best apps for homeworkSo many apps are time wasters, even though they're a blast. But the smart ones out there can give your kid an edge in every subject she'll be studying this fall. Rather than using her iPhone for texting, why not get her hooked on educational apps that expand the mind and pique your interest as well?

Here are five great apps that you'll want your kid to have and might even get for yourself.

MyHomework

Sync your kid's calender (or let him do it himself) with homework assignments, test dates, and other school to-dos. Easy to read, and with pop-up reminders, there is no excuse for forgetting what's due ever again with the MyHomework app (free) for iPhone and Android.

best apps for homeworkCram

Save a tree and create flash cards on your iPhone for studying. Cram ($3.99) will also create multiple choice questions to quiz you on the topic du jour. Upload tests via your Mac and it will sync to this app for studying on the go.

best apps for homeworkOpen Culture

Free access to audio and video educational pieces means you can cruise Open Culture for inspiration or a new way to go on that term paper.

best apps for homeworkWords With Friends

Monitor her friends and let the Scrabble-esque begin! Learning how to put letters together to make words inspires creativity and good spelling. To kick it off, join her on Words With Friends ($1.99) and get hooked yourself.

best apps for homeworkiTunes U

Get a head start on college by signing up for iTunes U and picking out class lectures from Yale or MOMA. All of this learning for free means mom and dad can listen in to the Beginning Reasoning or Oceanography course on the ride to and from school.