Studies show that teaching kids math (and related concepts) early helps them perform more effectively in nearly every other subject in the future. This should be obvious to us right? Chances are you’re a decently smart person. How great are you at math? How well can you add your groceries in your head? Figure out the tip ahead of time? The cold hard truth is that most people lack a solid mathematical skillset. And of course they do. Why? Because the way math is taught is boring. Here, memorize these numbers. It’s not conceptual. And more importantly it’s not contextual. If everyone watched “The History Of Maths” on Netflix they’d find that the guys who used these ideas had super cool backgrounds and were using their ideas to accomplish super cool things.

So it’s important, we get that. How to we get our kids to pay attention to the seemingly boring numbers and concepts that could greatly improve their deductive logic? We turn to the technology with which they are so intimate of course. But where’s the happy medium? I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time figuring out what’s entertaining enough to keep their attention while simultaneously teaching them math concepts. In my exploration I’ve also found a few that need incentivizing (for my little one at least). So, I’ll list them according to one’s that are entertaining and educational and ones that are good but are a bit on the boring side (but still super useful).

Ones that are entertaining enough to for them to play without encouragement:

Peg+Cat – Big Gig

itunes, android

This one is awesome since it teaches basic counting but combines it with music. There are 3 modes. One lets you choose a character from the show with their associated instrument and play most of the songs from the show using number association- Peg + Cat dada dada dada (3, 2, 1, 5,4, 4, 3, 1.) Selecting these numbers plays a note on their instrument. The other modes let you choose the sequence of dance moves for cat while they’re announced (1st, 2nd!, etc). Lastly, you can make and record your own music from a selection instruments and character call-outs. Not super heavy on complex mathematical ideas, but it’s association with music makes this app one of the best out there. You will need a iPad or a tablet -I bought the cheapest android one of Amazon specifically for the value of this game and for Doozer’s Solve it (one of the only physics based games for toddlers.) We use an old iPhone for most of these other apps.

Bugs and Numbers

This game is awesome because it has so much in the realm of diversity. There are 18 different games ranging from basic counting, fractions, shape association, measurement, superlatives, and even counting money (though I’m not sure our kids will actually have to be able to use this skill). The graphics on this game are also awesome. It was the first app I ever downloaded for my little one too! She played it for about 6 weeks before getting bored (then again she hadn’t had much interaction with technology at that point either).

Fishing with Grandpa

Fishing with Grandpa is simple and fun. You get to help Grandpa select the right equipment for fishing, measure the fish you catch, point out the right number of fish in a school, and assemble 6 piece puzzles. It’s about 50/50 on the entertaining and actually thinking about math side, which makes it much more sustainable and interesting.

Count, Sort, Match

Name says it all. Simple graphics. Simple concept. It’s a good introductory app if you haven’t discussed a lot of mathematical concepts to your little one yet. Though exciting in the beginning it’s minimally entertaining after a while though.

Sam Phibian

This one is a frog sitting on a lily pad. You’re supposed to feed him the correct number of certain types of insects and he’ll change cool outfits for you if you do that. If you don’t then he’ll get too big and sink. My little girl just liked to feed him too many most of the time so I’m not sure how much math she got out of it. Still, it was relatable and entertaining for her to play.

Tangrams for Kids:

itunes, android

Not in the number category but spatial logic is really important for more advanced math later in life. You click on a question mark and it opens up an abstract item (Robot, bike, flower) that you drag and drop shapes into to create the picture. This one doesn’t involve any rotation so the shapes are already in the proper orientation. I’m actually a big fan of the adult version myself.

Apps that may take some coaxing but are really good:

Your Your Garden:

This one is actually my absolute favorite. It was created by a few Berkely Graduate students. The goal is to water a plant with the proper number of drops indicated on the pot it’s growing in. At first you just have to fill up a pail with a certain number of drops, but it progresses into multiple pails where you have to empty some out and not even use others. It teaches addition and subtraction using numbers under 10. You even get to keep the plants you “grow” in a garden. It can be a bit glitchy and will freeze from time to time so I’ve had to redownload it, but it’s totally worth it. I put it into the “may take some coaxing category” because it does get challenging and you may need to guide your kid along.

Abacus

There are a million versions of these but this one in particular is good because you can get the 3 sets of 5 beads version for free. You click the question mark and it gives you a number you have to put on one side. Once you get that number right it cheers you on and gives you another number. It’s really good because kids can visualize small groups while doing addition and subtraction up to 15. Obviously it’s pretty boring for kids used to watching huge HD TV’s so I usually have to incentivize this one.

Line Em’ Up

All you do with this one is line up the numbers 1-10. I was actually super surprised how challenging this one can be. Learning addition and subtraction doesn’t mean you understand sequencing. Super boring but it only takes a few minutes to get them to do this a few times. I often sneak this in during potty time 🙂