Top 7 Children’s Reading Software: Kids Learning Apps

Listed below are some of the best children’s reading software and great kids’ learning apps to improve literacy in 2024. Have your young ones learn from their screen time with these exciting apps: Khan Academy Kids, Prodigy Math, Duolingo ABC, and other great applications that make up the list of best apps for elementary students to help shape your child’s learning journey.

If your kid uses tablets and smartphones, then make a part of their screen time educational. There are many resources to be found that are available to parents seeking to take advantage of online learning opportunities for their children within the tech-savvy society. Many parents accomplish this feat by providing their children with access to quality educational applications.

Do you want to know which educational applications are the best for kids? It would help if you read this article. We’ll compare the pros and cons of top rated kids learning apps.

Kids’ Learning Apps for Elementary Students

Children’s reading software and learning apps are fun, engaging, and useful for playing with your children at home. Get into an educational groove with these recommended apps for preschool through 5th-grade kids.

Want to know more about educational apps? check out our article on what features to look for in kids’ learning apps, no matter what subject.

1. Khan Academy Kids (Math, Reading, and Logic)

The ever-famous Khan Academy Kids is a fun, engaging educational app for kids that covers math, logic concepts, and reading. With its progress tracking and adaptive learning features, it supports at-home learning for kids ages 2-7.

Pros:

• Curriculum is based on educational standards
• Intuitive user interface
• High-quality activities

Cons: 

• Limited content for users who want reading and literacy instruction
• Limited practice in decoding skills

2. Reading.com (Literacy and Reading)

The Reading.com app is a comprehensive literacy education app that helps kids develop early reading skills. The app was developed with a research-backed, scientific approach to reading instruction that makes essential literacy concepts fun and engaging to learn.

Reading.com contains 99 lessons that take children from letter recognition to confident reading, helping children through various stages of literacy development. It’s also intended to foster parent-child bonding through mutual engagement during app use.

Parents can take a placement assessment for their children to make sure they start with a lesson that matches their skill level. There are also 60 interactive, decodable books and 4 phonics games for independent play and skill reinforcement.

Pros:

• Effective teaching program that covers phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, printing, and reading fluency
• Systematic, research-based instruction methods
• User-friendly interface for children and parents
• Access to digital books that can be co-read or independently decoded

Cons:

• Subjects are explicitly literacy-focused
• Parent or teacher engagement required

Reviews (4.8 stars) in the App Store and Google Play say that teachers and parents praise the app for helping their children learn to read. Overall, the app is a useful and credible learning app for kids’ literacy instruction.

3. Prodigy Math Game (Math)

Prodigy Math is a fantasy-inspired, entertaining math app for children six years old and above. Parents love it because of their ability to finely tune the level of difficulty, one that meets the child’s current stage in the development of math, but challenging enough to improve. The game even includes rewards in the form of gamified pets and accessories, which further keep kids motivated to learn.

Pros:

•  Immersive gameplay
•  A wide variety of math skills combined in the curriculum

Cons:

•  In-app purchases
• Some of the game features might be uninteresting for kids.

4. Duolingo ABC (Language Learning)

The popular language-learning app, Duolingo, has a kids’ feature that teaches writing, speaking, and reading skills in multiple languages. It offers interactive mini-lessons and rewarding games that encourage language repetition and comprehension.

Pros:

• Delightfully gamified
• Adaptive learning technology
• Free version (with ads)

Cons:

• All players must start at the beginning even if they have prior language knowledge
• Limited number of mistakes allowed per session (free version)
• Limited word-reading (decoding practice)

5. Sushi Monster (Math)

Sushi Monster is a cleverly designed math game that helps kids ages 6 and older learn arithmetic while making “sushi.” It uses adaptive learning features to adjust difficulty levels and game rewards. Additionally, it has a multiplayer option which is perfect for friends and siblings who want to play together.

Pros:

• Colorful, fun animations
• Substantial coverage of math skills

Cons:

• Animations move too quickly for some players
• Lots of memorization involved

6. Dragon Box (Math)

Another math learning app for kids is Dragon Box, an innovative game that instills beginner to advanced math skills in kids ages 4 and up. Its immersive puzzles and challenges introduce basic counting, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and even calculus to players as they progress their abilities.

Pros:

• Unique approach to teaching advanced math
• Approachable lessons
• Visually appealing interface

Cons:

• Limited to math only

7. Scratch Jr. (Coding and Programming)

Scratch Jr. is a free coding program that teaches youngsters the most basic concepts of programming. Scratch Jr. is a free product from MIT with a block-based interface containing all kinds of characters and backgrounds with which to animate, along with coding blocks, games, and other elements that kids can combine to create something funny.

Teachers claim it’s effective at introducing kids to coding, even as young as 5 years old.

Pros:

• Free to use
• Teaches computational thinking
• Limitless creativity

Cons:

• Reading ability required
• Limited to beginner coding concepts and capabilities

8. Lightbot (Coding)

Lightbot is a puzzle-based coding app and website that lets kids learn programming logic and practice problem-solving. Its lessons progress in difficulty sequentially so kids can build new skills from the beginning.

Pros:

• Engaging gameplay
• Effective learning curve
• Cute, fun animations

Cons:

• Consistent practice is required to make progress.

The Best Kids’ Learning App for Reading

Learning apps for kids or children’s reading software offer fun, low-pressure ways to encourage a love of learning. Whether your child loves or hates a particular subject, an engaging app can make a big difference when used responsibly and with parental guidance.

At Reading.com, we develop science-backed literacy lessons and games that kids—and their parents! —love to play. Want to help your little one strengthen their literacy skills at home? Download the Reading.com app for free today.

Wrap Up:

The right kinds of children’s reading software and apps can make today’s screen and education time much easier. From engaging curriculum in Khan Academy Kids and Reading.com to immersive gameplay, these learning apps offer all sorts of fun and interactive ways to improve your child’s literacy and learning skills.

Whether your child is entering their very first class or looking to get ahead, there is always an app for them. Download the Reading.com app and help your little one improve their literacy skills at home today!