Children's passion for smartphones and tablets has become the subject of heated debate among parents. Most people think that rather than sitting in front of a gadget screen, it is better to do something useful. The truth, as usual, is in the middle - you can play on your tablet and benefit from development by installing educational and educational games into it.
Developers of mobile games and applications have created a lot of high-quality content that helps develop useful skills such as logic, attention, motor skills, spatial thinking, imagination, as well as introduce letters and numbers, teach counting and combine concepts. Moreover, games can be roughly classified according to age categories - from the youngest gamers to high school students, and some applications will be of interest even to their parents.
- Games for little ones
- Games for preschoolers
- Games for younger students
- Universal games
Mental development of a preschooler
Determined by degree:
- mastery of pencil and brush;
- writing and reading skills;
- the ability to make short retellings and memorize short poems;
- knowledge of numbers (in forward and reverse order), ability to perform simple arithmetic operations;
- knowledge of basic geometric shapes;
- ability to tell time;
- possession of initial ideas about the surrounding world.
Teaching children 2-3 years old
This age is characterized by the child’s intensive acquaintance with the world around him, the colors and shapes of objects, their sizes and textures. The baby is able to clearly express emotions, react to his successes and failures, and communicate with other children and adults. During this age period, you should not be zealous in teaching your child letters and numbers, since all these are incomprehensible hieroglyphs for him that do not arouse any interest. Also, the effectiveness of learning foreign languages will be much higher at a later age.
The educational program for children should be aimed at understanding the world around them through the senses: sight, hearing, smell and touch. Scientists have proven that success in mastering reading skills directly depends on the ability to feel the world. The preschool education program for children 2 and 3 years old is based on the development of fine motor skills. The fact is that a child’s fingers contain a large number of receptors that send impulses to areas of the brain that are simultaneously responsible for the coordination of finger movements and for the development of speech. For these purposes, finger gymnastics, fingering small objects (safe, of course), playing with cubes and balls of various sizes, practicing with scraps of fabrics of various textures, playing “ladki”, “magpie-crow”, modeling from plasticine, etc. Further.
It is worth paying due attention to physical exercises, accompanied by nursery rhymes and jokes. In general, any activity of a child at this age should take place in a playful form - this is the most effective method for him to understand the world and learn at this stage of development.
Universal tablet games for everyone
Despite the fact that electronic toys are generally considered the prerogative of younger children, there are applications that will be of interest not only to children and teenagers, but even to their parents. The rating of games for family time includes three universal products for Android and iOS.
Toca Kitchen 2
- Developer: Toca Boca
- Size - 56 MB
A creative game whose main principle is unlimited freedom of expression in cooking. There is food in the refrigerator, equipment in the kitchen, including an oven, juicer, deep fryer, and at the table there are guests who try the prepared treats. Fried watermelon? Let's see if the cheerful gourmets will like the dish!
Papers
- Developer — Interactive Moolt DTv
- Size - 90 MB
The application is based on a popular cartoon - all locations and characters fully correspond to the plot. The game kit includes coloring books, a creative studio, a photo editor, printed drawings, and interactive modeling. Any action of the player leads to a new development of the plot - it is simply impossible to lose. Experiment and admire the fruits of your imagination!
Animation Desk
- Developer – Kdan Mobile Software LTD
- Size - 13 MB
A graphic game that will be interesting to all children of all ages, as well as their parents. The player has access to several graphic tools, adjusting diameter and transparency, changing backgrounds, working with frames, animation, as well as several color palettes. A distinctive plus is a convenient, intuitive control interface.
More interesting applications here:
- Top 5 apps for learning English
- 8 apps that will be useful for your mothers and grandmothers
Education for children 4-5 years old
This age is perfect for carefully starting to teach your child letters and numbers. Now the baby is already able to analyze the properties of objects, purposefully influence them, he is calmer, more diligent and better organized. If a child can enthusiastically play educational games for 10-15 minutes, go ahead! The age of 4-5 years is ideal for enrolling your child in some kind of club or sports section. By this time, the physical development of the child’s musculoskeletal system allows him to successfully master the basics of swimming, choreography, martial arts, and so on.
