Screen time isn't all bad.
We get a lot of questions from families around screen time and the effects that may have on a child's learning. Undeniably, research shows that ongoing screen use for long periods of time can have a negative effect on a child’s brain development and behaviour. However, there are some excellent educational apps and games that can be used in moderation to help support your child’s learning.
We too, are mothers, not to mention working mothers and we'd be lying if we said we didn't use screens with our own children from time to time. Whether it’s long car trips, work meetings while you’re home with your little ones, cooking dinner or just a break for mum or dad, we have a list of great educational apps that will keep your child engaged whilst also supporting their learning.
1. ABC Reading Eggs
Reading Eggs provides online games and activities to help support your child’s reading journey. Aimed at children aged 2 – 13, Reading Eggs offers a range of fun, interactive activities that are phonics focussed and supported by scientific research.
2. Teach Your Monster
Teach Your Monster is an excellent phonics-based app and a favourite amongst many Leap Street families. Their games and activities support all synthetic phonics programs used in schools, covering individual sounds to decoding full sentences.
3. Little Learners Love Literacy Decodable books
We use Little Learners Love Literacy at Leap Street and can vouch for its success. If your child is starting to read or well on their way, LLLL provides decodable books for all stages of learning to read. You can download their decodable books on the iPad and each book comes with a set of comprehension questions. Decodable books are a great way to develop your child’s reading skills whilst improving their confidence.
4. Writing Wizard – Handwriting
Writing Wizard is a fantastic app for letter formation and can be set to Victorian cursive. Perfect for early learners, this app helps with writing letters, numbers and words.
5. Montessori Crosswords for Kids
This is a great app for developing your child’s reading, writing, and spelling skills. From simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words to more advanced code, this app is designed to support your child’s growth.
6. Rhino Readers
Rhino Readers offers engaging fiction and non-fiction decodable books for all stages of reading development. Decodable books help your child apply their phonetic skills to read words instead of guess, creating a confident and motivated reader.
Just a friendly reminder to always supervise your child while they are on a device and ensure parent control is activated.
If you would like to get a reading assessment on your child so Leap Street can tailor the above programs to your child’s ability, please contact us or click here to view our programs
