These four games combine the two in a unique and clever way, making in-depth learning feel like play.
Not to mention that they are perfect for the summer holidays – especially if you’re spending it at home this year, or family road trips.
Will it be your child who cracks the reading code, impresses you by solving an equation by themselves, or beats you in a game of chess this summer?
Poio: Learn to read
“Poio does two admirable and often rare things in the world of early learning games: It lets kids control the pace and allows learning to be a byproduct of play.”
This was one of the arguments from Common Sense when adding the app on their top-picks list “Great Early Reading Resources”.
Poio offers a playful approach to phonics teaching that allows children to learn how to read completely on their own.
They’ll be encouraged to explore a fairytale world packed with letters and words, exciting tasks, and funny characters called “Readlings”.
The game automatically adapts to your child’s level of skill. As they are revealing new parts of a mystical storybook, they also learn how to read it part by part.
It’s perfect for children aged between 3 and 8, whether they haven’t yet started learning how to read, are at the beginning of their journey, or require an extra boost of confidence.
Download on the App Store or Google Play.
Learn more about Poio here.
DragonBox Numbers: Learn fundamental math
Forbes describes this game as “…the first thing you should download on a tablet if you have kids 4-8 years old”, and with good reason.
DragonBox Numbers helps children understand what numbers really are and what happens when you add them together or subtract them from one another.
Instead of memorizing numbers as symbols, children are introduced to characters called Nooms, each representing (and behaving like) a number from 1 to 10. This visualizes the math concepts, showing children how they work, and makes it easy to learn through play!
Download on the App Store, Google Play, or Amazon.
DragonBox Algebra 5+: Learn equations
Another brilliant game from DragonBox is Algebra 5+. Solving equations is generally seen as quite complex math, but this app makes it so simple and intuitive that children as young as five years old will get the hang of it!
Over the course of the game, drawings are slowly being replaced by numbers to visually teach children the operations required to find the value of “X”.
In a review, Wired states that “within a couple of hours, most kids playing DragonBox will be able to start solving simple algebraic equations, and what’s more, they’ll be having fun”.
Download on the App Store, Google Play, or Amazon.
Learn more about all the DragonBox apps here.
Magnus’ Kingdom of Chess: Learn to play chess
“This game has a way of drawing kids in and teaching them about chess and its pieces without them even realizing it”, it reads in Common Sense’s recommendation of Magnus’ Kingdom of Chess.
The way it works is that it lets children explore a kingdom while collecting gold coins and unlocking new pieces. Bit by bit, they’ll understand how to use the different pieces according to their specific rules.
The game is developed together with Magnus Carlsen, his awesome team of chess experts at Play Magnus, and learning experts in order to create a playful, simple, and effective learning experience for children aged 6 and above.
Download on the App Store or Google Play.
Learn more about Magnus’ Kingdom of Chess here.
