by Kimberly Solis
Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission to fund my book-buying habit if you use these links to make a purchase. You will not be charged extra, and you’ll keep me supplied with books. It’s a win for everyone, really.
If you’re reading this post in 2020, you know that the coronavirus has been wreaking havoc throughout the globe. This virus, unknown to many just a few months ago, is now on everyone’s lips. Now countries, states and cities are scrambling to prevent the spread of the virus. That means many school districts have closed their doors to avoid spreading the virus throughout the school population.
In my little corner of the world, many of our schools have closed for about three weeks. Some school districts plan to make up the days in June, while other school districts have arranged nontraditional instructional (NTI) days where students complete school assignments at home.
If your children are currently at home because of coronavirus school closures, this is the blog post for you. You see, I’m an elementary school librarian and curating resources is my jam. I’ve collected 30 educational websites that will exercise your kids’ brains and keep them engaged over the long weeks in quarantine.
If your school hasn’t provided students with educational activities they can do at home, you may want to check out these links. And if your children have school assignments to complete at home, that’s cool too. These are just some extra websites that kids can use when they’re bored out of their minds and are driving you crazy. In fact, these websites are so much fun, they won’t even realize that they’re learning. And, best of all, these websites are FREE!
Until then, check out these sites to determine if any of them are right for your child. Good health to you and those you love!
PBS Kids
PBS Kids is a colorful, engaging website featuring all kinds of fun and educational activities for your elementary school age kids. Kids can watch videos featuring their favorite PBS Kids TV characters and play games that teach science, math, reading and social studies. The smallest kids in your home can learn about the alphabet, colors and shapes too.
Don’t forget to check out the educational apps you can download to your Apple or Android device. Explore space with Ready Jet Go!, build a robot with The Cat in the Hat, rescue animals with Wild Kratts Rescue Run and more. Be aware that some of the apps may require a small fee to download. For example, the Wild Kratts Rescue Run (my kids’ favorite PBS cartoon) will set you back about $2.99.
Prodigy
Does your kid hate math? Prodigy just might make him change his mind. Prodigy is a curriculum-aligned math game. And it’s completely free! There’s also a Premium membership version that you can purchase if your child falls in love with it.
The game quickly figures out your child’s strengths and weaknesses in math. Then it tailors the math content to her specific needs. It’s safe because there is absolutely no social networking or personal interaction.
In order to progress through the game, kids have to solve math challenges. These math challenges occur through “math battles” as the young player moves through virtual worlds. If your kids are gamers, you should definitely try Prodigy. You may end up with a math wizard on your hands. Sign up here.
Starfall
Starfall has been around for a long time, but it’s still one of the best free go-to sites to help your preschooler or kindergartners learn letter recognition and letter sounds. It’s run by Sylvan Learning Center, the franchised learning center that tutors kids in reading, writing, math and study skills.
Kids can play fun games and read little stories to learn to read and improve their math skills. Today, Starfall.com includes two sections–a Pre-K and Kindergarten section as well as a Grades 1-3 section.
To use the full content, you have to subscribe but there are free activities your kids can use. If you want to subscribe to unlock the full content, it’s $35 for an annual membership.
Teach Your Monster to Read
Teach Your Monster to Read is a free game that makes learning to read fun for your kids. If you use a PC or laptop, it is completely free. You have to pay if you want to use it on a mobile device.
Designed for preschoolers and kindergartners, Teach Your Monster to Read covers letter recognition, letter sounds. It progresses toward teaching your little monster how to read full sentences.
The brainchild of Usbourne Publishing, students learn by collecting cool rewards as they practice important skills like matching letters to sounds, blending, segmenting and more.
Story Time from Space
What’s better than a story time at the library? How about a story time from space? The website Story Time from Space features astronauts reading stories to kids from space. They even conduct science experiments for kids to watch.
The nonprofit Global Space Education Foundation sends children’s books to the International Space Station. Astronauts videotape themselves doing read alouds for the children of Earth. Good books paired with really cool science experiments! This is the perfect marriage of science and literacy–a definite a must-see!
Xtramath
XtraMath is a website that lets your kids practice basic math facts. The goal is for kids to be able to recall answers quickly without using your fingers to find the answer. XtraMath shows a problem to the student, and the student has to answer correctly as quickly as possible.
Students get to see their progress so they stay motivated. They also earn achievement certificates as they move through the free program. Each session is less than 10 minutes so it suitable for an add-on to any other activity your kids do that day.
