These days, there’s an app for everything—and for people of any age. From finding places to eat, helping you to set and keep daily goals, to keeping you up-to-date on news relevant to you, it seems there’s nothing these smartphones can’t do for us. But did you know how many great and educational apps there are out there for kids?
I’ve compiled a list of my favorite ones to help on the mission to get kids reading. And while I’m usually a fan of encouraging them to pick up a book instead of their tablet, sometimes combining the two is most effective!
Tikatock StorySpark: This is an app that not only helps young children read, it is aimed to reward their creativity at all turns! Kids get to write and illustrate their own books on this app, using photos and drawings they made themselves. When they’ve finished, their creation is “published” on the Tikatock website under a pen name! This is a must-have app for any kids looking for a creative outlet.
Reading Raven: The best part about this app is that it’s customizable for children of different ages, starting at 3 years and going up to 5+. There are different stages it goes through, with children being able to record their voice when learning from a three-letter word all the way up to a complete sentence!
Learn with Homer: Like most reading apps, this one has excellent features for phonics lessons—but this app has such a wide variety of content that makes it stand apart from the crowd. Everything from animals to poetry, world music to fiction, there is something for every child to enjoy. Another important stand-out about this app is that it encourages children not only to learn to read, but to think critically about what they’ve read via analysis questions, prompts that ask them to draw their thoughts, and more.
Bookster: This app finds its spot on my list because it includes something I haven’t seen on anything else—narration of books by children. Whatever age your child is, they can pick a book that will be narrated by someone the same age as them, making it both relatable and easier to understand. And once they’ve gotten the hang of it, your child can record himself reading the book on his own!
What reading apps are you and your family enjoying? Let me know in the comments so I can check them out!