10 Android Apps Kids will Love

Who says only iPad and iPod owners get all the good stuff? Android users have access to a pretty hefty library of apps and games, too, and there’s a lot of great value out there for you if you know where to look. Here are ten of the best ones that you and your kids can have lots of fun with.

Wheels on the Bus
Price: $1.99

A wonderful first-timer app, this delightful musical book takes bus riders on a perpetual storybook journey with your little one. The bus is full of riders, animals and objects that will respond with sounds and animations when poked - wipers swish, doors open and close and monkeys steal cupcakes on board this whimsical little vehicle. The bus plays a song as it ambles on with a new stanza to the tune revealed upon turning a new virtual page. Wheels on the Bus can be sung in several different languages like Spanish, German or French and you can even hear it without vocals by selecting an instrument such as the piano. You can even record your own voices singing the song for a more personal touch.  

Kids Socks
Price: $0.99

Kids Socks is a charming matching and counting memory game for kids from 2 to 5 years. It’s a great choice for a first app as children will be drawn to the various colors and designs of socks available. The rules are simple – players have an assortment of unmatched, brightly patterned socks that they need to pair off. A suspended clothesline brings a new sock each time and players drag one of their socks up to the clothesline to create a matching pair. The pair then continues along the clothesline as other varieties of socks follow until all the laundry is sorted. Options include matching underwear instead of socks for those who want variety in their laundry, as well as other basic number recognition and memory matching games. It’s a great way to eventually con your kids into learning to do the laundry (you wish).

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PopMath Basic Math
Price: $0.99

Flash cards a drag for you and your kids? PopMath Basic Math makes learning math fun and exciting for kids and parents alike. Pairs of bubbles filled with equations and solutions float across lively backgrounds on the screen of your Android phone or tablet and the objective of the game is to pop the pairs in the proper sequence until all the bubbles are finished. Clearing a level allows kids the choice of either increasing the difficulty of the game or continuing at the same level in order to gain more practice and confidence with basic math. Kids can work on addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, so this app should be a welcome teaching aid for any child in elementary school.

Spaghetti and Marshmallows
Price: $2.30

What can you build with an unlimited supply of spaghetti and marshmallows? You can find out in this physics-based building game that challenges the player to come up with innovative solutions to create a tower high enough to reach a target, all the while dealing with hindrances such as strategically placed obstacles, limited resources and ravenous frogs. But not all of the play is stressful – after completing a level, players can switch to Sandbox mode so they can keep on building for the heck of it, or go all-out Godzilla via Rampage mode and smash their structure to smithereens. It’s like an Erector Set without the added headache of mommy having to clean up after play, the best of both worlds.

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Madera and Figaro Save the Day HD
Price: $0.99

For kids who are bored with the usual fables, Madera and Figaro Save the Day is for them. This app is a zany interactive adventure tale about a frog and monkey superhero team on a mission to prevent the cancellation of a festival. Players must help the heroes accomplish certain tasks, such as baking a cake, clearing a road or repairing a stage. These tasks teach children various skills such as matching shapes, learning about music and sound and counting numbers. Each scene has hotspots that trigger cute animations and sounds and Madera and Figaro are engaging characters that will brighten any preschooler’s day. If your child likes this, also check out Madera and Figaro in the Rescue of Ginger.  

Celeste SE
Price: $1.99

Budding astronomers young and old will get a kick out of Celeste SE. Unlike other more child-oriented apps, this one is really more of a tool anyone can employ. It uses augmented reality, superimposing its graphics over what your camera sees in real time, and accesses your Android phone’s GPS system to track the movements of the sun, the moon and its phases and planetary orbits. It also registers their times of arrival depending on what part of the world you’re in. This app is especially fun to play with outdoors, day or night (although evening is really trippy with the night sky in view as well). Celeste SE also features a compass, which is ideal for teaching children how to navigate and read maps. The graphics and overall look give one the feel of a cyber-astronomer peering at the sky through virtual lenses.

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Doodle Jump
Price: $0.99

In this highly addicting game, you guide a little green alien called a Doodler as he rebounds from one platform to the next, all while avoiding doodle monsters and holes. Springs, jet packs, trampolines and other gadgets can be found to assist you on your never-ending quest for ascension. Different modes allow players to choose assorted themes such as a jungle or space. Frequent developer updates keep content fresh and entertaining. It’s pure, unbridled, bouncy fun.

AniWorld
Price: Free

With AniWorld, you have a whole zoo in your pocket. This kindergarten-level animal learning game teaches kids about animals and their habitats with over 36 different animals to choose from and over 250 vibrant photos, all with various sounds and triggers (with hilarious results). You can get your child acquainted with various animals, and kids can even “pet” and “feed” the animals as they watch them grow up. It may be very simplistic, but for a free app, it’s quite a labor of love.

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Kids Piano
Price: $1.99

Encourage your child’s musical side with Kid’s Piano Lite – this app gives them a multicolored toy piano or xylophone for them to tinker with. Each key has basic notes (no sharps or flats) labeled on it and the app can guide them to play simple tunes like Happy Birthday and Ten Little Indians. They can also play freeform to stoke that possible Mozart (or Trent Reznor) inside them and each note they hit is indicated on the left side of the screen. Alternatively, they can opt for some musical games. One game is a variant of Whack-a-Mole where they have to hit an adorable cartoon mouse that pops up out of a wedge of Swiss cheese, with each successful hit resulting in a clear, sweet tone. The other is a matching game where they pair off musical notes, an interesting game which also matches tone to a visual key (C, D, E, etc.). Your child will strengthen his or her auditory and musical memory with this game.

The Cat in the Hat – Dr. Seuss
Price: $3.99

Here’s an enchanting little app that brings to life the works of one of the best early learner children’s book authors the world has ever seen. The app brings the tale of The Cat in the Hat to life in your Android device and kids can choose to read the classic story themselves or have it read to them. If it is read to them, they can either turn the pages themselves with a single swipe of a finger, or have the pages turn automatically. Some of the pages have interactive options (touching a carton of milk will have the word “milk” appear as it is spoken by the app). The text in the book highlights as it is spoken (by a rather engaging reader), making it easier for developing skills such as pronunciation and reading comprehension. The app’s designer, Oceanhouse Media, also has digital versions of other classic books from the Dr. Seuss library, The Berenstain Bears and Five Little Monkeys.

 

Thumbnail photo from mom365.com