fun online educational games for elementary students

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40+ Best Online Educational Games for Every Grade in 2023

Make screen time meaningful and fun!

Kids are always asking for more screen time, and parents and teachers are always looking for ways to make that screen time more worthwhile. Fortunately, there are endless free online games for kids that teach language arts, math, science, art, and STEM. If you’re not quite sure where to get started, try this list of our favorite teacher-approved online educational games. You’ll find educational games for students in every subject and every grade.

Preschool and Elementary Online Educational Games

Middle and high school online educational games.

Offering a full curriculum for children ages 2 to 8, this site includes fun and interactive games, songs, and puzzles for reading, math, science, and art. (Free for teachers and classrooms; subscription available for home use)

Adventure Academy

From the same company as ABCMouse, Adventure Academy takes kids ages 8 to 13 on a knowledge quest through language arts, math, science, and social studies. (First month free, then monthly subscription fee)

Looking to improve outcomes in a way that kids will enjoy? This educational game takes K-12 students on a time-traveling adventure to meet some of the most influential mathematicians in history. (Monthly or annual subscription plans for families; schools request price quote)

Duck Duck Moose Reading

Based on Common Core State Standards, this app teaches phonics including the letter sounds for all consonants, short vowels, and long vowels. Kids will also practice spelling consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. If you like this one, check out Duck Duck Moose’s whole collection of school games online. (Apps are free to download and play.)

Test your knowledge while earning rice for those in need! Each time you play, you’re helping the United Nations World Food Programme provide food to those around the world who need it. The game offers a variety of subjects and difficulty levels. (Free)

Dive into a coral reef or be a star climber on this great site that features a wide assortment of free online games for kids. These educational games focus mainly on reading and math, but you’ll find lots of fun activities here with options for pre-K through grade 8. (Free)

Gamestar Mechanic

Do you have gamers in your class? This site helps kids ages 7 through 14 learn how to design their very own video games through game-based quests and courses. (Free)

Whether they’re jetpacking through the stars in Zapp Von Doubler’s Space Race or clearing weeds in the garden in Om Petalhead’s Flower Power, kids will enjoy this collection of fun educational games that get them up and moving! (Free)

KUBO Play – Coding for Kids

KUBO Play is an interactive online platform that teaches coding and computational thinking to early learners. Its three activity modes (Free Play, Practice, and Story) include more than 100 coding tasks combined. You can even customize your students’ learning pathways. (Contact for pricing)

Learning Games for Kids: Health Games

Kids in grades K-5 can learn about a range of health topics, from body parts to staying fit, with these interactive online games. They’re perfect for science learning enrichment. (Free)

Little Alchemy 2

This deceptively simple game is actually a lot of fun. Kids (and teachers!) can experiment with combining different elements, such as fire or dirt, to create something entirely new. It encourages creative thinking as well as knowledge of the world around us. (Free)

Minecraft: Education Edition

Kids love the regular Minecraft video game, but this education-focused version takes learning to the next level. With lessons, STEM curriculum, and project-based challenges, this immersive digital environment promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. (Priced per user, per year)

Moose Math engages kids in a mathematical adventure and teaches counting, addition, subtraction, sorting, geometry, and more. While playing five multi-level activities in the Moose Juice Store, Puck’s Pet Shop, and Lost & Found, kids can earn rewards to help build their own city and decorate buildings. (Free)

Multiplication.com

Need to master your multiplication facts? This is the site to try! Fun games and memory-building strategies will help students tackle this key skill. (Free, with Premium membership available for extra features)

National Geographic Kids

Head out on the trail with Captain John Smith, explore Ancient Greece with Zeus the Mighty, or just take a quiz about sharks on this robust site filled with great educational games for students. (Free)

PBS Kids Games

You’ll find everything from social studies to teamwork and feelings in this incredible collection of games that vary in degree of difficulty. The website is truly filled with some of the very best educational games centering on science, social studies, history, and art. (Free)

Prodigy Math

Looking for personalized math lessons for your students? Kids in grades 1-8 take a Prodigy placement test that generates games tailored to their strengths and weaknesses. They’ll build confidence by solving math challenges to progress in the game. (Free)

RoomRecess.com

Access over 140 online educational games for kids in grades K-6 on this site, which was developed by an elementary school teacher with a focus on reinforcing fundamental learning concepts in math, reading, spelling, language arts, typing, and problem-solving. (Free)

Roy: Tale of a Singing Zebra

Kids pre-K to grade 2 will enjoy the punctuation, reading, and spelling games on this cute, simple site. You’ll also find online guided-reading stories and lesson plans for teachers. (Free)

Starfall activities are research-based and align with individual and Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics. There are engaging and interactive games for students in grades K-3. (Some free content with subscriptions available)

Teachers love this great site that offers personalized math and spelling practice for kids ages 5 through 13 through adaptive learning and multi-player games. This is definitely one of the best online educational game sites out there! (Monthly subscription fee)

How good are your airbrush skills? Which famous artist should design your bedroom? Are you a master of street art? Kids can explore these questions and more with the cool quizzes and games on this art-focused site from the Tate Gallery. (Free)

Toy Theater

How would your students like to learn multiplication while shooting hoops? They can do that and more at Toy Theater, which teaches early math concepts through game-based learning. (Free)

Turtle Diary

Introduce kids to new, exciting ways of learning with the help of fun online games, videos, experiments, puzzles, coloring sheets, and more! Turtle Diary activities pair with the appropriate grade level to enhance retention of material and increase success in the classroom. (Free)

The games and challenges on Tynker give kids ages 5 and up a fun and easy way to build coding skills. This is one of the top online educational games for young coders— see more of our favorites here . (Subscription required)

Vocabulary A-Z

Dive into engaging learning activities and games for kids in first through sixth grades, designed to promote vocabulary, spelling, phonics, and language arts. (Free basic access; Premium membership unlocks complete library)

Algebraic Reasoning Sweet Shop

Who doesn’t like candy? Buy and sell sweet treats in this game that helps students grasp concepts related to price and purchasing. (Free)

Boat Coordinates

Use this fun boating game to learn and practice concepts related to grids and quadrants. Race along the X and Y axes to get to the finish line as fast as you can! (Free)

Cells Alive

This information website provides all sorts of interactive ways to learn about cells! Interactive models, puzzles, and more all help tell the story of this building block of life. (Free)

This guessing game uses maps and photos from around the world to educate kids on world locations as well as historical landmarks and famous cities. User-made quizzes add to the guessing fun! (Free)

Get the Math

Explore all the ways you really do use algebra in the real world. Students see how professionals use math in music, fashion, video games, restaurants, basketball, and special effects. Then take on interactive challenges related to those careers. (Free)

Created by a high school student, this interactive review game is something kids can play on their own devices, earning in-game money for correct answers that they can use to buy upgrades and power-ups! (Free, with Pro subscriptions available)

High-Stakes Heist

Kids use their knowledge of the order of operations to crack the safes and help hero Kit Foxtail return the townspeoples’ money that was stolen by the evil Duke von Wolfington. They’ll have to think fast as they try to solve equations in the correct order before time runs out! (Free)

Help kids learn the foundations of civics and government with this collection of highly interactive games including Court Quest, Newsfeed Defenders, and Do I Have the Right? (Free)

Kids Environment Kids Health

Through a wide assortment of puzzles, riddles, brainteasers, and more, kids can learn about their own health and the health of the environment on this website from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. (Free)

NASA STEM Engagement

With a variety of games, activities, and educational options to choose from, the NASA Stem Engagement site offers options for all grades. Learn, discover, and play online educational games related to space technology and exploration. (Free)

Physicsgames.net

This website offers dozens of different simple games to choose from that help educate kids on the mechanics of physics. Whether they are shooting pigs, knocking down walls, or trying to balance a building, they’ll learn and have fun at the same time. (Free)

Science Vocabulary Hangman

Use the clues to guess the scientific term before the cellular hangman disappears. Choose from literally hundreds of subject sets that include grade-specific vocab, state-level standardized tests, and more. (Free)

smokeSCREEN

As part of their #BeTheFirst Initiative, smokeSCREEN was developed by the play2PREVENT Lab, 1stPlayable, and Schell Games and funded by the NIH/FDA and the CVS Health Foundation. The game addresses the range of challenges that young teens face, with a dedicated focus on youth decision-making around smoking and vaping and strategies for both smoking prevention and cessation. Educators can request free access to the web-based game here . (Free)

Sortify: Angles

Learning about angles can be tricky, but this game uses cue cards and sorting bins to help students learn to properly classify angles into different categories. Make sure they’re all correct and then submit the responses to earn the most points. (Free)

Though Quizlet is known for its huge array of digital flash cards, this educational site offers much more for students. AI tutors help kids learn more about tricky subjects, plus transform their own notes into interactive learning activities. (Free; Quizlet Plus has more features available for a subscription fee)

Trigonometry Minigolf

Trigonometry has never been more fun than in this game that uses correct answers to power your golf swing as you aim for a hole in one! Miss an answer? The game will let you know what you did wrong and give you another shot. (Free)

Wrecks Factor

S.O.S.! Ships are sailing into your harbor and you need to help keep them from sinking! Solve the quadratic equations to keep the boats afloat and clear the board … if you take too long, boats start to sink and you lose a life. (Free)

Did we miss one of your favorite online educational games? Share in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, 28 online interactive math games kids will love ..

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Toy Theater | Educational Games for Kids

Toy Theater is your source for free educational games specially designed for elementary-aged students. It's available on all desktop computers, tablets, and mobile devices, ensuring learning is never out of reach. If you are a fan of our site, we encourage you to share Toy Theater on your social media or website.

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Explore Toy Theater

Here's a sneak peek into what Toy Theater has in store:

• Math Games : Ranging from counting and numeral recognition to division and telling time, there's a vast assortment of interactive math games.
• Language Arts : Students can work on spelling, letter recognition, and even practice reading with online books.
• Art and Music : From teaching students to play simple songs on a keyboard to exploring symmetry via art games, the platform fosters creativity alongside learning.
• Puzzles and Games : Ideal for early finishers or indoor recess, their online educational puzzles and games promise fun-filled learning.
• Teacher Tools : Need a fun timer or a spinner? Or perhaps a simple way to evaluate basic math skills? Their virtual teacher tools have got you covered.

Whether you project Toy Theater games and interactive tools on your smartboard for the whole class to see or use them during small group work, you’re sure to love them!

Class Playground offers an array of worksheets, activities, and knowledge on various subjects. It's the perfect spot for teachers seeking classroom resources.

• Our Mission

13 Virtual Games to Play in Your Elementary Classroom

From scavenger hunts to Pictionary, we’ve gathered a batch of virtual games to get students talking, laughing, and engaging with peers.

While most educators feel too worn out to take on anything else this year, classroom games—old and new—can provide a much-needed respite for students and teachers who are burned out on video lessons and miss social connection.

We found some easy-to-use virtual games that elementary teachers are playing with their students this year, along with tips on how to incorporate them into the classroom.

Gaming With Google Slides

After noticing how much her students missed informal socializing during hybrid learning, Liz Henneberry, a third-grade teacher in Franklin, Massachusetts, transformed Connect Four , Trouble , Chess , and Checkers to Google Slides; the latter two are adaptations from Eric Curts' templates , and all of Henneberry's templates can be downloaded and immediately used in your virtual classroom. During recess breaks, students click a board game shelved in a virtual recess room, which creates their own copy of the game. Students can then share the game with their friend using Google Drive so that the two can play a round together. If students are new to sharing Google Slides, Henneberry recommends modeling the step-by-step process first.

Similarly, Robin Nahhas says her third-grade students have loved playing Multiplication Tic-Tac-Toe , a downloadable game she created on Google Slides so that they could practice their multiplication facts. Before playing, Nahhas goes over directions and the code of conduct with students, reminding them of protocols such as not interfering with classmates’ games or else having their gaming privileges revoked.

Then, she pairs up students and places them in breakout rooms on Zoom. Each student in the pair selects a set of color pieces, and when it’s their turn, they roll two digital dice, multiply the numbers shown, and place a piece onto the virtual board with the corresponding number. To play again, they move their pieces back to the side of the board. If students need help solving a problem, they can rely on their partner or click the “Ask for Help” button after trying one of the strategies they learned in class with pencil and paper first.

Games to Boost Creative Thinking

During morning meetings, fifth-grade teacher Sarah Wood says she incorporates games like scavenger hunts that the whole class can play together while learning from home. When it’s time to play, Wood projects a word like blanket and a matching image on a slideshow, and then students run to find the item in their homes. When they find the object, they can share it on video or by typing in the chat box.

Wood has even focused the game around particular learning goals, like having students find objects that reinforce vocabulary or putting together a project with the items. Once, they were asked to find a broom, a blanket, and a few heavy objects, and then they had 10 minutes to build a reading fort. During asynchronous time, they used Flipgrid to give a tour of their forts.

She says her students have also enjoyed directed drawing exercises—when students are directed to draw something without seeing it. Wood gives directions like “Draw a large oval with a smaller oval inside; on the left side, attach a triangle,” based on images from a drawing book or a directed drawing YouTube channel . When her students are done drawing, they turn on their cameras, put their artwork up to the screen, and guess what they drew. Wood then reveals the actual drawing and it tends to bring out a lot of laughter, she says.

Wood’s students also love games where they take a more active role. Using Blackboard Collaborate  for Pictionary, students take turns drawing on a whiteboard—prompted by a word generator —while students call out their guesses. The next time Wood plays, she’ll use Whiteboard.fi instead of Blackboard Collaborate, a free virtual whiteboard. When playing Taboo , her students take turns trying to describe a word like crack , for example, while being prohibited from using related words like drop or glass while the rest of the class guesses. And her students are obsessed with competing against their peers by being the first to name Disney movies, for example, in the ever-popular quiz platform Kahoot .

Viral Sensations

Initially, during remote learning, it was hard getting students comfortable with face-to-face interactions over Zoom, but the viral video game Among Us —a kid-friendly murder mystery—has stimulated engagement and conversation in Vickiela Wright’s fifth-grade class, she says.

In the game, each student is a crew member on a spaceship and is given a task to keep it running. One or more students are impostors, and their mission is to kill the crew members without getting caught. In between each round, students use Google meets to try to guess the impostors and form alliances to identify the killer.

“The conversations, problem-solving, engagement, and teamwork were robust and surprising. One student said it was the best part of her life,” says Wright.

Similar to Among Us, Werewolf is a game of deduction where students take on the role of villager or werewolf. Students collaborate and problem-solve to kill the werewolves before they become werewolves themselves. And the hugely popular Minecraft: Education Edition can serve as a hangout for students’ pixelated avatars to socialize and even partake in English language arts–based station rotations.

Over 160 Learning Games for Kids

Free online learning games for kids that are fun, privacy policy.

Educational Learning Games for Kids

Explore the magical world of online learning games in math and ELA, tailored for Pre-K to Grade 5, well-suited for ages 2–11. Our teacher-designed learning program offers interactive educational games on counting, arithmetic operations, fractions, shapes, reading, writing, grammar, and more. The collect ... Read more ion also covers motor skills, creativity, and GK, making it perfect for playful learning at home and school! Winning the hearts of millions of kids, teachers, and parents! Start now for free!

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• Coloring (181)
• Animals (32)
• Underwater (8)
• Reptiles (8)
• Vegetables (8)
• Transport (8)
• Vehicles (8)
• Musical Instruments (8)
• Kitchen (8)
• Utensils (5)
• Insects (8)
• Rhymes (25)
• Cooking (7)
• Stories (10)
• Logic & Thinking (16)
• Puzzles (11)
• Matching (3)
• Multiplayer (12)
• Time Based (12)
• Player vs Player (12)
• Motor Skills (16)
• Fine Finger Movement (9)
• Aiming and Precision (6)

Number Sense Games

Count Along with the Stars from 1 to 3 Game

Shine bright in the math world by counting along with the stars from 1 to 3.

Trace the Number One Game

Sharpen your number skills by tracing the number one.

Counting Sequence from 1 to 5 Game

Help your little one practice the counting sequence from 1 to 5.

Count back and Complete the Sequence Game

Practice the superpower of number sense by learning how to count back and complete the sequence.

Addition Games

Compose Numbers to make 10 Game

Begin the exciting journey of becoming a math wizard by learning how to compose numbers to make 10.

Identify Turn Around Facts Game

Add more arrows to your child’s math quiver by identifying turn around facts.

Add and Match Game

Take a look at how to add and match with this addition game.

Model to Add Numbers Game

Dive deep into the world of math by modeling to add numbers.

Subtraction Games

Solve Scenarios with 'Difference Unknown' Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to solve scenarios with 'Difference Unknown'.

Solve Word Problems on Take From Scenarios Game

Enjoy the marvel of math-multiverse by learning to solve word problems on "Take From" scenarios.

• Remove and Match the Number Game

Enjoy the marvel of math-multiverse by exploring how to remove and match the number.

Subtract and Match Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to subtract and match.

Multiplication Games

Skip Count to Find the Answer Game

Use your math skills to skip count to find the answer.

