Whether it’s discovering a foreign language, learning to read, or brushing up on social studies, here are our favorite online learning platforms to teach kids of all ages.
Best for Early Learning
ABC Mouse
With more than 950 lessons in math, reading, science, social studies, and art, ABC Mouse is a great overall learning platform for kids ages 2 to 8.
We are living in a new age of widespread remote, online learning.
Whether it’s homeschool parents turning to online resources to help plan lessons, new families looking for activities for their housebound kids over the summer, or high schoolers looking for additional test prep help, the internet is becoming a virtual classroom for a growing number of kids. And the good news is, the quality of online learning platforms has only grown to meet this demand.
Some offer games that teach young children in a fun, engaging way that barely feels like school, while others offer in-depth curriculums in foreign languages for students whose parents only speak one language.
So what should you look for when searching for a good online learning platform? The answer, of course, depends a little on the student you’re looking for, but in general, all good online learning platforms should meet the following criteria:
They should be educational. This means they shouldn’t be weighed down with a bunch of advertisements or distractions. The games should mostly — if not entirely — be focused on teaching.
They should be safe. This means that they should protect your kids data and not expose them to strangers who could harm them.
They should allow you or the child to track their progress. Some will do this with a parental tracker. Others will offer grades. But monitoring progress is key so that kids can see how they’re improving and know where they need to improve.
They should be clear about what age they’re geared for. Nothing can hamper a kid’s self-esteem or confidence faster than material that is way too hard. Similarly, material that is too easy can bore children. To make sure that neither of these scenarios occur, parents should know what ages the content is made for so they can help pick an age-appropriate platform.
For younger children, you’ll also want to prioritize platforms that make learning fun or that offer rewards or achievements for every lesson they complete. That way they’ll feel encouraged and engaged.
Here are some of our favorite online learning platforms for kids that meet these criteria:
ABC Mouse
With more than 950 lessons in math, reading, science, social studies, and art, ABC Mouse is a great overall learning platform for kids ages 2 to 8.-
Age Appropriate for:
2 to 8 -
Subjects:
Reading, math, science, social studies, art
ABC Mouse is a subscription-based, learning-through-play educational platform aimed at children ages 2 to 8. It teaches kids math, science, reading, social studies, and art through 850 different lessons made up of games, puzzles, animations, books, and songs.
To keep it fun, the platform is laid out a little bit like a kids video game. Kids start by creating their own avatar and their teacher’s avatar. Then they enter their virtual classroom, which is fully interactive, allowing them to choose from over 9,000 different activities, such as reading books, creating art projects, completing puzzles, or singing songs. They can also earn tickets for completing lessons, which is a fun incentivizing tool because those tickets allow them to “buy” virtual items.
Because it is subscription based, parents can rest assured knowing that there are no pop-up ads and no external links to take children off site. There is also a way for parents to track their children’s progress. It also offers the ability to test the platform for free for 30 days so you can make sure it holds your little one’s attention before you buy.
Adventure Academy
Adventure Academy makes learning fun for elementary-school children with an immersive educational world.-
Age Appropriate for:
8 to 13 -
Subjects:
Language arts, math, science, social studies -
Monthly fee:
$9.99
Created by the same company that made ABCmouse, Adventure Academy keeps the fun going with an immersive, virtual educational world aimed at kids 8 to 13. Kids create their own avatar and in-game home before embarking on a series of games designed to teach them everything from geometry to reading comprehension, science to geography. To keep kids incentivized to move through lessons, players earn coins for everything they complete, which they can then use to dress their avatar or decorate their house. Also, much like a video game, kids can play with their friends in this virtual world but parents can rest easy because they’re doing so in a safe environment.
Hooked on Phonics
This “learn to read” program is a classic, helping your young reader learn to read and write with confidence through short, fun lessons and games.-
Age Appropriate for:
Pre-K to Second Grade -
Subjects:
Reading -
Packages start at:
$269.99
There’s a reason you’ve heard of Hooked on Phonics: more than 5 million parents and teachers have used this award-winning program, which was developed by education experts. And now, the learn-to-read program is online.
