about different wild animals..

There are more than 100 animal sounds(realistic sounds) and matching high resolution photos so it’s like taking your kid to the zoo from an iPad.

Best ipad games for 3 year olds – Conclusion

A good way of fighting boredom and learning for children these days is by playing games on digital devices.

The above are some of the best ipad games for 3 year olds that you can have your 3YO play for entertainment and learning whenever you want to keep him/her occupied.

Keep in mind that for the most part, 3YOs can play them pretty independently..

Best board games for 3 4 year olds

Best app games for 4 year olds (educational)

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Privacy Overview

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

Best iPad Games for Kids of All Ages

Check out CNET's list of age-appropriate iPad games for kids.

• She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a dialed-down version of New Horizons, but still fun to play.

If you're looking for kid-friendly games, you might not know where to start. And how can you be sure what's safe and age-appropriate? 

We've got you covered with a list of the 30 best iPad games for kids, with Apple's age rating for each (scroll further down for games for older kids, even though a lot of the games for ages 4 and up would be fun for kids of all ages). Some, but not all, of these iPad games are available as part of Apple's $5 a month mobile gaming subscription service, Apple Arcade . Others are available to download free or for a price in the App Store.

Ages 4 and up

Monument Valley

In Monument Valley, you must help Princess Ida on a mission through Monument Valley -- a world of mazes, crow people and strange, impossible structures. The game uses the way you interact with the environment to play with perspective and reveal pathways. The artwork is also absolutely beautiful. 

If you like this one, the studio has a sequel -- Monument Valley 2 ($5) -- which stands on its own as an original story and takes a step forward as a more sophisticated narrative and style. In this one, you must guide Ro and her child through Monument Valley. 

Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 are both available on Apple Arcade as well.

Way of the Turtle

Available through apple arcade subscription ($5 a month).

Way of the Turtle is a cute, colorful, single-player platform game. Navigate a beach obstacle course and gather coins while avoiding traps. As you continue, you'll earn shells that give you more abilities. The only trouble is that Mr. Turtle never stops moving, which might make him difficult to maneuver sometimes. 

Fledgling Heroes

Take to the skies as Biscuit the Brave, a young macaw, in this tropical platform game. Tapping the screen makes Biscuit fly. Too much tapping sends the macaw too high, while not enough tapping drops him too low. You must maintain the right altitude to avoid enemies and obstacles while collecting coins. As you explore more islands, you'll learn tricks and meet different characters including Penny the Penguin, who wants to be a pirate. 

Read more: The 10 best iPad apps of the past decade

Crayola Create and Play

Crayola Create and Play is loaded with fun features like coloring pages, tending to in-game creatures and plants, learning and arcade-style games, puzzles, and more. It encourages creativity and curiosity with digital versions of Crayola art supplies (remember stamp markers?), while encouraging kids to think about letters, numbers, problem solving and more. There are no "wrong" answers, just creativity. You can also find Crayola Create and Play in the App Store, but you'll encounter in-app purchases and ads.

Pok Pok Playroom

Available through pok pok subscription ($4 a month).

Pok Pok Playroom includes a collection of digital toys and activities that encourage cognitive and socio-emotional development, according to the team, with no winning or losing. The app includes colorful activities like a mix-and-match block game, a drawing pad, and a Busy Board packed with buttons, switches, bells and musical blobs. Pok Pok Playroom also has sections called Town, Forest and House, which further encourage exploration, curiosity and learning.

Run Sackboy! Run

Price: free.

Run Sackboy! Run is the mobile version of the Little Big Planet game series. It's a cute endless runner platformer in the original game's unique crafted-materials style. As you run, you can collect coins, bubbles and stickers to ultimately increase your score. Each level adds on different tasks, like jumping or dashing a certain amount of times. 

Eloh is a visually beautiful musical puzzle game that teases your brain without stressing you out. Each level features island spirits that you can move. Once you get them into the right spot, tap the red speaker and music will start. The goal is to bounce the "sound waves" off the spirits and hit the spiral icon, kind of like banking a shot in billiards. 

Frogger in Toytown

Embark on a quest inside a human's house to rescue lost "froglets" after they're blown away in a storm. You'll navigate a toy-filled terrain -- avoid toy cars, climb block buildings and collect jelly beans to save the froglets. When you rescue a froglet, it hops on Frogger's back, which is just as cute as it sounds. Carrying the froglets adds an extra challenge during the obstacle courses because they can fall off. If you liked the old-school Frogger, this game's worth a look. 

Enchanted World

The Enchanted World is about a young fairy whose world is wrecked by dark forces. You'll help her on a journey to repair and heal what's been damaged. With guidance from a red songbird along the way, you'll get help from a web-spinning spider, quirky robots, a hungry frog and others. Through sliding block-style gameplay , you'll redirect rivers, mend tree roots, rearrange gears on a factory floor and save your world from the darkness. 

Rayman Adventures

There are a number of Rayman games that have come out over the years, but there's a free mobile version called Rayman Adventures that your kids can try out. Adventures is an endless runner where players must find all the Ancient Eggs that keep the Sacred Tree alive. 

Read more: 11 nostalgic games to play on Apple Arcade if you miss your childhood

Sneaky Sasquatch

Available through apple arcade subscription ($5 a month.

In the infectiously cute game Sneaky Sasquatch, you'll play just that: A sneaky sasquatch. But you also get help from a clever raccoon. Sneak into the campsite and fill your backpack with snacks. Sometimes other animals, like the snoozing bear, are willing to pay for some picnic leftovers. You can use the money at the raccoon's shop. Just make sure you tip-toe so you don't get caught by the surly park ranger or scare any campers. 