Find Facts of 2 Game

Take a deep dive into the world of math by finding facts of 2.

Multiply and Answer in Unit Form Game

Enjoy the marvel of math-multiverse by exploring how to multiply and answer in unit form.

Multiply Three Numbers Game

Unearth the wisdom of mathematics by learning how to multiply three numbers.

Division Games

Represent Division on Number Line Game

Have your own math-themed party by learning how to represent division on number lines.

Divide Each Expression and Match the Quotient Game

Kids must divide each expression and match the quotient to practice division.

Complete the Division Expression for Equal Groups Game

Take a look at how to complete the division expression for equal groups with this game.

Find the Quotient Game

Enter the madness of math-multiverse by learning to find the quotient.

Fractions Games

Compare and Model Greater Fraction Game

Practice the superpower of fractions by learning how to compare and model greater fractions.

Partition into Equal Parts Game

Kids must partition into equal parts to practice fractions.

Missing Numerators on Number Lines Game

Have your own math-themed party by learning how to find the missing numerators on number lines.

Compare Unit Fractions without Visual Models Game

Have your own math-themed party by learning how to compare unit fractions without visual models.

Decimals Games

Identify Decimal Numbers Using Fraction Models Game

Add more arrows to your child’s math quiver by identifying decimal numbers using fraction models.

Compare Decimals Using Place Value Chart Game

Have your own math-themed party by learning how to compare decimals using a place value chart.

Order Decimals with the Help of Place Value Chart Game

Use your decimal skills to order decimals with the help of a place value chart.

Round Tenths Using a Number Line Game

Enter the madness of math-multiverse by exploring how to round tenths using a number line.

Geometry Games

Find Right Angles Game

Take the first step towards building your math castle by practicing how to find right angles.

Identify Objects Above and Below Game

Learn to solve problems by identifying objects 'above' and 'below'.

Sort Real-World Shapes Game

Add more arrows to your child’s math quiver by sorting real-world shapes.

Recognize Lines, Line Segments, Rays, Angles Game

Dive deep into the world of geometry by recognizing lines, line segments, rays, angles.

Data Handling Games

Identify Objects by Color Game

Sharpen your skills by identifying objects by their colors.

Read and Interpret Data using Bar Graphs Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to read and interpret data using bar graphs.

Read and Interpret Data using Line Plots Game

Kids must read and interpret data using line plots.

Complete Picture Graphs Game

Apply your knowledge of measurements to complete picture graphs.

Measurement Games

Identify the Object with Shorter Length Game

Use your measurement skills to identify the object with the shorter length.

Identify the Object with Shorter Height Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to identify the object with the shorter height.

Guess the Correct Unit of Capacity Game

Have your own math-themed party by learning to identify the correct unit of capacity.

Identify the Heavier Object Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to identify the heavier object.

Relate Activities with A.M. and P.M. Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to relate activities with A.M. and P.M.

Identify Quarter Past and Quarter To Game

Take a look at how to identify 'Quarter Past' and 'Quarter To' with this time game.

The Hour Hand Game

Add more arrows to your child’s math quiver by playing 'The Hour Hand' game.

Read Time in Half Hours Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to read time in half hours.

Money Games

Add the Given Amounts of Money Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to add the given amounts of money.

Different Types of Coins Game

Explore different types of coins with your little one.

Count Money with Coins of a Type Game

Help your child take flight by learning how to count money with coins of a type.

Order Coins by their Values Game

Add more arrows to your child’s math quiver by ordering coins by their values.

Algebra Games

Understand the Equal Sign Game

Shine bright in the math world by understanding the equal sign.

Fill in the Missing Multiples Game

Sharpen your math skills by filling in the missing multiples.

Choose the Prime Number Out of the Given Numbers Game

Kids must choose the prime number out of the given numbers to practice algebra.

Complete the Pattern of Tens Game

Dive deep into the world of addition by completing the pattern of tens.

Word Problems Games

Solve the Word Problems Related to Multiplication Game

Unearth the wisdom of mathematics by learning to solve word problems related to multiplication.

Solve Subtraction Scenarios Game

Apply your knowledge to solve subtraction scenarios.

Word Problems on How many Tens Game

Learn to solve world problems on 'How many Tens' with this game.

Adding One by Making a Model Game

Treat yourself to an immersive learning experience with our 'Adding One by Making a Model' game.

Reading Games

What's the cause? - Part 1 Game

Use your language skills to determine 'what's the cause' (Part 1).

Can You Find the Lowercase Letter a? Game

To play this game, find the lowercase letter a.

Can You Find the Uppercase Letter A? Game

To play this game, find the uppercase letter A.

What's the effect? - Part 1 Game

Determine the answer to 'What's the effect' (Part 1) by playing this game.

Writing Games

Tracing Big Letters With Sleeping & Slanting Lines - A, V, W, X, Y & Z Game

Practice tracing big letters with sleeping & slanting lines - A, V, W, X, Y & Z.

Time to Trace Uppercase A Game

Learn language skills by practicing to trace uppercase A.

Tracing Small Letters With Standing & Curvy Lines - a, d & q Game

Practice tracing small letters with standing and curvy lines - a, d and q.

Let's Make the Letter A Game

Let's take a look at how to make the letter A with this game.

Cookie: Chef Yum Yum Game

Step into the kitchen and bake mouthwatering cookies.

Cheese-Themed Coloring Fun Game

Paint delicious blocks of cheese with vibrant colors.

Banana: Tropical Coloring Adventure Game

Dive into a fruity adventure and paint vibrant bananas.

Vibrant Bell Pepper Coloring Adventure Game

Explore the world of fruits and vegetables and paint colorful bell peppers in this interactive coloring game.

Animals Games

Iguana: Picture Perfect Game

Dive into the world of reptiles and paint picture-perfect iguanas in this engaging game.

Dive into the Turtle Picture Game

Embrace your artistic side and create a beautiful picture of an adorable turtle in this engaging game.

Allosaurus: Dinosaur Coloring Adventure Game

Travel back in time and paint fierce allosaurs with vibrant colors.

Dive into Clownfish Coloring Game

Dive into an underwater adventure and paint vibrant clownfish swimming amidst coral reefs in this game.

Seasonal Games

Ringing Bells Coloring Adventure Game

Jingle all the way with colorful bells in this exciting coloring adventure game.

Mysterious Black Cat Coloring Adventure Game

Bring mischievous black cats to life with vibrant colors.

Bat Coloring Adventure Game

Paint enchanting bats with a burst of colors in this coloring adventure game.

Christmas Pudding Coloring Magic Game

Celebrate the holidays with a burst of colors in this coloring adventure game.

Kitchen Games

Shiny Glass Coloring Adventure Game

Unleash your creativity and paint intricate glass objects in this immersive coloring adventure game.

Kitchenware Coloring Game: The Fork

Explore the beauty of everyday objects and paint detailed illustrations of forks in this coloring adventure game.

Knife Coloring Game Adventure

Discover the art of illustration and paint detailed depictions of knives in this engaging coloring adventure game.

Donut: Chef Yum Yum Game

Step into the kitchen and create mouthwatering donuts.

Musical Instruments Games

Maracas Shake Up Your Coloring Skills Game

Paint vibrant maracas and bring the rhythm to life in this coloring adventure game.

Groovy Guitar Coloring Adventure Game

Strum your artistic skills and paint rocking guitars in this coloring adventure game.

Drum Beat Coloring Fun Game

Let your creativity beat to the rhythm and paint vibrant drums.

Musical Flute Coloring Fun Game

Paint melodious flutes with a burst of colors in this coloring adventure game.

Birds Games

Chicken: Picture Perfect Game

Paint charming chickens in this picture perfect game.

Albatross: Picture Perfect Game

Soar through the skies with vibrant albatrosses in this picture perfect game.

Eagle: Picture Perfect Game

Spread your wings and paint majestic eagles in this picture perfect game.

Dive into Colors with Ducks Game

Dive into a pond of colors with ducks in this picture perfect game.

Space Games

Space Hunt: Peek A Boo Game

Embark on a space-themed adventure and search for hidden objects in this interactive game.

Balloon Pop - Unknown Flying Object:UFO: Toss Up Game

Test your tossing skills and pop balloons to reveal unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in this exciting game.

Transport Games

Helicopter Coloring Game: Sky High Fun

Let your creativity take flight as you paint vibrant illustrations of helicopters in this engaging coloring game.

Master Garage Management Game

Become a master of organization and park cars in this garage management game.

Airplane: Sky-high Coloring Adventure Game

Embark on an artistic journey and paint dynamic airplanes taking flight in this coloring adventure game.

Insects Games

Caterpillar Coloring Adventure Game

Paint cute caterpillars with a burst of colors in this coloring adventure game.

Beautiful Butterfly Coloring Adventure Game

Let your creativity take flight and paint breathtaking butterflies.

Buzzing Bee Coloring Adventure Game

Buzz with creativity and paint adorable bees with a palette of colors.

Beetle Coloring Adventure Game

Embark on a colorful journey and paint fascinating beetles.

Scene Games

Autumn Fall: Seasonal Coloring Adventure Game

Paint a picturesque autumn scene and immerse yourself in the beauty of fall in this coloring adventure game.

Jungle Game: Wild Coloring Adventures

Immerse yourself in the wild and paint a lush jungle scene teeming with life in this coloring adventure game.

Exciting Circus Coloring Experience Game

Unleash your creativity and paint a vibrant circus scene filled with excitement and joy in this coloring adventure game.

Beach Scene Coloring Adventure Game

Dive into a tropical paradise and paint a vibrant beach scene in this coloring adventure game.

Professions Games

Astronaut: Space Coloring Adventure Game

Embark on a cosmic coloring adventure and paint a vibrant astronaut in this game.

Doctor's Coloring Journey Game

Use your artistic skills to paint a compassionate doctor in this coloring adventure game.

Chef's Coloring Journey Game

Unleash your inner artist and paint a vibrant chef in this coloring adventure game.

Farmer's Coloring Journey Game

Dive into the agricultural world and paint a cheerful farmer in this coloring adventure game.

Monuments Games

Eiffel Tower Coloring Experience Game

Embark on a Parisian coloring adventure and paint the iconic Eiffel Tower.

London Bridge Coloring Game Adventure

Create a picturesque scene by coloring the iconic London Bridge.

Experience Colosseum Coloring Game

Travel back in time and color the magnificent Colosseum with vibrant hues.

Liberty Bell Coloring Game Adventure

Paint the symbol of freedom, the Liberty Bell, with a burst of colors.

Household Items Games

Balloon: Sky-high Coloring Adventure Game

Let your creativity soar and paint vibrant balloons in this coloring adventure game.

Book Coloring Adventure Game

Dive into a world of imagination and color books with vibrant hues.

Chair Coloring Adventure Game

Express your artistic touch and paint stylish chairs in this coloring adventure game.

Ball: Bouncy Coloring Adventure Game

Paint bouncy balls with a burst of colors and bring them to life.

Flowers Games

Lily Coloring Game Adventure

Dive into a world of elegance and color lilies with vibrant hues.

Lotus An Exciting Coloring Game Adventure

Paint serene lotus flowers and create a tranquil atmosphere.

Jasmine Game: Fragrant Coloring Fun

Explore the world of jasmine flowers with a burst of colors.

Delightful Daisy Coloring Game

Paint vibrant daisies and bring the beauty of flowers to life.

Buildings Games

Bakery: Delicious Coloring Game

Step into a sweet world and color delicious treats in this coloring adventure game.

Creative Barber Shop Coloring Adventure Game

Bring the barber shop to life with colorful hues in this coloring adventure game.

Exciting Bank Coloring Adventure Game

Color a bustling bank scene with vibrant colors in this coloring adventure game.

Church-Themed Coloring Fun Game

Paint a beautiful church with a rainbow of colors in this coloring adventure game.

Colors Games

Blue: Sneaky Shapes Game

Sharpen your observation skills and spot hidden blue shapes in this engaging game.

• Uncover Hidden Green Shapes Game

Test your visual acuity and uncover hidden green shapes in this thrilling game.

Spot Hidden Orange Shapes Game

Train your eyes and spot hidden orange shapes in this challenging game.

Pink: Sneaky Shapes Game

Exercise your perception and discover hidden pink shapes in this captivating game.

Coloring Games

Hot Air Balloon Coloring Adventures: A Sky High Colorfest Game

Experience the joy of floating in the sky and paint delightful hot air balloons in this coloring adventure game.

4th of July: Creative Coloring Adventure Game

Paint a festive scene filled with red, white, and blue to commemorate the 4th of July in this coloring adventure game.

• Cupcake Coloring Fun Game

Decorate delightful cupcakes with a splash of colors.

Ape: Jungle Coloring Adventure Game

Embark on a coloring adventure with playful apes.

Music Games

Play Baba Black Sheep Band Jam Game

Join the band and play the popular song "Baba Baba Black Sheep" in this interactive game.

Dive into Mulberry Bush Band Jam Game

Join the band and play the classic song "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" in this interactive game.

Experience Down They Go Juke Box Game

Sing along and perform the catchy song "Down They Go" in this interactive game.

Enjoy the All of Me Juke Box Game

Show off your singing skills and perform the popular song "All of Me" in this interactive game.

Cooking Games

Ice Cream: Chef Yum Yum Game

Scoop up the fun and make mouthwatering ice cream creations.

Pizza: Chef Yum Yum Game

Become a master pizza chef and create delicious pizzas.

Cupcake: Chef Yum Yum Game

Let your creativity shine and decorate delightful cupcakes.

Stories Games

Enjoy Dream Vacation Juke Box Game

Take a musical journey to your dream vacation destination in this immersive game.

Dive into Busy Body Sleep Solution Juke Box Game

Listen to calming tunes and relax your body for a peaceful sleep in this interactive game.

Explore Little Turtle's Dream Juke Box Game

Join Little Turtle on a musical adventure and explore his dream world in this interactive game.

Enjoy Going Batty Juke Box Game

Sing and groove to the catchy tune of "Going Batty" in this interactive jukebox game.

Puzzles Games

Sneaky Shapes Game

Sharpen your observation skills and uncover hidden shapes.

Challenge Two of a Kind Game

Sharpen your memory and find matching pairs in this engaging game.

• Play Word Detective Game

Put your word skills to the test and solve puzzles like a detective.

Picture Perfect Game

Paint, draw, and express your artistic skills in this picture perfect game.

Time Based Games

Dive into Sky Boxes Game

Test your stacking skills and reach new heights in this sky-high game.

Number Ninja: Fun Math Arcade Game

Become a number ninja and slice through math challenges.

Speedy Snails Game

Join the speedy snails in a thrilling race for victory.

Challenge Match-Up Puzzles Game

Test your memory and matching skills in this engaging puzzle game.

Player vs Player Games

Challenge the City Stacker Game

Build a magnificent city by stacking colorful buildings.

Dive into Arty Crafty Game

Let your artistic skills shine and create amazing crafts.

Cooking Adventure Game

Get ready for a cooking adventure and satisfy hungry customers.

Experience Polyword Game

Dive into the world of polywords and solve challenging puzzles.

Fine Finger Movement Games

Discover The Dancing Jungle Game

Shake, groove, and dance with the animals in the vibrant jungle.

Aiming and Precision Games

Dive into The Origami Aquarium Game

Dive into the world of origami with this aquarium game.

Ball Dunk: Toss Up Game

Test your skills and dunk balls in this toss up game.

Feed The Bin: Toss Up Game

Feed the hungry bin by tossing objects accurately.

Balloon Pop: Toss Up Game

Enjoy popping balloons in this exciting toss up game.

All Games Games

Quickly Tell the Number of Things up to 10 Game

Have your own math-themed party by learning how to quickly tell the number of things up to 10.

Add Two Numbers (Up to 5) Game

Ask your little one to add two numbers (Up to 5) to play this game.

Solve 'Take Apart' Scenarios Game

Take the pressure off by simplifying subtraction by solving 'Take Apart' scenarios.

Divide Objects into Equal Groups Game

Add more arrows to your child’s math quiver by helping them divide objects into equal groups.

Use Words to Identify Decimal Notations Game

Ask your little one to use words to identify decimal notations to play this game.

The Minute Hand Game

Take a look at the minute hand with this fun game about time.

Represent Money using Symbols Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to represent money using symbols.

Word Problems to Count by Tens Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to solve word problems to count by tens.

Buffalo: Picture Perfect Game

Explore the world of buffalos in this picture perfect game.

Kettle Game: Steaming Coloring Fun

Paint charming kettles with a burst of colors in this coloring adventure game.

Alien: Space Coloring Adventure Game

Let your imagination run wild and paint unique and colorful aliens in this adventure-packed coloring game.

Toss Up Game

Challenge your accuracy and toss objects to hit various targets.

• Magic Canvas Color Your Imagination Game

Let your imagination soar and create enchanting art on a magical canvas.

Dive into Get Set Quiz Game

Get ready to quiz yourself and challenge your knowledge in this interactive game.

Peek A Boo Game

Peek-a-boo! Have fun and uncover surprises in this engaging game.

Identify Embedded Numbers Game

Help your child take flight by learning how to identify embedded numbers.

