15+ Favorite Online Educational Resources for Preschool and Elementary Schoolers
With most of our kids home for the next several months, I’ve compiled some of our family’s favorite online education options to help homeschooling feel less daunting and more feasible.
I’ve seen lots of lists of online resources that are free or discounted during the pandemic, but most of them feel overwhelming to me.
I’ve tried to keep this list manageable and limited to the the programs we already know, trust and love.
I hope this will be helpful to you!
Favorite Online Educational Resources
MATH
REVOLUTION MATH. I LOVE Revolution Math and we’ve been doing it for the last 18 months. It’s real-time math classes that are story-based and very engaging. I’ve heard from so many of my readers who love it for their advanced child AND for their struggling child. You can sign up for a month for $1 with the code JANSSEN. I wrote a whole post about it here and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
PRODIGY. This is a free, video-game feeling math game that Ella plays at school and often does in the evenings at home while I do homework with Ani.
ART
RAISING WONDER ART LESSONS. The author and illustrator of Lola Dutch created 35 daily drawing videos grouped around weekly themes to teach drawing skills! Sign up here and you’ll have access to them all forever!
WATERCOLOR CLASS FOR KIDS. We bought this video watercolor class for Ani for Christmas and it’s SO good. It’s super affordable and you can use the code JANSSEN15 for 15% off. I also listed the supplies we bought from Amazon in this post. There is also an adult version if your child is a little older.
ART HUB FOR KIDS. This is such an amazing YouTube channel to learn how to draw different things. My girls love it!
RAD & HAPPY DOODLE CLASS. This is a super fun class to take with your child to learn all the skills to create your own designs.
STOP MOTION CLASS. This is such a fun skill to learn (plus it takes tons of time!) and this class is free – just share this post on IG and she’ll send you a code to access it for free!
MUSIC
HELLO EMILY ARROW. Emily is doing a daily music time on YouTube (at 1pm EST) that’s part music, part storytime. You can see the details here and I can’t wait for my girls to participate.
BOOKS
SCRIBD. I LOVE Scribd – it’s basically like a Netflix for audiobooks and it has a remarkably good selection. We use it daily (both the children and adults in our family) and you can get a free month trial here!
EPIC! This is the largest digital library for children and it’s free for 30 days. Some of the books will read aloud to your child while they look at the images which is extra fun.
VOOKS. This is a library of animated storybooks (many of which you’ll be very familiar with – they have an incredible library!) and it’s free for a month.
CODING
CODE.ORG. Both of my older girls use this free coding program which is project based and broken down by age level. So good and so fun.
MOVEMENT AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
GONOODLE. If your child needs to burn some energy off, these quick videos are the perfect way to get moving. And they’re all free!
COSMIC KIDS YOGA. This is yoga like you haven’t seen it before. Story-based yoga practice is such a genius idea and great for when you’re stuck inside but need to stretch a bit! There are so many options on their YouTube channel and it’s free!
GENERAL EDUCATION
ABCMOUSE. We’ve been using this for the last year and my girls LOVE it. It’s aimed at kids 2-8, has no ads, and a full range of games from math and reading to colors and shapes. You can get a free month here.
ADVENTURE ACADEMY. This is made by the same people who do ABCMouse but for kids 8-13 with programs around science, math, reading, etc. I’m excited to use this with Ella while she’s out of school. A free month trial here.
STARFALL. This is a full range of learning games with an emphasis on Math and Reading for preK through 3rd grade.
SCHOLASTIC LEARN AT HOME. This is broken up by grades and has a daily lesson on a topic with read-along books and activities. And it’s all free right now.
OTHER GOOSE. I admire the creator of this so so much – it’s a full curriculum geared for 2-7 years olds and she’s made it completely free for the next three weeks. There are 20 minute daily lessons so if you want some handholding, this is PERFECT.
TYPING
TYPING CLUB. Ella used this free program when we homeschooled to learn to type and she still loves practicing on it. I’ll be using it with Ani for the next few weeks too!
NITRO TYPE. Ella got really into this (it’s great for typing speed and accuracy practice) and then convinced Bart to compete against her – I think they must have each done 50 races while we were in Hawaii last year.
LANGUAGE
DUOLINGO. This is a great way to start learning a new language in a few minutes a day and my two older girls and Bart LOVE it.
I’ll keep updating this list over the next few weeks and if you have suggestions as well, I’d love for you to share them in the comments!