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp -- the free mobile version of the original simulation game -- you're in charge of a campsite -- craft furniture, personalize your tent and customize your camper. You can travel to different recreation spots, meet animals and grow your friendships in exchange for rewards. While you're visiting, you can fish, gather fruit and collect bugs to trade later. All the friends you make can visit your campsite, too. 

Pocket Camp also offers a smaller world to manage compared with New Horizons. In addition, the tasks are easier on the mobile version, and update daily. Essentially, you're getting big rewards for picking up everything on the ground and shaking all the trees.

Pocket Camp also offers a smaller world to manage compared with New Horizons. In addition, the tasks are easier on the mobile version and update daily. Essentially, you're getting big rewards for picking up everything on the ground and shaking all the trees. It definitely helped me scratch the FOMO itch when most of my friends were playing Animal Crossing over the summer. 

Doomsday Vault

In this WALL-E style puzzle game, the Earth's climate has collapsed and you must rescue the remaining plant life. Explore what's left of the planet in your robot suit, collect plant life and return it safely to the Doomsday Vault. Just be careful -- there are AI bots that were left behind motivated by sentiments of corporate greed.  

Inbento is an adorable puzzle game about cats and bento boxes. Relax with these cute Japanese lunch box brainteasers. Rearrange the food to match the recipe to complete the box. Each level gets a little more difficult, but the whole game is set to soothing music. There are over 100 levels to beat and extra-challenging bonus levels. 

Gorogoa is a gorgeous puzzle game with an accompanying narrative. It's all hand-drawn panels that players have to combine in a certain way to solve the level. It's hard to explain this one without playing it yourself. The more puzzles you play, the more your mind acclimates to the puzzle style. Gorogoa transports players between realities full of strange creatures. Reviews suggest playing it multiple times for better understanding. 

The Pinball Wizard

In The Pinball Wizard, you play as a young apprentice who must bring peace back to your homeland by restoring a lost treasure in a high tower. Along the way, you must defeat enemies and collect keys to find the next room. The game works like a pinball game: The higher you go, the more health you lose if you fall out of the ring. 

Fruit Ninja

Fruit Ninja is an oldie but a goody. It's a simple concept -- as fruit is tossed up on the screen, you use your finger to slice it up as fast as you can. Just watch out for the bombs that start getting tossed into the mix as well. It's a fun way to pass the time and has different modes to play in, like Zen, where there's no bombs, but it's timed. If you lose on a level, you can sacrifice a life to continue, or watch an ad to progress for free.  

Donut County

This is an adorable, creative game. Donut County is taken over by raccoons who are stealing everyone's trash with remote-controlled holes. You play as the hole. The game's story takes a turn when one of the raccoons falls into the hole he's operating and has to answer for his actions. The trouble is, the holes keep growing and won't stop until the whole county has been gobbled up.

Spongebob: Patty Pursuit

Spongebob: Patty Pursuit is a fun platformer that takes you through the Spongebob universe. Jump on trampolines, speed down ziplines, avoid jellyfish, and collect coins and spatulas along the way to foil the infamous mini-villain Plankton's plans to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula. It's up to SpongeBob and his friends -- Patrick, Sandy, Squidward, Gary the Snail and Mr. Krabs -- to stop him. 

Age 9 and up

Blocky world-building game Minecraft lets players explore, gather resources, craft tools and engage in some mild combat. The game has different modes -- survival, creative, adventure, spectator and multiplayer -- so you have flexibility in how you play. For younger players, Minecraft teaches teamwork and the motivation to improve reading and math skills on top of creativity and self-direction. 

Down in Bermuda

A pilot named Milton crashes on a seemingly deserted island in Bermuda, where you must help him discover the island's secrets and solve puzzles to find a way home. It's a cute, colorful game that's perfect for just about everyone. I liked that there was just enough mystery and story mixed in with puzzle-solving. 

The Crossy Road series

The original Crossy Road asks the question "why did the chicken cross the road?" in the form of a classic infinite runner game. Think Frogger meets Flappy Bird. Crossy Road Castle joined Apple Arcade in February 2020, which adds a platforming element to the gameplay. 

If you grew up in the '90s, you might remember this game. You must guide the Zoombinis out of the evil Bloats' clutches and home to Zoombiniville. Each of the 12 levels such as Allergic Cliffs, Stone Cold Caves and Pizza Pass get progressively more challenging, with kids using logic and pattern identification to win. 

Lego Brawls

The Lego brand has stood the test of time, making the jump from plastic blocks to the silver screen to video games . Lego Brawls is a mobile fighting game that's easy to start playing. The game offers countless ways to create your Lego character in a fast-paced 4v4 multiplayer. Every stage of the game brings new challenges, goals and quirky power-ups, like a pie launcher, a cactus suit, a snake car or a hot dog stand. Jump into a party, join a brawl or keep training.

Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm

Oceanhorn 2 is an open-world action fantasy RPG that tells the story of a young knight on a quest with his friends to save the world from an evil warlock. The knight ventures out with Trin, the granddaughter of Arcadia's leader Archimedes, and Gen, a robot armed with a Samurai weapon. The trio must unite with the Owrus, Gillfolk and others to save the world from Warlock Mesmeroth's Dark Army.

Alto's Adventure Price: $5

Alto's Adventure is to endless runners what Monument Valley is to puzzle games. The game puts a new twist on sports adventure as you -- as Alto -- snowboard across scenic hills, down gorgeous mountainsides and through villages with day-to-night transitions. It's all set to a lovely soundtrack as well. Rescue animals, collect coins, outsmart mountain elders and brave the weather along the way.