If you notice a child's inclination towards linguistics, learning a foreign language or attending a theater club will be an excellent solution for developing these abilities. Modeling, fine arts, and vocals are perfect for creative children. However, if a child does not yet know how to focus attention, consciously carry out developmental tasks, is impatient and reacts violently to his own failures, he should hold off a little from reading and attending clubs.
Making crafts together will help your child learn to concentrate. You should start with simple details so that the result is quick, gradually complicating the task. During the work, it is important to show the child that any failure can be corrected. Learning the alphabet, numbers and animals can easily be integrated into this process. With a little imagination, you can kill several birds with one stone. To develop fine motor skills, it is advisable to use exercises such as walking a pen through a maze, tracing and coloring pictures, weaving, modeling and much more.
Education for children 6-7 years old
Modern physiologists, psychologists, teachers and speech therapists agree that this period is the most favorable for the development of a child’s attention, perception, memory and thinking. Physiologically, the baby is already ready for developmental education, and he has a desire to learn. That is why a six-year-old child is sometimes able to drive his parents crazy with his numerous “whys”. To dismiss your inquisitive child or limit yourself to superficial answers is the same as depriving a tree of life-giving moisture. So, be patient and find complete information to satisfy your little one’s curiosity. At this age, it’s time to teach your child counting, writing, the ability to tell time by clock, and explain to him the basics of geography and astronomy. The educational program for children 6 years old already provides for a transition to organized forms of classes.
How to choose an online platform
There are many points that we recommend paying attention to when choosing online classes for comprehensive training:
- How old is the child?
- What are his strengths and weaknesses?
- What does he excel at and what are his leading abilities?
- What is the best time to study?
- Is the site safe?
- How much is it?
In our rating, we tried to take into account all of the above aspects. Let us immediately note that none of the listed sites spam advertisements or offer malicious external links, which ensures complete safety for children.
Correct actions of parents
So, the preschool education program for each child should include games and exercises for the development of sensory perception (development of the senses), speech, mental activity, physical skills, the cultivation of curiosity, as well as the formation of general elementary ideas about the world around us. All kinds of preschool education institutions help to successfully solve this problem. Kindergartens, preschool groups and specialized educational institutions not only use effective programs and unique methods to prepare children for school, but also have additional courses in their arsenal, for example, English language training programs.
Undoubtedly, teaching a child in a group has a number of advantages over individual classes: here the skills of correct interaction with peers are developed, discipline, the concept of responsibility, and the ability to resolve difficult situations are developed. Interactive educational programs, as well as the work of psychologists, will undoubtedly help the child in the future to more easily adapt to new school conditions and quickly move to the position of “I am a student.”
Of course, each baby is individual, and it is also quite possible to achieve the desired results without outside help. If you have firmly decided that your independent studies with your child will be no worse than the educational program for children in preschool educational institutions, just take into account the age-related characteristics of the child’s psychology and adhere to certain rules.
Hobbies and creativity
Children are little creators and entertainers. Parents must create all conditions for the embodiment of limitless children's imagination. The courses presented below are aimed at developing artistic, musical and other creative skills, as well as developing an aesthetic sense.
Playing the guitar – Children's art school
The mini-course Guitar playing is designed for children from 12 years old. On it, a teenager will be able to develop primary skills in playing the guitar. To practice, you will need the instrument itself and about 2 hours a day.
The course is divided into 3 stages:
- Correct posture, hand positioning and practicing basic movements.
- Studying the arrangement of notes on the fretboard.
- Getting to know chords.
Training is free. To pass it, you need to register. An excellent opportunity to gain basic skills and then continue to study in advanced courses or on your own.
Other programs from the Children's Art School:
- Everything you wanted to know about writing a horror story but were afraid to ask
- Puppet elements
Scratch Junior – programming for children 5–7 years old – Pixel
Scratch Junior is a course on teaching children programming in the language of the same name. This programming language was created specifically for preschoolers. To master it, you don't even need to be able to read and write. The commands are indicated by pictures, and the result of their use is immediately visible.
