It is a new reality…kids will be learning from home….at least for awhile. Certainly, schools are providing resources and lessons to keep our school kids on track. However, we are now facing the new reality that our kids will be home for a while and need more at-home learning opportunities than what overwhelmed parents and schools can provide.
Although face to face learning will always have great merit, online options during this time
of Public Safety distancing do abound. We combed the net to find a spectrum of opportunities for school kids from pre-school through High School and picked 12 that we thought provided not only good academic lessons but some fun and innovative resources.
Online Learning Options
Each of the sites on our list has various strengths.
Below is a general guideline to what they offer. Our goal was to focus on what was being
offered at no cost. The sites listed are free, but some do require registration for full access to the site. All are accessible from a desktop, laptop, or tablet.
Some of the sites offer separate logins for teachers and parents which offer additional resources than the learning (i.e. student) section.
Happy Online Learning from Home!
Online Learning Resources Preschool - 12
Khan Academy
- Ages preschool -8th grade
- Free
- Daily schedules and learning opportunities
- Own pace learning
- Includes many school basics like math, science, reading and history
Old Farmer’s Almanac for Kids
- Ages 4-12
- Free
- Games, riddles, fun based learning
- Provides learning opportunities that don’t feel like “school”
PBS for Kids (Online and Broadcast)
- Ages K-12
- Both are free (Online and broadcast {WGTE Public Media})
- Games, music, TV series and virtual lessons
- Local PBS Channel (WGTE TV) Offering on its main broadcast channel (30.1) blocks of educational programing
Storyline Online
- Ages pre-school through young readers
- Free but book purchases are available
- Award winning site4 with readers from across the political, arts and cultural spectrum
- Besides reading time each book comes with an activity guide
- Each book is segregated by age and time
Cool Math
- Ages 3+
- Free
- Intensive focus on math games and skills.
Fun Brain
- Ages preschool – 8th grade
- Free
- Offering games and lessons that focus on math and reading
E Learning For Kids
- Ages 5-12
- Free
- Curriculum and subject based with over 800 lessons easily segregated by grade and subject
- Close to “traditional” (i.e. classroom) learning
NGA Art Zone
- All ages but Optimized for 9-11
- Free
- Art projects and exploration and activities based on works in the National Gallery of Arts
- For older students the entire site has art exploration opportunities and learning resources.
The Story Starter
- Teen, college and adult
- Free
- Specialize site that gives the first sentence at random that become the beginning of a story project
- Assists in creative writing projects and language arts for older students
Mission US
- Grades 6 and up
- Free
- Interactive games and stories about US history
- Public resource provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
HippoCampus.org
- Middle School through Early College and College Prep
- Free
- Academic subjects along a standard STEM and H.S. diploma pipeline (13 subject areas in total)
- Videos and activities are presented in a more traditional, lecture/example style
- A good site to get students attuned to online learning in a more advanced (college or job skill) setting