You can also check out Alto's Odyssey ($5), the studio's follow-up game, as well as Alto's Odyssey: The Lost City, on Apple Arcade.  

Terraria  is similar to Minecraft, but it's 2D. You create a character, select your world size and start harvesting resources to craft items. Once you get a home, a worktable and a torch, the game really picks up. With a light, you can go underground and start mining resources there, in addition to treasure chests that can contain gear upgrades, and life crystals to raise your health. It's a pretty big open-world game and there are enemies you'll encounter, but if you die, you'll respawn with all your loot, sans a few coins. 

Butter Royale

Butter Royale is like Fortnite with food. The game is set in the near future, where weapons have been banned globally. In a cafe, a food fight erupted after two patrons began arguing over the last chocolate doughnut. Sensing an opportunity to capitalize on people's tension, mysterious company Butter Co. created a game show called Butter Royale. Contestants are air-dropped onto an island to duke it out with food. After upgrading from stale baguettes to Nutritionally Operated Machines, or NOMs, players engage in "culinary combat," and try to outrun floods of butter and get to safe zones in 5-minute matches.

24 incredible video games you can finish in one night

Age 12 and up

Miracle Merchant

This game caught my attention because it reminded me of the Adventure Time cartoon. Miracle Merchant is solitaire meets potion brewing with a cast of zany, colorful characters. All your "potion ingredients" are in the card decks and organized by color, a potion is a mix of four cards. How well you mix the potion -- your arrangement of cards -- determines how much money it's worth. It's a fun, unintimidating problem-solving game. 

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a comfort classic in the vein of Animal Crossing . In the Super Nintendo-style simulation RPG, you've inherited your grandfather's farm plot in Stardew Valley. Start out with little money and old tools, then work your way up from there. You'll farm, live off the land as you see fit, explore Pelican Town and befriend its residents, search for treasure, decorate your home and maybe even fall in love.

Read more:  7 great, cheap kid-friendly gifts that aren't video games

Gaming Guides

• Best VR Headsets
• Best Meta Quest 2 Games and Experiences
• Best VR Games
• Best Playstation VR 2 Deals
• Meta Quest 2 Review
• PS5 Restock Tracker
• Playstation Plus Review
• Best PS5 Games
• Best Xbox Series X S Controller
• Xbox GamePass Ultimate Review
• Best Nintendo Switch Controller
• Best Cloud Gaming Services
• Best Gaming Chair
• Nintendo Switch OLED Review
• Best Gaming Keyboard
• Best Online Games to Play with Friends
• Video Game Deals
• Best Xbox Series X Games

Logic & Maze Games for Kids 4+

Logic puzzles brain test, designed for ipad.

• 4.5 • 2 Ratings
• Offers In-App Purchases

Screenshots

Description.

Enjoy Brain Test, IQ, Logiclike Games! Boost critical thinking, problem-solving, and mental math skills through engaging puzzles, brain teasers, and logic games. "Logic & Maze Games for Kids +" - the ultimate app for kids, toddlers, and preschools aged from 3 - 14 years old to embark on an exciting journey of early learning and education through fun-filled puzzles and brain-teasing challenges At Kids Logic Games, we understand the crucial role that interactive learning plays in a child's development. As parents, educators, and caregivers, we recognize the importance of providing kids with a platform that stimulates their minds, fosters logical thinking, and enhances problem-solving abilities. This app is designed to cater specifically to children aged 3 - 14 years old, ensuring that it aligns perfectly with their developmental needs. Why Choose Us? Our app boasts an extensive collection of puzzles that cover a wide range of topics, including colors, shapes, numbers, and more. Through these puzzles, babies, kids, toddlers and preschooler children not only identify different colors and shapes but also develop their problem-solving skills, logical reasoning, and cognitive abilities. We understand the unique learning needs of toddlers, and hence our games are crafted with their age-appropriate interests in mind. The intuitive interface, colorful graphics, and interactive gameplay make it easy both for boys and girls to navigate through the app. "Logic & Maze Games for Kids +" presents a seamless blend of entertainment and learning. As toddlers and preschool children play and solve problems, they unknowingly absorb valuable educational content, making learning a joyful and engaging experience. By challenging kids with mind-teasers and brain-boggling games, we aim to stimulate their cognitive abilities. These games help develop their memory, attention, and focus while nurturing their logical thinking skills. As kids progress through the app, they unlock higher levels of complexity and intricacy. This progressive difficulty level ensures that they remain motivated to learn, explore, and challenge themselves. Rest assured that your child's safety is our top priority. Kids Logic Games is an ad-free and child-friendly environment where kids can freely explore and learn without any distractions. Our app encourages kids to think critically, strategize, and overcome challenges. These problem-solving skills are essential not only for academic success but also for handling everyday situations. Kids Logic Games is designed for all children, regardless of gender. We believe that education is for everyone, and our games cater equally to both boys and girls. Download "Logic & Maze Games for Kids +" now and witness the transformative power of logic and problem-solving in your kid's, child's and toddler's life. Watch as they develop essential skills, stimulate their thinking, and become adept at tackling challenges. Start the journey today and unlock the world of logical thinking for your kid's or child's bright future! Subscription Details: We suggest offline learning games for kids and toddlers. Subscribe to “Kids Logic Games” to unlock unlimited access to all games and features. Subscribers receive regular content updates, exciting new games, and no advertisements. Choose from monthly or annual subscription options. Payment is charged from the user’s iTunes account upon confirmation of the purchase. The subscription will automatically renew every month unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing cycle. When the user cancels the subscription, the cancellation will apply for the next subscription cycle. Please note that deleting the app does not cancel the subscription as it’s managed in the user’s iTunes Account Settings. We pay great attention to the feedback of our customers, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] Privacy Policy: http://www.meemukids.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: http://www.meemukids.com/terms-and-conditions

Version 1.1.1

We've upgraded our logic games and maze adventures! Toddlers, teens, girls, and boys, get those brains buzzing with our improved performance! Update now for the smoothest, fastest, most awesome kids' learning experience!