Early readers can learn to read and write through a series of 20-minute or less sessions that include videos, interactive games, and illustrated stories. With your subscription, you get unlimited access to their “Learn to Read” app, a workbook, 2-3 storybooks, celebration stickers, discussion questions to strengthen reading comprehension, and tips for parents to help extend their kids’ reading. The app can be used offline and on multiple devices, supports multiple users, and gives children achievements as they complete lessons.
ReadingIQ
With over 7,000 books for kids of all reading levels, ReadingIQ offers kids access to their own personal library.-
Age Appropriate for:
Under 2 to 12 -
Subjects:
Reading -
Monthly fee:
$7.99
Books — even kid books — can get expensive quickly if you’re buying them often enough, so if you have a voracious reader on your hands, you’ll love ReadingIQ.
This app is available for tablets, phones, and computers and it offers kids access to over 7,000 books of all different reading levels, from picture books for pre-readers to chapter books and graphic novels for independent readers. It features lots of fun titles by great publishers, including Disney, National Geographic, and Marvel, as well as subject books on math, mythology, history, and science. Award winning books that have won the Caldecott and Newbery Medal are also featured. Early readers can get some guided help when they read too. Best of all, parents can track their children’s reading habits.
ReadingIQ is free for the first 30 days, so you can give it a try and make sure it suits your family.
Reading Eggs
This platform will teach your child to read then help them hone their vocabulary and comprehension skills.-
Age Appropriate for:
2 to 13 -
Subjects:
Reading -
Monthly fee:
$9.95
One Learning Eggs parent reviewer Kashmir Campbell writes:
“Reading Eggs was exactly what we needed to help “flip the switch” for my 5-year-old kindergartener when it came to reading. In just a few short months she’s reading anything and everything she sees.”
Mathseeds
This app makes math fun for young learners with interactive games and puzzles.-
Age Appropriate for:
3 to 9 -
Subjects::
Math -
Monthly fee:
$9.95
Making learning fun for kids can be a challenging task, especially when it comes to math. Brought to you by the same company that created Reading Eggs, Mathseeds is a platform for kids ages 3 to 9 that focuses on teaching math, shapes, and time through interactive games. To help gauge your child’s math level, it starts with a short quiz, then places your child in an interactive classroom full of puzzles and games to enhance their core math and problem solving skills. It also includes a parent dashboard so you can track your kid’s progress. One nice additional perk: you can try Mathseeds for 30 days for free before subscribing to make sure it engages your child.
Babbel
This affordable foreign language learning platform will help kids hone their conversational skills quickly.-
Age Appropriate for:
K-12 and beyond -
Subjects:
Foreign Language -
Monthly fee:
$6.95
Babbel is an online foreign language platform that will help subscribers learn one of several different languages, including French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Turkish, Dutch, Swedish, Polish, Norwegian, Indonesian, and Danish. It positions itself as the language learning platform that helps best build your conversational language skills — something that high schoolers might find appealing, especially if they’ve been hit with a serious case of wanderlust.
Babbel is more affordable than many other foreign language learning platforms and often has great deals. (One recently featured three months of free access to K-12 students and college students to help kids use their time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic to learn a new language.) However, while technically suitable for all ages, Babbel will likely be more appealing to older children (middle school-age, high school-age or college) because the emphasis is very much on learning versus. games and younger children are likely to lose interest quickly.
Rosetta Stone Homeschool
Designed for the home-school student, this platform is meant to help students learn a foreign language intuitively.-
Age Appropriate for:
High schoolers -
Subjects:
Foreign Language -
Yearly fee:
$169
Rosetta Stone reviewer David. A writes:
“Love the way RS works. It’s simple, logical, and builds up language skills in a progressive and effective manner.”
Exam Edge
This no-thrills platform is designed to prep High School students to pass their certification exams with the help of practice questions on 52 different subjects from 875 different exams.-
Age Appropriate for:
High Schoolers -
Subjects:
Multiple -
Price:
Varies depending on test
When it comes to passing a high school exam, you don’t need fun learning games. You need real practice exams and that is exactly what Exam Edge does. As a leader in exam prep for a variety of professions, their high school exam prep program offers students practice questions and test prep on 52 different subjects from 15 testing groups so that students walk into their actual exam feeling confident and prepared.