Nowadays, giving your kid headstart matters. You can’t just stuff the toddlers with a bunch of books to study. They need something that would help them recognize letters and form words and so on and it takes time. Some best reading apps for kids and the learning apps are instrumental in giving them a perfect head start.
Here are the best reading apps for kids to help them learn letters, sounds, form words, and so on.
Read Along (Bolo) by Google
The reading app is available in 9 languages across 180+ countries. The concept is simple, your kid reads out the stories aloud and the in-app reading assistant provides feedback on it. The feedback could be verbal or visual to improve the kid’s reading ability.
The app works offline so you can simply download the material and there you go. It is free of charge and comes with no ads so there’s no way any information leaves your phone. You also get some simple games for kids.
There’s also multi-child profile support. This allows parents to create multiple profiles for personalized recommendations.
Pros:
- Free to use
- Worldwide available
- Reading assistant
Cons:
- App is little glitchy
- Not for basic learning
Key Features: Available in 180+ countries | In-App Reading Assistant | Multi-Child Profile | Works Offline | Free to use | Multiple Language Support
Download: Android (Free)
Reading Raven
Next up, we have Reading Raven, a self-paced engaging learn-to-read app for children from ages 3 to 7. The app has plenty of accolades from the Huffington Post, Brightly, Teachers with Apps, and others.
Create profiles for your children and track their performance and progress individually. The app has over five extensive lessons with hundreds of fun activities based on various reading levels.
Fun activities include free form letters, sticker rewards, hand-illustrated artwork among others. The best reading app has efficient voice instructions with feedback that reinforces the children to do better every time.
Select the age or go by the reading level to get appropriate materials to perfect your reading skills. It includes a lot of animals from flying penguins to snow monsters to ball balancing seals that will keep your child engaged for sure.
Pros:
- Very interactive
- Hundreds of activities
Cons:
- No progress reports for parents
- No activity tracking
Key Features: Self-paced | Multiple Child Profiles | Effective Voice Instructions | No ads | Fully customizable by age.
Download: Android | iOS (Free)
Homer
If you are looking for a well-researched app for your kids, Homer is a great option to look for. It develops reading skills in children aged between 2 to 8 with varying levels of difficulty & other factors.
The app has proven its mantle increasing the reading scores by 74% with only 15 minutes of use a day. The app creates personalized learn-to-read plans based on your child’s aptitude, interests, and passions.
Homer app brings a lot on the table such as lessons based on phonics, sight words, ABCs, and others. The reading app has more than 100 hours of lessons to go through.
Homer offers more than 150 printable games, worksheets, and activities to keep your kids engaged. As a parent, you can create four customizable profiles for all your kids. Plus, there’s a Parent Dashboard that you can use to gauge your kid’s progress.
Homer is a well-known reading app for kids and has featured on various outlets such as USA Today, Forbes, NY Times, and so on.
Pros:
- Stories and activities
- Parent dashboard
- Personalized lessons
Cons:
- More focus on alphabets and not actually reading activities
Key Features: Available for kids from 2 to 8 | 100+ hours of learning lessons | 150+ printable materials| Parent Dashboard | Multi-Child Profile
Download: Android | iOS (Premium)
Hooked on Phonics
Hooked on Phonics app helps develop reading skills in toddlers. The app uses machine-learning algorithms that detect kids struggling in certain areas and provides personalized exercises to overcome the shortcomings.
There’s a dashboard that consists of everything you need to know about your child’s progress on the app. Hopefully, you’ll notice the changes in reading in real-life too.
The reading app is best for kids aged 3 to 7 years. It offers 250+ songs, videos, games, ebooks, and reading lessons that will groom your kid to develop better reading skills. You can sign in on different devices and pick up where you left.
There’s also multi-profile support so you can create individual profiles for your kids and track progress. The app is available with a 7-day free trial and you need to purchase a monthly subscription after that.
Pros:
- Rich contents
- Machine learning algorithm
- Individual profiles for kids
Cons:
- No free version
- Not a great interface
Key Features: Suitable for kids aged 3 to 7 | 250 songs, games, & ebooks | Virtual awards and achievements | Multi Profile Support
Download: Android | iOS (Premium)
Montessori Crosswords for Kids
The app works on Montessori learning methods that aids in activities like writing, reading, spelling, and so on. The app is equipped with 320 combinations of phonics, audio, images, and words for better learning.
Montessori Crosswords for Kids app speeds up your kid’s skills when it comes to writing, reading, and spelling. The app sports more than 44 sound categories as well.
Check out the ‘Reports’ section for insight on each profile you create so you can plan your future actions accordingly. The app offers content based on the level of difficulty helping kids memorize and excel in studies.
Pros:
- Crafted with Montessori concepts
- Periodic reports
- Multiple profiles
Cons:
- Dashboard data is not detailed
Key Features: Multi profiles support | Reports section for insights | 320+ word-image-audio-phonic combinations | 44 sound categories
Download: Android | iOS (Free, Premium)
ABCmouse
If you are looking for an all-powerful reading and learning app for your kids, try ABCmouse. The app is available for kids aged 2 to 8 and gives access to 10,000+ learning activities.