Ratings and Reviews

Engaging and brain-boosting.

Kids Logic Games is an excellent app that offers a perfect blend of fun and mental exercise. My kids are hooked on the puzzles and challenges, which are great for developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Highly recommended!

I’m so impressed with Kids Logic Games! It's a fantastic way to keep my kids entertained while stimulating their problem-solving abilities. The colorful graphics and intuitive gameplay make it easy for them to navigate through a range of exciting challenges.

Impressive app!

This logic game is a win-win. My kids are having a blast while developing their problem-solving skills. Thanks to the developers for creating such an engaging and educational experience.

App Privacy

The developer, Meemu , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

• Meemu Logical monthly $5.99
• Meemu Logical yearly $32.99
• Meemu logical special offer $6.49
• Meemu logical special yearly $12.99
• Developer Website
• App Support
• Privacy Policy

More By This Developer

Car Games for Kids! Fun Racing

Toddlers Kids Learning Games

Airport Games for Kids 2+ Old

Coloring Book, Art for Kids 2+

Toddlers Learning Time & Clock

Baby Games & Toddler Games 2 3

You Might Also Like

Solve Homework: AI Math Helper

Brain Games: Math Block Puzzle

Thinkrolls Kings & Queens

Thinkrolls 2: Puzzles For Kids

Thinkrolls Space

Learning Games: Magic Kids

Best iPad Apps for Children age 3 to 5 Reviewed

Kids aged 3 to 5 love stores, love creating, love experimenting.  Their language skills and numeracy skills are developing quickly and they're picking up new words (and concepts) daily. The iPad is great for children aged three to five because of it's tactile nature (you have to hold it).  iPad  provides instant-feedback during times of fast learning.   The best iPad Apps for children's education. Our latest reviews are listed firsts, and go back in time from there.

Storybook adventure for toddlers, young children and special needs, with lots of interactivity, music and colour!

Toddler touch and watch app that is beautiful, creative and totally fun!

Simple app perfect for early readers with multiple choice answers to fully engage your child!

Excellent educationally based pre-school app that has so much variety, one app covers it all!

Create your own clothing designs, from 4 different garment types and hundreds of decoration possibilities!

Host a birthday party for 3 guests with your choice of decorations, present and cake!

Totally comprehensive Learn to Write app with excellent work records and statistics by child.

Excellent, easy to use, shop-keeper simulation app for toddlers, young children and special needs fun!

Create your own Tea Party for 3 guests, serve tea, juice and a variety of cakes and biscuits.

Decorate Christmas Trees with baubles, lights, decorations and presents...fun and relaxing with a selection of Christmas music!

A beautiful, colourful, environmentally conscious games app created with crochet.

Excellent book using a well known song. Cute imagery and plenty of fun activities for toddlers, young children and special needs.

Unleash your creativity and create a unique vehicle each time from hundreds of parts!

Great pirate adventure story with games and activities to engage!

Gizmo the mouse lives on his own on the moon and is only interested in greed and selfishness until a visit to Earth teaches him the importance of friendship and sharing!

Learn upper and lower case letters, phonics, and words by sight in this excellent educational app for learning to read and spell.

Totally comprehensive App for learning how to write letters, numbers and shapes suitable for pre-school children upwards.

Excellent fully comprehensive alphabet learning app for young children and toddlers.

An excellent creativity app to make, bake and decorate all shapes of cakes with literally thousands of options!

Awesome App to Design your own clothing including style, fabric, finishing touches and accessories.

Excellent, easy to use animation studio with shapes, great educational and fun App for children of all ages.

Short stories with Pango and friends. This book features building a space rocket, a play at the park, putting on a magic show, cleaning up and a starry night.

This novel book is unique and educational, your child controls the story and it's different each time!

Minecraft is one iPad Apps that makes using an iPad extraordinary.

Simple to use creative App helping your child to construct their own submarine and launch it into the ocean!

A perfect App for toddlers learning to identify animals, vehicles and their accompanying sounds.

Find the animal, colour, shape or object from the selection or play the Matching Game...perfect for toddlers, young children and special needs teaching.

Excellent game with 5 skill levels for learning to read, spell and recognise letters all while having fun building an launching your custom designed rocket!

Learning maths have almost never been so much fun!

This is a colourful and lively educational App for toddlers with colour, size, letter and shape recognition as well as simple counting, puzzles and reward stickers.

Brilliant educational app for learning the concept of balance

<< GO BACK

Top 10 iPad Navigation Apps on the iTunes Store

Kids Creativity Apps

Kids educational apps, kids game apps, excellent ipad app:.

Browse links

• © 2024 BuzzFeed, Inc
• Consent Preferences
• Accessibility Statement

Beauty + Personal Care

Sports + Fitness

We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.

19 Of The Best Board Games For 3-Year-Olds That Are Fun For Everyone

Entertaining your toddler doesn't have to be a bore with these board games.

BuzzFeed Staff

1. A Bluey Scavenger Hunt Game  that'll delight families who dog gone adore this show. You'll all work together to find the 12 toy tokens *before* bedtime. This game definitely gets out kids' wiggles because most of the moves require moving — each space on the board explains what you'll do on your turn: acting out something silly, finding items around your house, or answering questions about Bluey ! Get ready to have a ton of Heeler family fun...for real life!

