39 best apps for toddlers

Your kids can build all kinds of things, like a windmill, a tractor and a bird, by matching the colourful 3-D shapes. Free, itunes.ca

One person hides the phone and the others must listen for its sound, whether it’s mooing or neighing. First one to find it wins! $1, play.google.com

Put your kids in the driver’s seat with Jinja the cat and watch them go on fun-filled adventures. With over 10 cars to choose from and six magical places to explore. $4, itunes.ca

A chubby little worm and a cute snowflake make learning to write letters fun and easy in this interactive tracing game. $3, itunes.ca

Enjoy teaching your kids to read with this fun, phonics-based game. They’ll spell words they’ve read, sound out simple words and make the connection between sounds and letters. $5, itunes.ca

Kids love to tinker and fix! Get them to help the Sago Mini friends build tons of fun projects with simple tools like hammers, saws, and wrenches. $4, itunes.ca

Your tots will love learning the alphabet with this easy-to-use game. They’ll solve puzzles, trace the letters of the alphabet, improve their hand-eye cordination and much more. Free, itunes.ca

Help your kids with their memory, focus and reasoning skills with this fun game designed by neuroscientists. Free, itunes.ca

Head out on adventures with your very own cartoon spud and 200 mix-and-match parts. $6, itunes.ca

Grover and Elmo are excited to teach your kids reading and logic skills in this animated storybook. $6, itunes.ca 

Doctors designed this app to help kids on the autism spectrum improve their facial recognition abilities and make better eye contact. You can customize the music and voice recognition to suit your childrens’ preferences, and they’ll earn points and rubies as they progress. Free, play.google.ca

Designed by teachers, this reading app features new content added every month. Your kid will build over 50 skills including phonics, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary. $8/month with the first month free. itunes.ca

Treehouse subscribers can now get Dora and the Bubble Guppies anywhere with TreehouseGO, an app that lets you play your kid’s favourite TV shows on demand. Free, play.google.com, itunes.ca

Zac the rat can’t wait to help your kids learn how to read! Through his many games, movies and songs, your kids will eventually master the relationship between spoken and written words. $4, itunes.ca

Choo-choo! Your little conductor can build his own train before heading out to pick up his cargo—be sure to go to the zoo to collect the animals. Free, itunes.ca

Kids can learn how to read while playing hide and seek, collecting stickers and earning stars with Mozzarella the mouse and his best friend Coco the bird. $3, itunes.ca 

What better way to develop creativity and encourage learning than with CBeebies very own Charlie and Lola. Kids can dress Charlie, Lola, Marv and Lotta up, make music and build their own little town. $4, itunes.ca

In this story building app, your child will become the star of his or her own adventure with the help of Curious George. $4, itunes.ca

The alphabet comes to life in this hands-on app that helps kids expand their vocabulary. $4, itunes.ca

Your tot will love watching over five toddlers, exploring interactive rooms and finding treasures. $4, itunes.ca

Join the Sago Mini Superhero, Jack the Rabbit, and help him explore on his adventures! $4, itunes.ca

There’s a monster on the loose! Help Artie save the day by matching dots, tracing shapes and getting creative. $4, itunes.ca

Ready, set, build! Create a house with building blocks and see some surprises pop up along the way. $2, itunes.ca

Go on an exciting journey with the whole family around a tiny alien world. Earn badges while taking tons of pictures. $3, itunes.ca

The uppercase letters have been separated from their lowercase partners and it’s up to your kids to bring them back together. They’ll get help from Curious George and The Man with the Yellow Hat. Together they’ll search high and low for all the letters and once they find them, they’ll trace them out and match them up. $4, itunes.ca 

Teach your kids empathy and encourage an understanding, confident, and creative personality with this app that helps kids grasp why people are different. $4, itunes.ca

Get rolling in this cool game that combines fun with physics and logic. Kids can guide their colourful Thinkrolls through vertical mazes by moving the objects around them—expand an accordion to create a bridge or use a barrel to float across water. With more than one solution, this game encourages kids to learn through trial and error. $4, play.google.com. $6, itunes.ca 

Kids can join Beck and Bo on a ride-along spelling adventure. They’ll see mind blowing things like the letter E being hatched from an egg or the letter K jumping out of a kangaroo’s pouch and, in the process, will learn how to associate letters with words. $4, itunes.ca

Meet some very adorable monsters that would love to teach your kids the alphabet and how to read in this interactive educational app. Free, play.google.com

Reading is fun with Ooka Island’s more than 1,000 games and 85 eBooks for kids in preschool to grade two. Free, itunes.ca

The PBS Kids show Dinosaur Train comes to life in this fun early spelling app. $3, itunes.ca

Take a trip around the world to meet more than 100 different cute wildlife pals! Match animal patterns in the jungle, play letter games in the Arctic and more. $3, itunes.ca

If your preschooler needs a little help learning their first words and mastering handwriting, this award-winning app might do the trick. It rewards kids with certificates for great work, and you can also receive weekly emails that help you monitor their progress as your little one learns how to write letters with her fingers. $10, itunes.ca

Your kids can play more than 10 educational mini-games to help Cookie Monster build a delicious machine. $2, itunes.ca 

Help your child develop their handwriting skills with Trace It, Try It! Guided and independent letter and number tracing will allow your child to practice handwriting in a fun and engaging way. $4, itunes.ca

In Cookie Monster’s alphabet kitchen, your child will bake words into tasty cookies and decorate them too! With the help of Chef Elmo, your child will learn how to combine letters to create words. $4, itunes.ca

Sing along to classic nursery rhymes from your childhood! Read along narration will help your child learn the words to favourites such as Old MacDonald, The Wheels on the Bus, Humpty Dumpty, and more! Free, itunes.ca

Everyday objects are transformed into musical instruments in Duckie Deck Homemade Orchestra! Your child will explore their creative thinking by combining different homemade instruments to play songs. $4, itunes.ca

In this digital playspace for kids, your child will sort, feed, and keep track of colourful critters all while developing their cognitive, motor, and attention skills. Free, itunes.ca

Read more: 31 best apps for preschoolers 16 best spelling apps 11 cool STEM apps for kids