Homeschooling Resources

Written By Kelsey Hunt
books

The current situation is taxing, to say the least. With so many schools closing for an undetermined time, we wanted to share this extensive list put together by a friend.

As we navigate the next few weeks, we hope this helps parents keep their kids engaged and learning.

 

Multiple Subjects

  • BrainPOP - https://www.brainpop.com/Highly recommended - K-8 and ELL online resource for learning almost every subject. Courses include videos, games, quizzes, vocab, and related reading.

  • Education.com - https://www.education.com/Preschool through 5th grade activities and lessons. Skills based and syncs with standard school year calendar.

  • IXL - https://www.ixl.com/Skills-based, adaptive, personalized learning for PreK-12 in math, language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish.

  • Khan Academy - https://www.khanacademy.org/Highly recommended - Created by experts, Khan Academy’s library of trusted, standards-aligned practice and lessons covers math K-12 through early college, grammar, science, history, AP®, SAT®, and more. Students practice at their own pace, first filling in gaps in their understanding and then accelerating their learning. Free.

  • Mystery Doug - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPRCRM3JKm3sw55lB_427qgShort (~5min) videos that investigate and explore questions asked by real students.

  • Outschool - https://outschool.com/Highly recommended - Live Online Classes for Ages 3-18. Small group video chat classes—created and taught by inspiring teachers. Variable cost starting at $5/class.

  • PBS Learning Media - https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/Standards aligned videos, interactive lesson plans, and more for just about every subject. Early learning through high school. Free.

  • Teachers Pay Teachers - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Over 3 million free and paid resources, created by educators, on the full spectrum of subjects and grade levels. Search for curriculum or activities to do at home.

  • The Great Courses - https://www.thegreatcourses.com/Online repository of courses in almost every topic for all ages.


Art

Civics

  • iCivics - https://www.icivics.org/Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor - students learn how government works by experiencing it. They step into the role of a judge, a member of Congress, a community activist, even the President of the United States - and do the job they do. Students gain civic knowledge and skills through this fun and challenging online platform.

Coding & Computer Science

  • Code.org - https://code.org/Online learning platform to teach K-12 students coding and computer science. Used by schools and districts worldwide, with a focus on increasing participation by women and underrepresented youth. Makers of the Hour of Code: https://hourofcode.com/us

  • Scratch - https://scratch.mit.edu/Free, online coding platform developed by MIT Media Lab for children using intuitive drag and drop visual interface that teaches coding basics. Kids can program their own interactive stories, games, and animations — and share their creations with others in the online community.

Early Learning

  • PBS Kids - https://pbskids.org/Great videos and games for preschool through grade 3 from one of the most trusted sources in early learning and fully accessible to all.

Economics

  • The Stock Market Game - https://www.stockmarketgame.org/An online simulation of the global capital markets that engages students grades 4-12 in the world of economics, investing and personal finance.

Language Arts

  • Night Zoo Keeper - https://www.nightzookeeper.com/Online writing tool and library of interactive lessons. Fun, engaging games that increase vocabulary and improve spelling. Puzzles and challenges that develop grammar and structure skills. Inspiring prompts and story creation lessons that spark imaginations.

  • Reading Eggs - https://readingeggs.com/Learn to read with online games and activities.

  • Starfall - https://www.starfall.com/K-3 reading and educational games platform. Stories, songs, and other activities.

  • Story Pirates - https://www.storypirates.com/Podcast of stories by children and story writing inspiration.

  • Teach Your Monster to Read - https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/Even if you know how to read - you should visit this site. Teach Your Monster to Read is a fun, adventure-based game that teaches phonics and reading along the way. Help your monster rescue a friend from the goblin king as you travel through the galaxy. So fun you will want to learn to read all over again!

Math

  • Beast Academy - https://beastacademy.com/Online math and problem solving for ages 8-13. Fun, comic-book style format.

  • Dragonbox - https://dragonbox.com/Math apps developed by educational experts, dedicated teachers, game developers, designers, cognitive scientists, writers and artists who are passionate about creating innovative and engaging game based learning tools.

  • Dreambox - https://www.dreambox.com/ Adaptive, online K-8 math program that is personalized and standards aligned.

  • Global Math Project - http://www.jamestanton.com/Join students from around the world on a global math project (Exploding Dots) that is mathematical story that starts at the very beginning of mathematics, assuming nothing, and swiftly takes you on a “wondrous journey” through grade school arithmetic, high-school polynomials algebra, infinite sums, and advanced mathematics and unsolved research problems baffling mathematicians still to this day. Ages 10+. Free.

  • Prodigy Math - https://www.prodigygame.com/Engaging, curriculum-aligned math platform for grades 1-8. Game-based, adaptive, and personalized. Free.

Science & Technology

  • General & Multi-Discipline Science

    • Chemistry 4 Kids - http://www.chem4kids.com/Matter, atoms, periodic table, elements, reactions, biochemistry.

    • Minecraft Chemistry - https://education.minecraft.net/chemistry/Discover the building blocks of matter, combine elements into useful compounds and Minecraft items, and conduct amazing experiments with new lessons and a downloadable world.

    • Tyler DeWitt - https://www.tdwscience.com/Research scientist and educator who creates chemistry and micro-biology videos shared on his personal site and YouTube.

  • Engineering

    • Teach Engineering - https://www.teachengineering.org/Digital library comprised of standards-aligned engineering curricula for K-12 educators to make applied science and math come alive through engineering design.

Social & Ethnic Studies

  • Native History & Culture

  • US History

    • Smithsonian History & Culture Collection - https://www.si.edu/explore/history

    • The 1619 Project  - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.htmlAn ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.

    • Zinn Education Project - https://www.zinnedproject.org/Middle and high school - For more than ten years, the Zinn Education Project has introduced students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula.

  • World History

    • Big History Project - https://school.bighistoryproject.com/bhpliveA free, online social studies course that encourages students to have a big-picture view of the world and emphasizes skill development as students draw “mind-blowing connections” between past, present and future.

Typing

World Language

Duolingo - https://www.duolingo.com/

Learn close to 25 different languages using a fun and intuitive app that incentivizes learning through points and levels.


Kelsey Hunt