With all the school closings due to the COVID-19 epidemic, thousands of parents have become home educators overnight. And while many school districts offer some sort of distance education, parents are still struggling to find lesson plans, educational activities, DIY projects, indoor activities, science experiments, and stimulating entertainment. the brain or the boredom of keeping kids entertained while everyone stays at home. This is especially true for young children because it is so difficult to find content suitable for their age and grade - and they easily lose interest if something doesn't catch them right away.
Richard Drury
Educational companies
Educational companies to the rescue! Many apps, websites, and program planners have cut their payment walls and offered their services for free to families affected by the school closings. Others were still free, but seem all the more essential now. And even a few entertainment companies have launched home learning centers.
These 33 educational companies currently offer free subscriptions and activities for children. And, while many other apps and websites offer free services only to teachers and school districts, these go directly to parents - you don't need an educator account to start using them. From scientific experiments to daily readings aloud to interactive video courses on cooking and music, they will fill the days with entertaining enrichment.
5 Ways To Save Money On Back To School ShoppingIf you subscribe to their mailing list, Tinkergarten will send you weekly activity plans designed to bring real kids outside. You can see a sample plan before deciding if it is right for your family.
Highlights offers a twice-weekly collection of family-themed stories, puzzles, videos, craft ideas, and activities. Each edition has a theme, like finding your funny bone or staying connected with your loved ones.
The Lion King experience
Broadway The Lion King has always offered drama lessons for children, but normally you would have to pay for them and do them in class. Now they have adapted their program so that families can do it at home for free - just download the PDF guides. There are two categories: one for children 8 to 11 years of age and one for children 12 to 15 years of age.
With this always free application, children can have fun with coding and possibly program their own interactive stories and games. The application is intended for children from 5 to 7 years old, then they can switch to normal Scratch.
Mystery Science has gone through its past lessons and drawn the ones that were easiest to reproduce at home. Activities range from five-minute mini-lessons (including one titled "How the hand sanitizer kills germs", which seems appropriate right now), to full courses of 45 to 90 minutes with experiments practice.
HippoCampus
This site offers 7,000 free videos for middle and high school students. You can browse playlists in any of the 13 areas, or you can browse by collection, such as NASA's collection of science videos.
TED-Ed
Bring the curious curiosity of TED Talks to school age with TED-Ed. There are free resources for students, and it also provides parents with a daily TED-Ed activity that can be a practical and interactive lesson they can do with their children.
Audible
Audible has a freehub, Audible Stories, where children can listen to great literary works. The selections cover the age range, from Beatrix Potter and Winnie the Pooh to Moby dick and C.S. Lewis.
Rebellious girls
The people behind Good night stories for rebellious girls have gathered resources at home for families. Activities include how to write a business plan, how to write a computer program, how to plant a garden, etc.
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