Finding Sum (Up to 10) Game

Dive deep into the world of addition by finding the sum (up to 10).

Educational Games for Kids

Educational games are very effective in promoting learning. Online learning games for kids help them to develop valuable skills from arithmetic to word recognition, number sense to writing, and much more. Games make learning effective by merging learning and practice with fun. Children have a great time mastering essential curriculum concepts by playing interactive learning games from a varied selection online. Moreover, these games are designed according to the CCSS curriculum. They offer an interactive learning environment that adapts to a child's learning pace and level. They provide immediate feedback, reinforcing correct answers and allowing for mistakes as part of the learning process. 

Types of Educational and Learning Games for Kids

A wide range of subjects are covered by these learning games suitable for Pre-K to Grade 5. It ensures that children can explore and excel in various areas of their interest. Whether it's improving Math skills or enhancing ELA proficiency, educational games are proving to be a valuable tool in the learning journey of kids. Games for kids online not only supplement traditional learning but also provide a fun and innovative approach to learning.

Math games include fun games for kids on essential topics such as number sense, arithmetic operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), fractions, decimals, geometry, measurement, time, money, algebra, and word problems. Every topic is further divided into bite-sized concepts (as per the curriculum) to make the games simple and easy for kids to understand and play. Explore educational Math games for kids to get a better idea!

ELA games refer to English Language Arts games. These games include fun curriculum-aligned activities to learn and master reading and writing skills. Reading games in ELA teach phonics skills to kids in an engaging way. Writing games include fun activities such as tracing letters and writing sight words. Browse our ELA games for kids for more information!

General Knowledge Games

Every parent hopes that their children gain not only textbook knowledge but also an understanding of the world around them. With this purpose in mind, we offer GK Games for kids which cover lots of topics such as food, birds and animals, flowers, kitchen and household items, musical instruments, space, transport, insects, different professions, colors, toys, and much more! The idea is to introduce a wide variety of topics through fun activities such as coloring. Visit General Knowledge Games for kids to explore more!

Art & Creativity Games

Art and creativity is an important part of our lives. Helping children to pursue their imagination and creative interests helps their overall development. Arts and creativity games go beyond entertainment and cover topics such as coloring, music (rhymes and poems), cooking, and fun stories! 

Ready to spark creativity in your kids? Try our Art and Creativity Games today and watch your child's talents bloom!

Logic & Thinking Games

The first thing that comes to mind when you think about logic and thinking is “Puzzles.” Our logic and thinking games include lots of challenging puzzle games based on numbers, pictures, matching shapes, building shapes, and more such fun topics! Visit Logic and Thinking Games and take your children on a fun adventure!

Multiplayer Games

What can be more fun than enjoying your favorite games with your buddies? Multiplayer games allow kids to engage with friends promoting teamwork, healthy competition, and strategic thinking in a virtual environment. Visit Multiplayer Games and explore time based games, player vs. player games, etc. 

Motor Skills Games

Motor skills in kids refers to both fine motor skills (precise movements like writing) and gross motor skills (larger movements like running). Developing motor skills is vital for physical coordination, dexterity, and overall physical and cognitive development in children. Check out Motor Skills Games for kids and explore fun learning games to improve fine finger movement and also aim and precision. 

Features of Fun Educational Games for Kids

• Play on multiple devices : Online games for kids can be played on multiple devices.
• Engaging and rewarding games : Children can purchase assets for their characters and more with the coins they earn through practice.
• Offline access : These interactive games for kids can also be played offline for an interruption-free experience.

Benefits of Online Educational Games for Kids

• Personalized learning: With personalized learning and entertaining rewards, online games strengthen students' confidence when solving mathematics and ELA problems. 
• Fun prompts and consistent techniques : Kids’ learning games can provide a better learning approach for students as prompts and consistent techniques emphasizing the basics of math and ELA can assist your child in improving their knowledge. 
• Powerful visuals : Online learning games involve engaging visuals that educate students about complex topics effortlessly and present a way to work through them with ease.

What Are the 5 Best Games and Activities for Kids?

Here are 5 fun educational games online offered by SplashLearn:

How do you help kids practice different educational concepts in the curriculum?

• Provide online printable worksheets such as Math worksheets and ELA worksheets for effective practice of essential concepts.
• Explore children’s learning games aligned with the curriculum and grade level. Include kids’ learning games in your child’s daily routine to offer hands-on learning and build a daily learning habit.

Are there any free trial options to test out these games?

Yes, parents can sign in and try SplashLearn educational games and other resources with a 7-day free trial. For teachers, SplashLearn is 100% free. Teachers can register to explore all SplashLearn games and resources for free!

How does SplashLearn ensure personalized learning through its online educational games?

The SplashLearn’s adaptive algorithm creates an individualized learning path for each child, suitable for their grade level and skills. This allows kids to learn at their own pace.

What age group are these games designed for?

SplashLearn games are suitable for ages 2 to 11. SplashLearn also serves as a valuable resource for older children with special needs, helping them bridge the gap to their grade level and master basics.

How can I make teaching fun for kids through games?

Teaching English and math concepts through children’s learning games can be really engaging and enjoyable for students. Including activities and online interactive games that promote critical thinking and creativity can truly help with in-depth learning of various concepts.

Your one stop solution for all grade learning needs.

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Educational Games for Kids

Welcome to TurtleDiary! Our award winning educational website offers 1000+ learning activities that are both interactive and educational. The games support necessary skills while promoting fun. TurtleDiary activities are compatible with grade levels K-5 and provide opportunities to enhance material retention and increase success in the classroom.

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You have pending/incomplete assignments.

Play. learn. practice. repeat .

Introduce kids to new, exciting ways of learning with the help of fun online games, videos, experiments, puzzles, coloring sheets, and more! TurtleDiary activities pair with the appropriate grade level to enhance retention of material and increase success in the classroom.

Multiplayer Games

• Pronoun Games
• Assessments Tests
• Subtraction Games
• Addition Games

Typing Games

• Adverb Games
• Adjectives Games

Top Rated Games For Kids

Explore Quizzes

Turtle Diary offers a unique blend of education and entertainment to create the ideal interactive learning platform for your little ones. The kids' quizzes offered on our site enable children from first to fifth grade to become confident in applying learned concepts, and grant instant evaluations.

Free Educational Games

TurtleDiary offers 1000+ games that are interactive, educational, and that kids love to play. TurtleDiary includes multiple learning-based games for kids that support necessary skills while promoting fun.

From basic topics like Number Recognition, Simple Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division, to more complex topics like Geometry, kids can master Math basics and more.

Language and Art Games

Kids learn Sight Words, Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, and other Parts of Speech, developing grammar skills right in the app.

Nowadays, the skill of typing is undoubtedly essential. More activities are technology based and knowing how to type efficiently and successfully is key. TurtleDiary provides fun keyboarding games for kids that develop the necessary skills for typing success.

For kids who thrive on competition and challenge, we offer many fun multiplayer games. Kids can engage with their classmates, a friend (with an invite) and others in the world, in a safe environment.

Science Games

Our science games will develop your child's sense of curiosity. They build upon basic science concepts, reinforcing comprehension in an engaging, approachable, stimulating manner. Our program offers a collection of science games covering topics like the human body, weather, life cycles, animals, and much more.

Geography Games

In our map games, kids learn about US and World Geography. Students have access to maps of the world divided into different regions, so learning is simpler, and tasks feel less overwhelming.

Explore Worksheets & Quizzes

We have over 500+ Online quizzes enabling children from first to fifth grade to become more confident in applying learned concepts. They can also receive instant evaluations. Our fun quizzes give kids the opportunity to receive positive feedback as they master new skills and build their knowledge base.

Typing Lessons

The app offers 3 skill levels for typing - basic, intermediate, and advanced, that include multiple lessons in each. The basic level covers touch typing skills and introduction to the QWERTY keyboard. At the intermediate level, students learn to type basic words and simple sentences. The final advanced level progresses kids to more complex sentences and short paragraphs, all the while building solid typing skills. The program is comprehensive enough to ensure typing mastery and user friendly so your child can develop at an individualized pace.

Worksheets are a great learning tool for kids just learning to write or those who want additional practice at home. At TurtleDiary, we recognize the importance of practicing educational content online and offline. We offer 1000+ printable worksheets in subjects such as language arts, math, and science. Worksheets give students an opportunity to display their work in a written format and to receive feedback. Be sure to check out our fun and colorful worksheets for kids, available for download.

Geography Quizzes

Learn US states and Countries with their capital and their location.

Learn about World Currencies

Learn about Culture, Food and religion of the US and the World

Learn about Natural Wonders and Resources of the US and the World

Learn about important cities of US and the World

Math Quizzes

Foundational topics like Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division subdivided into smaller related subtopics, progressing from easy to hard, in a step-by-step manner.

Language and Art Quizzes

These quizzes will help kids learn Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Prepositions, Compound Words, Conjunctions. They are the building blocks of all reading and writing.

Educational Tools for Parents & Teachers

TurtleDiary offers assessment tools and detailed reports for teachers to track students’ activities and to report their progress. For example, we offer:

Worksheet Generator

Teachers can create their own worksheets, with customizable and unique content.

Printable Lessons

Teachers have the option to print from our 100+ lessons or review lessons online for inspiration and ideas.

Assessment Tests

We offer plenty of assessment tests, accessible anytime, to analyze student performance and identify areas of concern to address.

Assignments

In the app, teachers can create their own assignments, and send them right to students, with ease.

Teachers can view reports, including quiz scores and activity performance to closely track how students are progressing.

Google Drive Integration

Our app offers a seamless integration with Google drive. Teachers can access current or past google drive documents without leaving the program.

Google Classroom Integration

Teachers can login to TurtleDiary using their existing Google Account. They can use a simple process to import their existing google classrooms into TurtleDiary, saving time and teaching resources.

Student Management Tools

Our app offers several management features that simplify and streamline processes for administrators and educators in a top-down approach.

Account Creation

District Administrators: The app design allows District Administrators to invite multiple schools to join the program. Once School Administrators become established, teachers can receive individual invitations to create accounts.

School Administrators: School Administrators can invite multiple teachers to join the program. A teacher can then create classes and add students to the class.

Educator Account: A teacher can create classes and add students to the classes.

Account Login

There are a few ways to access TurtleDiary:

Using TurtleDiary Login Credentials: Teachers and students each receive their own accounts so sharing passwords is not necessary.

Using Your Existing Google Account: Teachers can login to TurtleDiary using their existing google account.

Our dashboard provides an easy-to-use interface to access the TurtleDiary program and all its offerings. From the dashboard, teachers can manage classes and update student details, easily adding students or creating classes, as needed.

Educational Games & Activities to Guide Kids in Elementary School

Turtle Diary offers a huge compendium of online educational games from K4 through 5th grade. These support the content kids are already learning in the classroom. Often students need just a little bit of extra help to master those concepts that are introduced in the classroom. With Turtle Diary they can have that...and so much more.

The games contain amazing graphics with age-appropriate content for each grade level in each subject. Students will enjoy playing the games while you know that behind the scenes, they’re practicing and reinforcing new skills.

With Turtle Diary, kids can try multiple games that all reinforce the same concept. This gives them a scaffolded and repetitive approach to mastery of a variety of subjects. Gone are the days of rote memorization and boring flash cards.

With our site, kids will be begging to come back and play some more games. Students can play by themselves, with classmates online, or with other kids logging on. It adds an element of positive peer experience, knowing that other kids are also practicing. And they can have a bit of competition if they want!

Instead of constant battles about working on learning skills, introduce your kids to Turtle Diary. Then, take a step back to watch the magic of learning happen!

Award-Winning Learning Games Created by Top Educators

Put away your flashcards and workbooks and log on to see the new way to master educational skills! Top educators worked exclusively with Turtle Diary to create game after game with superior content and maximum fun for every child.

The concepts reviewed parallel those taught in the everyday classroom for grades K4 through 5th grade. Students focus on mastering the concept on their own with consistent and repetitive review. They won’t even realize they’re reviewing thanks to incredibly fun graphics, sounds, and interactive games.

These games will keep your kids coming back for more day after day. You can rest easy knowing they’re working towards their future.

With skills backed by top educators, parents know that Turtle Diary is giving their kids the best they have to offer. The games help to solidify the necessary skills needed for their specific grade levels.

Turtle Diary’s games are not only educational, but incredibly fun. They can even be a bit competitive at times when you choose a multiplayer option.

Students can also link up with kids in their classes and play games specifically recommended by their teacher. This helps them master the exact concepts they are working on in their classroom. The possibilities are endless, and the fun is never-ending.

Gamification of Education to Make Learning Fun & Exciting

Gamification isn’t just a new buzzword around education. The concept swirls in every educational endeavor that involves helping kids to master concepts by including games, rewards, and fun.

With Turtle Diary, concepts can be practiced in a variety of ways. But the kids will tell you they prefer the gamification features. They can see how well they’re doing in the games with the interactive scoring component.

Often, there is a countdown that occurs with each game. This encourages the students to beat their own best time on whatever concept they happen to be studying.

Who doesn’t love a good story or to be the hero in your own story? With Turtle Diary, students can play games where they must slay a dragon, or shoot hoops, or race a car. They answer questions that help them to practice and master important grade-level concepts.

Students will come back again and again for more competition as well. Turtle Diary’s multiplayer options allow students to pit themselves against kids from their own class. They can also play someone in the Turtle Diary platform. A bit of friendly competition often encourages students towards mastery in a way that nothing else quite can.

Worried about Grades in School? Try Our Learning Games for Kids to Find Success!

Sometimes grades in school don’t reflect a student’s true aptitude, and sometimes they do. Either way, students can benefit from time spent on Turtle Diary instead of in front of mindless video games.

Our platform takes the fun of video games and puts it into an educational context. This helps students learn more and enjoy the process while they’re playing. Students who don’t quite seem to be able to get a leg up in the classroom will love the opportunity to work on their skills by playing games. Those who excel can come and practice their processing and recall speeds, or work on something more challenging.

With a wide variety of great games in every subject, students will always find a place for them at Turtle Diary. Students will be empowered by the option to choose their own games. They can work towards the same goals established in their classroom in a fun and engaging way.

They often don’t realize that the games are actually helping them find success in a variety of subjects. They’re just having fun choosing their characters and working to get the next high score. Spend 15-20 minutes on Turtle Diary each day in problem areas and watch how quickly your child will improve!

Flexible Learning On-the-Go Boosts Kids Learning Potential on iPads & Tablets

Kids learning games that can travel with you wherever you may be are one of Turtle Diary’s most exciting features. As long as you have a stable WiFi connection, your student will always have access to Turtle Diary’s entire platform. Kids learning games are everywhere these days, so you want to have the right one at their fingertips at all times.

Turtle Diary promises to be an adventure in education that can travel with you wherever you may be. There’s nothing like learning on the go! Kids have this opportunity with the wide variety of games and materials available for parents.

No matter where you are or when you’re there, Turtle Diary will always be there. Kids can master both problem areas and areas needed to challenge kids. Wouldn’t you rather have the kids be mesmerized by the games than pull teeth as they actively protest their schoolwork?

Simply download the app on your tablet, iPad, or iPad. Your kids will be able to join in on the ultimate fun of Turtle Diary. No matter what your busy situation is, kids can always have Turtle Diary with them. They can master their current subjects with a high quotient of fun and gamification.

Build On, Gear Up, and Test for Mastery of Common Core Subjects

With Turtle Diary, we’ve done the hard work for you. Common Core Standards used in their classrooms will be reinforced with our games, lessons, and quizzes.

All of the fun we offer on our site is aligned with the newer vision of mathematics and other subjects. By sticking with Turtle Diary, you can let us handle the hard work of explaining Common Core. Sometimes this method may seem foreign to you if you’ve learned with “old math.” In fact, you might just learn along with your student!

Students have the necessary skills to be able to compete in a competitive world with an increased focus on STEM. Cognitive demand reigns higher than rote learning, and students are able to quickly visualize and manipulate numbers. They can “see” the inner workings of the problems, especially in math, and learn to mentally work the numbers.

Turtle Diary helps students to learn and practice these concepts, especially if they aren’t quite grasping it in the classroom. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your student picks up the new concepts. Just remember that they’ve never learned it the “old” way. The Common Core way is THE way for their learning journey.

Get Access to Unlimited Fun and Learning for Free

24/7 access to great games while still building a foundation for learning? Welcome to Turtle Diary, where you can have it all! Edutainment at its finest is alive and well here.

Students can access our platform from wherever they go on whatever device they have. All you need is an internet connection.

Once you enter Turtle Diary, the world is yours to explore. From learning videos to quizzes to entertaining games and multiplayer challenges, students will never be bored. Turtle Diary offers students amazing graphics, sounds, and intense gaming. This allows students a chance to breathe while learning in a stress-free environment.

With new games being added all the time, your student will never get bored with Turtle Diary. And since our games align with Common Core, the more they play, the more they’ll learn. The more they learn, the better their classroom experience will be because the information will click with repeated exposure.