HippoCampus.org (middle school and up)
Hippocampus boasts more than 7,000 free videos in 13 subject areas. If your kids are in middle school or high school, this may help them with any assignments their teachers give them during the school closure. It features videos on Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, History & Government, English, Sociology and more. Browse by subject or collection.
Izzit.org
Izzit.org offers free educational video streaming on a variety of subjects. U.S. History, World History, Arts and Music, Language Arts and Math are just a small sample of the topics covered in the free online videos. It features online quizzes so your kids can see how much they remember about what they’ve learned.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy states that its mission is “to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.” Offering classes in math, reading, science, engineering, computer programming and just about anything else you can think of,
Khan Academy provides kids with the opportunity to master skills at their own pace. With engaging videos and interactive activities that will keep your kids learning. And did I mention that it’s free?
Libby App
Do you have a library card? Does you kid have one? Then you can use the Libby, a free app that allows you to check out thousands of e-books and digital audiobooks from your local public library.
Download it for free from the Apple or Google Play store. Picture books, middle grade novels and young adult novels are all at your fingertips when you use the Libby app. Snag a library card if you don’t have one so you can use this while you’re stuck inside the house.
Lil Fingers
Preschoolers will have fun with the website called Lil Fingers. Small fry learn letter recognition and listen to simple storybooks that teach basic concepts like counting. The website is colorful and captivating for your smallest children.
Wonderopolis
If your kids are anything like mine, they are constantly asking you questions. “Mommy, how does an airplane go up in the air?” “Mommy, why aren’t there dinosaurs anymore?” “Mommy, would a great white shark or a killer whale win in a fight?”
Wonderopolis helps kids explore the world in a safe environment. The website answers questions like “How many hairs do you have on your head?” and “What are zombie worms?” If your kids want to know the answers to these weird and wonderful questions, they’ll have to visit Wonderopolis!
Professor Garfield
If you’re a child of the 80s, you probably remember Garfield, the fat orange cat that loves to eat. Well, Garfield has his own website full of learning activities. Garfield and other characters from the beloved comic strip teach your kids on the website Professor Garfield. Play with science, reading, online safety, computer programming, math and more.
Storyline Online
When your children visit Storyline Online, they get to listen to famous actors read well known picture books aloud. According to the website, it receives 100 million views each year from children all over the world. When the library is closed, Storyline Online steps in to help foster children’s literacy and love for good books.
Highlights
Highlights for Children was established way back in 1946, and it’s still going strong. You may remember seeing this colorful children’s magazine in your pediatrician’s waiting room. Or you may have been lucky enough to have parents that bought a yearly subscription for you.
Either way, you should know by now that Highlights is a quality children’s magazine chock full of engaging nonfiction articles, creative short stories, fun poems and challenging-but-not-too-challenging puzzles. When I was a kid, the Hidden Pictures page was always my personal favorite.
If you’re stuck in the house with the kids, you can’t go wrong by letting them get on the Highlights Kids website. Highlights Kids offers online games, articles, jokes, and the opportunity to explore questions kids ask about the world around them. There are kid-friendly podcasts too! I just love a good podcast!! Maybe your kids will too.
Fun Brain
Fun Brain states on its website that “it’s been the leader in free educational games for kids since 1997.” Designed for kids in Preschool through eighth grade, Fun Brain offers books, comics, games and videos that strengthen your child’s skills in reading, math, problem solving and literacy. In fact, it’s where the mega-popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series got its start in 2004.
HourofCode.com
Computer programming (the cool kids call it “coding”) is getting a computer to accomplish a task by giving it a series of steps to follow. Computers speak their own language, and if your kids can learn to “communicate” with computers, they will be well on their way to getting an amazing job one day. Adults pay thousands of dollars to attend coding boot camps in order to learn languages like Python and Javascript. Save some money by having your kids learn to code for free.
Hourofcode.com is one way to help your kids learn. It offers fun, exciting activities that require your kids to use problem solving skills to get the computer to accomplish a task. And don’t think that only older kids can get in on the coding action. Hour of Code has activities for kids of all ages to help them learn this important skill that can lead them to a bright future.
Chrome Music Lab
Chrome Music Lab allows kids to explore music in a fun, hands-on environment. This online music playground lets your kids compose music and just experience the joy of playing with sounds. It works on computers and mobile devices. All you need is the Chrome web browser to get started.
Technovation (formerlyCuriosity Machine)
Technovation helps kids get excited about science by providing them with fun challenges to complete. Some of the challenges include building a planting machine, building a plane painting machine, building a self-propelling boat and more. Along the way, kids learn about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how its used to solve problems in our world.