ABCmouse has 10 levels with 850+ lessons to cover in math, art, music, social science, and other areas. It is a great app ensuring kids’ readiness from kindergarten to 2nd grade.
ABCmouse provides a step-by-step learning path for kids and lets parents monitor their progress on the go. You can create your customizable avatar that ensures kids are on their right mindset. The app has various levels of difficulty based on their age, grade, and other factors.
ABCMouse app has a full-fledged curriculum specially made to be used on mobile phones so you can practice math, social science, reading, music, and art among others with ease.
Pros:
- Resourceful app
- Dashboard for parents
- Almost all subjects
Cons:
- Not a complete homeschooling solution
- The interface can be distracting
Key Features: 10,000+ learning activities | Step-by-Step Learning Path | Dashboard to track progress | 10 Levels, 850 levels | Available for kids aged 2 to 8 | Math, Art, Music & others
Download: Android | iOS (Free, In-App Purchases)
Related: 10 Best Time Tracker Apps for Improved Productivity
Bob Books Reading Magic #1
Awarded as “Best App for Kids” by a parenting magazine, Babble.com, Bob Books Reading Magic is effective. It is a phonics-based interactive game that gives your child exposure to sight words. This enables children to read faster.
The app brings a drag and drop interface to achieve its fully interactive mode with full-color animations & more. Bob Books Reading Magic #1 sports over 32 words with 12 scenes and 4 levels of difficulty for readers from kindergarten and up.
The books included in the app are fully-animated and colored. This engages kids to try out different sections so you don’t have to force your kid to use it. The app moves from easy to hard in terms of difficulty levels in progress and not abruptly.
Pros:
- Engaging activities
- Colorful animations
Cons:
- Limited resources
Key Features: Full-color animations | phonics-based interactive game | 32 words & 12 scene | 4 levels of difficulty
Download: Android | iOS (Free, Premium)
Endless Reader
Give your kid a boost with Endless Reader. The app helps gain insights on recognizing words at the very early stage of your child. Your kid plays with learning sight words, that are advantageous in reading faster with accuracy.
Many sight words are difficult to spell out or recognize with pictures and thus, this app simplifies it with an endless monster. The game has a delightful 3D animation that makes it look stunning and keeps your kid engaged.
The free version gives access to 6 words that can be further expanded with in-app purchase word packs. There are no high scores so that your kid won’t have any anxiety issues competing with others as well.
Pros:
- Cute animations
- Word meanings and letter phonics
Cons:
- Pronunciations are not always accurate or clear
Key Features: Self-paced interactive app | 6 words free plus premium version | Sight recognition | 3D animations
Download: Android | iOS (Free, In-App Purchases)
Learn to Read with Tommy Turtle
Learn to Read with Tommy Turtle app brings a fun interactive six sections game on-board that will delight your preschool children. The app helps in blending sounds into words, form simple words, and read it, and more.
The app has six interactive sections such as skateboards and helmet, magic letter bridge, word magic, and others that your kid can play to gain the insights.
Every section is made to fine-tune your kid’s ability to recognize letters, form words, and learn to speak. It is also accompanied by positive reinforcement feedback just like how a motivating teacher would speak giving your kid the much-needed boost.
Pros:
- Cool animations
- Positive feedbacks
- Interactive sessions
Cons:
- Not everyone will like the answer hints every time
Key Features: Magic Letter Bridge | Word Ball & four other sections | 3D animations | Positive reinforcements feedback
Download: Android | iOS (Free, In-App Purchases)
Dora ABCs Vol 1: Letters
Last but not least in this series is Dora ABCs Vol 1: Letters. As the name suggests, there are other volumes of this app you can try for sure. Nickelodeon’s Dora brings her adventure with letters and sounds.
The app enhances your kid’s literacy skills. The app has a curriculum designed by experts and brings alphabetic principles among others on-board. The game lets kids associate sounds with letters in this exciting game.
The Dora ABCs Vol 1: Letters app has a lot to offer such as letter and picture match, tracing lowercase and uppercase letters, and more. Upon completing any task, Dora gives positive feedback to the kids which is one of the ways to motivate kids.
Create many profiles and track progress using the ‘Parent Reporting’ feature. Then, there are tonnes of easy to use tutorials so your kids can learn to play the game on their own. The app adheres to COPPA so the user data collected with the app is under safeguard.
Pros:
- Interactive activities with Dora
- Data privacy
- Insightful reports
Cons:
- Only available for iPhone
- Mainly for “Dora The Explorer” lovers
Key Features: Easy to use | 78 pictures | Adheres to COPPA Act | Curriculum developed by experts | Multi Profile Support | Parent Reporting for insights & progress
Download: iOS ($1.99)
Now you have a lot of choices to try finding the best reading app for your kids. These apps are attuned to help kids aged 2 to 8 years read and identify words easily. Make sure you choose the right app after ensuring your kid will love it.