By: Piper Bell, Technology
In this technology filled world we now live in, we are immersed by many apps that can easily be downloaded onto our mobile devices such as, books, creative art, games, photography, weather, news, shopping, community based GPS navigation and so much more. Looking through the App Store for apps can be pretty overwhelming. One thing that can make your decision a little easier as to what app to download is reading the reviews that are posted on each app page. If it is a paid app it really helps to see what others are saying about the app and if you would like to know a little more you could research the developer.
We are so fortunate to have a plethora of children’s apps to choose from and there are great resources that can select the best top rated apps for kids that are intuitive, helpful and the best priced. Here are twelve of my recommendations from the parents.com article, Best Apps for Families:
- PBS Kids Video: Provides a safe, child-friendly viewing experience for all ages.
- Starfall Education Series: ABC’s, I’m Reading, Numbers, Learn to Read, It’s Fun to Read and more.
- ABC Mouse Education Bundle: ABCmouse.com, Mathematics Animations, ABCmouse Music Videos, Language Arts Animations, ABCmouse Mastering Math, Mastering the Alphabet, ABCmouse Science Animations, Magic Rainbow Traceables and ABCmouse Zoo.
- Heads Up!: Trivia on the go.
- Hopscotch: Coding for Kids
- Swift Playgrounds: Learn real coding the fun way by Apple
- Minecraft: Education Edition – the game allows players to build with a variety of different blocks in 3D to create virtual worlds. Families can be in the same game if on shared Wi-Fi.
- Mathmateer: Build a rocket and fly to the stars completing 56 different math missions.
- Evernote: Record voice notes, digitize documents and share files electronically.
- BrainBreak: Brain training exercises to increase motivation and teamwork.
- QuizUp: Fun, addictive, challenging trivia.
- Waze: Community based navigation app that provides real-time traffic updates and road information.
Technology has brought a great deal of instant information to our fingertips, anywhere at anytime, and it is extremely easy to become addicted to spending way too much time surfing the internet, playing games, watching videos, social media and more with children and adults alike. It is very important for families to be aware of the amount of time that media is being used. With Apple’s Screen Time, you can see how much time you and your children spend on apps, websites and more. Screen Time will let you set limits for what you want to manage. To learn more visit, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208982. Apple also has an app, Apple Support, which is your personal guide to find answers with articles tailored to your devices. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apple-support/id1130498044?mt=8. What ever you are looking for, more than likely, there’s an app for that! If not…..maybe you might be the next new app developer!