Kids start playing with tablets and smartphones as soon as their fingers touch the screen, it’s almost as if they have a built in tech system already optimised. Not only can kids use these devices relatively easily but they want to… so why not use them as a learning opportunity?
There are a million blog posts and articles on the best learning apps out there. How do you know which ones to use? I wanted to find the 3 best educational apps for pre-schoolers, primary school and high school kids but, not being a parent, I wasn’t sure where to start. I decided to ask Raquel De Freitas for her suggestions.
I’m a firm believer in asking leaders in the field for their advice and Raquel is one of these leaders. She has a BSc degree in Molecular Cell Biology and a BSc Honours degree in Biotechnology from Wits. She also has a postgraduate certificate in education with honours in mathematics and further education and training. She’s taught at Parktown Girls (a prestigious Johannesburg all-girls school) and currently does work with Mindset Learn and A to Z Tutoring – both are companies utilising technology to enhance the education of children of all ages. In short? She knows her stuff.
Below are Raquel’s suggestions for the 3 best educational apps for pre-schoolers, primary school and high school kids.
Pre-schoolers
At this stage Raquel recommends teaching kids to count, recognise numbers and draw them. These apps can help:
123 tracing
This interactive numbers app teaches little ones how to identify numbers, 1 to 1 number correspondence, reading number symbols and associating symbols with quantities among other things. It’s available for Android and Apple devices.
Maths (age 3-5)
This app offers more than 80 activities and focuses on 10 core topics for pre-schoolers. There is also a teacher figure to show your child “how to” and you can personalise the app for your little one. It’s available in Google Play and the iStore.
Farm Friends
Another app for both Android and Apple devices. This beauty is filled with puzzles, drawing games and colouring books. It teaches your child about farm animals and their behaviours, all being told in fun rhymes. The activities include various mathematical principals as well. A great “first start”.
Primary School
At this stage of your child’s academic career they’re being taught the basics of mathematics which forms the foundation on which everything else will be based. Raquel says it is important to ensure your child knows their timetables and can comfortably do mental maths. Maybe most importantly, your child needs to know how to do “real” maths like tell the time, weigh, measure and convert between different units of measurements. These are her top three apps to help you help your child excel.
Multiplication Genius
It’s pretty obvious that this app assists in helping with multiplication tables. There is a scoreboard to measure your success against others but also a practice mode if your child isn’t quite confident yet. This app is available in the Play Store and iStore.
Monster Math
This is a great app to play together with your child if they can’t read well enough yet. It’s available in the iStore with a similar type of app available for Windows Phones. It covers all the basic mathematical principles in a fun way… also there is monsters. Most kids love that element.
Rooster time
This is great for “real” maths help. Players need to wake the rooster by telling the time. It is available for iOS devices only.
High school
Your child’s high school years are all about algebra, trigonometry and geometry. This is the stage where many parents “check out” as they struggled with the concepts in school or have forgotten over the years. These are Raquel’s top resources for your stubborn teens to download and use:
Everything Maths
This is a fabulous South African resource which allows pupils to download a CAPS aligned text book which includes video lesson links. All data can be accessed via the website.
Mindset Learn
Again, another fantastic South African online resource which has free lesson videos, exam prep, revision and past papers for download. You can visit the website here.
Mathsref
This is an app that contains almost all the theory and algebraic rules you need to know. It is available for Android and Apple devices.
If you’d like to pick Raquel’s brain (she has a rather large knowledge base when it comes to helping your child excel) you can contact her here.
