We’ve all heard it: Preschool is the new kindergarten, and kindergarten, the new first grade, meaning that kids are increasingly expected to master basic academic skills earlier than in the past.
Early childhood education has always been important, but in this step-it-up age we’re in, giving kids a strong start is arguably more important than ever. But it’s not just about meeting milestones and checking off boxes. Maria Montessori once said, “The goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child’s own natural desire to learn.”
Part of kids’ motivation and excitement these days comes from exploring digital activities. As parents, part of our challenge is striking a balance between how much screen time is too much and distinguishing “smart screen time,” also called mindful screen time, from more passive, less purposeful time spent on devices.
With those challenges in mind, School Zone, a trusted leader in early learning for nearly 50 years, created Anywhere Teacher, an online learning program with award-winning content for ages 2-8. Developed by teachers, it brings out kids’ “natural desire to learn” and gives both kids and parents plenty of choices for personalizing the learning.
Meet Anywhere Teacher: learning made fun & flexible
Screen time has become a catch-all phrase for a wide range of very different activities. Camber® Mental Health suggests that screen time typically falls into one of these 5 categories: passive utilization (watching vs. interacting, i.e., TV, movies, YouTube, etc.), interactive utilization (games, web surfing), communication (social media, Facetime, Zoom), creation (using devices to make art, music, or videos), and educational (learning activities, research, online classes, etc.).
They remind, “Children are unique, and so are their interactions with technology,” adding that “there’s no one-size-fits-all approach” to technology use.
Anywhere Teacher, with 3000+ activities and multiple ways to learn and explore, is ideal for meeting kids where they are in their academic growth and development. It features a parent dashboard that enables easy activity selection by skill or type, as well as progress tracking. Additionally, one subscription allows kids of different ages and skill levels to use the program simultaneously on multiple devices. (A school subscription allows teachers to do the same with an entire class!) And while its focus is on education, Anywhere Teacher has lots of activities that promote creativity.
Here are a few key benefits of Anywhere Teacher:
• Introduces core concepts – kids build a curriculum-based foundation in language and math skills, along with lessons in science, social studies.
• Offers self-paced learning – selecting skills that need more practice is easy, and it adapts to each child’s learning pace and style, offering activities that grow with them.
• Encourages positive behavior – in addition to building essential early reading and math skills, Anywhere Teacher includes fun activities for developing social-emotional learning (SEL) skills.
• Promotes growth mindset – quick feedback and easy do-overs build confidence.
• Supports school curriculum – kids learn what they need to know when they need to know it.
• Teaches critical thinking – a wide range of activities invite kids to apply reasoning and evaluation skills.
• Encourages independent learning – kids can work on their own in a safe, ad-free environment.
• Delivers flexible, anytime, anywhere learning – access it at home, during travel, or while waiting for appointments.
What makes Anywhere Teacher stand out?
The number of online learning apps and platforms has grown rapidly. Many are high quality, and some excel in particular areas. However, in addition to School Zone’s nearly 50-year leadership in crafting educational tools, Anywhere Teacher stands out in several ways.
Gotta’ love it kid-friendly features:
• Creative, Colorful, Comprehensive Content: Anywhere Teacher covers reading, math, spelling, critical thinking, and more using songs, videos, games, flash cards, storybooks, interactive and printable worksheets. It even has entire episodes and segments from Charlie & Company, School Zone’s live-action and animation series.
• Guided Adventure Paths: These step-by-step paths cover the full preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade curriculum with fun, engaging activities.
• Mini Paths: These guided paths concentrate on key subjects or skills such as the alphabet, numbers, or multiplication—focused learning that’s effective and fun.
• Two Reward Play Zones: Using play reward tokens, kids can “spend” them in the Original Play Zone to create a variety of scenes, for example, a cow sticker in a farm scene, or meet new furry, and feathered friends in the Pet Play Zone that become virtual pets they can feed, groom, and care for—just like real ones!
• Personalized Experience: Kids get multiple playful, engaging ways to learn, easily tailored to their needs.
• Adorable Avatars: Littles can choose 40 cute characters that change with the seasons to represent themselves.
• Filters for Favorites: Kids can select any icon on the homepage filter to view ALL activities of that kind. They can turn on/off grades, activities, or subjects (unless turned off in their profile) by selecting them.
• Free Membership Gifts: Subscribers get periodic gifts. Some are fun printable activities sent to you by email. Other gifts are learning products mailed to your home.
Gotta’ love it parent-friendly features:
• Ad-Free Play That’s Safe and Secure: Designed by educators with child safety in mind, Anywhere Teacher provides age-appropriate, educational content in a secure, ad-free environment.
• Easy Content Navigation: Educational activities are sorted by grade & subject.
• Lessons Aligned to National Curriculum: No guessing needed.
• Custom Options & Personalization for Each Child: One subscription allows up to 12 unique profiles.
• Progress Tracking for Each Child: Get at-a-glance feedback on each child’s progress and activity completion. See where more practice is needed and where moving ahead might be useful.
• Filters for Priorities: Apply preferred selections just for now, until the next login. Or use the Save Quick Filters option to store them in your child’s profile. Change age, skill, or activity type easily.
• Portability: Kids have anytime, anywhere access with wi-fi availability.
• Multiple Subscription Plans: Choose from monthly, 6-month (42% savings), or 12-month (62% savings)
For an overview of several digital learning tools on the market, go to this Anywhere Teacher page and check out our Best Educational Apps Comparison Table.
Hear from parents themselves
Of course, what speaks loudest is the user experience. Parents who subscribe to Anywhere Teacher report great results. Here are just a few comments from reviews:
“Anywhere Teacher is my number one choice as both a mom of young kids and an early elementary educator. Kids love accessing both free-play options and the learning paths that align [with] school curriculums.”
“I absolutely love this app for my littles to have fun learning. As well as being able to print out papers for actual homework. I tell all my momma friends about this app!!!”
“My son has learned SO MUCH in just a few short weeks. He looks forward to each session and I feel so great about the time he spends learning rather than staring blankly into a screen watching a youtube [sic] video.”
See what other parents say by going to Anywhere Teacher.
Build a lifelong love of learning
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) says, “A child’s early years can have lifelong physical, social, and emotional impacts.” Clearly, the importance of starting early and using the right tools to build essential skills and a growth mindset for kids cannot be underestimated. American Public University notes, “During these formative years, a child's brain is like a sponge, absorbing new information and experiences at a remarkable rate.” They add, “It is important to provide children with stimulating environments and projects to enhance their cognitive abilities during their preschool years.
Today’s kids love their devices, and that’s not going to change. Mindful, interactive screen time is far different from passive, just-to-pass-the-time use. Anywhere Teacher inspires imagination and creativity, offers learning on the go, delivers award-winning content, supports different learning styles, and supplements school lessons.
For playful, purposeful screen time, give Anywhere Teacher a try and let us know what you think.
