The six best educational iPad game apps for kids to play during Coronavirus
Coronavirus news is fast spreading from town to town. Whether the virus is real or it’s just the flu due to change of season most of the countries have shut schools and colleges so that our kids are safe. Now that the kids are at home you obviously want them to stay occupied and also learn something. The best way is to hand them a secure iPad and download a few educational apps for them to keep them busy. You can relax the screen rules and watch the browser boundaries for kids and give them access to only what you feel is appropriate for them.
Also, Shapiro and Jan Plass, a professor at NYU and co-author of “Handbook of Game-Based Learning” (the MIT Press), break down some smart digital games and educational resources for kids. So find here the six best educational iPad game apps for kids to play during coronavirus
1. Minecraft
Minecraft is well-known game app for iPad and you can play in creative mode with unlimited resources. Or mine deep into the world in survival mode, crafting weapons and armor to fend off dangerous mobs. Create, explore and survive alone or play with friends on all different devices.
This is a great game in terms of special relationships, building, and creativity. It can be engaged in solo or with others and is all about building a unique world to a kid’s personal specs.
Minecraft now comes with the option to buy Minecraft Realms. Realms is a monthly subscription service that lets you create your own always-online Minecraft world.
There are currently two subscription options to choose from depending on how many people you want to invite to play in your realm simultaneously. A realm for you and 2 friends costs 3.99 USD/month (or local equivalent) and a realm for you and 10 friends cost 7.99 USD/month (or local equivalent).
A 30-day trial of Minecraft Realms for you and 10 friends is available. This game is best for ages 8 and up kids and you need iOS 8.0 or later iPad. Click here to download now.
2. Prodigy
If your kid is weak in mathematics then this game app is must on your iPad. Prodigy, the no-cost math game where kids can earn prizes, go on quests and play with friends — all while learning math.
With Prodigy math homework is disguised as a video-game. Loved by over a million teachers and 50 million students around the world, kids have fun and get rewards by correctly answering skill-building math questions.
Math questions are fully aligned with state-level curricula, including Common Core and TEKS, so Prodigy is always connected to the classroom. 1st grade math, 2nd grade math, 3rd grade math all the way up to grade 8 are customized to align to region, district and school board.
There are 1,400 available skills give students the chance to learn more and keep growing. Other math games for kids stop at easy addition and subtraction. Also this app goes far beyond grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 and provide comprehensive math education past grade 4 all the way to grade 8. Click here to download now
3. GoNoodle
Best game app for kids to be active. The NEW GoNoodle Games app features fast-paced mini games that get kids jumping, waving, and holding a pose to earn points, dodge obstacles, and have a ton of fun! The only way to play GoNoodle Games is to get off the couch and jump, wave, and pose! Since every mini-game requires movement, playing is a great opportunity for kids to wake up their bodies, engage their minds, and get active. The GoNoodle Games app features kids’ favorite characters, moves, and music that they giggle and wiggle to in the classroom and adds a new, fun game-play twist!
The GoNoodle Games app doesn’t require any extra hardware and ties real-time movement to earning points, reaching new levels, and helping the GoNoodle champs. Everything is designed especially for kids (ages 4 – 10). The GoNoodle Games app is free to play; no in-app purchases, ads, or login required! Click here to download now.
4. Wuzzit Trouble
Problem solving and creative and critical thinking skills can be learned with this app. Your job is to free the lovable Wuzzits from the traps they’ve inadvertently wandered into inside the castle. Use your problem-solving and critical thinking skills to unlock the Wuzzits’ cages by gathering keys. Along the way you can also give the Wuzzits treats and collect special items from each of the rooms you explore. But take care to avoid dangerous hazards in your path!
Wuzzit Trouble, in addition to being a fun game for everyone to play, also helps develop mathematical conceptual thinking, problem-solving and creative thinking skills. Unlike so many math games, puzzles and activities that focus on basic computational skills, Wuzzit Trouble helps players increase their critical and creative 21st century math competencies. This game app costs $2.99 click here to download now.
5. Reach for the Sun
In this sneaky science game, kids channel digital sunlight and corral bees to help plants grow. Throughout, they learn about plants, seeds and the process of photosynthesis. Also they’re not even annoyed about it, says Plass, because they’re “playing a [resource-management] game” that draws their attention away from the duller parts of the Calvin cycle. For middle-schoolers. Web-based. FilamentLearning.com; $5.99 Click here to know more
6. The Fiscal Ship
This is a perfect game where players captain a “fiscal ship” and, as laid out on the game’s Web site, “to win you must find a combination of policies that address the [national] debt while meeting your chosen ideological views. This is definitely one to be played for the long haul while we are all on lockdown — and as a bonus, it provides a less-scary entry point for you to talk to your kids about what’s happening in the world. This app is best for ages 14 and up and is Web-based means you need to type the url of FiscalShip.org; free on your iPad and begin to play.
Finally, stay safe from Coronavirus and ask your kids to wash their hands and avoid visiting crowded public places. As prevention is only cure.