WeAreTeachers Blog

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With thousands of apps available, how do you know which ones to download?  Here's a list of our favorite educational apps—they're fun, they're entertaining and best of all, your kids will love them so much they won't even realize how much they are learning.

*Note: All of these apps cost less than $3.99 unless otherwise noted and are available for purchase at the iTunes store

Have a favorite app for teachers, students and parents?  Share it with our community here.

For Early Learners

Space Boards:  Teach handwriting, practice shapes, draw and paint all with this fun and easy-to-use app.

LIVE ABC HD:  Introduce kids to the alphabet with a fun, interactive musical book.

ABC WIldlife:  Learn about animals, see fun pictures and play games with this fun science app.

Wacky Safari:  Young kids have a--let's call it unique—sense of humor.  Which is why this app that allows them to make zany animal sounds and listen to fun facts disguised as jokes is a huge hit.

Toddler Teasers:  Hoping to buy yourself a few minutes peace to look at People when you stand in line at the grocery store?  Toddler Teasers apps are full of fun, easy games for the two-to-three set that teach them colors, letters, shapes and numbers. 

Alphabet Animals:  Animated animals narrate these fun, colorful digital flash cards that will make sure your kids will know and recognize all their letters before they can say "Armadillo".

Wheels on the Bus:  Okay, so the song "The Wheels on the Bus" is a teensy bit annoying, but that doesn’t stop this 2010 parent choice gold winning app that teaches vocabulary and problem solving skills from being a huge hit with kids and parents alike. 

TeachMe: Kindergarten:  Who knew that your kids could learn addition, subtraction, letters and letter sounds all from the comfort of your couch?  Okay, so everyone knew that, but you won't believe how easy it can be!

Starfall ABCs:  If you've ever used the Starfall website, you know why it's one of the most popular educational websites for early learners.  Even better, now it's been transformed into this fun, simple and supereducational app for young readers. 

Kids Song Manchine:  This app delivers upbeat, lively and educational music videos to your iPhone or iPad.  Even better, several users rated the songs as "not terribly annoying" which in our opinion is about the best praise you can give to a kid's music app.

Read Me Stories: Get a hand-selected, educational and fun digital storybook delivered to your iPad or iPhone every day.  Sure quicker (and cheaper!) than a daily trip to the bookstore!

For Elementary Students

Book Puzzle:  Emma in Africa:  Teach your kids geography, culture and language (the app has both English and Spanish!) all in the context of a fun and engaging story.

Dinosaurs: American Museum of Natural History: Cool images, fun facts and easy-to-play games.  What better way to learn about dinosaurs? (Free)

Mad Libs:  Get your little grammar whiz's mind cranking with this fun electronic mad libs app--just like you remember from your childhood—only you won't have to scratch out the words on the pages you've already used.

Jelly Car and Jelly Car 2:  Your kids will think they're designing, building and racing Jelly Car racecars.  Little will they know that in the process, they're learning physics and problem solving skills.

Pocket Frog:  Remember pet rocks?  Well, pocket frogs are those, only much, much cooler.  You kids will be able to breed, raise and even trade virtual pet frogs that live in customizable habitats.  (Free)

Clock Master:  Need help getting your kid out the door on time?  This app helps kids make the connection between hours and minutes and read time on both analog and digital clocks so when you say "five minutes to leave time" they'll know exactly what you mean.

Pizza Fractions:  So, fractions aren't always a favorite subject with kids—but pizza is.  So show them how to understand halves and quarters and eighths with this easy—and totally relevant-to-their-lives app.

Sentence Builder:  If you're getting tired of hearing "whatchall doin' today?" from your kid, then Sentence Builder is the app for you. A fun wheel-of-fortune-like game.  Grammatically correct sentences.  What's not to love?

Math Bingo:  Hone your kids Bingo skills (and their math skills) with this fun bingo game that makes you solve a math equation before you can cross out a box. 

Word Magic:  Kid tested:  Fun games, cool graphics, interesting words.  Mom-approved:  Rated best educational app in 2009 for teaching spelling, reading and vocab. 

Stack the States:  Who knew that the states could be made into fun, stackable puzzles?  They can—and this fast-moving and fact-filled app will help your kid do exactly that.

BrainPop: Your brain needs a daily caffeine fix, your kid's brain needs a daily BrainPop fix.  Get a short, funny and educational movie on a random topic delivered to your iPad or iPhone every day. (Free)

For Middle and High Schoolers

No Fear Shakespeare:  We get it:  Shakespeare can be a bit, well, complicated.  And there are times that a side-by-side modern-English translation could really help out your kid's comprehension skills.  Well, there's an app for that.

Spanish Touch—Spanish teachers are always talking about the importance of actually hearing the language.  Now you can do exactly that…without traveling to a foreign country or overeating cheesy enchiladas.

Convert Unit Calculator:  Okay, so this isn't exactly a fun app, but any kid who's taking math that goes beyond basic addition will appreciate being able to convert and calculate angles to area and temperature to force all at the touch of a button.

My Homework:  Students can keep track of homework, deadlines and projects all with one simple-to-use app. Now if only they'd put together a just-as-simple app for busy moms who need to keep track of soccer practices, work deadlines and grocery lists. (Free)

Dictionary.com Free:  Does everything your trusty Websters can do—except your kid won't break her back from lugging around another heavy book in her backpack.  (Won't this come in handy at your family's next Scrabble game night?) (Free)

Cram:  Create flash cards and multiple choice self-quizzes so your kid can cram (er, study) for his next big test.  (cost $6.99)

Graphing Calculator:  Graphing caluculators cost hundreds of dollars—and have a tendency to get lost.  But a graphic calculator app costs a mere $2.99—and chance are your kid is a lot more protective of his iPhone, iPod or iPad than he ever was with his TI85.

For All Ages

Pianist:  Budding Mozart on your hands?  Transform your iStuff into an 88-key piano—the keys depress when you touch them and once your kid has perfected his piece, she can record her songs and play them back for an audience.

Star Walk— Take an evening on the patio to a whole new level with this supercool astronomy app that you'll want to steal (er, borrow) from your kids.   Find stars, planets and constellations at the touch of a button—and spout off cool facts as you gaze at the night sky.

NASA App:  Explore NASA's latest projects, the shuttle launch schedule and more—a budding astronaut's—or aging space fanatic's—dream. 

On This Day:  Want some fun facts to spout off at your next dinner party?  On This Day will send you a whole list of facts about any given day—from major historical events to obscure birthdays—delivered to your iPhone, iPad or iPod every day.

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Anything that has to do with thechnology! Love it! Its so engaging for today's child! I love it!