Number of players:  2-4

Recommended age: 3+

Pieces: game board, 20 "Find" cards, 10 "Play" cards, 35 toy tokens, and 4 character pawns with bases (newer version has 15 "Find" cards, 15 "Play" cards, 15 "Surprise" cards, 15 "Think" cards, 12 toy tokens, 1 time token, 1 die, 1 sand timer, and 4 3D character pawns: Bluey, Bingo, Bandit, and Chili)

Promising review: " My 3-year-old can’t get enough of this game !! He wants to play every day. I also have a 5-year-old that likes to play. It’s easy enough that they can do it on their own and only need help with the questions and reading the cards." — Amber Branson

Get it from Amazon for $14.99+ (available in two styles).

2. Unicorn Candy Land  — a stupendously sweet version of this classic game for toddlers whose favorite animal is, naturally, a unicorn. If you haven't played before (Hello, welcome to Earth, we're glad you're here!) your goal is to get to Candy Land first. You do so by drawing cards that'll tell you what color spot to land on. This game is simple, but it gets intense.

This specific board is an Amazon exclusive, where Hasbro also has an updated Classic version and a Disney Princess  pick.

Pieces: 1 pop-up board, 4 unique unicorn pawns, 44 cards, and instructions

Promising review: "This is a great game for kids! We got this for my 3-year-old for Christmas and she loves it! She loves the unicorns — she thinks these are so cute. The game is very fun and my girls love the glittery spaces on the board. This was a great gift!" — Emily Lankford

Get it from Amazon for $14.99 .

3. Forest Friends , which is a 3D board game that's sure to shake things up during your family game nights! You can play two unique games with this set. First is "Hide and Seek," where players help Mia Mouse guess which hole her animal friends are hiding in. If you guess correctly, you get a wooden star. If not, you shout out what you see, and the other players try to remember that info for their own turn. You can also play "Animal Tracks," where the animal tiles are flipped over to only show their footprints. Then you've gotta figure out which animal that footprint belongs to before your search begins! 

Number of players:  1-4

Recommended age: 2+

Pieces: 1 3D cube board, 8 star tokens, 1 wooden mouse, and 8 unique animal/footprint chips

Promising review: "These games are the best for really young kids! We love the wooden pieces. This is a high quality product overall and lots of fun for the youngest board gamers ." — N. Robinson

Get it from Amazon for $29.99 .

4. Snug as a Bug  — in this game, as in life, your goal is to beat the stinkbugs! With three levels of play, this game can grow in complexity as your kiddo learns their colors, numbers, and shapes. Help the tiny, colorful bugs by using the spinner to see what kind of matches need to be made before the big stinkbugs ruin your rug!

Pieces: 1 board game with built-in-spinner, 24 colorful bugs, 3 stink bugs, 1 die, and instructions 

Promising review:  "My kids are 5 and 3. They both love this game. It's easy to set up and play. It doesn't take super long and holds everyone's attention. My kids love it." — Geoffrey and Kylie

Get it from Amazon for $23.95 .

5. Shelby's Snack Shack , where you'll all find the bones Shelby has buried! To help out this precious pug, you'll toss the bones into the box, use the spinner to see how many you should pick up, and then squeeze Shelby, and she'll pick them up in her mouth! Throw them into your dog bowl after each turn. If you pick up the most by the end of the game — you win! 

Pieces: 1 board game box (that's also storage), 1 Shelby squeezer, 40 bones, 4 bowls, 1 double game spinner, and a game guide

Promising review: "Cutest game ever. It's a counting game sort of like Hi-Ho Cherry-O , but way way cuter. My 3-year-old granddaughter will just sit and entertain herself with this by herself. The rubber bones have a nice weight to them and the dog bowls are made of really heavy cardboard. I doubt you could smash them if you jumped up and down on them, that's how heavy the cardboard is. I digress. The dog Shelby is adorable and she works like big tongs and is easy for little hands to grasp. She's a nice size and works well. It's so adorable and it goes way fast so you don't mind playing ." — SuzyQ

Get it from Amazon for $22.99+  (also available with matching board book).

6. Peppa Pig Chutes and Ladders  so you can play a game from your own childhood with characters your  modern children can't get enough of. If you need a refresher, your pieces can move around the board — up far if you hit a ladder, down and back if you land on the slide — and it's all based on what the spinner tells you. All hail the spinner. 

If your child is into other characters, you can snag a superhero , princess , even Cocomelon  board. There's also a retro version for all us Olds. And I'm into it.

Pieces: a game board, Peppa Pig, Gerald Giraffe, Suzy Sheep, or Danny Dog players, and spinner

Promising review: "This is fun! My 3-year-old daughter loves this game she picked up on concept really fast. It's her favorite game night board game. " — Anna

Get it from Amazon for $11.99 .

7. Shopping List  — this is Orchard Toy's best seller, and with good reason! This pretend play game is such a fun way for your own little shopper to learn how to use a grocery list! Each player gets a cardboard grocery basket and list. The goal is to get everything on your list into your basket first! Maybe playing this at home entices your kids to be good the next time you're *actually* shopping. A parent can dream, right? 

Number of players:  2–4

Pieces: 2 carts, 2 baskets, 3 handwritten lists, 1 tablet list, 25 item cards

Promising review: "This is a great family game. Our two sons who are in preschool have wanted to play this every night since we got it. I like how it’s a easy set up and we can either play one round or more depending on how much time we have. The game pieces are well made." — Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $9.99 .

