The 10 Best Educational Apps for Kids

We know that screen time is inevitable, and although we're good about limiting our kids' use, we still want that digital glow to help nurture brain cells. Some of these apps obviously promote learning, while others develop different skills in more subtle ways. So load them up and prepare for happy parents and kiddos.

Fetch! Lunch Rush teaches math while keeping things fun and cooperative. It's a multi-player game, so friends can join in the fun. And it's by PBS Kids, whom we pretty much heart all around.

We're fans for sheer nostalgia reasons, but the Reading Rainbow app stays true to its bang-on fundamentals of encouraging reading and keeping it fun and imaginative.

We love the Bean Bag Kids for their take on classic fairy tales. We would never let this replace traditional story time, of course, but for the wee set who cannot read it's a nice way to introduce narrative and a love of storytelling.

It'll be a wonder if the kids even get to see this one—cuz we're addicted to Seven Little Words For Kids. Clues help you guess words and collect stars to unlock new worlds. Great for the budding word geek.

'IF...' is a role-playing adventure game that helps kids learn how to calm their emotions and solve problems collaboratively. The graphics are great and the kids will feel more like they are playing Skylanders than going to school.

What? That's not an educational app! But wait—why not? We rely on Waze to help us navigate the best route in the least amount of time. Why not expose the kids to reading maps, calculating time saved, and decision making?

Our kids love photos—especially of themselves or their favourite places. Font Candy is a super easy way to make graphic art by adding effects and fonts to the images—it's spelling practice in secret!

We've spent hours of fun—solo and en famille—helping Maxwell solve a variety of puzzles by creating just about anything you can imagine in Scribblenauts. The solutions are vast and you can have a different experience each time. Perfect for thinking outside the box.

This one might require some help from the parental set, but hey—we deserve a break too! In Bridge Constructor, we build a variety of bridges in different worlds on budget. Planning, physics—there are loads of teachable moments here.

A simple yet wonderful escape game—in Doors and Rooms, find solutions to unlock a variety of puzzles/ riddles to unlock the door, and you're on to the next challenge.