7 Best Educational Apps for 3 Year Olds for Summer Homeschool

My kids always love playing on my phone. Over our time homeschooling, we have quickly learned that educational games can be a great way for young kids to review what they are learning and practice new skills as well. The best learning apps will complement what we are studying in our homeschool and encourage my kids’ curiosity at the same time. Here are 7 of the best educational apps for 3 year olds, that we love to use in our homeschool.

I received compensation and access to resources from Homeschool Buyers Club in exchange for my honest review, but all the opinions in this post are my own. This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission for purchases made through those links.

Using Educational Apps for Homeschool and Summer Learning

Summer is the perfect time to add some extra learning to your child’s day with a fun app. Here are some reasons why educational apps are great for helping toddlers and preschool children learn.

Encourage Independence

When kids are too young to read independently, it can be difficult for them to learn on their own. But, many of the best apps are designed so that even older toddlers can use them independently.

An app can be a fun way for little kids to practice their skills, even when an adult is not around to help them.

Learn on the Go

One of my family’s favorite reasons to use apps and digital media as a part of our preschool time is that we can take these resources with us when we travel. We purchased a kids’ Kindle fire several years ago, and we take it in the car for road trips. Having a child’s tablet loaded with apps and educational shows is a great way to pass the time in the car. Apps can be great for waiting rooms and long lines at the grocery store, too.

Build Technology Skills

Whenever kids spend time playing learning games, they are also learning important skills about how to interact with technology at the same time. Homeschool apps are a great way to help young children become comfortable using digital devices like mobile phones and tablets. This is a critical life skill.

Learn New Skills

With such a wide variety of apps available, it is easy to find apps to help with just about every subject that younger kids would like to study. In our family, we follow each child’s interests and download apps to encourage them to explore topics they want to learn about.

We also download apps that correspond to the specific subjects we are studying in our homeschool.

Perfect for Review

We also love to use apps to review topics when my kids need just a little bit of extra practice. My kids love practicing their math skills and reviewing math facts with games on an app. We also use apps to review science topics, practice phonics, and even practice letter formation and fine motor skills!

Customize for Each Child

I love that many apps allow us to choose just the right level of learning for each child. By choosing which apps and which levels each child will play, we can easily customize our screen time for each child’s learning level.

Exciting for Kids

One of my favorite parts about homeschooling using educational apps is how much my kids enjoy it. I am always looking for ways to inspire my kids to love learning, and homeschooling with some of the best educational apps for 3 year olds is a great way to do just that.

How Much Screen Time Should a 3 Year Old Have?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, kids between the ages of 2 and 5 should get less than an hour of screen time per day. Parents can maximize the value of this time by choosing educational games and apps that encourage kids in their learning process.

Educational Apps and Homeschool Curriculum for Preschoolers

Here are a few of our favorite educational apps for 3 year olds. Use these apps in your homeschool for summer learning or all year long to help your child practice important preschool skills.

ABCMouse

ABCMouse is a great app for young readers in preschool through 2nd grade. Kids work through sequential lessons that teach a variety of pre-reading skills, including letter names and beginning sounds, rhyming words, vocabulary words and comprehension, and more.

Kids can also use ABCMouse to practice math skills, explore science and social studies, and even discover art.

ABCMouse has been one of my kids’ favorite apps for several years. They love the interactive learning games included in this app, and they also love earning fun rewards as they play games. My daughter loves the puzzle game and can play with just a little help from me.

ABC Mouse is a paid app but you can grab a 30-day free trial from the Homeschool Buyers Club!

Reading Eggs

Reading Eggs is one of the best apps for reading and math for homeschool families. The app is perfect for kids ages 2-13 and includes 4 different levels for different age groups.

A subscription to Reading Eggs also includes the Math Seeds Program where kids can practice problem-solving skills and math facts.

Reading Eggs is a paid app but you can get a 30-day free trial from the Homeschool Buyers Club.

Khan Academy Kids

Khan Academy Kids is a free app for kids ages 2-8. My kids think this is one of the best free apps because they love the wide variety of activities and games that are included.

As a parent, I love that this app adapts its educational content to fit my kids so that each child can learn at their own pace.

Duck Duck Moose

Duck Duck Moose is a series of apps for kids ranging in age from 2 to 13. The apps include:

• Educational apps that teach reading and math skills
• Mini games based on nursery rhymes that are perfect for reinforcing language learning and preschool skills with toddlers and preschoolers
• Apps that allow kids to create stories and drawings
• Fun games for kids

DragonBox Numbers

DragonBox offers a series of popular math apps for kids ages 4 and up. Their introductory app, DragonBox Numbers, is marketed to kids ages 4 and up but can be played by younger children as well. This app is available for free on the iOS app store or Google play.

