When I was a kid, “being creative” involved huge boxes of broken crayons, construction paper, Play-doh, and glitter among other things. I usually had to clear a big space on the dining room table, don a smock, and spend a lot of time cleaning up afterward. It was a big production and sometimes deterred me from wanting to do it in the first place. Nowadays, there are hundreds of apps available that allow kids to be creative. Although they may not provide the same type of satisfaction as getting covered in paint and glue, they do allow for kids to learn, explore, and grow. They’re also portable and clean, and you’ll never get stuck with all one color that you don’t use very often. Here are 5 fun education apps to promote creativity.
- Faces iMake
Designed for kids around age five, this colorful app allows the user to make faces out of everyday objects. The user is able to choose from a wide range of images of everything from fruit to pots and pans to Russian nesting dolls.
- DIY
This free app for kids ages eight and up lets the user share projects that they created with others, get ideas, and earn badges for skills they’ve mastered. It covers everything from coding to farming. Some suggested projects may require outside purchases, but there are several that require nothing but imagination.
- Algodoo
Algodoo is an app that allows the user to create moving 2-dimensional scenes out of cartoony objects such as gears, shapes, and chains. You can also add physical elements such as water, light refraction, and gravity. This app is great for teaching science concepts and encouraging creativity at the same time. It is designed for students ages 11 and up.
- Sketchbook Pro
Sketchbook Pro is drawing and painting software, and this app brings it right to your phone or tablet. The user is able to create drawings and paintings, but can also incorporate 3-dimensional shapes in order to teach and show perspective. This app is designed for students ages 13 and up, and it’s great for those kids who always seem to be doodling or drawing cartoon characters on their notebooks.
- Procreate
Procreate is an illustration app with gorgeous visuals. It is considered to be the best in the industry and has a myriad of high-level next-generation features. This app would be great for the student who is starting to get serious about art. The only hitch is that it is exclusively for the iPad.