This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #DataAndAMovie #CollectiveBias
One of my favorite things to do is say YES to my kids. At five and three years old, they love technology. Charlie will spend a ton of time just playing country music when it’s his turn but I want them to have a variety of completely acceptable apps to choose from so when they have their the to play, they also have fun things that they love to do. I’ve researched and crowdsourced to find some of the best apps for kindergarteners and I cannot wait to share it with you.
ABCMouse.com is a big favorite around here. The first month is free and then there is a charge. I like it because there are many different activities to choose from but they have to complete them all in order to move up a level. You can view this as a website or on the App Store or Google Play.
***Star Walk is my new favorite. There are free and paid versions. My 3 year old is obsessed with this sort of thing. He loves moving it around and locating the planets or constellations or the sun, moon, etc.. Available on the App Store or Google Play.
***Star fall FREE My kids have really been loving this app so far. There are also paid versions available. Starfall ABC, Starfall Numbers, Starfall Learn to Read, Starfall It’s Fun to Read. Available on the App Store or Google Play
Planet Lettra $1.99 Available on the App Store
Eggy 100 hd FREE This app teaches 100 sight words. You can upgrade for a fee to get the full 250 sight words. Available on the App Store or Google Play
***Reading Eggs $4.99 for the bundle which includes 6 different apps for $4.99. This was the first website my kids ever visited and they loved it. There is both a reading area and a math one. There are a few extra activities for kids to do, but mainly, it takes them on a straight path through the lessons and each one tends to build on the previous lesson. They can take quizzes and it will send a report card to the parent. You can play online or on the App Store.
Read Me Stories FREE This app provides a new story for kids to read daily. Available on the App Store or Google Play.
Duolingo FREE This app makes learning multiple languages fun. With engaging mini games that kids will love, they will be learning in no time. Available on the App Store and Google Play.
Imagination Playground 3D Builder FREE Kids will learn through play with this app as they stack, connect, and have limitless creative fun. Available on the App Store or Google Play.
Learn with Homer FREE This app was highly recommended to us and we haven’t had the chance to try it out just yet. It is designed to teach your child to read. Available on the App Store.
Toca Store FREE This app lets your kids play store. Multiple kids can play at once or one child can be both storekeeper and customer. They learn about making choices, counting, money and have fun.
Teach Me $1.99 You can purchase this app by individual grade levels {the toddler app is $0.99} or as a group for $7.99 which includes toddler, kindergarten, first, second, third and math facts. Available on the App Store.
Writing Wizard FREE or paid option – $3.99. This app will help students learn to write. My kids prefer Letter School to this app. Available on the App Store or Google Play.
Sound Sorting Beginning Sounds $0.99 Students grab picture balls and drop them into the correct spots on the board. Available on the App Store.
Marble Math Jr. $2.99 This app teaches students to solve math problems by collecting numbers as they roll or drag their male through mazes. Available on the App Store and Google Play.
Toontastic FREE This app really lets their creativity shine. Students can write their own story, including drawing, animating and telling their story.
Scratch Jr. In this age of technology, teach young learners to code. Students will create their own interactive stories and games. Available on the App Store and Google Play.
***Letter School FREE There is also a paid version, we haven’t moved to that one yet. I cannot say enough about this app. I love it because my three year old loves it. For a child who had absolutely no interest at all in learning to trace or write letters, he is now loving this. He is learning letter names and loves showing off his new skills. On the letter B, he can follow the arrows to trace the letter. Once he has completed it correctly, a race car drives the letter in the way that you write it. He seriously loves it. It’s also a great app for kindergarten students who are still mastering their letters. Available on the App Store and Google Play.
Endless Alphabet, Endless Numbers, Endless Reader, Endless Wordplay FREE + additional in-app purchases. Students learn words with word puzzles and animations for each word. Available on the App Store and Google Play.
Reading Rainbow FREE + paid version. Students can enjoy the first five stories for free where a paid subscription gives them access to hundreds more. Available on the App Store.
Sentence Builder FREE + in app purchases and paid version. This app gets kids learning to write proper sentences. Students drag and drop different words to create a sentence. If they forget to capitalize, use punctuation or use words in the wrong order, it will change the word color and move them around. Available on the App Store.
Park Math $1.99 This app takes every day situations and teaches kids different math concepts from counting how many times a rabbit swings to balancing a seesaw by adding and subtracting mice and so much more. We haven’t had a chance to use this yet {seriously, we are checking out so many apps right now} but we will update when we spend some time with it.
*** indicates our current favorites.
This week has been tough since we are all down and out with a pretty nasty cold, even typing this hurts my face right now. That being said, we have added tons of apps lately and it had me thinking about the amount of data we use. Between my blogging and real estate business, John’s obsessed with Facebook and Craigslist, and the kids spending way too much time lately on the tablet playing music and apps, I knew we were using far too much data around here and it was probably going to get expensive. I remember hearing about the Walmart Family Mobile plans and how affordable they are so I decided to check it out.
We have a variety of devices that the kids use sometimes. The tablet is great sometimes but when we are out and about and I need to keep somebody busy for awhile {think waiting at the doctor}. Having a smartphone that can keep up with our data use and not cost me an arm and a leg. We decided to try out the Walmart Family Mobile PLUS plan because it includes unlimited talk, text and data; including up to 10 GB of 4G LTE data PLUS a free movie on VUDU {$7 value} every month per line. All of this for $49.88 a line. Not only is this a great deal for a phone plan, the data is exactly what we need. The free movie every month is a total plus for us. It gives us more options for our weekly movie night with the kids. We love to all curl up around the laptop or tablet and watch a movie all snuggled together for some quality family time. This was like icing on the cake for us.
We already knew we liked the Samsung phones so we decided on the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime for $99 on rollback from $149. Since we didn’t already have a Walmart Family Mobile plan, we had to purchase the $25 starter kit as well. I was beyond thrilled when the cashier offered to set it up for us right on the spot.
Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/28aqc or your local Walmart for current pricing.
Getting a deal on extra data plus a movie is a huge bonus for our family. Knowing we don’t have to worry about using too much data on any of our devices plus having a great phone that I can count on anytime, whether I’m at home, on the go or need a technology babysitter while I am showing houses, the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime with the Walmart Family Mobile PLUS plan is the answer to our needs. Now I can get my work done, the kids can have some educational fun, we get a family movie AND we never have to worry about using too much data.
I did my research but I know there are other kindergarten apps that should be on my list. I’d love for you to leave me a comment letting me know your favorite apps, whether or not they made this list.
