Best Free and Paid Apps for Kindergarten & PreK

Here is an updated list of my favorite free and paid iPad apps for Kindergarten and Pre-K for the 2018-19 school year!  These apps include skills such as alphabet recognition, beginning reading skills such as letter sounds, sounding out words, and learning sight words, as well as early math skills such as numbers and numeracy, shape recognition, matching sets, patterning, addition and subtraction, etc.




Last year when I was teaching TK, we were lucky enough to receive a brand new set of six iPads when our existing set went missing!  After that, we needed some apps, of course!  So I went about making a wish list and did some research.  If you cross check, you may notice that some of these are on my previous list of favorite apps that I posted here.  Others on this list have disappeared from cyberspace and are no longer available!




The school has not yet been able to purchase all of these apps of course, but I have tried them all out on my own personal iPad, and they are all great!  And since I have been teaching such a long time, I don't need a lot of other supplies, so I think it's nice to have a wish list of apps on hand, just in case our administration offers to purchase something for us.  (We just got a new principal, and this has already happened TWICE!  YIPPEE!!!)  I also like the idea of asking for things that I do not have to STORE!  LOL!

I have written a short description next to each app, and put a STAR next to my absolute "must haves!"  :)

Favorite Paid Apps

ABC Ninja:  99 cents

This is a fun little game in which children must "slash" a given letter like a ninja!  It USED to be free!  :(





Sight Words Ninja:  $1.99

This one is just like the ABC ninja above; the children look for a given letter and then cut it in half.  FUN!  Used to be free.  What happened?





* Letter School:  $6.99

This is so much fun that my kids used years ago to play it LONG after they learned the alphabet!  You'll need to click on the link to see how it works.  Awesome!





* Touch and Write:  $2.99

In this little gem, the kids select a letter and something to "write" with, such as pudding or whipped cream.  Then they trace the letter and watch it fill in with that substance.  Fun!





* Word Wizard:  $4.99

This is a GREAT app!  The kids are given a letter board and asked to make words.  As they place a letter, the sound is given.  Then they can hear the word sounded out.  It does more than that, too.  You'll have to check it out!  They can write the words you want them to write, and it will sound it out for them.  Worth the money!





Howie Finding Vowel: $2.99

This is great- BUT it does go way beyond short vowels, so it's best for higher Kindergartners and first graders that are ready for more.





* Monkey Math School Sunshine:  $1.99

No matter what, the kids LOVE the "Monkey" apps!  This is a classic app that my students have always loved.  It rotates through all of the skills Kinders need.





* Monkey Word School Adventure:  $1.99

This is the language arts version of Monkey Math. Wonderful!





Animal Math:  $4.99 to unlock everything

I really like the "Animal Math" series!  You can start with the free version and then if you like it, unlock the rest.  There are LOTS of skills in it, and it's worth the price.





Animal Math Preschool Games:    $4.99 to unlock everything

See above!





Subitizing Tree:  99 cents

Great for practice subitizing, and cheap!





Art Set:  $1.99

This is only for fun, and it's GREAT!





Felt Board:  $2.99

This is wonderful for creativity!  It's like playing with a felt board on a an iPad!  The kids just love it- especially the girls.





Teach Your Monster to Read:  $4.99

This game comes highly recommended by MANY kindergarten teachers, but it is new to me.  I can't wait to try it out!  It covers letters and sounds, CVC words, sight words, phonics, and reading simple sentences!





Favorite Free Apps

Lego Juniors:  Free

Caution:  do NOT install this unless you want them to ONLY play the Lego game, because they LOVE IT!!!!  I had to work with my kids to stay off of it during "work time."  Some were better at this than others, but it's a good lesson in self-regulation, right?





Lego City Game:  Free

See above!




* Duck Duck Moose Reading:  Free

This app is AMAZING- and it's FREEEEEE! It starts with letter sounds and then works its way up from there.  It's best if you can have the kids log in and then they will be able to keep going at their own pace, rather than pick up where someone else left off.  All of the apps by Duck Duck Moose are now free (and used to be paid!) because they are now owned by the Kahn Academy.





* Moose Math:  Free

Another FANTASTIC FREE APP by Duck Duck Moose!  Don't miss it!  There are lots of math skills included.





Pet Bingo:  Free

This is fun!





Fish School- Free

 This is fun, but it doesn't really have games- it's more of an introduction to the alphabet.  Great for younger kids in preschool or Pre-K.  Another title by Duck Duck Moose!





* Park Math:  Free

This is another math app by Duck Duck Moose, and it's a good one!  It's a bit easier than Moose Math.




Ten Frame Fill:  Free

This helps kids learn to count on ten frames.  Simple enough, right?





I hope that you found this helpful! Any to add???

- Heidi :)




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