8. Richard Scarry's Busytown Seek and Find Adventure  for families who consider Scarry's characters childhood canon, this beautifully illustrated game is sure to be a joy. It involves an engaging race to find hidden characters like Father Cat, Sally Cat, and the Pig Family. The board is designed with two levels of play, advancing in difficulty as your kids get older, and it only takes five minutes to learn and 20 minutes to play. Sharing characters from your own childhood with your kids is sure to feel both surreal and so special. 

Number of players: 2-4 players

Pieces: 40' game board, 50 level 1 Seek and Find cards, 50 level 2 Seek and Find cards, 12 goldbug cards), spinner, bell, 4 character pawns with bases, and instructions

Promising review: " My grandson was excited to open this and at three years of age he was excited he knew so many of the toys. This is a perfect present for kids who likes cars and trucks." — Sheilah Campbell

Get it from Amazon for $19.99 .

9. Feed The Woozle  — this 15-minute game is another great selection if you'd like to collect board games that'll entertain your kids for years, as it has three extended levels of gameplay. The goal of this monstrously fun pick is to feed the Woozle some favorite treats (hairy pickles, fuzzy doughnuts, etc.) while doing wacky tasks like spinning, marching, and hopping. 

Number of players:  2-5

Pieces:  1 Woozle, 24 silly snacks, 12 Yummy cards, 1 die, 1 spinner, 1 spoon and instructions

Promising review: "This became an instant favorite. My kids (who are three and seven as of writing) love this game! We've played all the variations and some new ones of our own invention. I love that it's cooperative, so no big sibling always winning, and that it requires some motor skills. My kids love the gross foods and the pleasant challenge of the task. Easy, fast, just hard enough to keep them engaged." — Zoe

10. Ladybug's Garden , which is a fab find for folks who love filling their home with wooden toys. To play, slide one of the cards into the center of the board and cover it up with the chunky ladybug pieces. Once put together, use it like a traditional seek-and-find game, or create your own objectives for some open-ended play.

Number of players:  1+

Pieces:  2-piece wooden game board, 20 wooden ladybugs, and 5 double-sided puzzle cards

Promising review: "This is a sturdy, well made, lovely toy. It has many cards to follow so you will not lose interest. I'll be buying this again for other children." — Beckie Robb

Get it from Fat Brain Toys for $19.95 .

11. Monkey Around  because it's specifically designed to use up your kid's endless energy. On each turn, you'll draw a Monkey card, do the action, and then place the card on the tree. Get ready to pull your phones out because you'll love catching videos of your toddler monkeying around! 

Number of players:  2 (one adult and one child)

Pieces: game board, beanbag banana, 40 cards

Promising review: "I have a 4-year-old and twin 2.5-year-olds and they love this game. This game is great quality and durability when considering the targeted age group. The concept of the game is not too complex and was easily understood by my children. It’s fun and silly and definitely keeps them entertained! T his was great value for the money and I will definitely make more purchases from this brand in the future!" — Katrina

12. The Missing Cupcakes , a Pete the Cat game perfect for preschool-aged children to play on their own, as there's no reading required. This interactive game asks players to move all the cupcakes from Grumpy Toad's tray to Pete the Cat's birthday table by completing tasks like singing, acting, and identifying different objects.

Be sure to grab the book Pete The Cat And The Missing Cupcakes while you're at it! 

Pieces:  14 cupcakes, 20 Birthday Present cards, 1 game board with spinner, 4 player pieces, 1 Grumpy Toad, 1 cupcake tray, and instructions

Promising review: This is a fun beginner game. It's easy to explain the rules to youngsters. Fun to have characters from our favorite books and show. I've bought this for birthday presents as well." — Staci

Get it from Amazon for $16.98 .

13. Acorn Soup  — this cooperation cooking game is sure to be to your *taste* if you're teaching your kids how to take turns. It also provides risk-free family fun because there's no winner (and thus, no frustrated kiddos at the end). To play, pick an ingredient card and place the correct number of each item inside the pot to make Squirrel's favorite meals. Dinner's served! 

Pieces:  8 recipe cards, 1 wooden spoon, 24 wooden ingredients, instructions, and a parent guide

Promising review: "My kiddos (3 and 2) love this game! There are a few different ways to play with different instructions and varying degrees of difficulty, so the game grows with your little one. The ingredient pieces are wooden and feel sturdy in your hand. Even the recipe cards are on thick cardboard, so this game will last you a long time even with players who may not be gentle. :) My kids love just 'making soup' with it even if we are not playing the game as directed. 

I love that it helps with number recognition, counting items, identifying items, and recognizing colors. There is no real 'winner' which is fine as we are working on teaching turn-taking right now and not necessarily the idea of win/lose. This is a great, fun game for toddlers and preschoolers." — CA gal in TX

Get it from Amazon for $21.95 .

14. Count Your Chickens!  to get your whole family in on some farming fun as you all work together to help Mother Hen collect her chickens and bring them back into the coop. This award-winning game is sure to be loved by you and your chickadees. 

Pieces: i nstructions, chick tokens, game board, player pieces, and spinner

Promising review: "My 3-year-old LOVES this board game! It was her first one and I think it’s a great first board game for toddlers." — CJ

Get it from Target for $15.99 .

15. Sorting boards , a terribly clever way to help youngsters learn to categorize items and recognize objects. To play, pick a board ("Under The Sea" and "Foods We Eat" or "Safari Animals" and more), then dig through the box of teeny tiny toys and place them on the board. Whoever fills their board with the correct items first, wins! 

Number of players:  1-8

Pieces: 8 double-sided boards, 48 mini toys, and 1 storage bag

Promising review: "My nephew loves it. This product is great for both adults and kids to enjoy together. While it’s not exactly cheap, it’s packed with lots of components and is really educational. The size is also just right, making it easy to store away after playing. Recommended!" — Stephen

Get it from Amazon for $32.99 .

