App guides
Which app for which child, compared honestly — including where ours is not the right answer.
All app guides resources
GuideThe seven things that matter, what to watch while your child practices, and how to pick the best one for you.
GuideAn honest comparison from a phonics app developer, including where our own app falls short.
GuideYou can teach a child to read without paying anything. What is worth using, and the one point at which paying starts to make sense.
GuideABCmouse is built as a broad early-learning program. We compare it with reading-focused alternatives by price, teaching approach, engagement, and the kind of practice each one does best.
GuideWhat to use after Khan Academy Kids or Duolingo ABC, based on where each free app stops and what your child needs next.
GuideWhat the app and the box plans cost, how it teaches, its drawbacks, what parents say, and the alternatives for the price.
GuideWhat comes with free videos and reading games, what paying removes, and where to find reading practice without ads.
GuideHow to spot a game that actually helps your child learn to read, the best ones for each stage from letter sounds to first books, and the popular apps that are mostly play.
How-toGuideSome kids' learning apps work offline as a whole, and some keep an offline corner. How to tell the difference, a five-minute airplane-mode test, and how five apps did when we tested them.
GuideWhat Starfall's free version covers, why families look elsewhere, and the apps and sites to try instead.
GuideThe useful question is not which app is best. It is which one fits your child right now.
How-toGuideFive practical checks for ads, purchases, and privacy, plus what COPPA means for your child's data.
GuideSight words take weeks of practice, so the app has to be one your child comes back to. How each kind works, who it suits, and where we fit in.
GuideHow to choose a phonics program for home, including homeschool: what each format asks of you, six things to check in any program, and the most popular programs compared.
WorksheetsHow-toGuideIf your child uses Lexia, i-Ready, or Amplify at school, you can usually use the same program at home, help during its lessons, and practice the skills it teaches in about 10 minutes.
How-toGuideA ranking of the three tablet platforms for a child aged 2–8, from a developer that ships a children's app on all three app stores.
GuideHandwriting Without Tears is our top pick for most children from pre-K to 2nd grade. What each program does well, what it costs, and why a writing order is not a reading order.
GuideHow to choose help for a struggling reader in kindergarten through second grade, ranked by how much teaching each option provides.
GuideWhat a child needs from a reading app changes sharply between 3 and 7. What each age needs, what to avoid, and which apps fit.
ExplainerGuideWhat reading apps do well, where they fall short, and how to tell if one can help your child.
GuideNo app is certified as following the science of reading. Here is what the research asks for, what each app says about its own method, and the checks you can run yourself in 10 minutes.
WorksheetsHow-toExplainerGames you can start in the next minute, and the one thing that separates an ABC game that teaches reading from one that teaches the alphabet song.
How-toExplainerThere is no single research-proven order for teaching letters. Here is the sequence we use, why we chose it, and a five-minute way to assess any program.
