Yehudit is happy with her son’s school. She picked this particular institution because of its warm and nurturing atmosphere. Her sons Nachmi, 7, and Ro’i, 4, like their teachers and have many friends.
“But Ro’i is behind in English,” she confesses. “He still struggles with the ABCs and with reading age-appropriate words. He has a tutor, but after a long day, the last thing he wants is more structured learning.”
Yehudit downloaded Starfall ABCs to entice Ro’i to practice his ABCs. The app, available on iOS and Android, comes in a free version, with an option to upgrade for $35 a year.
“He loves it,” she says. “It’s animated, and Ro’i thinks he’s playing. Plus, more screen time for him! His teachers are already seeing a difference in his fluency.”
Yehudit is not alone. Many elementary school parents are turning to apps and online educational programs to help supplement their children’s education.
Dovid believes his daughter, Ahuva, 11, needs more of a challenge academically. She’s getting pretty good grades without working too hard, and he wanted her to put her energy to good use.
“She loves to learn,” he explains. “And so we got her an iPad and downloaded Swift Playgrounds to teach her the basics of coding. Now she spends hours on her iPad, learning to code.”
Swift Playgrounds, created by Apple, is a fun way to learn Swift and SwiftUI and to build real apps. It is only available on iOS and geared towards older children (9+).
Ariella admits she was surprised when her 8-year-old son, Nosson, told her he wants to be a math teacher when he grows up. Although his math grades were average, he seemed to enjoy the logic behind it.
“It definitely doesn’t come from me,” she laughs. “When he expressed an interest in math, we downloaded Prodigy. It’s a game, but he’s learning math, and he’s happy.”
Developed for children between grades 1-8, Prodigy is fantasy-based, and designed similarly to video games. It tests children on their math knowledge; questions answered correctly earn spells, and there are monster battles too, as children move through different fantasy worlds. Basic membership is free, although the premium version costs $60 – $75 per year on the iOS and Android.
Rivky lets her two daughters, ages 3 and 6, tinker with Busy Shapes, an app geared towards teaching spatial recognition and object awareness, and ABCmouse, which has animated videos teaching children reading, math, geography and art.
“My kids love it.” she says. “As far as they’re concerned, they’re playing games. As far as I’m concerned, they’re learning.”
Designed for children ages 3-7, Busy Shapes allows children to move shapes around on the screen and costs $10. ABCmouse, geared towards 2-8 year olds, comes with a monthly subscription fee of $12.99, although the first month is free. Busy Shapes and ABCmouse are both available on iOS and Android
Khan Academy is another popular app with parents. The app is free on both iOS and Android, and has thousands of free resources on nearly every subject for children over 4 years old.
Important note: Please check the above-mentioned apps before downloading them to ensure they fit your family hashkafa-wise.