Even though there may seem to be an overwhelming amount of games, the idea is to give students the choice. All of the games in a grade level reinforce the same necessary concepts, but just in a different way. Students will be practicing the same ideas over and over again as they choose from one fun game to another. We dare them to be bored!

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15 Fun Virtual Classroom Games And Activities

One of the challenges that teachers often face is preparing fun and engaging games and activities for their students. With more and more schools transitioning to virtual classrooms, coming up with game ideas has become much more difficult.

The traditional classroom games that teachers are used to playing in class may not be possible while teaching online in a virtual classroom. So, we have put together a list of virtual classroom games and activities to help you out.

All of these games and activities can be played while teaching students online in a virtual classroom, and any materials we mention below can be downloaded and used in your virtual classrooms for free.

Virtual Classroom Games

1. quiz games.

Quiz games are a perfect activity for virtual classrooms. All students need is a pen and paper to write down their answers. There are many types of quizzes, but one quiz game that kids and teenagers really enjoy is the ‘top five’ quiz. In a ‘Top 5’ quiz, each question has multiple possible answers. For example, ‘Name a zoo animal.’. Then, students must write down one answer. Next, ask the students to show their answers using their webcam to the other students in the virtual classroom.

Once everyone has shown their answer, the teacher can reveal the ‘Top Five’ answers. If a student’s answer is the same as one of the ‘top five’ answers, then they get points. If they have an answer which is not in the top five, then they don’t get any points. Students really enjoy this game, especially when they get the number 1 answer. You can download an example quiz, and an editable quiz template to add your own questions, here .

You can also find many fun quizzes on our online quizzes page . These quizzes include interactive general knowledge quizzes, vocabulary quizzes, grammar quizzes, and more.

2. Liar Game

This next virtual classroom game is great as an ice breaker and/or for getting to know your students. To play, first, choose a question to ask all the students. For example, if you’re meeting the students after the long summer break, you might ask them “ What did you do during the summer vacation? “

Next, instruct the students that when they answer they can choose to tell something true or they can lie and make up a story. Give the students some time, say 5 minutes, to come up with their story. When the students are ready, have each student tell their story. After each story, ask each student in the virtual classroom whether they think it is true or a lie.

This activity is a lot of fun and can lead to some hilarious stories. Students especially enjoy it when they are able to make their classmates believe their crazy stories.

3. Word Association Games

Word association games can be easily played in a virtual classroom and they require little to no preparation. If you’re not familiar with word association games, they are simple games in which the teacher would choose a word and then ask students to say the first related word that comes to mind.

A great way to play this in a virtual classroom is to give students a particular topic, for example, ‘animals’, and then ask students one by one to name something from that topic. The first student who can’t think of a word, or says a word that was mentioned previously, must do a forfeit. The forfeit could be that the student has to pull a silly face, do a silly dance, or just lose a point. For some other word association game ideas, check out our other post, Five Fun Word Association Games .

4. Describe And Draw

For this next virtual classroom game, each student needs a pencil and paper to draw on. This activity is a great way to practice listening skills.

First, the teacher should find something they want the students to draw and place it off-screen where students cannot see it. Next, the teacher should start describing the object and the students should listen and draw what they think the object looks like.

Once the teacher has finished describing the object and the students have finished drawing, ask the students to show their drawings to the other members of the virtual classroom. Next, show the students the object that you were describing and see whose drawing resembles it the most. After playing one time you can also let a student be the one who chooses an object and describes it. This game is a lot of fun, and kids especially find it funny when they see all the different drawings from their classmates.

5. Online Activity Videos

In your virtual classroom, if you are able to share your screen, then our collection of activity videos can be used when you want a fun, no-prep, ready-to-use game. On our activity videos page , we have over 70 ready-to-use games on many different topics. All are free and be shown in your virtual classroom from this website or from our YouTube channel.

6. Scavenger Hunt

This activity is a fantastic game to play while teaching online, especially with kids. And the best thing about it is it needs no preparation. To play, simply think of a kind of object that students likely have in their house/room. Then, students should run off and find that object and then return and share what they found with the class. For example, you might ask students to find something blue, or a toy, or find something that is a certain shape, etc. The things students come up with can be really surprising and funny making this activity great for teaching kids online.

7. Guess Who It Is

This next game is a great warm-up or ice-breaker activity. To play, choose one student and ask that student to close their eyes or look away from the computer screen. Next, choose one student to be a ‘secret witch’. That student should then say something like “I am a scary witch! Be very afraid! Wahahaha!”. And then, the student who closed their eyes should then open their eyes and try to guess which student’s voice they heard. This activity is super fun and works perfectly when teaching in a virtual classroom.

8. Would You Rather

Asking ‘Would you rather questions’ is a fun activity to play online with students and a great way to learn more about your students’ personalities. You can ask students to simply answer the question directly, or ask them to type what they would rather do in the chat window. If you need some ideas for these kinds of questions, check out our list of 30 Fun Would You Rather Questions For Kids .

9. Mystery Box Game

This next activity is a fun PowerPoint game that you can easily play online with students. For this game, you’ll need our Mystery Box PowerPoint Game Template . Simply add your own questions and/or pictures to the template before the lesson. To play this game, divide the students into two teams. The teams will take turns answering a question. After answering the question, students can then choose to keep the box or give the box to the other team. Inside the box is good points (e.g +1000) or bad points (-1000). Although this game takes a little preparation, it is worth it as students really love this activity.

10. Simon Says

The classic classroom game ‘ Simon Says ‘ can be easily adapted to play online. Ask students to stand up and stand back from the camera. Next, the teacher should say an action preceded by “ Simon Says.. “. For example, “S imon says touch your head “. If the teacher says “ Simon says… ” first, then students should do that action. If the teacher doesn’t say it first, then the students should not follow the instruction. Students that do, are out.

11. The Chain Game

This game needs no preparation and is great for when you have extra time in your online class. To play, one student should say a word, and then the next student should say a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word. To make it more difficult, you can introduce a category of words (e.g. animals) that students must focus on.

12. The Telepathy Game

To play this game, you’ll need to download our Telepathy Game PowerPoint Template or make your own. The idea of the game is simple. You ask students a question and give them two possible answers. Only one of them is the answer that the teacher chose. So, students must use ‘telepathy’ to read the teacher’s mind and guess the answer. If they guess correctly, they get a point. Students basically have a 50/50 chance to guess the answer. Although this game is so simple, kids really love it and love pretending that they have the power to read minds.

13. Make A Story Game

This activity is very simple but often students will come up with some really hilarious stories. To play, start the story but don’t finish the sentence. For example, “ Once upon a time, there was a .. .”. Then, ask a student to finish the sentence, and start the next sentence of the story. Again that student should not finish the sentence, the next student should. To play this game online, you can ask students to type in their sentences into the chat window and then the teacher can read the story allowed at the end.

14. Word Detective

If you are teaching a particular text or story, this activity is great to play to practice students’ reading and scanning skills. Display the text on-screen, or if students have their own copy of the text at home they can use that. Next, choose a word from the text and ask students to be ‘word detectives’ and find how many of that word there is. To make it more difficult, you can ask students to find a particular type of word, such as nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc.

15. Blooket

Blooket is a fantastic platform for online learning that allows teachers to create and host quizzes and games. After creating a quiz, teachers can share the game with students so they can complete it online on their own devices. Check out this helpful guide on How To Use Blooket for more details.

16. Let’s Dance Game

This last activity can easily be played online by sharing your screen and using our Let’s Dance PowerPoint Game Template . The template has 30 boxes, each with space for one word or number. Simply type in 30 words into the boxes that you want students to practice. Then, the game can begin. Students will take turns reading the words in the boxes. Each time, students can choose to say 1 word, 2 words, or a maximum of 3 words. The student who says the last word must do a silly dance.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found this list of virtual classroom games and activities useful.

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21 Fun Classroom Games Every Teacher Needs to Try This Year

Written by Maria Kampen

Challenge and reward your students

With Prodigy, you can set a weekly goal for students to answer over 50 math questions and reward them with exciting in-game rewards.

• Teaching Activities

English and spelling review games

Active games, team-building games.

What do all kids around the world have in common? They love to play.

Classroom games are a great way to harness the power of play and use it to enhance your students’ learning experience. Not only are games fun and engaging, they can also:

• Help students focus better 
• Present educational material in a new and interactive way
• Give the whole class an opportunity to get to know each other better

Keep reading for 21 fun games to play in class , then build them into your lesson plans for more learning!

When it comes to new math concepts, students usually need lots of practice to master them. Use these math games for kids to make math practice engaging and effective – all while building their problem-solving skills!

1. Prodigy Math

Best for: 1st to 8th grade

Be your students’ math classroom hero with Prodigy Math, an online role-playing game (RPG) that turns math into an adventure. 

As students explore the Prodigy world, complete quests and earn rewards, their success depends on answering curriculum-aligned math questions . Prodigy’s adaptive algorithm meets students where they are and tailors questions to their learning needs. 

Plus, you can align Prodigy to your classroom lessons ! You’ll get tools to help you:

• Differentiate content for every student
• Engage your learners with a new and fun way to practice math
• Gather insights to inform the teaching strategies you use every day

Sign up for your free teacher account today and start making math class fun.

2. Math baseball

Best for: 3rd to 8th grade

Divide your class into two teams to play math baseball — another activity that gives you full control over the questions students answer. Here’s how:

• One team will stand at the front of the room and start at bat , scoring runs by choosing questions worth one, two or three bases.
• “Pitch” the questions using flash cards, which range in difficulty depending on how many bases they’re worth.
• If the at-bat team answers incorrectly, the defending team can respond correctly to earn an out. 
• After three outs, switch sides. 
• Play until one team hits 10 runs.

3. 101 and Out

Best for: 2nd to 6th grade

101 and Out is a fun and effective way to end math class! The goal is to score as close to 101 points as possible without going over.

Divide your class in half and give each group a die, piece of paper and a pencil.

Groups take turns rolling the die, using their best strategic thinking skills to either count the number at face value or multiply it by 10. For example, if the first person rolls a six, they can keep that number or turn it into 60.

This game gets competitive quickly, and boosts excitement levels in your math class!

4. Get the Math

Best for: 6th grade and up

Make math come to life with Get the Math , a site that prompts your students to solve challenges related to math in different careers and real-world situations. 

The website contains videos with young professionals in fields like fashion design or video game development, explaining how they use math every day. You can assign challenges to your class after watching, some of which involve playing fun games. 

For example, one of the activities challenges students to use different materials and measurements to design a shirt for less than $35. 

5. Fraction War

Always a classic, the card game War can help students practice basic math skills in a more engaging way than traditional worksheets. 

This version teaches students the basics of fractions. Each student is dealt two cards, one numerator and one denominator. Once they calculate which fraction is larger, the person with the larger fraction wins and gets all four cards! Keep playing until all the cards are gone. 

Not teaching fractions? No problem! Use War to give students practice multiplying or dividing with two cards, or challenge students to practice place value and build a number bigger than their opponents’.

Make english class F-U-N with these games that boost reading and writing skills. Use them to practice the week’s vocabulary words or give ESL students more practice.

Can your students solve the puzzle before the hangman is complete? Use this classic game to introduce new sight words to the class or review vocabulary. 

Divide students into small groups with pads of paper, or stand up at the front and play as a class. Think of a word and put down one blank space for each letter. Have students guess letters, and write them in the blank spaces if they’re correct. If they’re incorrect, add another part to your stick figure.

You can also replace the hangman with a snowman for more festive (and kid-friendly) fun.

The game ends when students have either guessed the correct word or the hangman is complete!

You can even let your students take the lead in the game by asking one of them to choose the word, while the rest of the class attempts to solve their puzzle.

2. Bananagrams

Best for: 3rd grade and up

A portable take on Scrabble, Bananagrams is a fun way for kids to practice their word-building skills. 

Using a set of tiles with letters on them, students have to create interconnected words and use up all their tiles. The group that finishes first with correctly spelled words is the winner! 

Challenge students to play one on one or in groups to practice teamwork and cooperation. 

You can purchase official Bananagrams tiles online, but you can also find printables to make your own or use Scrabble tiles. 

3. Pictionary

Another classic game, Pictionary, helps students attach meaning to words that might be unfamiliar to them. Plus, they’ll get to flex their art skills!

Divide students into two teams or groups, then give each student a pad of paper or a whiteboard with a marker. Have one student stand at the front of the room and draw a word you show them. While they draw, the team has to guess the word. If they guess correctly, their team gets a point!

4. Spelling bee

Best for : 2nd grade and up

Inspire a little competition with a classwide spelling bee. Using your list of vocabulary words, give the first person an opportunity to spell the word. If they need it, give them the definition or use it in a sentence.

If the student is correct, they get to stay standing and move on to the next round. If they’re wrong, they sit down and the next person gets a chance to spell. The student left standing at the end is the winner. 

5. Beach ball analysis

Best for: 4th to 8th grade

Keep students engaged and active during reading comprehension lessons with a summer-inspired activity. 

Get a beach ball with colorful stripes and write a question on each section about the story’s:

As students catch the ball, they have to answer the question their fingers land on. Once they’re done, they can throw it to the next student!

6. Charades

Best for: 1st grade and up

Whether you’re working with ESL students or reviewing vocabulary ahead of a quiz, charades can help students connect meaning to new words.

As a class or in small groups, divide into two teams. Invite the first student up to the front of the room. Give them a word or phrase they can act out in front of their team without speaking. If the team guesses correctly in the allotted time, they get a point! Once the first team’s time is up, the second team can go.

Repeat for as many rounds as you’d like. The team with the most points at the end is the winner!

Do your students have ants in their pants and fingers that won’t stop fidgeting? These active games are great for getting out extra energy, taking brain breaks or even indoor recess activities . 

1. Scavenger hunt

Best for: All ages

Send intrepid explorers on a mission to find hidden treasures! For an interactive learning experience, create a scavenger hunt that challenges students to find or collect:

• Items or facts during a class field trip
• Objects with different shapes around their house
• Different leaves and animals in their neighborhood
• Things hidden around the classroom linked to a vocabulary or language lesson

Whether it’s educational or just for fun, scavenger hunts are a fun way for the whole class to engage with the world around them. 

2. Freeze dance

Best for: Kindergarten to 3rd grade

Sometimes you just need to dance it out. For a quick brain break, put on some fun music and encourage your students to stand up and dance away — the sillier the better. 

When the music pauses, they have to freeze in place. Any student who unfreezes before the music starts again is out!

3. GoNoodle

Best for: Kindergarten to 5th grade

GoNoodle is a tried-and-true favorite of many teachers. Colorful videos and engaging activities promote social emotional skills , active living and academic success! 

Whether you need activities for indoor recess or just fun ways for students to get moving more, GoNoodle worked with child development experts to create content that’s engaging and appropriate for young eyes and ears. Students can also complete activities at home to stay mindful and focused, even when they’re not at school.

Teachers can sign up for a free account, or upgrade to a GoNoodle Plus account starting at $10 USD/month.   

Not only does yoga help students stretch out the wiggles in their body, it can also help cultivate mindfulness!

Lead your class through some easy stretches as a fun mid-day break or to get them energized first thing in the morning. Whether it’s downward dog or just stretching towards the sky, they’ll benefit physically and emotionally.

5. Minute to Win It

Best for: 4th grade and up

Based on the game show, Minute to Win It games challenge the whole class to complete simple (or not-so-simple) tasks in under a minute. These interactive games help promote a little healthy competition in your classroom and provide hours of fun. 

Some challenges include:

• Speed stacking paper cups
• Rolling a coin between the tongs of a fork
• Building a tower out of spaghetti and string
• Getting an Oreo from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands

Set up a couple different stations and divide the class into small groups. Rotate groups through each activity so the whole class gets a chance to participate.

Want to inspire some classroom unity and get students to work as a team? These games encourage students to put their heads together and solve problems.

1. Icebreaker games

Best for: 5th grade and up

If you have a new class or a group of students who need to get to know each other, icebreaker activities can help:

• Boost morale and motivation
• Get students working together
• Build a rapport between students

Short and easy, icebreaker games are a fun way for students to introduce themselves. Ideas include:

• Get students to line up by height, birthday, shirt color or any other characteristic
• Play bingo, where each square represents a characteristic and students have to interact and learn more about each other to fill out squares
• Start off the class with a short sentence. The next person has to add to the story without repeating information or getting stuck, so see how long you can keep it going!

2. Jeopardy!

Turn your classroom into the set of a gameshow and bring out your best host impression! Divide the class into two teams and challenge each to answer questions and earn points. 

Whether you’re reviewing concepts from class or just testing their trivia knowledge, Jeopardy! encourages teams to work together to answer questions. Plus, there are lots of free templates to help you build your game quickly.

3. Human knot

This is a simple game, but great for teaching students the importance of communication and working together. 

Have students stand in a close circle with their arms out in front of them. Each student must randomly grab someone else’s hand (but never the same person twice). The goal is to organize themselves into a perfect circle without letting go. For an extra challenge, time your students to see how long it takes them to untangle their knot!

4. Hula hoop chain

This game also promotes coordination and teamwork! Students stand in a circle and join hands with the person next to them. 

