Screen time can be good for children's learning when balanced with other activities. When your child uses age-appropriate good, quality media and uses digital apps to connect with people they know or explore interests to learn new things with friends, screen time can aid in learning.However, choosing the right apps that have the right features are crucial to the development of your child and learning new skills.
The Importance Of Choosing The Right Apps For Your Child
Digital apps offer a unique opportunity for children by providing personalized learning for your child's unique needs. Using digital apps allows children to select levels based on their expertise and choose activities that fit their interests. Apps also give children the ability to express themselves uniquely and be creative with customization tools.Studies have found that the best apps for 6-year-olds incorporate the four pillars of learning, which include active learning, meaningfulness by connecting to children's experiences, being socially interactive, and promoting engagement. The app you choose doesn't need to include all four aspects, but a combination of these features should be present to support meaningful learning.
Top 10 Paid And Free Apps Ideal For 6-Year-Olds
The following are the top 10 paid and free apps that are ideal for 6-year-olds to foster learning.
1. Toca Life World
Toca Life World is designed to support kids' creativity and is one of the best free apps for 6-year-olds. Toca Life World allows kids to create and explore stories in a virtual world. Kids learn about imagination and pretend to play as they create stories with different characters. They can learn about real-world experiences like visiting banks, working at a cafe, and more. Toca Life World is available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, and Kindle Fire. While the app is free, there is additional content for prices of $0.99 and up.
2. Barefoot World Atlas
Barefoot World Atlas is an interactive app that allows children to explore a spinning world that has animated icons, changing sounds, and interactive quizzes. This is an iOS-only app that is $4.99. This app is a great supplement to a history class.Kids can set a favorite place, search by country, region, or continent, and become more comfortable with the world map. There are educational puzzles and games to take when exploring new places and short explanations of historical landmarks.
3. Daniel Tiger Grr-ific Feelings
Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings is designed to help kids identify and express their feelings. Kids who played the app exhibited higher levels of emotional regulation and used certain strategies to deal with their emotions, such as taking deep breaths or counting to a certain number. Kids are better able to identify and recognize emotions when shown scenarios of emotions correctly.The app also allows kids to sing along with their favorite songs, take pictures in the photo booth and create with paints, crayons, stickers, and more. The app is available for iOS, Kindle Fire, and iPad and costs $2.99 for full access.
4. Build A Truck- Duck Duck Goose
Build a Truck is one of the best free apps for 6-year-olds designed to teach engineering, physics, and mechanics. The app allows you to customize and build monster trucks and experiment with speed, torque, drag, mass, friction, acceleration, gravity, and more. After kids build their trucks, they can race them for unlimited play. Build a Truck can be downloaded for iOS and Android for free.
5. GoNoodle Games
GoNoodle Games is designed to keep kids active. This app features fast-paced games that require kids to do a physical activity such as waving, jumping, or holding a pose to earn points.This app is free with in-app purchases and is available on both iOS and Android. Kids love this game because it's fun to play, and parents love it because it keeps their kids active.
6. Todo Math
Todo Math is an app for iPhone and iPad that helps kids learn math while having fun. The app teaches kids to write numbers, add numbers, learn patterns, and more. The app has engaging games and a user-friendly interface to keep kids engaged. It also includes progress tracking to track your child's skills. The app is free with in-app purchases.
7. ByJU's Learning: Disney
ByJU's Learning app was designed to combine learning and Disney Content for children to learn math, science, English, and social studies with interactive games. The app also has personalized learning features and progress mapping.Kids can discover stories featuring their favorite Disney and Pixar characters or play over 1000 activities, including quizzes, fun videos, rhymes, songs, and more.ByJu's Learning app offers a 14-day free trial and is $9.99 a month or $99 per year and is available for iOS and Android.
8. Read Along
Read Along is an Android app created by Google that makes reading fun and supports kids' language development, and expands imaginations with stories that include dynamic characters.Read Along has a library of stories and interactive books that have audio narration highlighting words and other features designed to help kids engage with the story. Read Along is free and can be used on any Android device.
9. Solar System For Kids
Solar System For Kids is a simple galaxy learning app that offers puzzles, word tracing, spelling exercises, and more for kids to learn about the solar system. The app also includes videos and visuals to improve the learning experience. Solar System supports language development and helps kids expand their vocabulary.Solar System For Kids is free and can be used on any Android device.
10. Winky Think Logic Puzzles
Winky Think is an app that explores common core math concepts. Kids will slide shapes and match colors to solve over 180 logic puzzles, from simple matching to complex games that are full of obstacles. As kids play, they learn abstract reasoning, pay attention to precision, make use of structure, use repeated reasoning, and more.Winky Think costs $2.99 and is available for iOS devices.
Tips To Ensure Safe And Effective App Usage
Now that you know the best apps for 6-year-olds, it is crucial to know how to ensure that your kids are using apps safely. Some strategies include:
1. Spending Time Online Together
One of the easiest ways to ensure that your child is safe on mobile apps is to spend time together using them. Getting to know how the apps that your child uses work and how to adjust parental controls and safety settings keep your child safe. Studies also show that kids learn more while playing with their parents than if they are left alone to play the app.
2. Use Parental Controls
There are a number of parental controls to keep kids safe while they use apps. These controls prevent your child from accessing unsuitable content on apps. There are also various parental codes to prevent your child from being distracted by ads or being redirected to any website that has inappropriate content.
3. Only Use Age Appropriate Apps
Apps can help children develop critical skills such as reading, counting, and more. However, it is critical to check every app to ensure it is age appropriate for your child.It is also crucial that you balance screen time and other learning activities when it comes to your child. Try these key tips to manage your child's screen time with other learning activities.
4. Determine Where And How Screens Are Used
Creating a screen time routine for your child's age can help your child understand their screen time limits. When creating a routine, consider the times your child can use technology, where they can access it, and what they are allowed to use it for. You can use a parental control tool to help set screen-free times for your child.
5. Be Selective With Video Content
When it comes to kids using YouTube and other similar programs, regulating individual videos can be difficult, which means a lot of content they may watch isn't "educational." You can help your child engage with meaningful content by turning off the autoplay feature on Youtube, checking out the TV shows they watch to evaluate the educational value, learning what type of content they enjoy watching, and even watching shows together.
6. Set Up Breaks For Activities
To help your child balance screen time and learning, it is crucial to take short breaks, such as 5 to 10-minute breaks per hour. Help your child to find a natural break to get up and take a quick walk or do another activity that helps them refocus. Get outdoors as a family, even if you are walking around the block.
7. Limit Screen Time Before Bed
It is no secret that screens have an effect on sleep because they create blue light that affects the body's production of melatonin which signals sleep. It is crucial to help kids sleep properly, so avoiding screens up to an hour before bedtime can help them get better quality sleep.
8. Manage Expectations
Rather than focusing on the limitation of screen time, promote healthy digital habits as a family. Kids learn from what they see, so being a good role model with technology can help them to understand what is expected of them.Help your child balance screen time with other important activities and offer other ways to learn that don't depend on technology.
Choosing The Best Apps For 6-Year-Olds
Choosing the best apps for your 6-year-old can be crucial to their learning effectiveness. The most important thing to remember when choosing apps for your child is choosing age-appropriate content and using parental controls. It is also important to balance screen time and other avenues of learning.Try one of our recommended apps and help your child have fun while learning important skills.
