For your kids, summer is all about sunshine and summer camps, adventure-filled days and weeklong family vacations they’ll remember forever. But that doesn’t mean the hard work they put into learning important stuff during the school year should atrophy in the sunshine. It should bloom!
When you buy a new Fire Kids Edition tablet, there are a slew of educational apps to give them that much-needed summer brain boost. Each new Kids Edition Tablet comes with a subscription to FreeTime Unlimited (one year only), which gives your kids access to over 15,000 books, videos, games and apps, all for free for the first year.
Pro Tip: You can set daily goals for reading, watching and playing through FreeTime and you also have the option to block entertainment content until those daily goals are met.
Want to get started but don’t know where to begin? Read on for some of our favorite brain boosting apps from well-loved brands like PBS, Viacom, Nick Jr. and Sesame Workshop, all rated 4 or 5 stars and all available for free for one year on the All-New Fire Kids Edition Tablet (click for your 20% off code).
For Kids Age 3-5 Years Old
ABC’s and 123’s are all the rage with the tot lot. Add in a few animal sounds and you’ve hit the kid edutainment trifecta. Parents can help young learners build basic math and grammar skills with these kid-approved free apps on the Fire Kids Edition tablets.
Elmo Loves 123’s: Little ones can slide, swipe, touch, and trace their way through a variety of early math games about numbers 1 to 20. Elmo apps are a big hit for this age group .
Squeebles Tell the Time: Well-loved across the pond, this UK based series of apps have reached number 1 in the Apple education charts. In this app, the adorable Squeebles characters have to defeat the nasty Time Troll, offering a fun way for kids to learn to tell time.
SUPER WHY ABC Adventures: Alphabet: The Parent’s Choice Gold Award winning app (based on the PBS Kids Show) offers five interactive literacy games, teaching kids uppercase and lowercase letters, the order of the alphabet, as well as common letter sounds.
Teach Your Monster to Read: Developed in collaboration with leading academics at the University of Roehampton, kids can create a monster and take it on a magical journey over three extensive games that introduce new characters and improve their reading skills as they progress.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Friends: Little ones will love Eric Carle’s best-selling book of all time as it comes to life with sound and movement, offering curious unpredictable interactivity as world’s best-known caterpillar finds healthy fruits as he wriggles across the garden.
Team Umizoomi; Math Racer: Based on the popular Nick Jr. Kids show, Team Umizoomi, kids can customize and race their own car while enjoying fun pit stop challenges including shapes and numbers so they can learn as they play.
For Kids Age 6-8 Years Old
Engage early elementary-aged kiddos with familiar faves to pique their interest in learning using their tablet. Then keep the ball rolling with some more challenging apps that teach problem solving, geography, biology and physics.
Thinkrolls: A Common Sense Media Top Pick, this app teaches logic, observation, spatial cognition, problem solving, and memory skills through hundreds of puzzles. Easy mode for younger kids and advanced mode for older kids.
Lightbot Jr: The perfect starter app for kids who have an interest in coding and/or developing programming logic, Lighbot Jr. is an easier version than the popular Lightbot app, which many teachers use in the classroom. Available in over a dozen languages.
Geography Drive Arcade: Perfect for 3rd-5th graders, this app tests your knowledge about all 50 states, including spelling, shapes, capitals, state flags as well as history and trivia. Kids are rewarded with trophies at 4 different levels.
DNA Play: Recommended by BBC, Cool Mom Tech, this app offers an intro to to DNA, biology and genetics, as kids complete the DNA puzzles, swap their pieces to mutate and tap on body parts to trigger random mutations. Parents’ section includes basic info on DNA, illustrated tutorial, interaction hints & play ideas.
Times Tables: This simple app will take over when you get bored of reciting Multiplication Tables with your kids. Kids love the autonomy of learning at their own pace.
Pettisons Inventions: Nominated for the Best Nordic Children’s Award, this app helps kids learn about realtime physics and the science behind different features like air, fire, magnetism and jumping bunnies. Many of inventions are included in the game, but kids also have an opportunity to create their own!
For Kids Age 9-12 Years Old
Give older kids the challenge they need with content specific powerhouses like anatomy, chess, math and history/elections from trusted sources like National Geographic and Smithsonian.
Human Skeleton: Bones for Beginners: This simple app has one purpose: to teach kids the key bones in the human skeleton, including names and locations. There are three fun modes to let them learn at their own pace.
Campaign Manager: Not only will your kids learn election terminology and trivia, but with this app they can host their own simulated election using real-world polling data, population demographics, and historical voting trends. Simulated skills include hiring volunteers, prepare for a national debate and fundraise.
Chess and Mate: This app offers a self-motived kid an opportunity to chess rules, professional tricks and game tactics with an unlimited amount of practice games. Good for beginners and more advanced players. Multiplayer option available for the whole family.
Concentration: The Attention Trainer: Designed with help from the Society for Brain Training in Hamburg, this game helps kids train their concentration capabilities in a targeted manner using 20 different task types. Similar to the award-winning game series “Successfully Learning” from Tivola.
Sherlock Holmes Mystery Collection: A hidden-picture app with award-winning illustrations that help kids develop visual and spatial puzzle solving skills. Also helps nurture an appreciation for classical literature.
Operation Math Code Squad: Consider one of the Best Math Apps from Teachers With Apps, this fast-paced app lets multiple players race against the clock as they work together to solve problems to disarm Dr. Odd’s devious devices in a race against the clock. Guaranteed to keep kids on the edge of their tablet.
—Allison Sutcliffe
