With thousands upon thousands of educational apps for kids on the market, its hard to know which ones give you more bang for your buck while teaching mini masterminds the skills they actually need. That’s where we come in. We’ve scouted the best number apps around for your little Einstein.
Here’s our favourite maths and counting apps for tiny tech-wizards.
Endless Numbers
Endless Numbers is a brilliant app for teaching your budding brainbox basic numeracy skills from the get-go. Unlike most apps for youngsters, Endless Numbers does away with the high scores or ability to fail tasks and simply encourages tots to engage with numbers in a fun and light-hearted fashion.
With interactive sequences and short animations bringing numbers to life on screen, Endless Numbers gets top marks from us!
Endless Numbers (free) is available to download on iTunes for iPhone and iPad, or Google Play for androids.
Quick Math Junior
Quick Math Jr. walked away with the Parents’ Choice Award at the Children’s Tech Review and it’s easy to see why. With the help of colourful, crazy math monsters Quick Math Jr. has the essentials of math and counting covered, and it’s adaptive difficultly means every player works at a level tailored to them (two thumbs up!).
Whether it be counting 1-10, simple addition or even just writing numbers on screen, this app does it all, and really well. Did we mention your mini genius can create their own monsters too? What’s not to love?
Quick Math Jr. (free) is available to download on iTunes for iPhones and iPads.
Star Gurus
Star Gurus takes learning numbers to another galaxy. Created by a mum/teacher alongside a team of designers, Star Gurus uses the much-loved game of dot-to-dot to teach budding bright sparks how to count and put numbers into sequences.
With over 40 different star constellations to choose from, kiddos connect the individually number stars while learning to count at the same time. Clever!
Star Gurus ($0.99) is available to download on iTunes for iPhones and iPads.
Montessori 1st Operations
Montessori 1st Operations uses wacky monsters to take little alpha geeks to the next level, and we like it. The app puts kids to work in the ‘monster lab’ where addition and subtraction are the aim of the game. Montessori 1st Operations focuses on these key areas to build their confidence, slowly introducing multiplication and division by using simple concepts of double and half.
Add to this the ability to create multiple profiles at different difficulty levels for additional children and you’ve got the perfect equation!
Montessori 1st Operations is available to download on iTunes ($5.99) for iPhones and iPads, and Google Play ($3.99) for androids
Todo Math
Todo Math uses great graphics and a whole host of playful scenarios to help develop kids’ early numeracy skills. With over 40 mathematical missions to complete and 24 multi-level games to keep their brain ticking it’s easy to see why Todo Math is ranked number one education app in the USA.
For tykes who tire with repetitive games, this is where Todo Math excels. With treasure hunts, ferris wheels and grocery store role-play to keep eggheads engaged, plus positive prompts and encouragement throughout, little learners will love this app!
Todo Math (free) is available to download on iTunes for iPhones and iPads
Cutie Monsters
Cutie Monsters: Count to Ten has been specifically designed for the developmental needs of toddlers, and it works an absolute treat! Blushy, Toothy, Golly, Blobby and the rest of the gang take mini mathematicians on a number journey through the interactive counting book ‘click to count’, where kiddies put their numeracy, early reading and fine motor skills to the test.
With fun jigsaw puzzles making an appearance here and there, it’s easy to see why Cutie Monsters won best innovative kids app in 2013.
Cutie Monsters: Count to Ten is available to download from iTunes ($1.29) for iPhones and iPads, and Google Play ($4.99) for androids
Moose Math
Moose Math takes mini-minds on a mathematical adventure with bight colours and fun shapes thrown in for the ride. Did you know that making a smoothie is a mathematical equation? Neither did we. Moose Math turns everyday events into educational situations for your clever clogs to develop their addition, counting and sorting skills.
Play a game of Moose Juice, Lost & found or even Pet Bingo – they’re all geared to help young ones understand the relationship between quantities, numbers and more.
Moose Math is available to download on iTunes ($2.99) for iPhones and iPads, and Google Play ($2.14) for androids
Count up to 10
Count up to Ten makes the fundamentals of counting and numbers a hoot for first-time learners. The crystal clear graphics and line-up of incredibly cute characters ensures iddy biddy brainiacs keep coming back to learn their one’s, two’s and three’s.
With playful penguins, a cheery mole and a family of friendly elephants popping up throughout, your wriggle-pot will be counting to ten in no time.
Count up to Ten is available to download from iTunes ($2.99) for iPhones and iPads, and Google Play ($2.99) for androids
Tally Tots
Tally Tots is your toddler’s guide to counting. The cartoon style graphics in Tally Tots keeps pint-sized prodigies engaged without distracting eyes from the number games and puzzles.
Every number featured in Tally Tots is paired with an activity, shape or colour to assist with number recognition in the early stages of learning, while the happy sing-along song will have your little maestro singing numbers all day long!
Tally Tots is available to download from iTunes ($2.99) for iPhones and iPads, and Google Play ($3.67) for androids
Doodle Critter Math: Numbers
Doodle Critter Math: Numbers teaches kiddywinks ages 3-5 the basic concepts of numbers 1-10. The charming ‘doodle friends’ assist with each and every game to keep your brain buster focused on the activity in hand, while interactive scenarios like bursting bubbles make writing numbers easy as 1,2,3!
Whether your boffin is learning to read numbers, sort numbers or work out simple addition and subtraction, Doodle Critter Math is a fantastic app for those starting their numbers journey.
Doodle Critter Math: Numbers is available to download on iTunes ($2.99) for iPhones and iPads
