{30} Awesome Kids Apps for the iPad

by Mandi on April 12, 2012

ipad apps for kids

source: Mandi Ehman

I am counting down the days to my 30th birthday, and I couldn’t be more excited! Truly! As I was brainstorming ways to celebrate here on the blog, I couldn’t help but think that 30 lists of {30} items would be just about perfect for my type-A, list-making self. Join me for the next month as I share the things I’ve learned in the past 30 years and my hopes for the future! See all 30 Days of {30} posts here.

There is no doubt that one of the iPad’s biggest strengths is the variety — and quality — of apps available for kids. From phonics and long division to astronomy and musical composition, I’m not sure there’s anything you can’t find an app for. We even found a steelpan app after the girls spent some time playing my dad’s real steelpan!

There are literally thousands upon thousands of iPad apps to choose from, but I surprisingly only had 20 on our iPad that I would consider our favorites. The first 20 on the list below are apps that our girls play regularly that haven’t yet lost their appeal. The last 10 came from Facebook recommendations from friends, including Mary Grace at Books and Bairns and Amy at Kingdom First Mom!

30-days-of-30

In no particular order, here are 30 awesome kids apps for the iPad (and many are available for the iPhone as well!):

1. Shape Puzzle

2. Dr. Seuss Band

3. Talking Roby

4. Air Harp

5. Magic Piano

6. Color Sudoku

7. Glow Coloring

8. Real Steelpan

9. Britannica Kids: U.S. Presidents

10. Star Walk

11. 123 Writing

12. Cut the Rope

13. Doodle Buddy

14. Pandora
**Our girls love to create and customize their own music stations to listen too.

15. Montessori Crosswords

16. Beatwave

17. Sound Prism

18. Angry Birds

19. Sounddrop

20. Hop on Pop Storybook

21. Stack the States

22. Highlights Hidden Pictures

23. Magic Puzzles

24. Everyday Mathematics Addition Top It (and more!)

25. Rantek Inc.’s Montessori Approach To… Series (too many to link to!)

26. Telling Time – Photo Touch Game

27. Toontastic

28. Preschool Memory Match

29. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

30. Rocket Math

What are your favorite iPad apps for kids?

Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Tagged as: 30 days of 30, for kids, ipad


  • http://www.facebook.com/philip.griffith2 Philip Charles Griffith II

    My dad has years of 8mm film that he finally found a local business to transfer to DVD.  I’ll have to tell him to get the editable formate as well.  I should ask for a copy as well since most of it is my childhood!  My sons will get a hoot watching it.  Then they will ask for their baby videos.  I guess I need to update some of the VHS to DVD as well.

  • http://www.SimplySeeIt.com Holly Wilton

    I have been so focused on photos that my old VHS tapes and film have been forgotten.  I’m sure with each passing year they get more brittle.  Your article has lit the fire in me to convert my own movies to digital format.  I’ll be sure to do AVI. 

  • Amanda

    Great list! I have FAR too many to mention but you’ll find most of them reviewed over at TheiMum.com. There’s a few in your list that I hadn’t heard of so off to check them out now!

  • Anonymous

    Math Bingo – my kids love it!

  • Emily Roach

    Just reviewed the new Dr. Panda app and loved it!  http://www.randomrecycling.com/2012/04/apps-over-more-toys-dr-panda-teach-me.html

  • Mamasimpson4

    My daughters (5) favorite are the toca boca games.

  • Susan

    Grimm’s Rapunzel 3D Interactive Book.

  • Ann Cavanaugh

    Spy Mouse 

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Cool, thanks, Ann!

  • Fran

    What is the app in the photo? With the toddler playing with the bunny puzzle?

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      It’s called Shape Puzzle. That is her very favorite app!

  • rose

    This is a great list of apps! My kids love a lot of apps
    that are on this list like Monkey Preschool Lunchbox. Another really good app
    for the kids when we are traveling is the Dish Remote Access app. With the
    Sling Adapter hooked up to my receiver I can access all my subscription
    channels and watch live TV from anywhere I can get a 3G or Wi-Fi connections. They
    stay quiet the whole way with this app. Not only can we watch TV, but I can set
    up recordings through the app as well. A co-worker at Dish told me I could also
    access our Blockbuster@Home service through the app, which gives us more movies
    on the road. This app is amazing when we are traveling because the kids can
    watch all their favorite shows live on the road and I can use it when I am
    working out. It is a great app for the whole family. 

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Oh, that’s true! We use Netflix a lot when we’re on the road too.

  • Anna

    I love flockwork for ipad right now.. its just out on the store: it starts easy and the puzzles get more and more challenging without ever being too hard. a lot of fun.
    http://itunes.apple.com/app/flockwork/id450451813?mt=8

  • Journeynorth2012

    Have you seen the Journey North app? Kids can report their sightings of backyard robins, hummingbirds, monarch butterflies, and more. They can be citizen scientists. There are also free slideshows, booklets, and lesson plans on the Journey North site. Great program! http://www.learner.org/jnorth

  • Jill79x

    meritum paint

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      I’ll have to check that one out; thanks!

  • Mithun Jhawar

    Awesome list of apps for kids. Also check out Splash Math apps

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