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6 Best Educational Apps for Elementary School Kids

We’ve heard the concerns about kids and their tablets. But we think that as long as kids want to play with apps, they could be doing something educational. If you have an elementary-aged kid, let them play with these apps, guilt-free.

Barefoot World Atlas

The app: Barefoot World Atlas.
Platform: iOS.
Cost: $6.99.

What makes this app better than a regular atlas? Well, it has this amazing sense of wonder. When you’re exploring the world through this little app on your phone, it seems so magical and huge. And there’s more than just geographies and countries; your kid will learn about people of the world, animals, cities of antiquity, and more. They’re never too young to learn how cool the world is.

Seesaw

The app: Seesaw.
Platform: iOS & Android.
Cost: free; in-app purchases are extra.

Never satisfied with the answer to “What did you do at school today?” Well, consider getting Seesaw. It’s a digital portfolio that lets kids document their work, then allows them to share it with their friends, you, extended family—whoever wants to see it. And if your kid’s teacher is on Seesaw, they can communicate and collaborate with you over assignments, schedules, parent/teacher conferences—Seesaw becomes a scrapbook for all your student’s work.

Epic Unlimited Books

The app: Epic Unlimited Books.
Platform: iOS, Android, Kindle.
Cost: $6.99 per month.

Technically, this app does not offer unlimited books. The limit is somewhere around 15,000 books. Which, we’re sure you’ll agree, is a truly epic number of books. The library includes books suitable for kids up to 12, has audio and read-to-me selections, books in Spanish, and much more. Oh, and as your kid reads, the app will start offering smart recommendations. And just in case 15,000 books isn’t enough, they add more every week.

Grammar Pop

The app: Grammar Pop.
Platform: iOS & Android.
Cost: $2.74.

If you’ve ever googled a grammar problem, you’ve undoubtedly encountered Grammar Girl. Well, this is her app and it’s aimed at elementary school kids. Basically, it helps kids learn their parts of speech, all the way from simple nouns up to participles and gerunds. There are twenty-eight levels of difficulty, so your child will have plenty to do.

SpellingCity

The app: SpellingCity.
Platform: iOS & Android.
Cost: free; optional in-app purchases.

SpellingCity is about more than spelling. Sure, it teaches kids how to spell words, use them in sentences, and pronounce said words. It also teaches them to alphabetize words, unscramble words, figure out missing vowels, understand sentence structure, learn new words from context . . . there’s a whole lot of spelling and more going on here, is what we’re saying.

Math Evolve

The app: Math Evolve.
Platform: iOS, Android, Kindle.
Cost: $2.79.

Math Evolve is what happens when you disguise a math worksheet as an arcade game. It teaches addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, offering your child loads of mental math practice. The player must solve math problems at a faster and faster rate to beat alien hordes and save their home planet.

The Bottom Line

It’s pretty amazing how much material is at our children’s fingertips. We think these apps represent some of the best examples of digital learning out there—and they’re lots of fun too.