While the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting screen time for young children, there is a time and a place for your children to engage with technology. Make the most of your little one’s time on a tablet or phone by promoting reading in a fun way! Download these reading and vocabulary apps for travel time in a car, for taking a break from playing outside, or for a quick educational lesson this summer.
Starfall Learn to Read
Follow the adventures of Zac the Rat as your child learns his reading basics. By layering learning with three senses–hearing, touch, and sight–young readers can not just learn but master a multitude of words. The app is provided free to all users as part of this non-profit’s mission to make reading fun for all through play.
Felt Board – Mother Goose on the Loose
Connect your child’s love of nursery rhymes and reading with this visual app. Best for younger readers, this app helps children understand narrative stories through song and imaginative play. The app is $0.99 and is one of many in the highly-reviewed Felt Board series.
Sight Words
This flashcard app provides access to a list of 315 of the most commonly used words in beginner level books. While it is best for one- to four-year-olds, older kids can benefit as well by brushing up on their basic vocabulary. The app costs $0.99 and allows users to create custom vocabulary lists.
Homer
As Montessori parents know, fostering a child’s love of learning makes the learning process fun and self-directed. Homer uses the same philosophy to connect your child’s passions with a custom reading list. The app grows with your little reader from age 2 to 8. With 400+ stories ranging from science to the arts and a dashboard for parents to review reading skill progression, this app is a great resource for child and parent alike.
Sentence Maker
Kids form sentences using easy-to-use letter tiles; the free app uses pictures, sound, and letters to reinforce learning along the way. The various customization options include uploading your own voice to read each word, so your child hears mommy or daddy’s voice as they read; multi-language support, providing access to literacy in multiple languages; and custom lists, making it easy to focus on targeted language acquisition just in time for a visit to a farm, the beach, or anywhere else.
Reading Train Endless Books
This free app includes 30 books covering a variety of topics, ranging from the life sciences to numbers and colors. Kids can play the “train game” after reading each book, which quizzes little readers on reading comprehension while they win points for correct answers. If your little one loves this version, check out the others in the series.
Epic! Unlimited Books for Kids
If you’re looking for access to thousands of titles and an app that logs your child’s reading over time, this is the app for you. With 25,000 books, there’s no way your little one can get bored. While there is a monthly fee, it’s a small price to pay for access to such a prolific library.
Technology makes it easier than ever to provide reading options for your little one. Before handing screens over your child, consider the American Academy of Pediatric’s recommendation of one hour of screen time per day for children aged 2-5. For children aged 6+, the AAP does not have a specific time limit but recommends coming up with a game plan for how and when time is spent looking at a screen. With intention and planning, screen time can be a wonderful asset to any child’s educational plan.
