Children have endless excitement and creativity to learn when they are young and and it’s up to us, as parents, to foster that creativity in unique and fun ways. We’ve chosen Best Educational Products for Elementary Aged Kids because making sure kids are having fun and sparking their creativity will help mould a child’s brain for years to come.
In order to be a Parents’ Picks Award Winner, these products go through a rigorous approval process with over 50 criteria, including thinking skills, character building, engagement, ease of use, innovativeness, quality, durability, and creative thinking. These products come highly recommended and we hope you will love these award winning elementary school products as much as we do. With over three hundred applications, we took extensive time with each product to whittle it down to our top picks. Here are our 2020 Parents’ Picks for the Best Educational Products for Preschool & Elementary Aged Kids in 2020.
NOTE: THESE ARE LISTED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER. ALL PRODUCTS ARE FANTASTIC.
“Heartsongs of the Rainbow” is the first album of its kind created by a pediatric speech pathologist with the aim of uplifting, inspiring, nurturing and supporting those who need it the most, the Special Needs Community. Each song allows children the opportunity to learn and demonstrate simple physical and gestural movements as well as to vocalize with repetitive, easy to make sounds. Targeted at young children with special needs, this album uses positive reinforcement to encourage children to move their mouths and strengthen vocal abilities through singing and helps children find their authentic voice through the magic of song.
HUE Animation Studio contains everything that a budding animator needs to create stop motion animation videos. For use at home or for school projects, this is a creative and educational pastime that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Language Together Set 1 is a confidence-inspiring set of first readers for children ages 3 to 8 who are beginning to learn a new language. Developed with teachers, the Spot Color Immersion Method® combines picture cues, simple sentences, humor, repetition and a story-based approach.
Beginners soon read each page on their own or with the online audio narration by a native speaker (stream online or download the MP3). When children finish their first book—then all ten—they are filled with a sense of accomplishment and empowerment. They will often exclaim with pride, “I finished this little story on my own—in a new language!” Available in Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese and English.
Set 1 introduces the building blocks of language, with each reader focused on a theme: Family, Animals, Clothing, Colors, Face/Body, Fruit, Numbers, Shapes, Snacks, Toys.
Winner of the 2019 Brain Child Award, Academics’ Choice Award and Mom’s Choice Award.
Language Together Set 2 is an award-winning, confidence-building set of first readers for children ages 3 to 8 who are beginning to learn a new language. Developed with teachers, the Spot Color Immersion Method® combines picture cues, simple sentences, humor, repetition and a story-based approach.
Beginners soon read each page on their own or with the online audio narration by a native speaker (stream online or download the MP3). When children finish their first book—then all ten—they are filled with a sense of accomplishment and empowerment. They will often exclaim with pride, “I finished this little story on my own—in a new language!” Set 2 is available in Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese (Simplified or Traditional).
Set 2 continues to build vocabulary and pre-reading skills. Themes include: Food, Verbs, Tableware, Art supplies, Feelings, Nature, Jobs, Furniture, Bedtime, and a Surprise delivery.
Mochi is a screenless coding experience that combines playful storytelling, hands-on coding and a cuddly bear to teach kids as young as 3 the fundamentals of coding and computational thinking. Children code on their physical programming board (Mochi Board) using physical wooden blocks (Mochi Blocks) to direct Mochi the bear and his Mochi Bot where to go. Kids explore the universe and learn colors, numbers, letters, basic words and many other subjects with the Mochi story library that comes with 12 books! With Mochi, our children can have healthy and safe play experiences while learning the basics of coding in the process. In addition, screenless play protects our children’s eyes and sparks their imagination. By using physical items, Mochi as able to show difficult and abstract ideas through simple steps you can touch and manipulate.
The Speech Blubs app is interactive, educational, and fun tool that helps pre-school kids jump start their speaking. This SLP-approved app is based on the science of mirror neurons and video modelling to get kids speaking along with face filters, stickers, educational videos, etc . Parents also like it because it offers quality smart screen time. Speech Therapists (SLPs) recommend it because parents can: engage with their child, let him/her be in charge, practice with them on a regular basis, role play like there’s no tomorrow, take lots of pictures, and bribe their child with digital candy!
Speech Blubs has 25 sections with over 1,500 activities (including new words weekly, building sentences, numbers, colours, songs, etc.), and most importantly, it includes children in the videos. It teaches children about so many different topics(animals, stars, planets, dinosaurs, home, clothes, etc.) and includes a ton of funny and educational videos.
Channies Easy Peasy Alphabet will simplify Alphabet learning & teaching – Visual Handwriting Worksheets, Tracing & Writing Practice for each letter in one combined workbook. Each letter has two pages of tracing and one page of writing for reinforcing what has been learned. Channie’s Visual Green Shade guides lower case position, double dividing lines guide for proper spacing. Includes instruction Sheet for Printing Handwriting.