Before the circle is closed, place a hula hoop around one student’s arm. The objective of the game is to communicate with team members and pass the hula hoop around the circle without letting go. 

Have students close their eyes or blindfold them for more difficulty, or divide the class into two teams and race. 

5. Hands-free cup stacking

For this activity, you’ll need:

• 6 paper cups
• A rubber band
• 6 equal pieces of string

Tie the strings around the rubber band and divide your class up into small groups of six (or whichever number words best). Each student holds one string and has to help their team stack the cups into a pyramid by using the rubber bands to grab the cups. 

Remember — no hands allowed, so students will have to communicate and work together to complete the task.

Classroom games enhance teacher and student experiences

Every classroom is different, so keep trying new classroom activities and customize them to what your students need. 

Whether you want to engage your students during a lesson, occupy them during an indoor recess or build teamwork skills, classroom games can help you keep activities educational and fun. That sounds like a win-win to us!

Prodigy Math and Prodigy English help teachers engage students through the power of digital game-based learning . Success in Prodigy requires students to correctly answer curriculum-aligned questions adapted to their learning needs, and gives teachers more ways to make math class fun! Sign up for your free teacher account today to get started. 

7 Fun and Easy Online STEM Games for Elementary Students

STEM games are a great way to introduce your students to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math concepts in a fun and engaging way. When it comes to finding and accessing these great resources there are a ton of places to turn so we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite online STEM games here for you to reference and use.

Here’s to a great year of STEM games in your classroom!

Kodable Basics

For students in Kindergarten through 5th grade, Kodable is the #1 programming game for kids for a reason! Self-paced lessons with helpful hints keep students engaged and learning the basics of computer programming all while having fun.

Whether your students are readers or pre-readers, unlimited creative activities and the fuzzFamily will keep your students learning coding fundamentals in addition to logical thinking, resiliency, and problem solving skills.

Compared to other online STEM games, Kodable features a unique KODE (Kid-Optimized Developer Environment) system that helps empower your students to use real JavaScript or Swift to write their own properties, functions, and more while building their very own characters and games.

This differs from the block coding functionality that many online STEM games for kids use because Kodable helps prepare students for the syntax skills they’ll need when they start writing their own code towards the end of middle school.

Kodable’s online STEM game is free for educators so it’s easy to sign up and explore the whimsy world of Fuzztopia and bring this learning experience into your classroom!

Create your account to get started.

Kodable Creator

Kodable Creator is the easiest way for kids to learn how to make their own games! Perfect for grades 3-5, Kodable Creator builds on the building blocks in Kodable Basics to allow students to use real coding languages to make real fun games they can share with their family and friends. With the help of their AI coding tutor CatBot, you and your students will have a blast playing and learning with Kodable Creator!

Want to bring this fun game into your classroom? Learn more about our Game Designer Course in Kodable Creator today!

Code.org’s Hour of Code helps educators across the world introduce coding into their classrooms with easy-to-use activities.

These online STEM games are usually around an hour long, are free to play, and have a ton of sorting options available to help you find the perfect activity for your class. These STEM games also come with teacher instructions, and often, an unplugged coding activity to accompany the game. 

NASA Space Place

NASA doesn’t just know how to get to outer space, they also know how to teach students about space in a way that’s out of this world! NASA’s Space Place is an online hub filled with free STEM games. 

These games include helping your students learn more about space, the planets, spaceships, and more. Outside of these STEM games, NASA also has a ton of other great free online science resources for teachers including arts and crafts, activities, videos, and more.

Gizmos are interactive math and science labs and simulations for grades 3-12. This company offers a rotating collection of free Gizmos to play each semester. All these free online STEM games come with teacher resources to help you understand and deploy them in your classroom.

These activities range from learning about fractions and decimals to climate change and ecology. You can also create a paying account to access more STEM games and activities all year round. 

Try Engineering

Try Engineering provides a number of online STEM games to help foster an interest and passion for engineering in K-12 students. From the environment to electrical engineering, Try Engineering has over 50 online STEM games to choose from. Plus, an intuitive tagging system to help you sort, find, and pick the right game for your classroom. If you’re not sure where to start, Try Engineering encourages teachers to try a Try Engineering Tuesday to use one day of week and a specific time frame to try out a game to play and learn!

Prodigy Math

Prodigy has an online math game that uses fun characters to help boost student engagement in what is typically a challenging subject for young learners.

This game challenges students to use and build math skills to progress through an online world filled with quests, battles, spells, and rewards. This gamification in education helps keep students learning while you can rest easy knowing that they are staying on your curriculum.

Prodigy also has an online game geared towards helping students learn English. Both their Math and English games are free for educators.

CodeMonkey has a number of online STEM activities to help kids from 5-14 learn block-coding, text-based-coding, CoffeeScript and Python through fun and monkey themed games. There are also a number of educational resources available for teachers and administrators to accompany students and different grade and experience levels.

CodeMonkey is free for teachers to start, however you have to contact the company to learn more about their pricing model for all their features and resources.

Other STEM Resources

When using online STEM games in your classroom, you have to balance the benefits of these games with the amount of screen time students are accruing. Like everything in the classroom, it’s a balancing act for you to manage throughout the day, week, month, and year.

However, having a number of tools to pull from your teacher tool belt is one great way to keep students learning important STEM skills all year long, no matter what device they’re using.

With that in mind, check out our other STEM resources that we’ve compiled for elementary teachers just like you:

• STEM Board Games
• STEM Holiday Events Calendar
• Growth Mindset Activities

Kodable has everything you need to teach kids to code!

In just a few minutes a day, kids can learn all about the fundamentals of Computer Science - and so much more! With lessons ranging from zero to JavaScript, Kodable equips children for a digital future.

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• Baby and kid

Some of the Best Online Learning Games for Kids

By Courtney Schley

To find our favorite learning apps and games for kids, we spent more than 40 hours researching and testing 50-plus apps recommended by educators, experts, and parents. If your family has a tablet and you want it to be more than a game-playing and video-watching device, or if you’re trying to find apps for your smartphone that will do more than keep your kids occupied in a pinch, we have some great suggestions.

As with our guides to STEM and learning toys, we didn’t test scores of apps to try to find the “best” ones. Rather, most of the apps here have been chosen by teachers for their students in classrooms, used by Wirecutter parents and their kids, or recommended by the experts and educators we spoke with. (For details, read more about how we selected the apps in this guide.) The apps we cover in this guide are great learning apps not because they’re designed to make kids smarter, to drill facts, or to replace in-school learning, but because they each offer something fun, unique, and interesting for kids and adults.

The research

Our favorite math apps, our favorite coding apps, our favorite science and exploration apps, our favorite social and emotional learning apps, our favorite ebook app, how we picked and tested.

These math games don’t simply drill facts or make kids memorize but rather use visuals, narratives, and storylines to help kids discover math concepts and build their skills. We like these apps because they offer games and exercises tailored to different ages and skill levels and because they encourage adults and kids to play together.

A family math app: Bedtime Math

Bedtime Math (iOS and Android)

Bringing math home.

This free app makes math a part of daily family life, like a bedtime story. A peer-reviewed study showed that it not only helps improve kids’ math performance but also makes parents feel more comfortable with math.

Buying Options

How it works: Bedtime Math ( iOS and Android ) seeks to do for math what the bedtime story does for literacy, by turning math into an enjoyable bonding routine between child and caregiver.

The free app offers a daily word problem for children to solve together with an adult during bedtime or anytime. Each exercise centers on a short narrative or interesting fact and poses questions at four difficulty levels, from pre-K through elementary school.

Why it’s great: Bedtime Math is one of the few children’s educational apps that have been evaluated in a peer-reviewed study . This particular study demonstrated that students who used the app significantly boosted their math scores; it also showed that Bedtime Math can help parents mitigate their own math anxiety , a phenomenon that can negatively affect their children’s attitudes toward math and their ability in the subject. Teacher Jennifer Auten told us she liked that the questions were written at a middle-school reading level, meaning an adult must facilitate the discussion but you have a choice of four levels of difficulty based on the child’s age and math level.

Apps for visual math: DragonBox Numbers and DragonBox Big Numbers

DragonBox Numbers (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

Visual numeracy.

Cute Nooms help kids visualize and conceptualize numbers and arithmetic operations.

DragonBox Big Numbers (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

More-complex arithmetic.

Kids follow characters called Nooms on adventures, solving long addition and subtraction equations in the process.

Ages: 4 to 8 and 6 to 9

How it works: DragonBox Numbers ( iOS , Android , and Amazon ), aimed at kids 4 through 8, introduces number sense, addition, and subtraction through cute characters called Nooms. (The characters are designed to resemble Cuisenaire rods , math learning aids that introduce kids to arithmetic operations in a hands-on way.) Kids feed, slice, and sort the Nooms, developing familiarity with addition, subtraction, fractions, and ranges. In DragonBox Big Numbers ( iOS , Android , and Amazon ), for kids 5 through 9, players follow the Nooms on more complex adventures, solving long addition and subtraction equations in order to gather and trade resources.

Why it’s great: The Nooms function as digital versions of what classroom teachers call math manipulatives , physical learning aids that help young children understand theoretical math concepts in a concrete way. For older kids, the DragonBox series continues on with algebra and Euclidean geometry.

Many great apps teach coding to kids as young as preschool and progressing through upper elementary grades. We’ve highlighted four of these apps because they’re particularly easy to get started with and don’t require reading or, for the child or the parent, a coding background. Regardless of what app they use, parents should think of coding apps as a family activity, said Pat Yongpradit of Code.org . “You will rarely have such a rich media experience as you can when coding with your kid,” he said.

Coding puzzles for beginners: Lightbot and Lightbot Jr

Lightbot (iOS and Android)

Coding puzzles.

The app’s simple puzzle challenges are easy to jump into for kids and adults with no previous coding experience.

Lightbot Jr (iOS and Android)

Coding puzzles for younger kids.

A slower-paced, easier set of puzzles for kids as young as preschool.

Ages: 9 and up (Lightbot); 4 to 8 (Lightbot Jr)

How it works: In Lightbot ( iOS and Android ), kids solve a series of simple puzzles by lining up commands that make a robot advance over obstacles and light up squares. As they master basic concepts, they add more-complex commands, such as conditionals, loops, and nested statements. Lightbot Jr ( iOS and Android ) follows a similar structure but at a slower pace and with simpler challenges that focus on reinforcing the basics. A minimal amount of reading is required, so pre-readers may need adult help at the beginning.

Why it’s great: Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a nonprofit educational organization that promotes and develops STEM curricula and resources, told us, “The best apps for young students without previous experience are those that teach and help build logic and reasoning skills [and] critical thinking skills, and provide brain teasers.” PLTW’s curriculum writers like the Lightbot and Lightbot Jr apps as ways to get kids as young as 4 started with the basic concepts and logical structures of coding.

A creative coding app: ScratchJr

ScratchJr (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

Visual programming.

Using graphical coding blocks, ScratchJr lets kids animate characters and create storylines.

Ages: 5 and up

How it works: In ScratchJr ( iOS , Android , Amazon ), kids select characters and backdrop scenes and drag graphical programming blocks, which snap together like puzzle pieces, to make animation sequences and storylines. Although the app has some written cues, the programming blocks largely use symbols (such as arrows and stop signs) to indicate what they do (such as move the character forward or make them stop). As kids become familiar with how to structure the code, they can create multi-scene stories.

Why it’s great: ScratchJr isn’t lesson-based (though you can consult a variety of curricula and tutorials for the app) but rather designed to give kids a sandbox in which to experiment, learn, and create through trial and error (the app offers sample animations as well). Pat Yongpradit of Code.org , which recommends ScratchJr among other coding apps and games, noted one particular benefit: “It’s very free-form; you’re not basically being directed down a particular path.” Younger kids will need an adult or older child to guide them as they get familiar with ScratchJr .

An app for hands-on coding: Osmo Coding Awbie

Osmo Coding (iOS)

Tangible coding.

The Osmo system uses physical game pieces in conjunction with the device’s screen, making scripting and coding tangible and accessible for pre-readers.

Ages: 5 to 12

How it works: Osmo Coding Awbie requires a base system—a stand and a mirror that attach to the device’s camera and that are compatible with other Osmo games —for the iPad , iPhone , and Amazon Fire . The system allows players to use physical pieces to interact with the screen-based game. Kids use bricks marked with commands, arrows, numbers, and loops to create scripts that direct a silly character through mazes and challenges, picking up prizes such as strawberries.

Why it’s great: Teacher Jennifer Auten, who uses Osmo Coding Awbie and other Osmo games in her classroom, said the fact that it combined an app with physical pieces made kids more patient and thoughtful as they worked through the challenges: “When something is purely on the screen, kids will sometimes end up just tapping as fast as they can, randomly guessing. With the manipulatives, it slows their thinking down.” Auten also noted that the physical pieces made it easier to play the game with multiple people, fostering discussion, collaboration, and group problem-solving. She also likes that Osmo Coding Awbie is open-ended: “Kids can explore and create their own paths.”

In this category we chose these three apps—focused on anatomy, the natural world, and space—because they offer kids unique, open-ended ways to explore science topics. Each app encourages kids to meander, linger, and dive deeper at their own pace.

An app to see what’s inside: The Human Body

The Human Body (iOS and Android)

Seeing what’s inside.

The Human Body offers a visually and aurally interesting way to wander through the body’s organs, systems, and functions.

How it works: In The Human Body ( iOS and Android ), kids explore anatomy by jumping around to different organs and systems—for example, watching a mouth chew food and swallow drink, sliding into a stomach breaking down food, and following flashing nerve signals as they race up to the brain.

Why it’s great: The Human Body focuses less on teaching kids specific anatomical lessons and more on sparking wonder and fascination toward the body and what it can do. The app’s engaging visuals are neither cartoonish nor graphic, and the thoughtful sound effects are as compelling and instructive as the animations: Gurgles, wooshes, creaks, and spurts give kids a visceral sense of what’s happening inside them. You can toggle on or off the text labels that identify the systems and organs, but no reading is required to get deep into the app, making it equally accessible to pre-readers.

An app for discovering nature: Toca Nature

Toca Nature (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

Natural-world building.

Toca Nature is an open-ended building app—similar to Minecraft—where kids can explore and shape the terrain, collect resources, and observe wildlife.

Ages: 4 and up

How it works: In Toca Nature ( iOS , Android , Amazon ), kids start with a simple plot of land where they can raise or lower mountains, create lakes, clear or plant forests, and make deserts. They can zoom in to different areas of their terrain to collect and distribute resources (like mushrooms, fish, or berries). As they change and shape the environment, different kinds of animals, plants, and fish will appear, multiply, migrate, or disappear.

Why it’s great: Similar to popular narrative-less building games like Minecraft , Toca Nature harnesses the enjoyment kids get from open-ended creating, wandering, and exploring games, with a unique focus on the natural world. Common Sense Media senior editor Christine Elgersma said that an app like Toca Nature doesn’t have explicit learning goals—it’s not trying to teach kids the names of animals or types of terrain, for example—but rather is “an exploratory app with experiences that a kid really couldn’t have off screen.” By creating and manipulating the environment, and then observing how the plant and wildlife change as a result, kids can see how animals, resources, and the environment interact.

An app for exploring space: Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System

Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

Cats in space.

Explore the solar system with a jet-propelled cat.

Ages: 8 to 12, or 6 and up with an adult

How it works: Kids explore the app much as they would read a book, delving into facts, illustrations, and animations about planets, moons, stars, and space exploration. At various points, quizzes and other challenges let you earn sardine treats for Professor Astro Cat.

Why it’s great: Jana Grcevich , an astronomer, science educator, and author , told us she enjoyed the Professor Astro Cat app ( iOS , Android , and Amazon ), along with the popular book series it’s based on, with her then 6-year-old niece. The app requires reading, but the entertaining storyline and fascinating facts make it fun for adults along with younger children.

Social and emotional learning , which includes self-awareness, empathy, communication skills, and building relationships, among other capacities, has increasingly been recognized as a critical component of children’s education. These three apps let young kids explore different aspects of self-expression, emotions, and social play.

An app for self-expression: Me: A Kid’s Diary

Me: A Kid's Diary (iOS)

A digital diary.

This app lets kids explore self-expression through drawing, writing, photos, and audio and video.

Ages: 7 and up

How it works: Kids create a digital diary of their lives by answering questions about themselves; making avatars for family members, friends, and other loved ones; and designing their own media. Kids navigate all these entries on their Me Map, a sort of multimedia landscape of their lives.

Why it’s great: Me: A Kid’s Diary helps kids creatively document their feelings, experiences, and loved ones through different media and modes of expression. In some ways, the app offers an experience akin to social media—uploading photos, making videos, writing reflections, and mapping personal connections—but in an entirely closed environment (there’s no actual communication or sharing within the app). This can create a space for kids to start to explore (and for parents to discuss) digital self-expression and sharing.

An app for emotions: Daniel Tiger’s Grr-ific Feelings

Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings (iOS, Android, and Amazon)

Exploring emotions.

