Throughout the last decade, a major technological advance has made long flights with young children seem shorter: the arrival of the tablet. If you have the right apps loaded onto your tablet (and we recently tested out the Samsung Galaxy), then your trips will fly by. I recently shared my favorite apps for two-year-olds, but my son is now almost four so he has moved on from some of those. Here are my picks for the best fun and educational apps for three-year-olds; all of these Android apps are available through GooglePlay.

Endless ABC makes learning letters and their sounds a lot of fun for three-year-olds.

“Endless ABC” is a great app to teach three-year-old the letters and their sounds. A monster scrambles the letters and then the child matches them up again. As they drag the letter, it makes its sound. After the word is complete again, the monsters explain what it means. This app is free and comes with seven words; more are available with in-app purchase.

The “Itsy Bitsy Spider” never looked so good; this Duck Duck Moose app is a lot of fun for preschoolers!

Duck Duck Moose apps are adorable with their whimsical graphics, and “Itsy Bitsy Spider” does not disappoint. In this surreal world, the spider tries on different hats when he’s not climbing up and down the waterspout. A snail comes to visit and a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Warning: you will have the nursery rhyme stuck in your head after this one. Cost is $1.99.

The best place for your child to play “Dr. Panda’s Airport”? While waiting for his flight, of course!

How’s this for life imitating interactive art? Let your child play “Dr. Panda’s Airport” while he’s waiting for his next flight. It’s a lot of fun to help the panda and his other animal friends check in, go through security and ride in the plane. The app is totally free! If your child becomes a Dr. Panda fan, check out Dr. Panda’s Bus, Restaurant, Hospital, Veggie Garden and more. He’s a real renaissance panda with lots of apps.

If you’re in the USA, the PBS Kids Video app can save you a lot of money by letting you stream — rather than purchase — your child’s favorite shows.

You could spend a small fortune buying episodes of Daniel Tiger, Curious George, Elmo, Dinosaur Train and Cailiou for your tablet. Or you could download the free PBS Kids Video app, which lets your child watch episodes and segments of those shows and many others. There are two serious limitations to this app. The first is that it needs a needs a good connection (wifi or mobile service) to stream the video; the second is that it only works in the USA.

What are your favorite apps for three-year-olds? Learn more about Intel Tablets!

#spon: I’m required to disclose a relationship between our site and Intel. This could include the Intel Corporation providing us w/content, product, access or other forms of payment.