Parents need every tool in their arsenal to beat the heat, combat boredom and make those life-long memories over summer vacation. Now Amazon is here to help with a handy new feature, Appstore Family, which will make your life, and summer, much easier.

What You Can Expect from the Appstore Family
The new Appstore Family puts all your favorite kids’ apps and games for Amazon Fire tablet in one easy-to-search place that breaks the options down into categories, like Education, Entertainment and Games. Not only can parents and kids browse all of the games and apps available, but it makes it easy to buy those apps with a few quick clicks using your Amazon account.

Additionally you can subscribe to the Appstore Family newsletter, which will keep you in the loop on deals and new app launches (so you can totally be the cool, in-the-know mom). Here are some of the ways you can use Appstore Family to help you survive, and your kids thrive, during summer vacation.

Avoid Summer Brain Drain

The dreaded summer brain drain is one of the most challenging aspects of summer. You want your kids to be free of the burdens of school, but you also want them to head back prepared and ready to move forward. Educational apps, like ABCMouse.com Early Learning Academy, give kids the best of both worlds. The app features thousands of games and activities that teach kids math, reading, social studies and art in a way that feels like play time.

The app is also designed to help kids progress and encourages them to move forward by earning rewards as they meet challenges along a step-by-step learning path. They’ll be excited to play games on their Amazon Fire tablet and earn rewards, but they will also be learning and keeping those minds working while they have fun. It’s really a no-brainer.

Beat the Heat

While summer sun means plenty of outdoor play, sometimes the heat is just too much and you have to seek refuge indoors. A little bit of screen time can keep the boredom bug away when you’re stuck inside. However, you don’t have to sacrifice creative play for entertainment. Apps like the Toca Life series give kids tools for opened-ended, imaginative play all at the touch of their fingertips.

Toca Life: World combines access to all of the Toca Life apps in one place, allowing imaginations and pretend play to soar with the ability to mix and match all of the locations and characters from each of the individual apps. You can also select and buy even more characters and locations in the new app, which has over 50 locations and 300 characters available to purchase.

Travel in Comfort

Summer vacations offer priceless family memories, but the journey to get to your destination isn’t always snapshot-worthy when you’re traveling with kids. Long car rides and airplane travel can leave kids antsy and bored. You probably don’t have room to bring along your entire toy box, but you can load your Amazon Fire tablet with entertainment-packed apps, like the NOGGIN app.

Kids will find all of their favorite Nickelodeon characters and shows all in one place, free from advertising. In addition to over 1,500 episodes of shows like Peppa Pig and PAW Patrol, the app also features educational videos hosted by kid-favorites Moose and Zee. Altogether there’s more than enough to keep your kids content, and even learning, while you sit in traffic or wait in long lines trying to make it to your summer destination.

Whether you’re looking to keep your kids learning in an exciting way that feels more like play than homework, or you need to entertain your kids when it’s too hot to go out and play, Appstore Family has everything you need in one easy-to-access place. All of the newest and most popular apps for kids ages three to 12 can be easily browsed either on the web or right on your Amazon Fire tablet.

Gear up for summer and check out all the games and apps available through Appstore Family right here.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

All photos: Courtesy of Amazon