The beloved PBS character helps young kids identify, act out, and explore their feelings through games, songs and creative activities.

Ages: 2 to 5

How it works: Kids explore the familiar world of the PBS Kids series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood ( iOS , Android , Amazon ) through simple games, songs, and art activities that focus on identifying and exploring feelings and emotions. It offers different ways for kids to practice, talk about, and experience emotions, such as by drawing a picture, taking a photo of themselves feeling angry or happy, or practicing a calming exercise with Daniel Tiger.

Why it’s great: The app is simple and accessible for very young kids, with frequent verbal cues and reminders to help them through the easily navigable interface. “Even without the Daniel tie-in, it could actually still be a pretty successful app for teaching a lot of social, emotional, and self-care skills,” said Harry Sawyers, Wirecutter senior editor and father of three. “But having the familiar characters and songs really helps jump-start their interest if, for example, they ‘have to go potty—stop, and go right awaaaaay!’”

An app for social play: Toca Tea Party

Toca Tea Party (iOS)

Tea for two (or more).

Toca Tea Party presents the elements of a tea party—drinks, desserts, and dishes—for unstructured imaginative play.

Ages: 2 and up

How it works: Toca Tea Party couldn’t be simpler: You set a tea table with plates, cups, drinks, and treats for three guests, and the rest is up to your imagination. There’s no objective beyond pouring drinks, munching treats, and wiping up spills, and the app has a built-in end point: Once you’ve finished the snacks and beverages, the table clears itself and the dishes drop into a sink, ending the party.

Why it’s great: Toca Tea Party isn’t so much a game as a scene for unstructured imaginative and social play for young children. Kids can play alone (perhaps by inviting dolls or stuffed animals as guests) or with one or two others—a unique feature for a tablet game to pull off well. My two daughters, now 4 and 5, haven’t tired of Toca Tea Party after two years, and their play centers on chatting, pretending, and sharing.

An app for reading: Epic! ebook subscription

Epic! e-book subscription

Endless ebooks.

This app allows young readers to choose from up to 35,000 different books for a low monthly cost.

How it works: For $8 a month, kids gain access to some 35,000 children’s books in an intuitively designed app. Epic’s library is updated regularly with new titles, including classics and the site’s original content. Many of the picture books have a “Read to me” function, where a narrator reads the text aloud and the pages turn automatically. The app also suggests books by age and based on what a child has previously read, allowing kids to easily discover new titles at their reading level. Epic! works on iOS, Android and Microsoft tablets and smartphones.

Why it’s great: While some subscription kids’ e-book apps tend to be populated with the kinds of uninteresting titles you’d find in a bookstore bargain bin, Epic! offers an impressive library of children’s books, including many of the beloved classics and award-winning authors you’d find in a well-curated children’s library. (The Wizard of Oz, with the original 1900 illustrations, was one memorable find that gave us many nights of rapt bedtime reading.) The app is simple enough to use that both of my daughters can independently browse books by the cover art and find what interests them—even though they are both pre-readers. Fairy tales abound, but I’ve also found them paging through books about geology, Ramadan, and coding.

Since we began researching learning apps in 2016, we’ve spoken with a range of experts, including a classroom teacher, a child developmental psychologist, a pediatrician, an astronomer, education researchers, app developers, and others.

These have included Kathy Hirsh-Pasek , a professor of psychology at Temple University who has written about and conducted research studies on educational apps for young children; Jennifer Auten , an award-winning teacher in Cupertino, California, who has been using tablet and smartphone apps in her first- and second-grade curricula since the iPad was released in 2010; Christine Elgersma , senior editor, parent education, for Common Sense Media, an organization focused on children’s media; and Pat Yongpradit , chief academic officer at Code.org, a nonprofit that advocates for computer science education. Last, we’ve spoken with parents on our staff for recommendations of apps they and their kids love in categories such as science, music, and coding.

We read articles and reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and child developmental psychologists and educational researchers to learn about kids’ media use and about principles for designing learning apps. Finally, we read through reviews and ratings from well-regarded children’s media sites such as Common Sense Media .

Similar to what we found when researching learning toys , we discovered that developers and app stores often label apps as “educational” with little research or evidence, and few experts, to support those claims. In 2016, the AAP released a broad report on children’s use of digital media, calling for more-rigorous evaluation of apps that claim to be educational: “Unfortunately, very few of the commercially available apps found in the educational section of app stores have evidence-based design input with demonstrated learning effectiveness.” Similarly, in a 2015 article , Hirsh-Pasek writes that educational apps “present a significant opportunity for out-of-school, informal learning when designed in educationally appropriate ways” but notes later on that “[o]nly a handful of apps are designed with an eye toward how children actually learn.”

Experts are still studying what makes learning apps successful pedagogical tools, as well as fun and interesting activities for kids. But after speaking with experts, reading research, and trying out apps ourselves, we identified a few features that seem to be common among great learning apps.

• Offer unique experiences: Several of the experts we spoke to noted that a good educational app should offer children something they couldn’t simply do, learn, or explore in a classroom or the real world. If the app is “basically a worksheet on screen, [or] an experience that could be replicated off screen, then that’s not a good use of the screen,” Elgersma said. “You want it to be an experience that kids could really only have in that screen world.”
• Be open-ended, with limits: Most of the apps in this guide are open-ended in the sense that they encourage kids to independently explore, create, and navigate within the app. But researchers say it’s important to have built-in limits, as well. The AAP has pointed out that digital games have traditionally been designed with rewards and reinforcement designed to keep kids playing as long as possible. The organization recommends that learning apps instead have “automatic ‘stops’ as the default design to encourage children and caregivers to pause the game use and turn to the 3-dimensional world.”
• Be engaging but not distracting: Apps have great potential to engage children through interactive features, but some research has shown that too many bells and whistles can distract children or reduce their comprehension. A good learning app uses interactive, animated, and responsive features to engage kids or enhance their comprehension, not simply to entertain. Hirsh-Pasek has written that parents should evaluate an app’s interactive features and ask: “Do the enhancements actually add value and increase engagement, or do they cause distraction?”
• Encourage interaction: The AAP and other organizations say that learning apps that encourage real-life interaction among multiple people—adult and child, or child and peers—can be especially strong at facilitating learning. The apps in this guide are fun and interesting for kids and adults, and many foster conversation and play outside of the app itself.

As with our guide to learning toys , we focused primarily on apps aimed at kids 3 to 9 years old, though older kids can enjoy many of our recommendations, as well. We chose this age range because, as Hirsh-Pasek has written , “there are so many apps targeted toward [children in this range] that parents and educators do not know how to navigate the marketplace of possibilities.”

All the apps we recommend in this guide adhere to the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act . Among other things, COPPA requires that websites and apps directed at children under age 13 obtain permission from parents before collecting or sharing personal information from children, or targeting them with behavioral advertising. None of the apps in this guide require children to enter personal information in order to use the app’s functions, and none offer social media sharing or connectivity.

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, et al., Putting Education in “Educational” Apps: Lessons From the Science of Learning , Psychological Science in the Public Interest , April 20, 2015

Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos, et al., Children and Adolescents and Digital Media , Pediatrics , October 1, 2016

Jana Grcevich, PhD, astronomer, science educator, author , phone interview , December 1, 2016

Jennifer Auten, first- and second-grade teacher, Cupertino, California , phone interview , November 8, 2016

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD, professor of psychology, Temple University , phone interview , January 8, 2019

Christine Elgersma, senior editor, parent education, Common Sense Media , phone interview , March 12, 2019

Pat Yongpradit, chief academic officer, Code.org , phone interview , April 18, 2019

Meet your guide

Courtney Schley

Courtney Schley, a senior editor covering sleep and appliances, has been at Wirecutter since 2014. She has held several roles at Wirecutter, including research editor, as well as supervising editor of baby and kid coverage.

Further reading

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by Ingrid Skjong

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How to Set Up a Remote Learning Space for Your Kids

by Melanie Pinola

With many schools closed this fall, it’s time to set up a remote schoolwork area for kids that’ll make learning a little easier.

These Four Video Games Are Fun for the Whole Family

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If you’re looking for a video game for your next family game night, these are the games we recommend for all ages and skill levels.

8 Time-Tested Sidewalk Games We Love

by Dan Koeppel

Old-school games from the sidewalks of New York are still surprisingly fun—and require not much more than chalk.

Best Educational Websites for Kids: Top Picks for Learning and Fun

Melanie Smith

The best educational websites for kids are so fun that children don’t even realize they’re learning! These platforms typically offer lots of ways to support kids’ classroom learning, and even help them get ready for their first day at school.

Below we’re going to round up the best options for your children to enjoy, including free learning websites for kids and a look at some of the most popular platforms.

The Best Educational Websites for Kids

More educational websites for kids, khan academy.

Credit: khanacademy.org

• For Ages: Pre-Kindergarteners to College Students

Khan Academy is a non-profit platform that offers learners, teachers, and parents a vast library of standards-aligned lessons, videos, articles, and practice questions. You can find everything here from pre-Kindergarten math activities all the way through to college-level programming lessons—and everything in between.

Whether you’d like an introduction to philosophy for your third grader, some science practice questions for your ninth grader, or an internet safety lesson for the whole family, you’ll find an amazing array of resources on the Khan Academy website. All of the content is geared towards kids and designed to be immersive—plus, the personalized learning model means that children can learn at their own pace, without pressure.

Starfall Education

Credit: starfall.com

• Cost: Free basic access, subscription required to access all content
• For Ages: Kindergarteners to Grade Five

This educational website offers games-based learning for kindergarteners to fifth graders and features plenty of resources for parents and teachers to help support children’s learning, too. The focus is very much on fun and accessibility, and it’s quick and easy to get started with the platform.

Starfall was originally developed by teachers and has been operating for over twenty years. It’s founded on the belief that play, exploration, and positive reinforcement are the keys to engaging and motivating kids to learn. As well as helping children develop their reading skills, the platform also provides lessons and resources in languages, arts, and math.

PBS Education

Credit: pbslearningmedia.org

• For Ages: Pre-Kindergarteners to Grade Twelve

Although designed for teachers, this is one of those free educational websites that are super useful for parents and kids, too. The platform offers a wide range of curated and curriculum-aligned lesson plans, interactive activities, and resources on topics including English, maths, science, art, the social sciences, engineering and technology, health and physical education, and world languages.

Topical collections focused on specific learning objectives can also be found on the platform, to help really get your child interested and engaged in a subject. These collections include American Sign Language, the US History Collection, and Election Central.

Credit: logiclike.com

LogicLike is an engaging educational platform designed for children from kindergarten to fifth grade. This website offers a variety of logic puzzles and games that help develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills in a fun and interactive way. With a focus on logical reasoning, the platform provides resources for both parents and teachers to support children’s learning journeys.

LogicLike is developed by a team of educators and experts in child development, ensuring that the content is both educational and enjoyable. The platform aims to make learning an adventure, encouraging kids to explore different types of puzzles and challenges that stimulate their minds. From math problems to language puzzles, LogicLike covers a broad spectrum of educational topics that keep children engaged and motivated.

Unlock your child’s potential with LogicLike . Start their journey towards better logical reasoning and problem-solving skills today by signing up for free!

Credit: funbrain.com

• For Ages: Kindergarteners to Grade Eight

The great thing about educational games is that kids are so busy having a blast that they don’t even notice how much they’re learning at the same time! The popular education platform Funbrain hosts a huge range of vibrant games designed specifically to be age-appropriate and support kids’ learning. As well as games, you’ll also find videos, worksheets, and stories on the site, and a math zone and virtual playground for younger children.

Funbrain offers lots of opportunities to support your child’s reading, with a library of online kid-friendly books including Diary of a Wimpy Kid , My Father’s Dragon , The Cat That Broke the Internet’s Back , and Judy Moody Predicts the Future .

ABCYa! Learning Games and Apps

Credit: abcya.com

• Cost: Free, or subscribe to unlock additional content
• For Ages: Pre-Kindergarteners to Grade Six+

ABCYa! is one of the top platforms for educational games and apps, and has been featured in The New York Times , Scholastic , and Parents . You’ll find over three hundred games on the site, all of which have been designed by parents and teachers, and underpinned by the idea that kids learn better when they’re having fun. All of the games are categorized by subject and age, with topics available including math, pattern recognition, typing, and much more.

Kids will love apps such as Create a Car, Donut Drop, and Word Bingo, which are effective ways to solidify school learning and introduce new subjects. Although there is plenty of free content to enjoy, to unlock all the platform’s apps and games you’ll need to purchase a subscription, which starts at $9.99 a month.

National Geographic Kids

Credit: kids.nationalgeographic.com

• For Ages: Pre-Kindergarteners to Grade Eight

Educational websites don’t get much more exciting than National Geographic Kids! Your child will relish exploring the extensive array of resources about countries, cultures, habitats, and animals which include interactive games and maps, articles, video clips, and Homework Help. The latter is a great way to support children with their school projects or research.

The best thing about this platform is that the resources available are continually expanding, so kids will always find new content to delve into. The site is friendly, engaging, user-friendly, and designed to be entertaining, making learning about the world around them a breeze.

Read also: Mastering Milestones: What Do Kids Learn in Kindergarten?

Sesame Street Pre-School Games

Credit: sesamestreet.org

• For Ages: Pre-School

The Sesame Street show has been entertaining young kids and helping them learn for generations, and its online platform, packed with games for pre-schoolers, is continuing the tradition. On the site, kids will find podcasts, games, interactive activities, and much more, all designed to enhance their learning and boost their well-being.

Parents love the fact that they can create their own playlists of videos and games for their kids to navigate, and the podcasts make for educating entertainment even on the go. As well as plenty of content designed to help kids get started with math and reading, there are sections on emotional well-being, autism, and even financial education, all geared specifically to the needs of very young children.

CoolMath4Kids

Credit: coolmath4kids.com

• For Ages: Grades One to Twelve

For kids needing a quick refresher on a math topic they’ve already studied, or an introduction to a new math subject, CoolMath4Kids could be really helpful. The platform boasts loads of math games, activities, quizzes, and brain teasers, and the content covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions.

The site developed back in 1994, remains committed to making math enjoyable and fun—and even cool—and over the years has helped millions of visitors get to grips with the subject. The printable flashcards available are also a great resource for kids studying for a test or exam.

Credit: pbskids.org/games

• For Ages: Pre-Kindergarten to Grade Twelve

A veritable treasure trove of educational resources for kids of all ages, PBS Games covers an extensive range of topics from science and math to reading support to world languages to health. The site is extremely user-friendly and searchable by grade and subject, with content also helpfully linked to national and state standards, so you can see exactly how each activity will support your kid’s school learning.

The variety of resource types will keep kids engaged; they can discover videos, lessons, audio recordings, images, games, and other materials on the platform to pique their interest. As a parent, you can curate content for your child, to create a unique learning experience that’s most suitable for them.

• Cost: $16.50 a month, free thirty-day trial period available
• For Ages: Kindergarteners to Grade Two

An eye-popping ten thousand educational activities can be found on ABCmouse including puzzles, games, read-to-me books, songs, and loads more. Subjects covered are reading, math, science, and art and colors and the site has been certified as kid-safe by Coppa, for parental peace of mind.

The platform deploys a step-by-step learning path model that guides and motivates children as they move through the levels, with the rewards system providing further encouragement. Even the most reluctant of learners will be keen to engage with the site’s content. Parents appreciate that there are no distracting ads or external links on the ABCmouse website—and the Adventure Academy offers further learning adventures for older kids who are ready to move on.

Mystery Science

Credit: mysteryscience.com

• Cost: $119 a year for home use

Especially useful for those homeschooling their kids, the Mystery Science platform offers a comprehensive and complete standards-aligned curriculum, designed to teach each subject in full. However, its resources can also be used to support school learning or as a refresher course. Mystery Science really stands out with its innovative approach designed to get kids excited by and engaged in science; it’s all about engaging investigations, fun experiments, and both written and 3D assessments.

Each lesson comprises a combination of hands-on learning tasks and assessments, along with videos and e-books that can be used to continue learning. Shorter videos paired with writing prompts are available, too, as mini-lessons, for ultimate flexibility and adaptability.

TED Talks for Kids

Credit: ted.com/playlists

• For Ages: Kindergarteners to Grade Twelve

TED Talks have long been known for their ability to inspire, engage, and educate, and there’s a whole TED Talk platform specifically geared to kids. The subjects of the talks are dizzyingly varied, and whether you’d like to give your kid a grounding in a new subject or simply open their minds to something entirely unexpected, you’ll find it on this site.

Some of the highlights on TED Talks for Kids include A Performance of Mathemagic, which sees mathemagician Arthur Benjamin have a race with calculators to solve a math problem and tackle a brain-busting mental equation, Hands-On Science with Squishy Circuits, and Underwater Astonishments.

Art for Kids Hub on Youtube

Credit: youtube.com/user/ArtforKidsHub

• For Ages: Kindergarteners+

Kids will love Youtube’s Art for Kids Hub, for its huge range of how-to videos, guiding them through creating everything from painting a Mother’s Day bouquet to sketching a fun cartoon character. Each video is full of positive energy, and designed to get kids excited about art and confident to try out new techniques. Videos follow a simple, kids’-pace, step-by-step format, with one of the host’s kids usually joining in the lesson, too. Budding artists that are ready for a challenge will find harder videos to try.