16. Building Site  — if your family loves reading, you're going to want this beginner's board game stat! You start by reading a story that'll engross kiddos in the world they are about to enter — explaining what they'll be building throughout the game. You'll then use the cards and shapes to put together different projects in the tiny city. This is designed for both directional and free play, so get your imagination ready! 

Number of players:  4

Pieces: construction site board, five location boards, safety cone tokens, shape blocks, character block, and dump truck

Promising review: "Easy to learn and fun for my 3-year-old!" — Wildheartmamas

17. Go Go Gears! , which is a puzzle game that'll really have your kiddo's gears turning! To play, they'll choose a puzzle card and figure out how to match their physical gears onto the board. Once done, if they've matched it correctly, the gears will turn! Then it's YOUR turn (if your kid feels like sharing).

Number of players:  1

Recommended age: 3

Pieces: puzzle board, 5 double-sided gear cards,1 large gear, 2 medium gears, and 5 small gears

Promising review: "It's been open an hour and he's glued to it — he's 3 1/2-years-old. The sizes, colors, and motion really are fascinating" — Michael Devore

18. Here, Fishy, Fishy!  — this simple game is gonna have your little fly fisher flying high! To play, place the magnetized fish in the bottom of the seabed (slash storage box) and try catching the fish with the color that corresponds with the card you select. Best wishes, little fishes! 

Pieces: 1 storage box/board, 1 fishing rod, 6 sea dwellers, 1 sea bottom, 4 collecting boards, 1 die

Promising review: "I bought this as a gift for my son’s second birthday. We played it with four kids ages 2–7 and they all loved it. The level of challenge was just right for the younger kids and the game design was engaging enough for the older child. High quality wood prices will last a long time. Simple rules that are easy to follow and help kids develop social skills by taking turn and following game rules. The kids were asking to play again and again!" — Amber Simonton

19. And finally, a custom busy board so irresistibly lovely you just might want to play with it all day, every day. Make your nursery decor magical by decorating with an item you and your child can actually play with, and have fun coming up with silly games involving the odds and ends attached to this beautiful board. 

Busy Puzzle is a small business owned by Julia and located in Ukraine. You can find a gorgeous collection of wooden Montessori toys, nursery toys, and other educational toys along with lovely bedroom decor.

Pieces: 1 giant puzzle board with 1 beaded rainbow, 1 zigzag path, 1 tree path, mini abacus, bells, gears, a zipper, and several removable critters

Promising review: "This is such an awesome product! It has so many different activities and it's fantastic quality." — Sandra Hodzic

Get it from Busy Puzzle on Etsy for $180+ (originally $450+; available in six styles and several customization options).

Reviews in this post have been edited for length and clarity.

Share This Article

• Toys & Games
• Learning & Education
• Flash Cards

No featured offers available

• Quality Price,
• Reliable delivery option, and
• Seller who offers good customer service

Sorry, there was a problem.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Talking Flash Cards with LCD Writing Tablet, APZDY Autism Sensory Toys for Autistic Children, Speech Therapy Toys, 224 Sight Words Educational Learning Toddler Toys for 3 4 5 6 Year Old

• 【Toddler Learning Toys】 Our upgraded APZDY speech therapy toy includes a card reader and 112 double-sided talking flash cards, as well as an 8.5-inch LCD writing tablet, allowing your kids to write and draw while learning. This Montessori sensory toy is perfect for toddlers' speech development, hand-eye coordination, and cognitive abilities. It is an excellent autism learning material for toddlers to practice pronunciation, exercise hearing, and build vocabulary.
• 【Educational Toys for Kids 3-8】 Designed by teachers, this interactive learning device includes 224 sight words covering 12 themes such as animals, vehicles, foods, fruits, vegetables, colors, shapes, occupations, characters, clothing, and more. It features standard pronunciation and realistic animal sounds. An 8.5-inch erasable writing board allows your child to learn to write and draw, without glare and blue light. This is the best autism sensory toy for children aged 3-8.
• 【Interactive Learning Device】 This learning toy can speak out the word when you plug the corresponding word card into the machine, imitating the sounds of animals and various vehicles. It can be played repeatedly and the volume adjusted, so it does not disturb parents. The LCD writing tablet allows your child to write quickly with the included stylus and erase writing with a click. It can also lock the screen when your child finishes writing or drawing.
• 【Easy and Safe】 Our toddler flash card reader with an LCD writing tablet is made of high-quality ABS plastics that meet the highest health safety standard, and is CPC certified as completely child-friendly. USB chargers are more convenient and safe for kids instead of batteries.
• 【Gift for Boys and Girls Ages 3-8】 This fun preschool learning activities game toy effectively reduces children's dependence on computers and mobile phones. Especially helpful for children with autism to develop language skills. Toys for autistic children for birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, party favors, and more.
• 【Tips】 There is a screen lock switch on the back of the product, when it is locked, the screen cannot be erased. We recommend keeping the screen locked when not using this toddler learning toy. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us, we will serve you 24 hours a day.

Product information

Age Range (Description)	Kid, Toddler
Number of Pieces	112
School type	Pre School
Product Dimensions	11.73"L x 6.53"W
Item Weight	14.8 ounces
ASIN	B0BG1239V7
Item model number	B0BG1239V7
Manufacturer recommended age	36 months - 12 years
Batteries	2 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included)
Best Sellers Rank	#289,084 in Toys & Games ( ) #1,746 in
Customer Reviews	4.5 out of 5 stars
Manufacturer	Shenzhen Newlight Industrial Co., Ltd.

