Due to the coronavirus pandemic, school closures have made many parents homeschooling educators overnight. We know that keeping your kids entertained through a full day of learning is hard – especially for younger children – so Local 150 put together a list of educational companies that are offering free services and lowering paywalls to help parents during the stay-at-home orders. The best part is, you don’t need an educator’s account to access these resources!
Scholastic Learn at Home
Every day, Scholastic’s website is offering a new mini-lesson that includes a story, a video, and an activity. The lessons are grouped into four age groups: pre-k and kindergarten, grades 1 and 2, grades 3 to 5, and grades 6+.
Link: www.classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome
PBS Kids Daily Newsletter
PBS Kids has a daily newsletter offering ideas for activities and tips you can use to help kids play and learn at home.
Link: www.pbs.org/parents/pbskidsdaily
Khan Academy
During school closures, the well-known education website is offering free daily educational schedules for parents and educational content from Khan Academy Kids for students in preschool to grade 12.
Link: keeplearning.khanacademy.org/daily-schedule
NatGeo@Home
Got a nature-loving kid? National Geographic has launched its own at-home educational hub, which includes animal videos, DIY projects, live talks from National Geographic Explorers, and fun quizzes.
Link: nationalgeographic.com/family/at-home-education-resources
Duolingo
If your child was learning another language at school and you’re struggling to help, this always-free website and phone app teaches foreign languages using bite-size lessons. For motivation, students can earn points for correct answers to “level up” as they learn.
Link: duolingo.com
Cosmic Kids Yoga
Looking for a YouTube channel that you actually want your children to watch? Cosmic Kids Yoga videos are good for a nice stretch and mindfulness break in the middle of all the academic learning – and a few minutes peace and quiet for mom and dad!
Link: youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga
History at Home
The History Channel has launched a free video series that include quick history lessons and ideas for follow-up activities that parents and kids can do at home. The first one is about the history of handwashing! New videos are available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Link: history.com/history-at-home
Math Games
You can sort through these always-free math games by grade level, or by the skill you’re looking to work on. There are also free worksheets you can print out.
Link: mathgames.com
Mystery Science
Mystery Science combed through its lessons to find the easiest lessons to reproduce at home. Activities range from five-minute mini-lessons (including one called “How Does Hand Sanitizer Kill Germs?”) to full, 45- to 90-minute science classes with hands-on experiments.
Link: mysteryscience.com
Audible Stories
Audible has released a collection of stories for students to listen to for free on their phones, tablets, laptops, and other devices for as long as school closures continue.
Link: stories.audible.com/discovery