How the training works:
- Classes in the form of online webinars 2 times a week for 45 minutes on a closed platform.
- Mini-groups of 4 people.
- The training consists of several modules. Each has 24 lessons.
This is a great opportunity to introduce your child to the software environment. The profession of a programmer has firmly established itself at the top of the rankings of the most popular and highly paid professions.
The cost of the module is 9,000 rubles. It is possible to access demo materials and a recording of the lesson to familiarize yourself with the course. To do this, you need to leave a request on the website.
Online course in watercolor painting for teenagers – Kalacheva School
The online watercolor painting course is designed for children aged 10–14 years. The author of the course is illustrator Veronika Kalacheva. It will help you master the technique of painting with watercolors and instill a love of art. The course has a minimum of theory and a lot of practice. The training is based on the principle from simple to complex. For each work, the teacher leaves a comment indicating strengths and mistakes.
In a programme:
- selection of quality materials for drawing;
- getting to know the color wheel;
- techniques of filling, wiping color, precise strokes;
- watercolor special effects;
- working with perspective.
During the learning process, the child will draw at least 7 full-fledged drawings and will be able to continue drawing independently after completing the course.
Cost – 5,500 rubles. Access to the course is available for 3 months.
Chess. Entry level - Foxford
Chess. Entry level - a course for children who want to plunge into the world of intellectual sports. It is led by KMS in chess Alexey Erofeev. A total of 30 lessons of 1 academic hour. They take place once a week on Saturdays. You can watch them online and then watch them in recordings.
In a programme:
- basic rules of the game;
- types of mats;
- tactical chess techniques;
- tactics for starting the game;
- pawn endgame;
- analysis of the games of great chess champions.
Cost – 6,490 rubles, installments available. The trial lesson is free.
Animation: basics and history – Professional
Animation: Basics and History is a free course where children can plunge into the world of animation and try themselves as cartoon creators.
In a programme:
- basics of animation;
- history of animation;
- two-phase animation;
- reverse shooting;
- illusion of movement.
The course consists of 5 short lectures and additional materials. To take it, you need to register.
A few more interesting programs from the educational platform “Professionarium”:
- Creating animation using a mobile phone
- Basics of quick sketching, sketch
- Creating a doll in the tilde style
Recommendations for parents
- Conduct training in a playful way and use every opportunity for this: read to your child, communicate, come up with games together, look for objects of the same color while walking, show him interesting natural phenomena, support the child’s curiosity, teach him to use time.
- Be sure to provide your child with communication with peers. This should include systematic joint games on playgrounds, in the park, arranging competitions, quizzes, and relay races for kids. All this will be the child’s first behavior skills within a team.
- It is worth moving on to teaching a child to read only when his oral speech is sufficiently developed. Start again with game forms, gradually moving on to more complex ones. Remember that in this matter it is not so much the duration that is important, but the frequency and sequence of classes. Literature for reading should correspond to the age and individual characteristics of the child - read what he is interested in knowing about. If the child’s speech contains many errors in the syllabic structure of words or their agreement, or has obvious pronunciation defects, then your initial task is to contact a speech therapist.
- Under no circumstances should you suddenly switch your child to school mode: deprive him of quiet time, arrange home lessons with notebooks, bells and breaks. Everything that educational programs for schoolchildren provide for in raising a preschooler is not only unnecessary, but can also cause some harm - being forcibly involved in adult life, the child may lose desire and interest in school life.
Monitor your child on the Internet
Best App: Kids360
A product from Russian expert developers “Where are my children” - Kids360. The service is designed to help parents set time for children to play entertainment apps and games.
Advantages:
- application statistics. See which applications your child uses most often and how much time he spends there;
- time limits
. Set time limits for your child on specific applications and games; - schedule
. Create schedules for school and proper rest. During the specified time, games, social networking applications and entertainment services will be unavailable; - Access limitation.
Select the applications you want to limit or block completely; - connection with the child
. Applications for calls, messages, taxis and others not related to the entertainment service will always be available, and you will not lose contact with your child.
