Now that Oklahoma “Spring Break” is officially over, you may be looking to step up your educational game this week. Teacher mamas have a tremendous advantage over the rest of us these coming weeks, and your average mama, like myself, is going to need some…let’s say…support. Lord knows these kids aren’t going to teach themselves. Let’s pause here for a moment of silence, honoring the teachers who devote their lives to helping our kids learn, grow, and be their best selves.
Phew. God bless teachers, amirite? Until kids go back to school, we have compiled a comprehensive list of FREE educational resources and apps to get us through the next days…weeks…however long we have on teacher hats. We want to reiterate, though, that you should do what’s best for YOUR family in these uncertain times. Some families thrive on routine, educational activities, and charts. Other families might use this time to simply have fun and enjoy one another. Your kiddos are going to be just fine either way. But, for those seeking educational resources, below is a list of online resources to help you as you help your children learn a bit, have some fun, and spend time together during our extended time at home.
Many of these resources have both free and paid resources, and are offering additional free resources during these uncertain times! To use this list, simply click on the icon to expand the heading and reveal the titles and links to resources. If your favorite resource is missing, let us know at [email protected].
ABC Mouse/Adventure Academy/Reading IQ-Three online programs owned by parent company Age of Learning. Digital educational resources for early preschool through middle school. Regularly $9.95/month, but Age of Learning is working with school districts across the country to provide free resources for children out of school.
ABCYa-math and reading games. Offers both free and paid resources.
All in One Homeschool-Course curriculum for homeschooling Pre-K through 8th grade.
Arcademics-math and language games, up to sixth grade.
Banzai-free online financial literacy courses for students.
Bedtime Math-math as a fun part of your daily family routine!
Ben’s Guide– interactive website hosted by the U.S. Government Publishing Office allows your child to see the ins and outs of the U.S. government by taking a series of learning adventures with Benjamin Franklin.
Breakout Edu-educational games for grades K-12.
Carmen Sandiego-Carmen San Diego videos, stories, and lessons for all subject areas.
Conjuguemos-teaches languages (Spanish, French, Latin, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Korean) through fun activities and games.
Cool Kid Facts-gives your child access to educational videos, pictures, quizzes, downloadable worksheets, and infographics. They can use these to learn about geography, history, science, animals, and even the human body.
Education.com-sign up for a free account to get access to downloadable worksheets and lesson plans. Some premium services will be available for free during the school closures.
Fluency and Fitness-offering 21 days of free unlimited access during school closures! Best for ages 4-8 in the topics of reading, math, and movement.
Fun Brain-free educational games, videos, and books for kids. Paid subscription to their virtual reality world, Poptropica, is available and advertised on the free site.
Great Big Book of Activities, Games, Recipes, and Projects for Kids-free Kindle version on Amazon March 24-28.
Highlights Kids-read, play games, and conduct cool science experiments.
Hippocampus-7,000 free videos in 13 different subject areas.
Khan Academy-free online videos, courses, and practice materials.
Lakeshore Learning-has 1000+ free educational resources!
Magic Tree House-interactive games based on the book series.
Math Playground-elementary math games, logic puzzles, and educational resources.
MathScore-math practice, from counting to algebra and geometry.
National Geographic Kids-learn about animals and geography on this popular site!
PBS Kids-learn with all your favorite characters!!
Scholastic at Home-day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.
Seussville-games and videos with your favorite Dr. Seuss characters!
Sight Word Tools-OKC-based company, run by veteran local teachers! Offering 3 months of free at-home learning tools during the school closures.
Starfall-lots of literacy and math activities for kids up to 3rd grade. Has both free and paid resources-one year membership is $35.
Supercharged School-daily lessons and educational activities.
Ted-Ed Student Talks-maker of TED Talks now provides carefully curated educational videos, or “lessons worth sharing”.
Turtle Diary-Pre-K-5th grade educational games for all subjects. Both free and paid resources.
Boston Children’s Museum-Tour all three floors of the Boston Children’s Museum! See popular exhibits like the Explore-a-Saurus and the Japanese House.
Ellis Island-See the former immigration inspection station in New York Harbor that is also home to the Statue of Liberty.
Farm Fresh 360-allows you to immerse yourself in Canadian Farm and Food Tours!
Great Wall of China-Commonly considered one of the wonders of the world, the Great Wall boasts a history of over 2,000 years and stretches more than 3,000 miles.
Mars-Explore the surface of Mars on the Curiosity Rover!
National Aquarium-See some of the most popular exhibits at the National Aquarium in Washington DC!
OKC Zoo-During this time of closure, the OKC Zoo is offering interactive wellness exams via Facebook Live, as well as engaging at-home conservation projects.
San Diego Zoo-The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids with amazing videos, activities, and games!
Smithsonian-fun activities for kids and meet animals at the Smithsonian Zoo!
Yellowstone National Park-Ready to explore Yellowstone? You can start exploring now by virtually touring some of the main attractions around the park!
US Museums
Metropolitan Museum of Art-New York City
National Gallery of Art-Washington, DC
Guggenheim-New York City
International Museums
British Museum-London
Louvre-Paris
Prado-Madrid
Uffizi Gallery-Florence
Vatican Museums-Rome
National Archaeological Museum-Athens
Musee d’Orsay-Paris
Art Babble-launched by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Art Babble features HD videos of art around the world.
Art for Kids Hub-video art lessons for kids, including drawing, painting, and origami.
Art Projects for Kids-step-by-step learn to draw lessons.
Artrageous with Nate-interactive videos designed to inspire creativity and hands-on activity at home.
Deep Space Sparkle-enter your email address to access free downloadable art lesson plans and videos by grade level.
Google Art Project-collaboration with several of the world’s museums to view popular artworks online, in extraordinary detail.
Kinderart-free art lessons for kids.
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems-popular illustrator Mo Willems invites you into his studio daily to learn to draw and doodle! New episodes posted each weekday during the quarantine at 12 pm CST and remain online to be streamed later.
Chrome Music Lab-website makes learning music more accessible through fun, hands-on experiments.
Classics for Kids-introduces elementary and middle school children to classical music in a fun, entertaining way.
Opera Dolls-free opera-at-home activity book to introduce your child to beloved opera characters!
Prodigies-online music lessons for kids. 21-day free trial available.
Sight Reading Factory-provides sight reading and sight singing practice. Free trial and $35/one year subscription.
World Music Archive-run by the BBC, this archive allows you to sample music from over 40 countries.
CMU CS Academy-novel online interactive high school computer science curriculum that is entirely free.
LabsLand-providing free remote access to real STEM laboratories for schools.
Minute Physics-science videos designed to get people learning physics!
MIT + K12-site includes free videos teaching basic concepts in science and engineering.
Mystery Science-video science lessons for elementary aged kids.
NASA Television-when not airing live news, NASA TV airs video from the International Space Station, replays of missions or news conferences, or episodes of produced programming.