Whether you’d like to get your kid interested in art, are looking for a rainy day activity , or are seeking some how-to art videos that you can enjoy as a family, the Art for Kids Hub could be the perfect platform.

How Stuff Works

Credit: howstuffworks.com

• For Ages: Grade 8+

Kids ask the best questions. As parents, we’re regularly caught out by inquiries such as ‘Why are deserts hot?’, ‘What causes certain smells?’ and ‘What’s a subpoena?’ Happily, help is at hand with the brilliant educational website which has in-depth answers to all these questions and hundreds more! The content is largely geared towards older kids, and covers a wide range of subjects from science to engineering, from ethics to culture, and from history to legal systems.

As well as the entertaining articles, kids will also enjoy the videos, crosswords, riddles, puzzles, and quizzes, to help consolidate what they’ve learned and encourage them to keep learning.

And as for why deserts are hot? It has to do with several factors, the key of which is the low specific heat capacity of rock and sand, meaning they retain little heat during the day, causing temperatures to rise quickly once the sun rises.

Credit: resource-bank.scholastic.co.uk

• For Ages: Pre-Kindergarteners to Grade Six

The Scholastic website is packed full of resources for parents to help their kids learn at home, with the aim of developing key skills, boosting their understanding, and reaching their full potential. Topics and areas of learning are clearly organized, allowing parents to easily find the right content for their child.

As well as educational games, standalone worksheets, and arts and crafts projects, Scholastic offers a comprehensive library of resources to help children get ready for school for the first time, designed to build self-esteem and essential skills. Reading lists and book activity packs are also a useful addition, to help expand kids’ classroom learning or at-home studies.

Old Farmer’s Almanac for Kids

Credit: almanac.com

• For Ages: Grade Two+

An educational platform with a difference, the Old Farmer’s Almanac for Kids is focused on the natural world and our interactions with it. Children will enjoy finding out about things like moon phases, and what to look out for in the night sky month-by-month, how to get started growing their own fruit and vegetables, and exploring the many kid-friendly recipes.

This site is a wonderful way to help kids reconnect with the world around them, and understand how natural cycles fundamentally affect the foods we grow and eat. The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been regularly published since 1792 and, in its new digital format, is set to keep going for the foreseeable future.

Gus on the Go

Credit: gusonthego.com

• Cost: $3.99
• For Ages: Pre-Kindergartener and Kindergartener

Young children can dive into a fun adventure learning Spanish, French, Greek, Hebrew, or one of the platform’s other thirty available languages, via the Gus on the Go app. Ten interactive lessons for each language include vocabulary reviews and exciting games to keep kids’ attention on their learning. While the app costs $3.99, the Ingush version, as an endangered language, is free. This is part of the company’s drive to protect vulnerable languages and promote language diversity.

Parents highly rate the educational, intuitive, and interactive nature of the app, reporting that their kids have enjoyed learning via the platform and have been keen to discover more. On the Gus on the Go website, you’ll also find a library of free printables, to further help your child as they gain proficiency in a new language.

Daria — World Music for Children

Credit: dariamusic.com

• Cost: Free, with additional resources available to purchase
• For Ages: Pre-Kindergartener+

This award-winning website is all about making exploring and playing music fun for kids of all ages, from kindergarten to elementary school to middle school and upward! On the platform, children can discover interesting instruments from around the world, and not only have the opportunity to hear how they sound but even make their own versions at home. These include didgeridoos from Australia, box drums from Latin America, and shekeres from Africa.

Daria — World Music for Children may be particularly helpful for bilingual kids or those who are learning another language, as there are many songs on the platform with lyrics in both English and Spanish, Hebrew, Zulu, Yiddish, Arabic, and Quechua.

Credit: storyplace.org

• For Ages: Pre-Schooler

Want to help your pre-schooler start their learning to read adventure? Check out the StoryPlace website to find stories and activities they’ll love, helpfully arranged by theme. The site aims to act as a virtual library for children and, as well as all the fun content on offer for kids, parents can find plenty of information here on early literacy.

To give you an idea of how the platform works, say you choose the Pet theme for your child. They’ll have access to an online story to enjoy, and a related activity, video, and reading list, to keep the learning and exploring going.

To ensure your child’s safety while they explore these educational resources, consider using the Findmykids app . It allows you to monitor their online activity and keep track of their whereabouts, giving you peace of mind. Download Findmykids today and keep your child’s learning journey safe and secure!

Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock.com

Looking for more educational inspiration for your little learners? These websites are also all worth checking out:

• Night Zookeeper , from $9.92 a month. Free trial available.
• Brainscape , some free content, subscription is required to unlock all content, which costs from $9.99 a month.
• Quizlet , limited version free, subscriptions cost from $7.99 a month.
• CodeWizardsHQ , $149 per course.
• LeapFrog , $7.99 a month, free trial available.
• SplashLearn , from $7.99 a month.
• TIME for Kids , free.
• Nick Jr , free.
• Exploratorium , free.
• CoolMath , free.
• DOGOnews , free.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Learning from Home , free.

Get Set for Happy Little (and Big!) Learners

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The best educational websites are immersive and fuse fun activities with high-quality learning, combining games, videos, interactivities, and more. Whether you want to support your kid’s in-class learning, give them an introduction to a new topic, inspire them, or simply offer them some educational entertainment, use the list above to find the right platform. When kids are motivated, engaged, and having fun, they not only learn more effectively—but are keen to learn more.

Is there a particular educational platform or website your kids use that you’ve been really impressed with? Are there any your child loves that don’t feature in our list? We’d be interested to know about them—drop us a line in the comments box below.

Which website is best for kids’ learning?

While the best educational website for your child will depend on their age, needs, and preferences, some of the most popular are Khan Academy, Starfall Education, and ABCYa!

Which website is best for learning for free?

There are many free educational websites out there, including Sesame Street, PBS Kids, Starfall, and National Geographic Kids. All of these platforms are completely free to use.

What is similar to ABCMouse but free?

Khan Academy is a similar platform to ABCMouse, but parents and kids can access its content for free. PBS Education is also a good alternative to Khan Academy.

Is Khan Academy Kids free?

All of the content, including lessons, videos, and resources on the Khan Academy platform is totally free to access and use.

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26 Whole ClassMath Games: Adaptable For All Students

Samantha Dock

Whole class math games are becoming progressively more popular among educators and students as a strategy to increase learner engagement and comprehension. This approach transforms traditional math lessons into interactive and immersive learning experiences. 

In this article, we list 26 of the best math teacher-approved whole class math games for you to try with your students today.

What are whole class math games? 

Whole class math games are a way to leverage gamification, such as challenges, levels, and points, to motivate and engage all learners in math in a fun way. Whole class math games should be student-centered learning and accessible to all students and be flexible to include all learner abilities and additional needs. 

Through fun math games, teachers can motivate and inspire students to work collaboratively, to solidify their understanding of key math concepts and to have fun during math class.

26 Whole Class Math Games

Play these 26 fun and engaging math games with your pre-kindergarten to 8th grade students.

Benefits of whole class math games

By using whole class math games strategically, they can be an effective learning strategy . The benefits of whole class math games include:

• Intrinsic motivation: Games can provide intrinsic motivation by offering immediate feedback, rewards, and a sense of accomplishment.
• Reinforce math content: Games naturally encourage repeated practice and exploration. Learners are more likely to continue practicing and retaining what they have learned over time by embedding math concepts within engaging game contexts. 
• Personalize learning and feedback: Gamification facilitates a tailored learning experience where students can progress at their own pace and receive individualized feedback, addressing their unique learning needs and preferences.
• Promote perseverance: Students are motivated to persevere with challenging mathematical problems.
• Promote problem-solving , strategic thinking and critical reasoning
• Foster collaboration: Games encourage students to work together, discuss strategies and learn from one another.
• Math can be fun: Games can help to reduce math anxiety by presenting math in an accessible way in a low-stakes environment. 

26 whole class math games to engage all students

Here, we’ve listed 26 whole class math games including mental math games , multiplication games and more:

6 No prep whole class math games

1. clap and count.

This is a great no prep and quick whole class math game to get students engaged and moving! 

Grade level: PreK-3

How to play: The math teacher or selected student picks a number and says it aloud or writes it on the whiteboard. The class is then expected to clap and count up to that number. This game helps students practice their number sense.

Ideas to adapt: You can adapt this to include exercising, as well! (Example: the number 5 is selected, so students have to do 5 push ups).

This game can be used to count in varying increments e.g. 2s, 5s, 10s. 

Another quick, no-prep whole class math game that gets students to collaborate and strategize! This is a great game to play if you have a few extra minutes at the end of class or the students need a brain break.

Grade level: Grades 3-8

How to play: In this game, have students count to the number 21. If two or more students say the same number, start over from 1. The same student cannot say two numbers in a row. 

Ideas to adapt: You can change the number higher or lower depending on the number of students in your class or have students close their eyes to make it more challenging!

3. Mystery Number

This activity reinforces math fluency and vocabulary. This can be a whole class math game or have students buddy up.

Grade level: Grades 1-4

How to play: One person in the group thinks of a number and gives the other person hints about what the number is. For example, a hint can be, “The number is bigger than 3, but less than 17.”

Ideas to adapt: You can have students write down their number on a mini dry erase board or their notebook so they do not forget it.

War is a simple yet effective card game to get students to compare two quantities.

Grade level: Grades 1-8

How to play: Typically, this game is played with a deck of cards that is split into two even piles. The cards are face down and students pick the top card to compare with their partner. The person with the higher card value gets to keep both cards. If the two cards have the same value, the students place 3 cards face down and flip over the fourth one. The student with the higher value card gets to keep all of the cards. In order to win the game, students must collect all of the cards in the pile.

Ideas to adapt: This game is easily adaptable to each grade level. You can make and print out cards with the concept that you are learning. For example, you can create 52 cards with integers on them, or fractions and decimals.

Another no-prep card game to quickly engage students and get them practicing number bonds and math fluency. 24 lays the groundwork for computational thinking.

Grade level: Grades 1-9

How to play: In 24, students are in groups of 2-4 and are asked to make the number 24 using all four numbers on the card and any operation. The student who can make the number 24 first wins the cards. The student with the most cards at the end wins.

6. Dominoes

There are so many variations of dominoes that you can use with your students! 

How to play: One way to play is to have all the dominoes flipped over and each student picks a domino, writes down each side as an addend and adds them together. You can also use the domino to create addition fact families to help with fluency in numbers and operations, categorizing them into even and odd numbers, or sorting them by the sum.

Another way to adapt dominoes is to lay them down so that you have a row that adds up to 10. To begin with, the dominoes are face down. Each player takes turns picking up a tile and making a new row or putting it at the end of a row to make 10. In this game, the student with the most rows of 10 at the end wins. This helps to support students’ conceptual and computational growth. 

Ideas to adapt: Creating magic squares is another way to use dominoes to engage students in learning and enhance their math fact fluency.

9 Whole class math games for any grade

7. jeopardy.

Grade level: Grades K-8

Jeopardy is a classic game that teachers typically use as a unit review.

How to play: Students are split up into 4 teams and must answer the questions on the board. The questions are separated into 5 categories and given a dollar amount. The higher the dollar amount, the more difficult the question is. The group with the highest dollar amount at the end of the game wins.

This is a great game that can be played in person or virtually.

How to play: Give students a blank BINGO board and have all the potential answers on the front board. Ask students to write down the answers on their board wherever they want. Make sure they know to write down each answer only once. 

Once all BINGO boards have been created, pick a question for the students to answer. You can create a PowerPoint with all the questions on separate slides and ask students to pick a number. When you click on that number the question will be presented to the students to answer. Students will mark off the answer on their BINGO cards and the first student to get 5 in a row wins!

9. Trashketball

Trashketball is another engaging review game.

How to play: This game works best if there are about 6 single-sided pages printed in a packet for each student to complete. Students work on the first page, check their answers with the teacher, and if they get all their answers correct, they can crumble their piece of paper into a ball and stand at the 2 or 3 point line to attempt a basket. You can use the recycling can on top of a desk as the basket and put tape on the ground to mark off where the 2 and 3 point lines are. The student with the most points at the end of class wins.

Ideas to adapt: If a student has an incorrect answer, you can tell them which question was wrong or tell them, “2 problems on this page are incorrect.” This allows them to conduct error analysis on their own work.

10. Scavenger hunt

Many premade scavenger hunt worksheets can be found online. You can also create your own and adapt it to be for whatever your class is learning at that time!

How to play: For this, students will need paper or a recording sheet to show their work, a pencil, and a clipboard. You will need to hang up the question/answer pages around the room. On these pages, the top half should have the answer to the previous problem and the bottom half should have the next question to be answered. The goal is to have students practice as many questions as possible to review the material.

This whole class math game is similar to the scavenger hunt.

How to play: Question pages should be posted around the room and students will need a recording sheet, pencil, and clipboard to lean on. Students are given a set amount of time to work on the page in front of them (for example, students have 30 seconds to simplify the algebraic expression). After 30 seconds, the math teacher will say “scoot” and students will shift to the next question page, have 30 seconds to complete the problem before moving on to the next one. The goal is to have students practice fast math facts and fluency.

12. Whodunit

A “Whodunit” activity is a mystery-solving game where participants work together to uncover clues, solve puzzles, and ultimately identify the culprit behind a fictional crime. This activity does involve a lot of set up but is a great way to get students to buy into the material and actively participate in their learning experience.

How to play: Small groups will work together to solve math problems and be rewarded with clues to identify the culprit. You can find many pre-made downloadable options online to reduce planning time.

13. Relay race

Grade level: Grades K-8 

Playing a relay race in math can be a fun and engaging way to review concepts or practice mathematical skills. 

How to play: Divide the class into equal size teams and set up stations. Students will take turns sending one team member at a time to the task station which could include solving equations, completing math puzzles, answering word problems, or performing mental math calculations. 

After the race, gather the students to review the tasks and discuss any challenges or interesting strategies used during the relay. You can also review the correct answers to the math problems to ensure understanding.

14. Quiz, quiz, trade

“Quiz, Quiz, Trade” is a cooperative learning strategy that promotes formative assessment , active engagement and peer-to-peer teaching. It’s particularly effective for reviewing math concepts in a fun and interactive way. 

How to play: Prepare a set of question cards related to the math concepts you want to review. Each student should have a card and each card should have a math problem or a question on one side and the answer on the other. Arrange students into pairs or small groups around the room and distribute one question card to each student, ensuring each student has a different question.

Then have students hold their cards up with the question side facing out. Each student quizzes their partner with the question on their card. They can read the question aloud or show it to their partner. The partner tries to answer the question without looking at the back of the card. If they answer correctly, they receive praise and encouragement from their partner. 

After both partners have quizzed each other, they trade cards, find a new partner, and repeat the process. “Quiz, Quiz, Trade” effectively reviews math concepts while promoting active engagement, collaboration, and peer teaching among students. It’s adaptable to various grade levels and can be customized to focus on specific math topics or skills.

15. Escape room

Creating an educational escape room in math is a fantastic way to engage students in problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration while reinforcing mathematical concepts. 

How to play: There are many escape rooms online for teachers to use. Breakoutedu is a great resource to build physical escape rooms to review mathematical concepts or assign virtual escape rooms for students to complete as a class, with a small group or partner, or individually.

5 Number sense and operations whole class math games

16. human number line.

Grade level: Grades K-7

A human number line activity is an interactive and kinesthetic way to teach or reinforce concepts related to numbers, number sense, and mathematical operations. 

How to play: In this activity, students physically represent numbers along a designated line or axis, allowing them to visualize numerical relationships and engage in hands-on learning.

17. Guess who

Playing “Guess Who?” in math creatively reinforces mathematical concepts such as properties, characteristics, or attributes of numbers, shapes, or other mathematical objects. 

How to play: Create or print out game boards featuring various mathematical objects or concepts. For example, you could have boards with numbers, geometric shapes, mathematical operations, or math-related images. 

Players engage in critical thinking as they analyze mathematical properties and make educated guesses based on the information they gather. Also, players practice using mathematical vocabulary and describing mathematical properties in a clear and concise manner. The game promotes active engagement and participation as players interact with each other and work towards solving the mystery.

18. 4 in a row

Ideal for intervention groups or students developing fluency in adding 9, 10, or 11 and place value. Suitable for math workshops or stations to enhance fluency. 

How to play: In this game, pairs of students share one game board. Laminate the board or use a photocopy with counters or markers. The first player rolls a die and adds 10 (or 11 or 9!) to cover a spot. The next student rolls the die and adds 10 (or 11 or 9). The goal is to achieve 4 in a row strategically, considering available numbers.

Ideas to adapt: You can use base 10 blocks or other “hands on” manipulatives to show students how adding 10 impacts the tens place and adding 11 impacts both the tens and the ones. Adding 9 is tricky for some students, so you can show them by adding 10 and then taking away one cube.