Fields with an asterisk * are required

: : : : : Please select province : : to provide feedback. \n' + ' ' ); } function getThankYouDiv(thankMsg) { return ( ' \n' + '

' ); } function getLoadingGifDiv() { return '

From the brand

We are committed to providing parents with the best possible educational toys to support their child's growth and development.

We understand the importance of nurturing a child's natural curiosity and passion for learning from a young age, and we believe that children learn best when they are having fun and exploring the world around them.

Our products are designed to be fun, engaging, and interactive, with a focus on age-appropriate learning that encourages exploration and discovery.

Product Description

Read & Write Learning Toys for 3 4 5 6 7 8 Years Old

• This toddler toy comes with a flashcard reader and LCD writing tablets, allowing children to write and draw while learning.
• A new concept educational toy for kids to learn words and recognize new things.

112 Double-sided Flash Cards, 224 Sight words, 12 Themes

• Animals*56, Custumes*16, Colors*9, Shapes*5, Foods*21, Jobs*8, Family member*8, Vegetables*17, Fruits*18, Vehicles*25, Daily necessities*31, Nature*10
• This learning toy can help children recognize new things, learn words and learn to pronounce, the corresponding sound effects can also enhance toddlers' identification, cognition, and imagination.

Eye Protection

• This LCD writing tablet without glare, no blue light, causes no damage to children's eyes even after a long-term use
• 8.5-inch screen
• Smooth writing experience
• 1 key to lock the screen
• 1 key to erase the screen
• Everything is designed to effectively promote children's learning and development.

Perfect Gift for 3 4 5 6 7 Year Old Boys and Girls

What's in the box

• Storage Bag

Videos for this product

Click to play video

Such A Fun Interactive Writing Tool For My Toddlers

Outside Together Co.

Learning New Words Is Fun With This Flash Card Tablet

Molly Sloan

Talking Flash Cards with LCD Writing Tablet

Frank Plascencia

Customer Review: Rechargeable interactive learning device

Upgraded talking flash cards with writing tablet

Customer Review: Fun and easy

Customer Review: Wish the tablet/doodle area was brighter

Similar brands on Amazon

Looking for specific info?

Customer reviews.

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers like the quality, ease of use, fun, and gift-giving of the flash cards. For example, they mention it's a great learning device, easy to insert the cards, and a good entertaining toy for adults. That said, some complain about the readability.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the flash cards to be a great learning device and toy. They say it's easy to use and helps add to a child's vocabulary. Customers also say the cards are well thought out and help kids visualize the words they're learning.

"...Perfect gift. For any child. But, for mine nephew is a perfect learning tool ." Read more

"...The included cards are perfect and easy to insert. Great for many children. Autism included for good tool for learning." Read more

"...The flash cards are very helpful in helping him learn how to read. Having the drawing board is a plus!..." Read more

"...he’s autistic and learning new words everyday so this has helped him visualize the words he’s learning...." Read more

Customers find the flash cards easy to use and recommend it for children. They mention that the set is easy on and off, and the cards are easy to insert.

"...The included cards are perfect and easy to insert . Great for many children. Autism included for good tool for learning." Read more

"...They just slides in and records with the pictures. Very simple to use ...." Read more

"This set is so easy to use , easy on and off switches two different sound levels, my 4 yr old really enjoys hearing the sounds whike drawing." Read more

"very nice, my girl loves it, super easy to use , a great variety of cards, feels good material, perfect for children. I love it" Read more

Customers find the flash cards fun and entertaining. They say it's a great learning tool for children and adults. Some mention that the cards are great for toddlers learning to talk.

"...They “teach” each other and are really learning from it and enjoying learning ...." Read more

"...The included cards are perfect and easy to insert. Great for many children . Autism included for good tool for learning." Read more

"Good purchase for the price I paid. Does what it says. Good learning tool for kids , keep them busy playing with it- so less time watching junk on TV...." Read more

"Cards are great for toddlers learning to talk !" Read more

Customers find the flash cards educational and crafty. They say it makes a great learning Christmas gift for children. Some customers also mention that the cards are perfect for autistic children.

" Perfect gift for an autistic child . My nephew loved it. He has learned so much with this toy, which serves as a play toy or a learning tool...." Read more

"...Great for many children. Autism included for good tool for learning ." Read more

"...this to anyone child in the future and think it was the most comprehensive gift of them all ! Thanks! :)" Read more

"...would be a nice toy for gift giving ." Read more

Customers are satisfied with the sturdiness of the flash cards. They mention that the cards are thick and feel good material.

"...Cards seem to be thick and sturdy . After every use it erased no problem. My nephew will love this." Read more

"Great tool for learning. Highly recommend. Tablet and cards are sturdy for longevity " Read more

"...my girl loves it, super easy to use, a great variety of cards, feels good material , perfect for children. I love it" Read more

"...Keeps them interested with the bright colors. Very durable ." Read more

Customers are dissatisfied with the readability of the flash cards. They mention that it does not read the cards correctly, and some cards have wrong descriptions.

"...Unfortunately, it does not read the cards correctly ...." Read more

"Erase not working, some cards have wrong description , (shirt says skirt) ect.." Read more

"This product was great for the first 3 days then it started to read all the cards wrong and volume started to drift out" Read more

Customers are dissatisfied with the sound quality of the flash card. They mention that there is not enough sound when they clean their teeth and that the volume starts to drift out.

" not to much sound when you clean your teeth" Read more

"...The only thing I dislike about product is that the sound could be more clear ." Read more

"...3 days then it started to read all the cards wrong and volume started to drift out " Read more

Reviews with images

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices