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5 Educational Game Apps for Young Learners

It’s no secret that Christmas comes with presents and presents are likely to be technology related if last year’s statistics are anything to go by. In 2013, 54% of parents planned tech purchases, with tablets topping the Christmas shopping list. Of course, you can’t have a tablet without having apps, but with increased concerns from parents over the content and advertising within apps, it’s now a top priority to find out exactly what you’re letting children have access to.

If you’re going to download apps there’s a strong chance that you’ll be including some educational games to your list. But how do you know where to find the best ones? Leave it to us! We’ve selected the 5 Educational Game Apps for Young Learners, so your children can have fun with their new tablet whilst learning something in the process.

Toca Town

( iPad - £0.69 )

Toca Town is an open-play environment designed to nurture a child’s imagination and analytical skills. Kids can choose between a whole set of virtual dolls houses and characters to play with, with each part of town providing a whole range of creative options to empower children with a sense of the freedom to explore.

Age: 4-8

Learning Benefits:

- Language and reading skills through character interaction

- Thinking and creative reasoning through engagement with their virtual world and practical problem solving.

Special Features: Very low level of consumerism, with no adverts or in-app purchases.

Platforms: Apple

Price: £0.69

Explorium - Space for Kids

( iPad - £1.99 )

Explorium – Space for Kids is an app that will make a budding astronaut of your child, as they take on interplanetary adventures full of games, facts and surprises. Children play and learn their way across the solar system at their own place, creating their own path. The gaming element comes in the form of nine mini-games accessed upon the discovery of a new planet, as well as the app’s ‘journey’ element, which sees you travel in your spaceship collecting parts to fix a broken space machine.

Learning benefits:

- Memory and logical thinking through problem solving mini-games

- Flexible and individualised access to information about the solar system

- Vocabulary expansion

- Nurtures imagination

Special Features: Mini-games can be accessed separately on the home screen once initially unlocked. These also have four levels of difficulty to continuously challenge the child playing. There are also no advertisements, in-app purchases or prompts to engage with social media.

Platforms: Apple

Price: FREE or £1.99

Letterland Stories: Annie Apple

( Android - Free , iPad - Free )

Letterland Stories: Annie Apple is one of ten apps that concentrate on a specific selection of alphabet letters, grouped together in their most phonically regular forms with the help of your companion Annie Apple. Through the reading activities and phonic exercises, this app helps provide a good basis for a child’s reading and development. Children are encouraged to read or follow a story, with activities, songs and videos interspersed to make it an interactive experience.

Age: 3-7

Learning Benefits:

- Phonetic development

- Vocabulary expansion

- Hand / Eye coordination

- Writing practice

Special Features: This app has a number of different options accessible from the home screen to tailor the users learning experience. There is a maze, word search, pairs game, spot the difference and drawing section, with a section for craft ideas that can be used outside of the app. There are no adverts or in-app purchases.

Platforms: Apple and Android

Price: FREE

$Tower Math$

Tower Math

( iPad - £0.69 )

Tower Math is an app that makes practicing arithmetic fun. The app surrounds the idea that numbers have been turned into monsters by an evil wizard – the child’s job is to add, subtract, divide and multiply until you build a tower with powers strong enough to free the numbers. 3D features and player profiles add a challenge dynamic to the game, whilst helping to culture instinctive arithmetic skills.

Age: 6-8

Learning Benefits:

- Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills

Special Features: This game boasts 20 unique scenes and up to 5 player profiles, so multiple children can use the app independently of each other. There are no advertisements or in-app purchases, as well as no integration with social media networks.

Platforms: Apple and Android

Price: £0.69

Zoo Playground - Educational games with animated animals for kids

( iPad - £1.99 )

Zoo Playground aims to teach children about animals and their diets and habits, as well as developing a range of other core preschool objectives. This app is extremely easy for little ones to navigate due to a simplified navigation system that doesn’t need adult supervision. The gaming feature comes in the form of nine mini-games, each being designed with usability and informational learning in mind. Although the app is aligned around animals and their different habitats, the mini-games feature ‘light’ numeracy and literacy challenges.

Learning Benefits:

- Creativity, concentration and memory skills.

- Basic arithmetic and literacy skills.

- Knowledge of animals and their habitats.

Special Features: This app provides a clear voiceover to help guide children through the game, as well as a simplified interface, alternate difficulty levels that rise as the child progresses, and a stunning visual design. This app also has no in-app purchases, advertisements or social media links.

Platforms: Android

Price: FREE