Grade level: Grades 5-8

Nerdle is a daily math puzzle inspired by The New York Times’ word puzzle, Wordle. Nerdle challenges players to guess a randomly selected calculation within six attempts. 

How to play: After each guess, players receive feedback on the tiles: green for correct tiles in the correct position, yellow for correct tiles in the wrong position, and gray for incorrect tiles. 

Players refine their guesses using this feedback, aiming to correctly guess the calculation or exhaust their attempts within the allotted six tries. Nerdle offers a fun and intellectually stimulating way to exercise math and deduction skills while enjoying a guessing challenge.

20. Equation Scrabble

Equation Scrabble is a versatile math-centered game for 1-4 players to sharpen math facts and number sense, or delve into specific skills like fractions, decimals, large numbers, negatives, variables, and exponents. 

How to play: Similar to Scrabble but with numbers and variables, students form addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division equations, earning points based on the complexity of their equations. You can find printable versions online, or make your own.

Ideas to adapt: Adjust the game by removing pieces to tailor it to focus on a single operation or skill, offering a flexible and engaging math activity for diverse learning needs.

2 Mental math and problem-solving whole class math games

21. multiplication baseball.

Grade level: Grades 3-4

Multiplication baseball infuses the excitement of baseball with multiplication practice. 

How to play: Players form two teams, one batting and the other fielding. The batting team’s players take turns answering multiplication flashcards to advance around the bases, scoring runs for correct answers and accumulating outs for incorrect ones. 

This game not only sharpens multiplication fluency and mental math skills but also fosters strategic thinking and teamwork as players strategize to score runs and defend against the opposing team. It’s a dynamic way to reinforce multiplication skills while enjoying the spirit of competition on the “field.”

22. Hamburger dice game

Grade level: Grades 4-9

In this engaging activity, students utilize problem-solving strategies and mental math skills as they collaborate to construct a hamburger. 

How to play: Working in small groups or pairs, students are equipped with three dice and a burger building sheet. Taking turns, they roll the dice and creatively manipulate the numbers rolled to match the desired ingredients for their burgers. 

However, there’s a twist—the burger assembly must commence with the bottom bun equivalent to 12 and conclude with the top bun equivalent to 10, allowing flexibility in arranging the toppings between. The objective is clear: the first student to successfully assemble their burger according to the given criteria emerges as the winner, blending mathematical thinking with culinary creativity in a fun and competitive manner.

4 Geometry and measurement whole class math games

The ideas below include different fun math activities suited to geometry and measurement. These are not games in themselves but when presented with an element of competition, the activities below can leverage gamification to engage and inspire students.

23. Pattern blocks

Grade level: Grades K-5

Pattern blocks are versatile mathematical manipulatives that students can use to explore various mathematical concepts and develop important skills. These colorful blocks, typically available in shapes such as triangles, squares, rhombuses, trapezoids, and hexagons, allow students to engage in hands-on learning experiences. 

Students can use pattern blocks to develop spatial reasoning by exploring geometric relationships, identifying shapes, and creating patterns and designs. They also support the development of mathematical concepts such as symmetry, congruence, fractions, and area. 

How to play: Through activities involving sorting, classifying, composing, decomposing, and transforming shapes, students enhance their understanding of geometry, spatial visualization, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. Pattern blocks provide a tangible and interactive way for students to deepen their mathematical understanding and foster a love for learning in mathematics.

24. Stained glass window activity

Grade level: Grades 7-9

This activity encourages students to tap into their artistic side while practicing their understanding of graphing linear equations. 

How to play: Students will create a stained glass window by graphing linear equations.

Teachers will need to distribute coordinate planes or graph paper, provide pupils with the linear equations, have students graph them and add color and outlines to their designs with colored pencils and Sharpies. 

Ideas to adapt: You can provide equations already in slope-intercept form and or where students need to solve for y before graphing. 

25. Geoboards

Geoboards are hands-on mathematical tools comprising a board with pegs arranged in a grid pattern, allowing students to stretch rubber bands to create shapes and patterns. 

How to play: With geoboards, students delve into various mathematical concepts, from geometry to fractions and measurement. They explore geometric shapes, angles, symmetry, and spatial relationships while enhancing spatial reasoning skills. 

Additionally, geoboards facilitate understanding of fractions by partitioning shapes and practicing measurement through area and perimeter calculations. Moreover, students engage in problem-solving activities and unleash their creativity as they design geometric patterns and solve puzzles, making geoboards versatile tools for interactive and exploratory learning in mathematics.

26. Use LEGO bricks

Grade level: Grades 3-5

Students can use LEGO bricks to enhance their understanding of math and use them similarly to base ten blocks .

How to play: By building structures with LEGO bricks, students can explore concepts such as halves, thirds, fourths, and more by partitioning bricks into equal parts. They can create models where different colored bricks represent different fractions, allowing them to see and compare fractional relationships. 

Additionally, students can use LEGO bricks to perform operations with fractions, such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing, by combining or separating brick groups. This hands-on approach with LEGO bricks provides a concrete and tangible way for students to grasp abstract fraction concepts, fostering deeper comprehension and retention.

Teaching tips for effective whole class math games

Implementing whole classroom math games presents various challenges, necessitating careful lesson plans and delivery. Below are 7 teaching tips for effective whole class math games:

• Give clear directions: this is crucial to ensure students understand the game rules and objectives.
• Use grouping effectively: this will promote collaboration and engagement. 
• Incorporate grade-level appropriate math problems : this maintains relevance and fosters learning. 
• Diversify game formats, including board games, card games , and digital games: this will accommodate different learning preferences and enhance student interest. 
• Ensure equal participation: teachers will need to monitor carefully to involve all students actively.
• Assess and monitor progress: this enables teachers to tailor instruction and provide timely feedback, reinforcing learning. 
• Consider cognitive load theory : Reduce the complexity of tasks and optimize students’ cognitive resources for effective learning. If the game is too complicated, students may be unable to effectively solidify math concepts.

Successful implementation of whole class math games hinges on addressing these challenges through strategic planning, differentiated instruction, and ongoing support for student engagement and learning.

The array of whole class math games presented in this article reflects the growing trend of gamification in education, offering educators valuable tools to enhance student engagement and comprehension. 

By infusing traditional lessons with interactive elements such as competition, rewards, and collaboration, whole class math games motivate students while reinforcing mathematical concepts. We hope you found inspiration for your classroom, regardless of the grade level or math ability of your students.

Looking for more math games for your classroom?

• Math games for 2nd grade  
• Math games for 3rd grade
• Math games for 4th grade  
• Math games for 5th grade
• Math games for 6th grade
• Math games for 7th grade 
• Math games for 8th grade

Whole class math games FAQ

Some examples of whole classroom math games include Jeopardy, BINGO, relay races, trashketball, and a scavenger hunt.

Three quick whole classroom math games could be clap and count, 21, or mystery number.

Almost any whole class math game can be adapted for each grade level. Some popular games among middle schoolers are Jeopardy, trashketball, scavenger hunt, and escape room.

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Summer Math Activities Grades 1 to 5 Pack [FREE]

Keep math a focus for your students with these fun math games and activities to try over the summer!

The pack includes 4 separate worksheets for each grade, with different games aimed at helping students with the transition into the next grade.

Privacy Overview

Best Math Games for Kids, From Online Math Games to Math Board Games

M ath games can be a really hard sell for kids who just aren't that into, well, math. That's why we've gathered up all the best math games, from apps to board games and everything in between. These games are satisfying, engaging, and yes, they really teach math skills!

We've even included a bunch of math games you can play as a family, so everyone can feel like a part of the learning process, and it feels less like homework.

For more great board games, check out our epic list of 100 Best Board Games for Kids and Family Game Night . And if you've got a kid whose math-brain means they also love coding, we've rounded up the Best Free Coding for Kids Websites .

Best Math Apps and Mobile Games for Kids

1. khan academy kids: learning.

Ages 2-8; Google Play Store & iOS

From the educators at Khan Academy comes this app geared at elementary school-aged kids. While not limited to math, the content on numbers, counting, and shapes is high quality and engaging. 

2. Animal Math Kindergarten Math

Ages 6-8; Google Play Store & iOS

First five levels are FREE

Learn counting, addition, and subtraction while hanging out with silly animal pals! This game offers 5 free levels with download, and plenty more if you purchase the premium version.

3. Math Apps from The Math Learning Center

Various ages; Web & iOS

The Math Learning Center offers a wealth of apps from learning numbers to fractions and more. This is a great tool for supplementing schoolwork or exploring the joy of math.

4. Monster Math: Kids Fun Games

Ages 9-11; Google Play Store & iOS

FREE (offers in app purchases)

Explore a wild new world filled with monsters while learning addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Kids love elmo, and Elmo Loves 123s. Transitive property means kids love numbers. Photo courtesy of Google Play

5. Elmo Loves 123s

Ages 0-5; Google Play Store & iOS

This math app is perfect for the youngest scholars! From number tracing to Sesame Street videos and more, find all the resources you need to foster a love of math from the start.

6. Reflex Student

Ages 4+; Google Play Store, iOS, & Web

The Reflex learning system has a variety of math education features for both students and teachers. We love that this game stays engaging all the way up to eighth grade!

7. Moose Math

Learn addition, subtraction, geometry, and more while adventuring through a fun and engaging world of characters. Be sure to check out the report card section for detailed information about your child's math progress.

Best Online Math Games for Kids

8.  math playground.

Explore fun games based on early math concepts. Age-appropriate games are easy to find as they are sorted by grade level. Plus, there are a few multiplayer game options to make math even more fun.

9.  FunBrain

FunBrain has a whole host of beautifully designed STEM games, but the math content definitely shines. From basic arithmetic to games like chess and Sudoku, there's sure to be something your kid will enjoy.

10.  Crypto Club

If your kid likes a bit of a mystery, check out Crypto Club! No, not that kind of crypto... This site offers a variety of ciphers, codes, and mysterious puzzles for your kid to decrypt.

11.  Cool Math Games

Grades 6-12

Cool Math Games is a classic site for educational fun. Alongside the titular math games, the site features daily games and trivia.

Best Math Board and Card Games for Kids

Board games are a great way to make reinforcing math skills feel like a fun family activity instead of homework or a chore. For more family game night inspiration, check out our collection of the 100 best board games for families .

12. Proof! Math Game

Even if you don't typically think of mental math as fun, you'll love Proof! Find equations on the fly to collect cards and win the game.

Sumoku is a simple and fun math game for kids. Photo courtesy of the Blue Orange Store on Amazon

15. Blue Orange Sumoku

Roll dice, place tiles, and create equations in this simple and snappy math game for kids!

16.  Math Dice Jr. and Math Dice

Board games can get a little overwhelming, especially when you have to manage lots of pieces and huge rule sets. You don't have to worry about any of that with the Math Dice games. These games are straightforward and fun for kids of all ages!

17. Zingo 1-2-3

Ages 4+ 

We already love Zingo, so this math twist on the classic was an easy yes for us. Collect numbers to win!

 Kanoodle is perfect for car rides and solo play. Photo courtesy of the Educational Insights Store on Amazon 

18. Kanoodle

Ages 7+ 

Spatial reasoning and geometry are the name of the game! Well, Kanoodle is the name of the game, but it definitely reinforces math skills. This is the perfect single-player game for road trips, and it can even fit in your back pocket for on-the-go fun.

19. Zeus on the Loose

Ages 8+ 

This fast-paced card game has kids, and adults, doing math facts fast. Our family loves this game and if you hesitate in your additions or subtractions, someone at our table is bound to yell, "Think fast, play fast!" Also travels really well! (For more games you can bring in the car or stow in a suitcase, check out our roundup of the best travel games for kids .)

Disclaimer: This article contains some affiliate links, which means we might earn a small commission if you make a purchase. There is no extra cost to the reader. We only recommend products and services that we have personally used or have thoroughly researched.

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23 Decoding Activities for Early Elementary Children

Reviewed by Dr. Stanley Diih

Table of Contents

Prerequisites for learning decoding.

Online Decoding Activities and Games  

Decoding Activities Worksheets and Printables

Hands-on decoding activities and games.

Decoding is one of the quintessential parts of learning to read . It describes the action of sounding out the letters of a word to read the whole. When a child says, “buh-ah-tuh … bat,” that’s decoding.  

As kids continue learning to read, they expand basic letter-sound correspondence with more advanced phonics , learning to pronounce letter blends, vowel combinations, and use rules like “silent-e.” They also tackle high frequency words (also known as sight words ), putting all these skills together as they build up their reading fluency.  

Before children are ready to start decoding words, they must master a few key skills first. It’s vital that they feel very comfortable recognizing the letters of the alphabet and are able to identify their corresponding sound or sounds . If they’re still struggling with those skills, spend more time polishing them before you begin work on decoding activities. 

Online Decoding Activities and Games 

ABCmouse has hundreds of educational games designed to help grow math and literacy skills and more. Preview a few of the games that are focused on building decoding skills through interactive, digital play. You can check out more of our digital games here .

Puffer Fish Party  

Listen carefully to the letter sounds of the spoken word, then find the turtle whose shell has the right word printed on it. 

Lake Cleanup    

Clean up a polluted lake by selecting the items that match the spoken word.  Children practice letter-sound correspondence and environmental responsibility! 

First Letter in Line   

Get some practice with word families by changing the first letter in each word to match the picture. This is an excellent early decoding activity for young learners.  

Austin and Scout: Doors of Mystery    

Complete simple three-letter words using picture clues to help adventurers Austin and Scout unlock the Doors of Mystery! 

Tyler’s Vacation   

Practice silent-e words by helping Tyler write a letter to his friend Monica telling her all about his vacation adventures. 

Austin and Scout: Search for the Crystal Cat    

Austin and Scout need your help again, this time by making words that start with two-letter consonant blends. 

Word Bot’s Sound Sculptures   

Assemble the letters and letter blends on the seashells to make the words represented by the sand sculptures. When you’re done, the waves wash it all away and give you a new challenge. 

Blends With Friends   

Compete in Happy Harrison’s latest game show and earn points by correctly identifying letter blends using picture clues. 

Word Chop Challenge   

Chef Buggyhana needs your help chopping words into syllables! Drag the knife across the word and chop it in two, then choose which speaker icon is saying the word you just chopped. 

Secret Agent Word Trap    

Rescue your fellow secret agent from the notorious General Claw by adding or removing prefixes and suffixes from root words. 

Print out the decoding worksheets that are best suited for your child. They’re great for learning on the go or squeezing in an activity while waiting at restaurants or appointments.

Kindergarten Reading Worksheets  

Find printable worksheets for early decoding activities like word families, missing letter activities, and beginning sight words in this free set. 

First Grade Reading Worksheets  

Advance your child’s decoding skills with worksheets on vowel sounds, digraphs, consonant blends, and more. 

Second Grade Reading Worksheets  

Continue practicing decoding with these more advanced worksheets for young readers. 

These hands-on activities and games can make practicing decoding skills even more fun. Read through the list with your child and decide which games you’d like to try.

Reading Wand

Make a special “wand” to use as a pointer while reading. This keeps children’s attention focused on one word or syllable at a time. 

Write out the first and last letter of CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) or CVCe (silent-e) words, leaving a space in the middle. Take turns adding a vowel letter magnet or bead to the middle to see how many words you can create. You can do this by switching out the first or last consonants, too. 

Write out the letters of a word with chalk on the sidewalk, spacing them just a bit apart. Step onto the first letter and say its sound, then walk along saying the sounds of each letter or letter blend. Go back to the beginning and walk a little faster this time, blending the sounds together. Finally, run across the letters and say the whole word all at once! 

Race Across

Write out a word on paper and grab a toy car. Then, use the same process as the one for Word Walk, but drive the car from one letter to the next instead. 

Bead Slide Bracelets

Practice chunking words into individual letter sounds (and later, syllables) with bead bracelets strung on pipe cleaners. As kids pronounce each chunk or syllable, they physically slide a bead further along the bracelet to help them make the body-brain connection. 

Word Ladders

Start by writing a single word at the top of a piece of paper and challenge the next player to make a new word by changing any one single letter. Write the new word underneath, then hand the paper to the next player. Repeat as long as you like, with the only rule being you can’t repeat a word that’s already been used. 

Letter Scramble

Pull a handful of letter magnets or beads from a bag, then see if you can make a word with what you’ve got. Bonus if you can use every letter you pulled in the word! 

Word Journal

Give your child a notebook to carry with them called My Word Book. When you’re out and about, encourage them to look for words they can decode and read on their own. Each time they find a new one, they can write it down in their book, proudly recording their individual reading journey. 

Decodable Books

Look for books designed specifically to allow kids of specific reading levels to enjoy. Read them together with your child, celebrating their achievements. 

Learn Decoding with ABCmouse’s Reading Program

With thousands of activities to explore, the ABCmouse reading program teaches young children key literacy skills like decoding. The personalized learning path allows kids to progress at their own page, keeping them engaged and motivated. Explore the ABCmouse Reading Program and sign up today ! 

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