Sharpen Your Mind this Summer with a Stealth Learning App
Computers, tablets and phones are increasingly embedded in our lives which means that distractions are just a click away and avoiding those distractions can be hugely challenging.
It can be difficult to persuade children to do something other than look at their phone too, especially once the device is an established part of their lives. If your child hasn’t been given their own smart phone yet, try to delay its introduction for as long as you can.
When you do introduce a phone, familiarise yourself with Apple’s Screen Time (Apple phones) or Google Family Link (Android phones). These controls allow you to set limits on your child’s app access and overall phone use - and your own! - which could help them to build healthy tech habits.
And when they do ask for apps, steer them away from social media and consider these ‘stealth learning’ apps, apps that that will enrich their learning and test their mental mettle.
WORD GUESS - Find the target word in 6 tries. If you enjoy WORDLE you’ll enjoy this. Green means the correct letter in the right place, orange means the correct letter in the wrong place.
POP MATH - A fun way to practise maths operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Six pairs of bubbles with numbers float on the screen and the aim is to match and pop corresponding bubbles.
SQUEEBLES - TIMES TABLES - This is a brilliant way for your child to practice times tables (or even to learn them). There are offshoots of Squeebles that help with addition, division, fractions and vocabulary. Perfect for sharpening up essential maths skills.
DAILY THEMED CROSSWORD - Increase word power and general knowledge with fun themed puzzles that give your brain a boost.
GEO EXPERT - educational game which will help you learn all the countries of the world, as well as rivers, mountains and flags
STACK THE COUNTRIES - an app that makes learning about the world fun. Master the capitals, landmarks and geographical locations of the countries of the world and try to collect all 193. Fantastic for general knowledge and geography.
PERIODIC TABLE QUIZ - test and improve your knowledge of the chemical elements in the periodic table.
WORLD HISTORY QUIZ GAME - A general history quiz with 150 questions and answers and some fun history facts so you learn as you play. There are hints if you get stuck.
GENIUS BRAIN - A free tricky puzzle game with a series of tricky brain teasers and questions. Do you have a genius brain or not? The goal of this game is not to be tricked.
RED HERRING - Group words into categories in this fun, challenging word sorting game. Which words are the red herrings?
I really enjoyed testing these apps so even grown ups can benefit from this educational distraction. Take your brain to the mind gym and keep those grey cells firing.