Animal Jam
Ages 6-12 (Computer, iOS, Android)
Animal Jam is an online virtual world originally created in collaboration with the National Geographic Society. It teaches kids about zoology and ecology with games, adventures, and parties and online social elements. With 160 million registered users, this is one of the largest virtual worlds for kids. If the online play gives you pause, know that the parental controls are pretty good, allowing you to lock down the game if you desire.
Prodigy
Ages 6-12 (Computer, iOS, Android)
Prodigy delivers a unique learning experience through an interactive math game where success depends on correctly answering skill-building math questions. Players can earn rewards, go on quests and play with friends. all while learning new skills! Kids proceed through the game by answering skill-building math questions to earn rewards. There’s an interactive element, too; they can go on quests with friends. The difficulty levels increase as your kids make progress in the game.
Tinybop Games
Ages 4 and Up (Computer, iOS, Android)
Explore the invisible & awesome wonders of our world! The Explorer’s Library is an award-winning educational series designed to teach kids ages 4+ foundational science literacy. Android users there is one Tinybop bundle in the Play Store which has six games. Tinybop is currently offering its Tinybop Schools subscription, which features ten science apps and classroom support, for free through the summer to help out parents and kids while schools are closed (no credit card required).
Dragonbox Math and Chess Games
DragonBox Numbers will teach your child what numbers are, how they work, and what you can do with them. The game makes it easy and fun for your child to gain an intuitive understanding of numbers. It’s a great introduction to the wonderful world of math. It uses an adventure-style approach to teach kids about different chess pieces and how to play. I strongly suggest picking up a real-world chess board as well.
Stop Motion Studio
Ages 4 and Up (iOS)
Stop Motion Studio is a powerful, full-featured movie editor with a whole host of features:
- A simplistic, easy-to-use interface
- Overlay mode showing the differences between frames
- Animation guides to position animated objects more easily
- Copy, paste, cut, and insert frames at any position
- Interactive timeline so you never get lost, even if you have hundreds of frames
Starfall Kids Games
Ages 4-6 (Computer)
This language, arts, and music learning site has dozens of games and activities to help your kids learn to read, add, subtract, and identify shapes.
PBS Kids Games
Science games for kids encourage children to see science in their everyday life. These educational games serve as catalysts for real-world exploration by drawing from real-world locations and experiences that children recognize.
Thinkrolls 2
This physics puzzle game features rolling aliens that teach your kids about acceleration, buoyancy, gravity, and more. Like games of yesteryear, there are no ads, no in-app purchases, and it doesn’t need an internet connection.
