School may not be in session, but that doesn’t mean the kids can’t keep learning from home!
There are several online resources that offer educational activities and tools to help you entertain your at-home students. If you have access to a computer, you have access to a variety of virtual educational support! Below is a list of free virtual education options to choose from to keep your kids educated and entertained.
1. Sight Word Dance for Kindergartners/Beginning Readers
The Sight Word Dance is an adorable video, performed by children, that will have your new or beginning reader up and moving and reciting sight words that will provide the building blocks for more advanced reading.
2. LEGO Inspiration
LEGO offers dozens of videos and LEGO inspiration for your little builders that will keep them busy for hours while building their cognitive reasoning and problem solving skills.
3. FREE Musical Education Games
Kids can still enjoy music theory with these fun and educational music games. There’s something for every age group on this list of resources.
4. FREE Typing Lessons with Typing Club
Typing isn’t a priority in most school curriculums, so give your kids the chance to be ahead of the pack. Typing Club typing lessons are easy-to-follow and free!
5. National Geographic Kids
From “Weird But True” facts to games and quizzes, the National Geographic Kids’ site is a dream for science-loving kids.
6. Study Jams
If your child learns better through songs and rhymes, Study Jams will help them remember facts related to topics ranging from division to the water cycle.
7. Sesame Street
Who doesn’t love the colorful characters on Sesame Street. Now your kids can play with them and learn something, too!
8. Met Kids
Your budding artist wants to know about art from as far back as 80,000 BC to today’s modern artists, try Met Kids’ colorful and inviting site that allows kids to explore the New York museum for free.
9. FREE Virtual Field Trips
These virtual field trips allow students to experience locations around the world from the comfort of home—an ideal alternative while schools remain on break. The website lists several locations to choose from, each with their own educational experience. From the Louvre to the International Space Station, your at-home students won’t be bored!
10. Scholastic Learn From Home
Because of the recent school closures due to COVID-19, Scholastic has begun uploading daily content full of stories, videos, and a variety of learning challenges. This program also offers virtual field trips! Scholastic’s new ‘Learn From Home’ website caters to 4 categories of students: PreK and Kindergarten, Grades 1 and 2, Grades 3 – 5, and Grades 6+. The website also has resource pages for teachers and families that provide learning activities and educational video sources.
11. Oxford Owl
Oxford Owl provides free resources to support at-home learning. By entering the site, you gain access to educational activities and games, advice for parents, and a free eBook library for 3 to 11-year-olds with over 100 books.
12. Storyline Online
With Storyline Online, children can watch videos of your favorite actors reading children’s books alongside immersive illustrations. The videos can easily be streamed through YouTube, Vimeo, and SchoolTube. You can also access a supplemental curriculum related to each book on the website.
13. Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems
If you have an aspiring artist at home, you’ll want to tune into Mo Willem’s Lunch Doodles episodes. This children’s book writer and Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence is hosting a virtual session every weekday at 1PM ET. Virtually join Mo Willems in his studio to doodle together and learn new ways of creating art.
14. 60 Math Websites for Teaching and Learning
Looking for some teaching and learning resources for your at-home mathematician? This website offers over 60 convenient websites tailored to teaching and learning math, each picked for the list by actual teachers. Some of the services are free, while others may require a subscription or other form of payment.
15. Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Cams
Now you can take your kids on a fieldtrip to the aquarium without leaving your house! California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium has ten live cams to choose from. Observe sharks, jellyfish, penguins, sea otters, and many more in their habitats. Virtually visit the aquarium as a fun distraction or an opportunity for an educational experience!
16. San Diego Zoo Live Cams
If the aquarium live cam caught your attention, you’ll also want to check out the San Diego Zoo live cams! With 11 cameras to choose from, you can keep up with the pandas, koalas, and many other animals’ daily activities in the zoo.
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Jessa is the Editor-in-Chief of Hooray for Family and the mom of three energetic children. She has a BA in Mass Communication/Journalism from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and is a long-time resident of Central Texas. When she isn't writing and editing, she enjoys playing board games with her kids, teaching Sunday school and channeling her creativity into craft projects.