CTCMath is a full curriculum that specializes in providing online video tutorials that take a multi-sensory approach to learning. Favorably reviewed in Cathy Duffy’s 102 Top Picks and The Old Schoolhouse Crew Review, the lessons are short and concise to help your student break down concepts and appreciate math in a whole new way!
Each one of the video tutorials is taught by the internationally acclaimed teacher, Pat Murray, who is renowned for teaching math concepts in a simple, easy-to-understand way (and in only a few minutes at a time). Using a multi-sensory approach having the combination of effective graphics and animation synchronized with the voice of a friendly teacher together with a practical assessment. This three-pronged attack makes learning so much easier and more effective. Even students who struggled with math are getting fantastic results! And ones who were doing OK before are now doing brilliantly.
Dough Circuit Piano – Create music using dough as a conductor! The piano module sends out safe electrical signals. When you touch both the ground pin and any of the dough strips attached to the piano module, your body transmits the electrical signal and completes a circuit which triggers the unique sound. You become part of the circuit!
Top Student provides hundreds of activities and practice pages to keep children challenged and excited as they strengthen their skills across all curriculum areas. Top Student activities provide practice of the most important skills for each grade level, as well as opportunities for critical thinking and creativity. Colorful and creative practice pages and hands-on activities provide engaging practice to keep children motivated to learn!
Core subject areas and topics include:
Phonics
Handwriting
Grammar and punctuation
Spelling and vocabulary
Reading
Writing
Mindful moments
Math
Computer science
Science
STEM
Social studies
Social and emotional learning
These robust workbooks also include:
Reward stickers
Informational posters
Mindful moments meditations and activities with downloadable audio*
Information and activities about a variety of countries, cultures, and global communities
*Mindful moments with audio help children incorporate reflection and meditation into their academic life.
Protons and Neutrons: Jump into the awesomeness of chemistry! Learn alongside a curious young protagonist as she discovers some of the mind-blowing achievements of women in chemistry, from ancient times to modern day. For ages 7-10.
Women in Chemistry: Jump into the awesomeness of chemistry! Learn alongside a curious young protagonist as she discovers some of the mind-blowing achievements of women in chemistry, from ancient times to modern day. For ages 7-10.
Daily Summer Activities – Even during the carefree months of summer, children can be preparing for the next grade with Daily Summer Activities. It’s packed with engaging activities that will build learners’ confidence for the next grade level by practicing essential skills. Activities offer practice of essential skills across subject areas, including reading, math, writing, spelling, and geography. With just one or two activities per day over a 10-week period, Daily Summer Activities helps to keep skills sharp without getting in the way of vacation time. Activities include open-ended questions to develop your child’s critical thinking skills. Fun reward stickers are also included. This series is available for grades PreK-8.
Code Cube – Code Cube is a unique coding solution not based around a robot that is equally appealing to both boys and girls since it can be customized to their liking. Students can program the LED screen to be unique to their tastes using different colors, patterns, and animations. And the built-in accelerometer and speaker enable students to code their own sound output, meaning they can create their own song or program the sounds to correspond to movement.
Consisting of a 64-pixel LED screen and accompanied by a snap-on wearable piece, Code Cube functions as a worn accessory such as a wristband, anklet, bag charm, or anything else students can imagine!
Smart Start Read and Write – Help young children become a readers and writers with Smart Start: Read and Write! Developed by teachers, the colorful activities provide the perfect combination of fun and practice to give your child the foundation needed for academic success.
The grade PreK Smart Start: Read and Write workbook helps your child learn the alphabet and progress to learning letter sounds and writing upper- and lowercase letters.
• Accelerate your child’s reading progress: 20 easy-to-follow weekly lessons build alphabet awareness and develop reading readiness skills.
• Creative and fun lessons: Keep your child entertained while learning.
• Reward stickers: Motivate your child to complete the activities.
• Audio stories: Provide an option to listen to the audio story with your child.
The activity book is organized into weekly lessons around letters of the alphabet and an alphabet character such as “Andy the Ant” and “Jackie the Jaguar.”
All-in-One Homeschool Curriculum – This award-winning digital solution for K-12 homeschooling is our favorite homeschool curriculum we’ve ever reviewed. Their curriculum is comprehensive and provides everything you need to educate your child from the comfort of your own home. With engaging lessons, interactive activities, and teaching guides for parents, it is the most cost-effective way to a fantastic education for your kids. For just $29.99 per grade (when on sale), it is a fantastic solution for parents that are looking for a complete curriculum without breaking the bank. The course work can be completed on a computer, tablet or by printing the lessons for your student. Learn more at https://allinonecurriculum.com/.
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about each of these amazing products. From building kits, to imaginative play, to character education and apps, these products are sure to get your kids excited about learning a new skill and being a better, more well rounded individual.