DoodleMaths

DoodleMaths includes over 40,000 interactive problems designed to help teach kids important problem solving skills while learning key math concepts. One of the best parts about this app is that it is adaptive, which means that the content is adjusted automatically to fit each child’s strengths and weaknesses.

Although the full version of DoodleMaths is a paid app, you can get a free trial from the Homeschool Buyers Club.

PBS Kids

The PBS Kids app offers a variety of free toddler apps and preschool apps that make learning fun for kids. Most of the apps are based on favorite characters from PBS shows. Kids can practice first words and letters with Super Why, learn about social situations with Daniel Tiger, and explore STEM concepts with the Cat in the Hat. Each cute app offers a variety of different activities to help kids engage in what they are learning.

Sesame Street

The Sesame Street app is another wonderful app that is free for toddlers and preschoolers. Kids can play ABC games, learn about math and science, explore emotions, and more on this huge app which is available for iOS or Android.

Smile and Learn

Smile and Learn is one of the best toddler apps because it has over 10,000 educational activities including videos, games, and interactive stories. The app is designed to use multiple intelligences to help kids learn a variety of subjects.

On this popular app, kids can learn math, science, and language. They can also practice foreign languages, SEL, cognitive skills, and much more.

Although the full version of Smile and Learn is a paid app, you can get a 30 day free trial from the Homeschool Buyers Club.

Educational Apps and Homeschool Curriculum from the Homeschool Buyers Club

One of my favorite places to look for new Educational Apps for 3 year olds is the Homeschool Buyers Club. The Homeschool Buyers Club curates and collects popular learning apps, which makes it a one-stop shop to explore lots of different curriculum options. Here are some reasons why I love the Homeschool Buyers Club

Discover New Curriculum

Although I am familiar with a lot of homeschool curriculum choices, I always discover new options whenever I visit the Homeschool Buyers Club. I love how many different options they have available to explore.

I know that the more I explore and discover new homeschool curricula, the more likely I am to find a curriculum that is a good fit for my kids, and the Homeschool Buyers Club helps me find new options to peruse.

Free Trials

As a homeschool parent, I know that curriculum can get expensive. Subscriptions to multiple educational apps can add up quickly.

That’s why I love that the Homeschool Buyers Club offers free trials of many of the educational apps they feature. I love that I can try each app with my kids and see firsthand how it will work with my family before committing to a purchase.

Explore Different Subjects

Another challenge with homeschooling comes in including a variety of subjects in our homeschool. I want to make sure that my kids get a complete and well-rounded education, even in subjects I haven’t studied.

That’s why I love the Homeschool Buyers Club. We have been able to find educational apps and curricula to help my kids explore and learn a variety of subjects and interests. This makes their school experience so much richer as they explore a wide variety of subjects.

Perfect for Review

During the summer, we always try to keep the learning going and review some of the topics we studied during the previous school year. This helps prevent the summer slide and keeps my kids used to the routine of learning.

I love using educational apps from the Homeschool Buyers Club for summer review and learning. This is an easy way to keep my kids learning all summer long.

Free Summer Homeschool Curriculum

Summer is the perfect time to experiment and explore a new homeschool curriculum, and the Homeschool Buyers Club is making this so easy for families this summer! They are offering free trials of 19 different homeschool curriculum options for families this summer.

Multi-Subject Apps and Curriculum:

• Thinkwell Free Trial
• Monarch
• Smile and Learn

Save up to 80% on Multi-subject curriculum at Homeschool Buyers Club!

Music and Art Apps and Curriculum:

• HomeSchoolPiano Trial
• Kids Guitar Academy Trial
• Mr. Henry’s Music World Freebie
• Mark Kistler Art Lessons

Save up to up to 87% on electives curriculum at Homeschool Buyers Club!

Reading and Literacy Apps and Curriculum:

• Reading Skills Assessment Ongoing
• Nessy.com Free Trial
• Reading Eggs
• Vocabulary Quest

Save up to 83% on Language arts curriculum at Homeschool Buyers Club!

Science and Math Apps and Curriculum:

• Code Avengers Free Trial
• Brilliant.org
• Creta Class 7 Day Trial
• Math Mammoth PDFs
• Doodlemaths
• Dynamic Earth Learning (Aquaponics Course)

Save up to 70% on math curriculum and up to 73% on science curriculum at Homeschool Buyers Club!

History Apps and Curriculum:

• History Alive Grades 6-12
• History Alive Grades 1-6

Save up to 54% on history curriculum at Homeschool Buyers Club!

All of these resources are available for free this summer!

Check out all the free summer homeschool curriculum options here!

Free Gifts from Homeschool Buyers Club

Every order from Homeschool Buyers Club this summer comes with 3 bonus gifts. All you need to do is place your order, and then select your free gifts at checkout.

Grab your free summer homeschool apps and curriculum (and free gifts) from the Homeschool Buyers Club today!