It’s the festive season and your kids now have plenty of time to spend with you. It’s all fun and games at first but, no matter how much you love your kids, you’ll eventually need a break. Here are some great apps to keep them busy so you can get some me-time.
Great apps for pre-schoolers
1. Toca Nature
Toca Nature combines design and nature. Your child will be able to build hills and gig channels for lakes and rivers. But it happens on a device, helping prevent dirty fingers and dirty laundry.
Kids can plant trees with simple taps on the screen. They’ll also get a great zoo or wild nature experience with bears, rabbits, and fish that settle in their natural environments in the habit that your child has designed. Kids can also feed the animals.
By the time the holidays are over, your child will have a great idea of what particular animals look like, where they live, and how they interact with nature. They’ll also be able to take pictures of the world they’ve created.
Downloads:
iOS: R65
Android: R60
2. Endless Alphabet
Endless Alphabet makes it fun and easy for kids to learn… well… alphabets and words in a relaxed game-like environment. Kids learn to spell dozens of words by sorting them. They can drag letters around with funny animations once they complete spelling a word. We must warn you though, it tends to favour American spelling, so you might have to remind your kids how to spell some words in South African English – which is UK English but heard further south.
Downloads:
iOS: R150
Android: Free
3. Lego Duplo World
This game doesn’t replace the experience that kids get when playing with actual Lego but it’s great for children’s real-world dexterity. It’ll also help kids to learn how to navigate touchscreens.
Kids get access to ‘Number Train’, which has a plastic train and activities that’ll teach them to sort colours and count with animal blocks. They’ll also learn to create all kinds of creatures.
It’ll also keep you from stepping on real Legos. Until they’re a little older, at least.
Downloads:
iOS: Free
Android: Free
Great apps and games for primary schoolers
4. Universe in a Nutshell
Universe in a Nutshell will help your kids to fully understand the universe and where they fit in the greater scheme of things.
Using pinch gestures, kids can zoom across the universe to get a close look at what they look like while comparing the sizes of over 250 objects between the two extremes.
The app’s illustration is wonderful. It has a size comparison chart and plenty of learning in store for little ones. The relaxing soundtrack will also keep them chilled while they navigate the universe.
Download from iOS: R50
Download from Android: R50
Great apps for older kids
5. Serial Reader
With audiobooks and millions of apps at their disposal, it takes a lot to convince young kids to read an actual book.
However, Serial Reader repackages classic books as bite-sized stories and offers them on a daily basis in snippets. Kids can get at least ten minutes of reading every day using the app, which is ten minutes more than they were getting before.
Downloads:
iOS: Free
Android: Free
6. Seterra Geography
Seterra Geography gives kids a wide scope to learn about different countries and memorize their flags.
Kids can score points by answering a range of quizzes that can be customised and saved. This app is great for kids who want to sharpen their geography skills. They’ll likely be much improved by the time they head back to school.
Download from iOS: Free
Download from Android: Free
7. Journeys of Invention
If your older kids are fascinated by inventions, Journeys of Invention will be perfect for them. They’ll discover historic events in both science and technology.
It’s interactive, meaning kids explore and discover multiple objects during their exploration as they examine them under a microscope. They’ll be able to navigate the inside of the Apollo 10 Command Module and, using an Enigma Machine, they’ll be able to send messages. Among other experiences.
Download on iOS: R225
8. Little Alchemy 2
Little Alchemy 2 won’t turn your kids into scientists overnight, but it’ll ignite their love for it and sharpen some skills that may come in handy. Either way, it’s a fun way for kids to figure out the most basic form of most objects that they interact with in the real world. It’ll spark creative juices and allows them to mix and craft while getting a science lesson at the same time.
Download on iOS: Free
Download on Android: Free
9. Fancade
Fancade kicks off with a set of easy mini-games to get kids familiar with the game. It then turns into a mobile arcade. It has quite an educational element to its design. Kids can dip in and out of different mini-games until they find the ones they like the most. They can then design their own versions or craft their own unique game.
Download on iOS: Free
Download on Android: Free
10. Swift Playgrounds
Coding may not necessarily be the path for all kids in the future, but it’s a handy skill to have.
Swift Playgrounds uses Apple’s programming language and offers interactive coding lessons in a 3D world. It’s not just a game either. It has features that can be used to build apps that can be submitted to the actual App Store.
Download on iOS: Free
Download on Android: Free