Typing Club
We live in a world where everyone must learn to use computers. And learning to use computers is easier if you learn how to type. You can’t be a software developer and hunt and peck while you write computer programs. Well, maybe you can, but it will take you a gazillion years to get your work done! Anyway, your kids can learn touch typing by using the website Typing Club. And it’s all FREE!
Sesame Street
Good old Sesame Street has been around a long time. It’s one of the first TV shows many of us watched when we were kids. Of course, it has its own website, and it features fun games, art activities and videos for young learners. SesameStreet.org lets your kiddos learn the alphabet, counting, rhyming, science, colors and shapes. The whole Sesame Street Gang, including lovable Elmo, will guide your child through a variety of cute games and activities.
CoolMath4Kids.com
Practice math skills while you play video games. Kids play around with addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, brain teasers, manipulatives and quizzes. All they have to do is visit coolmath4kids.com. A lot of elementary school age kids like this one.
National Geographic Kids
National Geographic Kids is a wonderful website for kids who love animals. They learn about all sorts of wildlife through short articles and fun videos. It features exciting games and fun quizzes too!
San Diego Zoo
You may be cooped up in the house, but that doesn’t mean you can’t visit the zoo. The San Diego Zoo is one of the oldest zoological parks in the world. It cares for over 3,700 animals from 650 species. And even if the San Diego Zoo is closed because of the coronavirus, your kids can explore the San Diego Zoo Kids website. The website provides cool facts about the animals that live in the San Diego Zoo through kid-friendly articles and videos. The San Diego Zoo even has a live web cam where you can spy on pandas, elephants, koalas, polar bears and other resident wild life. Kids can play games, learn fun arts and crafts and develop an appreciation for animal conservation.
Hansel and Gretel: Learning about Opera
Okay. So maybe you never thought about introducing your kid to opera, but I promise you that they’ll think this activity is kinda cool. Hansel and Gretel: Learning about Opera allows your kids to design their own opera about those two witch-vanquishing kids Hansel and Gretel. Your kid is in charge of every aspect of the production–the music, the costumes, the scenery, the choreography and everything else that goes into producing a theatrical extravaganza. And it’s okay if your kids don’t know anything about opera. They may end up wanting to attend a real opera once the coronavirus quarantine is over!
Make Beliefs Comix
Kids demonstrate their creative writing skills when they play with Make Beliefs Comix. This online comic creator allows kids to choose from a stable of whimsical characters and develop a story in comic format. Kids will have so much fun creating their comics that they won’t realize they’re practicing writing skills. Ha!
Dogo News
Dogo News is devoted to current events that interest kids. Your kid can read all kinds of interesting articles about fascinating people and places around the world. There are reading comprehension questions to check for understanding. There’s also Dogo Books where your kids can read and write reviews on their favorite books. Not only that, but they have the chance to enter cool prize giveaways. And, last but not least, there’s Dogo Movies where kids write and read reviews about their favorite flicks.
Compose Your Own Music
Who knows? When your kid starts playing with music at Classics for Kids: Compose Your Own Music, it may inspire her to learn to play an instrument. For now, she can explore musical notes and arrange them any way she wishes. When she’s finished her composition, she can email or text it to a friend or relative.
Scholastic Story Starter
Even J.K. Rowling and R.L. Stine had to start somewhere. Your kids can write their own short stories using this fun, Story Starter activity created by Scholastic. Kids use the story starters to create an adventure, fantasy or science fiction story. Or they go can go crazy and create a mish-mash of all three genres. Kids can write their story in the form of a notebook, post card, letter or newspaper. They can even illustrate the story. Once they’ve created their literary masterpiece, they have the option of printing it out or downloading it.
Word Mover
Do you have a budding Shakespeare in your home? Let them try Word Mover, a website that lets the user create poetry by moving some virtual “magnets” around. Word Mover is perfect for kids those kids who love to write.
30 Free Activities for Kids
This list of 30 activities is just a tiny fraction of educational activities you can find online. So even though your kids are at home because of the coronavirus situation, that doesn’t mean the learning has to stop. Look through these activities with your kids, see which ones strike their fancy and sit with them as they explore the many kinds of activities that can help them learn and have fun at the same time.
Okay. I Lied. Here’s One More Activity. So…um…this is Number 31.
How could I forget Breakout.edu??!?! Have you ever been to an escape room? Well, a digital breakout is the virtual equivalent. Your kids can practice science, math, English/Language Arts, reading and social studies as they use their critical thinking skills to break out of a virtual room. Zombies, treasure hunts, carnivals and chemically reactive cookouts await your children when they visit Breakout.edu.
Do you want to share some other fun online resources for kids? Comment below!