An important point: the application has a 24/7 support service , accessible from any media.
Review from user Olga Shtin on Google Play:
- Convenient application! The child is already constantly on the phone at school, now it’s also the holidays, you can’t keep track of them. The app makes my life a lot easier. I am satisfied with both the set of functions and its smooth operation. Thank you for the quality service! I don’t remember that at least once something was buggy or crashed. Moreover, both during the free trial period and after paying for the subscription.
Price : the application is free, it has paid content costing from 169 to 1490 rubles, depending on the content.
Supported platforms : the service is available on Android.
Get your child out of the smartphone right now! Or keep him safe online and limit inappropriate content. Download Kids360.
ESET NOD32 Parental Control
This program will help parents of toddlers and schoolchildren of primary and secondary age control their use of smartphones and tablets.
Advantages:
- can address the child by name and give him advice on how to use the device, remind him of household chores or lessons;
- allows you to set periods of time when you can turn on the device and adjust it, for example, to the school schedule;
- blocks visits to sites in 20 categories. Allows you to create your own lists;
- you can monitor your child’s work online and receive reports for the day, week or month;
- a child can send a parent a request to visit a site that is blocked in the application;
- shows on the map the position of the child when he has the device.
Price : Free, has paid content costing from 99 to 999 rubles, depending on the content.
Supported platforms : Android.
Link to the application website: https://www.esetnod32.ru/
Review from user Oleg Selyavko in the AppStore:
- The best I found. Comparing with Kaspersky Safe Kids, here you can allow the use of some applications and block others completely or by time, online statistics, a more convenient interface.
This app is more versatile than the others we've included in this review and is easier to use. In addition, it can work with gadgets - smart bracelets and watches.
Kids Place
Another application for monitoring your child on the Internet and games. It also allows you to limit access time to the device and unwanted sites, block random calls, purchases, etc. It is similar to ESET NOD32 Parental Control app, but has fewer features.
Pros:
- blocks signals from entering the phone when Kids Place is running on it - this prevents radiation from the device.
Minuses:
- there is no time setting for the application;
- There are no statistics on child site visits.
Price : Free, with in-app purchases costing 15 to 790 rubles per product.
Supported platforms : Android.
Link to the application website: https://kiddoware.com/
KIDOZ
Aggregator application: here you can find games, educational and entertaining videos, useful sites for children of different ages. More suitable for babies.
Pros:
- automatically selects only content that is useful for the child;
- protects the device from accidental deletion of programs and accidental calls;
- limits visits to unwanted resources, time spent using a smartphone, as well as purchases through the application;
- There is a built-in app store for children, including free ones.
Minuses:
- Aimed at very young children only.
Price: There is a free version and a paid version with products costing from 30 to 1,377.61 rubles.
Supported platforms: Android.
Link to the application website: https://kidoz.net/
Safe Lagoon
Parental control application based on Artificial Intelligence. Limits the use of gadgets and protects the child on the Internet. In addition, the utility monitors incoming and outgoing calls and SMS in all popular instant messengers.
Pros:
- tracking the child's location;
- control over the use of applications on a smartphone or tablet,
- blocking dangerous or harmful sites;
- monitoring the battery charge of a child's device;
- night mode.
Minuses:
- paid Premium version with 7-day trial;
- ease of settings and blocking - the child can independently disable this or that function.
Price: $6.95 (about 450 rubles) per month.
Supported platforms: Android, IOS.
Application website: https://safelagoon.com/ru/
Kidslox
According to the developers, the application teaches the child to use mobile gadgets in a balanced way. From one parent account you can control up to 10 devices (phones, tablets).
Pros:
- cross-platform;
- daytime and nighttime screen time limits;
- blocking sites that are harmful and dangerous for children;
- Timer function;
- no advertising in the application;
- blocking access to the camera, social networks and web browsers.
Minuses:
- paid subscription;
- the need to install the application on all devices that the user wants to control;
- lack of chat with technical support in the application.
Price: From 65 rubles to 7,999 rubles per product.
Supported platforms: Android, IOS.
Application website: https://kidslox.com/ru
