ONLINE LEARNING
Learn through videos, games, quizzes, and more with these amazing, mostly free online resources for curious kids.
Also see our online arts & culture guide and listings for STEAM, literacy, history, podcasts & movement breaks - plus favorite math picture books and weekly camps to fill up this strange summer.
BEST FOR TODDLERS & PRESCHOOLERS
Starfall
Learn letters, reading and math with untimed, sometimes silly interactive games for preschool through second grade. Includes letter recognition, games, stories, and animations that showcase letter sounds, short reading selections that emphasize vocabulary, and online books that provide fluency and comprehension practice. A favorite of our kids from an early age.
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KHAN ACADEMY
Watch short videos taught by excellent instructors with an electronic whiteboard in just about any subject for preschool through college.
The free Khan Academy Kids app (for ages 2-7) teaches reading, language, writing, math, social-emotional development, and more through open-ended activities and games like drawing, storytelling, and coloring guided by adorable animal characters.
Also…
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PBS KIDS
Find tons of fun and educational activities to keep kids playing and learning, many inspired by favorite (educational) TV shows. Includes online games, crafts, experiments, printables, celebrity read-alongs and recipes. Sign up for daily emails outlining themed lesson plans with TV episodes, games and offline activities, or hand let your kids explore the
ALL SUBJECTS
BRAINPOP
Watch short, well-written animated films on a variety of topics including antiracism & Black history, STEM, arts, math and much more starring a very funny robot.
Take quizzes and play games to test what you learned. Two editions, for ages K-3 or 4th -12th Grade (which can thoughtfully address some weighty topics, so monitor…
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FLOCABULARY
Learn about a range of subjects for grades K-12 though catchy, educational hip-hop songs. Watch videos about math, history, science and more, learn new words, take quizzes then (this is the coolest part) write short raps/songs using your new words and knowledge.
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Schoolhouse Rock
Learn about multiplication tables, grammar, science, American history, computers, economics, environmentalism and more with short music videos created from 1973-2009. Clever lyrics, catching tunes and amusing animations introduce concepts from conjunctions to women’s suffrage to the electoral college .
Available on Amazon & Disney Plus (plus some on YouTube).…
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Storyline Online
Watch videos of celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creative footage of the illustrations. Readers include Oprah Winfrey Viola Davis, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, James Earl Jones, Betty White and dozens more.
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Here Wee Read
Find great books recommendations for all ages in all sorts of diverse & inclusive categories, from Harlem Renaissance picture books to graphic novels talking about race. Includes themed collections like Halloween, Weddings,, Kids with Disabilities and RBG.
Find links to buy at bookshop.org, an alternative to amazon that supports independent bookstores.
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Storytime from Space
Watch astronauts on the International Space Station read space-themed picture books. Also see videos of educational science demonstrations like an exploration of Newton’s Law of Motion in space.
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MYSTERY SCIENCE
Science mysteries like ‘What is the most dangerous animal in the world?’ and the topical ‘How does hand sanitizer kill germs?’ are explored with images, entertaining videos and opportunities for discussion. Ends with simple hands-on activities designed with easy-to-find supplies.
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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS
Learn about animals, science, geography and more with videos, games, quizzes and great photos. We love the ‘Weird but True’ facts about everything from Star Wars to eyebrows. Bright and simple enough for toddlers but interesting enough for tweens & teens (and a parents).
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OLOGY: A SCIENCE WEBSITE FOR KIDS
Learn about the “Ologies” – anthropology, astronomy, microbiology etc. through animated and live videos, games, stories, and suggestions for hands-on activities on this award-winning website/app from the American Museum of Natural History. Other online features include virtual museum tours, video trips through the universe, science quizzes and more.
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MATH
TANG MATH
The author of The Grapes Of Math and Math-terpieces: The Art of Problem-Solving Greg Tang brings his innovative approach to math online with highly visual games, animated books and downloadable materials that encourage creative problem solving. Difficulty levels can be adjusted for just about every age.
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Prodigy
Engage in math battles with whimsical characters in an engaging curriculum-aligned math game (also available as an iOS app). Explore an animated world, collect magical pets and fight bad guys. Feels like a (simple) video game but math questions must be answered before striking battle. Questions are adaptive and personalized based on student’s answers.…
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SplashLearn
Practice math with fun graphics and a silly hippo captain. Complete digital problem sets and play engaging games to earn coins that can be redeemed for virtual pets and backgrounds. Personalized daily learning paths and adaptive, gradual skill progression keep kids learning but not frustrated. Limited instruction but great for daily practice with over 400…
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EduHam at Home
Explore the world of the Broadway phenomenon Hamilton and America’s founding era. Access free materials to create songs or scenes inspired by history. Follow in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s footsteps, learning how he incorporated primary sources into the songs he wrote for the show. Includes video clips of the show; interviews with Miranda, Alexander Hamilton biographer Ron…
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Mission US
Learn American history with a choose-your-adventure interactive, online game. Take the role of printer’s apprentice in 1770 Boston deciding whether to join the revolutionary movement, a Cheyenne teen in 1866, an enslaved 14-year-old girl escaping to freedom in Ohio, teenage farmers in the Great Depression and more young people. Explore rich, historical settings, make choices…
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SCHOLASTIC LEARN AT HOME
Find online courses for pre-K to sixth grade+ with four separate learning experiences, each built around a meaningful story or video.
Subjects include social studies; English language arts; STEM; science; and social-emotional learning.
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STORY PIRATES UNIVERSITY
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Brave Writer
Find extensive inspiration for writing at home with ages 5-18 including writing prompts for the whole family and guide to a 7-day writing blitz. Free ready-made lesson plans that incorporate video, crafts and at-home activities on topics such as mythical creatures and video games. Love their ideas for poetry teatime.
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