Resources for Learning at Home

Making the Best of It

Resources for Learning at Home

Hey friends! I hope you are well and staying safe at home. As I promised in my last post, I've put together some no-nonsense learning resources for kids and teens (and even adults) to help get you through this new school-at-home reality. 

As a homeschooler for the past 12 years, I know first hand how frustrating and overwhelming it can feel to school at home (it's no walk in the park). But it is also full of unexpected joys, and can be richly rewarding. 

Be patient with yourself and your kids, and do your best to have fun by keeping your sense of humor along the way. You don't have to be a perfect teacher or a perfect parent. Just keep showing up. Find unique ways to navigate the ups and downs together. Sometimes plain old perseverance, or compassion in the midst of struggle, is the greatest lesson for the day. Those skills are often more important than grammar or algebra anyway. 

Without further ado, below are my recommendations by age group. Please review each site and use your own discretion as to appropriateness for your individual child's needs and maturity level. 

Early Childhood:

Starfall - free language and math activities for Pre-K - Grade 1. Greater access with paid subscription but there's plenty to get you started for free.

PoissonRouge - A site we loved when my kids are little, they have reduced their free activities to online painting only, but offer a free trial for 24 hours and have dropped subscription prices to only $14 per year if you wish to sign up. They have expanded their language, games and creativity exercises to include a STEM section. Worth checking out if you have exhausted your usual go to sites.

SwitcherooZoo - for animal lovers! Free games, videos and activities related to animals. Plus teacher resources and lesson plans if you wish to dig deeper. 

Highlightskids - like the magazines from your youth. Online games and learning activities for free. Hidden Pictures were my favorite. How about you?

Tumblebooks - online books for kids grouped by reading level, plus a few games and activities. You can choose to read along or read on your own. 

Mark Kistler - Free drawing lessons for kids.

Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems.

ReadingEggs - reading and math lessons for kids ages 2-13. Free 30 day trial. 

ParticleMen - Quirky educational songs by They Might Be Giants - try Seven, Roy G Biv and Seven Days of the Week
BrainPopJr - video shorts for littles. Some free resources and more by subscription.
Teach Your Monster to Read - monstrously fun reading adventures online and on their app.

Elementary - Middle School:

Kahn Academy -amazing free math and coding resources and more. They are currently offering free daily schedules for ages 4-18 to help keep your kids learning at home. 

Liberty's Kids - Cartoon episodes of American history.

Crash Course Kids - fun science episodes online.

SciShowKids - bite sized science episodes. Fun and free.

BBCEarthKids  - nature and science videos for kids. 

Or a little Origami might just be a nice change of pace?
BrainPop is offering a free 30 day subscription - we love their video shorts, quizzes and games grouped by subject.
The Kid Should See This - a collection of interesting video from around the web, organized by subject.
Generation Genius - science lessons grouped by grade level (mostly K-2 and 3-5, but a few others). They are offering a free 30 day trial.

Middle School - High School:

Thought Cafe - promotes education and critical thinking through video shorts.

Crash Course - thoughtful, entertaining and informative videos series by subject.

SciShow - edutainment for science-minded curious kids.

SciShowSpace - add on to the above. 

Kahn Academy -amazing free math and coding resources and more. They are currently offering free daily schedules for ages 4-18 to help keep your kids learning at home.

LifeNoggin - explaining the mysteries of life one video at a time.

BBCEarth - celebrating nature and science through breathtaking video.

Socratica - biology, chemistry, Python, SQL, study tips and more.

MinutePhysics - cool physics videos and other sweet stuff.

Be sure to check the websites or social media pages of your local libraries and museums. Most are offering free online resources for at home learning and virtual field trips! Support local where you can! For example in our area, Nauticus, The Mariner's Museum, Colonial Williamsburg and others are offering educational resources online. National Parks and Museums have offers as well.

Also check out apps - Stack the States, Mathmateer, WordScapes and Kami are a few of our faves.

You can also find lots of freebies and lessons for sale on Teachers Pay Teachers. Most are well worth the nominal price and you can read reviews and view sample lessons before you buy. 

Adults/family:

Yoga with Adrienne - free yoga lessons and meditation lessons.

TedEd - something for everyone. Check out the various channels to narrow down search results. 

CreativeLive - streaming free courses in photography, creativity and more. Learn something new!

This is by no means an exhaustive list - just some of our favorites. I'll post more resources as I can, but I hope you find something interesting here to get you started. 

Be well friends!