This week has been a doozy. I think we are all sitting in utter disbelief that schools will be closed for any length of time and that, gasp, we will be responsible for ensuring our children continue to learn. Further, the idea that we may need to stay home - away from crowds in what is being called “Social Distancing” - is, frankly, terrifying.
And whether you are for or against school closures, it is entirely out of our hands. So Union County and South Charlotte Macaroni Kid have compiled some educational resources for you to use while the kids are home from school.
Full disclosure: we haven’t tested any of these, but we have collected them from readers, friends and other homeschooling publishers around the country and hope that, should the schools close or you chose to pull your child(ren) from school while Covid 19 is circulating, these are helpful.
Company | What is is | Offers |
Variety of educational games and activities for Pre-K to 6+. | Free with premium upgrades | |
Albert has resources for both middle and high school, through AP level. | Schools forced to shut down can get a free, extended pilot for as long as they are impacted. | |
Alchemie makes chemistry learning resources. | They are offering Mechanisms (software for modeling organic chemistry reaction mechanisms) and ModelAR (a virtual molecular modeling program) for free. | |
This is a Christian-based homeschool curriculum | Free | |
The American Chemical Society has ChemMatters magazines, targeted for high schoolers, available online. In addition to chemistry, there are article that are biographies of chemists and historical articles. | Free All The Time | |
This is a free video series on how to teach science without the overwhelm. | Free Video Series | |
This is HIGHLY recommended by many | Completely free resources and they even have a lesson plan on COVID-19. | |
A database of 17,300 free printable worksheets and lesson plans for teaching English | Free | |
Learn and bond with your 0 - 6-year-old. Follow and interact with an expert instructor. | code: homefun1 | |
Each lesson has a reading passage, videos, optional review questions, and self-graded practice questions. The lessons can be assigned to Google Classroom and it puts the grade in that students got on the practice questions (students must get 10 practice questions correct to get 100%). | Always Free | |
Access to common core worksheets | Free | |
Common core reading programs | Free | |
Awesome online yoga resources designed to help kids move and find stillness. | Always Free | |
We provide a free, online, interactive textbook for high school and middle school teachers to use to teach computer science in their classrooms | Always Free | |
Curriki revolutionized the way digital learning content is distributed and shared. For over 10 years we have made the best curriculum, lessons and on-demand content free, open, and accessible to all. | Always Free | |
| Reading worksheets for all grades K-8 | Free | |
This is the largest collection of free math worksheets complete with answer keys. We have just over 18,000 printable pages just in this section alone. | Free | |
| Resource for all grade levels | Free with premium upgrade | |
| Reading resources for all grade levels | 30 days free | |
We have free resources for AP students including live reviews, live trivia, and study guides! | Always Free | |
Differentiation instruction across Math, ELA, Social Studies and Science for grades K-12. | Always Free | |
This company has resources available for extended school closure for grades K through 8! They are printable packets for math and reading. | Always Free | |
It is a platform where anyone can find or create their own simple learning games and the version we have now are always free for schools. | Always free. | |
Worksheets and other resources | Free | |
HelpingWithMath.com is for anyone who needs help with math or who wants to help others with math at the K-8 level. It provides math resources that help students to practice what they are learning at home and at school. | Free | |
Home Spelling Words is the leading spelling website for high-quality spelling words and lists for Kindergarten through 9th grade. You can also use your lists from school, or your own curriculum to make online spelling tests with your own words | Free | |
Math for K-12 | Check with your school for log-in information | |
Free movement videos to get kids up and moving. | Free | |
Explore over 7,000 free videos in 13 subject areas. You can create a free account and create customized playlists too. | Always free | |
Free online access to iCompute's Learn Programming and Computational Thinking resources. Designed for independent work, pupils can work through activities and exercises online at home. | Free Access to All Services | |
We offer FREE, high-quality educational materials to educators: teachers, homeschoolers, parents, grandparents, scout troop leaders – to anyone interested in learning/teaching! | Free Always | |
Free online resources for all ages! AND They have a page specifically for COVID-19 | Always Free | |
Videos, games, lesson plans, and supplemental materials can be searched by grade level, subject area, keyword, and standard. And PBS LearningMedia's Google Classroom integration makes it easy to share resources with your entire class. Content contributors include KET, PBS, PBS Kids, NASA, the National Archives, the Library of Congress and many more. | Always free | |
for digital books and audiobooks. Anyone with a library card (at least in whatever cities/states use Overdrive) can access it. | Always free | |
A game-based learning platform that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive digital environment. | Always free. | |
MusicFirst Classroom is the only comprehensive learning management system (LMS) for K-12 music education. | We are offering MusicFirst Classroom and the full suite of integrated software for free to any school during a closure. | |
To help all these teachers during school closures, we at Mystery Science just finished going through all our lessons, pulling the easiest ones to do from home, and putting them all up for free on a page to make it easy. No signup required, no student login—we just want to help. | Free Access | |
PebbleGo is a curricular content hub specifically designed for K-3 students. Packed with informational articles, ready-made activities, and literacy supports for students of all abilities, it boosts engagement and fosters independent learning in core subject areas. | Free Access | |
PenPal Schools connects more than half a million students from over 150 countries to learn together through collaborative online projects! Students collaborate through online projects ranging from human rights and the environment to fake news and robotics, all while practicing literacy, technology and social-emotional skills. Teachers can assess student work and support student growth by providing customizable and personalized feedback. | At PenPal Schools we are offering free access to our programming to all teachers and schools affected by the virus. | |
Great quizzing resources that kids love | Always free | |
Schoology brings together the best K-12 learning management system with assessment management to improve student performance, foster collaboration, and personalize learning. | Has a free, basic version | |
On the front page, there is a section called 'Free Teaching Resources', the topics are listed by subject and exam board. Each section then has ppt, exam questions, videos etc - really useful. | Sign Up for Free | |
| Storyline Online | Storyline Online is available 24 hours a day for children, parents, caregivers, and educators worldwide. Each book includes a supplemental curriculum developed by a credentialed elementary educator, aiming to strengthen comprehension and verbal and written skills for English-language learners. | Sign up for Free |
Free learning games that can be used on the computer or a tablet! | Free | |
Free educational tips and scientific explanation for parents of children 0 to 5 available by app, text, and printables. | Always free. | |
Top-rated K-5 curriculum builds deep understanding and a love of learning math for all students | Always free. |
There are also a number of paid resources you can employ when considering ways to keep your children busy:
And these Museums are offering free virtual tours - either on their own or via Google Arts and Culture - that you can use in your home-based learning
- British Museum, London
- Guggenheim Museum, New York
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- Musée d’Orsay, Paris
- National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
- Pergamon Museum, Berlin
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
- Uffizi Gallery, Florence
- MASP, São Paulo
- National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City
- The Louvre
Here are some other fun resources to check out!
- Get artwork texted to your phone from a number of Museums around. Click here for more information
- And if you’d like to explore cultural heritage and historical sites, Google Arts and Culture can help with that here.
- And here and here are some virtual field trips if you want to go e-exploring!
