Many Variety families have been sheltering in place due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, with mulitple children switching to at-home learning for the first time. Whether you need a little help with homeschooling or you are just looking for new ways to cure cabin fever, there are many online resources availabile at *little to no charge to people of all ages and abilities.
As part of our Emerson Resource Center, we have gathered a list of many of these resources to assist those who may need them, and we will add to this list as more become available. Simply click on the title of the resource to find more information and get started today!
If you know of additional resources you think may be a good fit, please feel free to share them with us via email.
*Some of these resources are only available at no charge for a limited time, either due to the pandemic or with free trials.
**Note: Variety St. Louis does not own any of these resources. Thank you to all those who contributed to this list!
Virtual Field Trips
Many kids (and parents) may be getting cabin fever. These are great resources for exploring new places from the comfort of your home, and you might even learn something in the process!
Aquariums and Zoos:
- Cincinnati Zoo - Fiona the Hippo Goes Online
- San Diego Zoo - Kids
- San Diego Zoo - Live Cams
- Monterey Bay Aquarium - Live Cams
- Zoo Atlanta - Panda Cam
- Houston Zoo - Webcams
- Georgia Aquarium - Webcams
- St. Louis Zoo - Webcams
Museums and Historic Sites:
- Washington D.C. Museums
- The Louvre
- The British Museum - The Museum of the World
- The Smithsonian
- The Great Wall of China
- Boston Children's Museum
- Additional Museums: The 75 Best Virtual Museum Tours Around the World
Parks:
Outer Space:
Other:
Virtual Learning
These varied resources cover multiple topics across a variety of ages and abilities. Each is a great tool to use to expand your child's (or your own) knowledge!
Animals
Coding
- Tynker - Tynker at Home (free until April 30)
Cooking
- Club SciKids Blog
- Nomster Chef - Free Recipe Picture Book
Fitness
- Fluency & Fitness
- GoNoodle
- Little Twisters - Yoga & Emotional Wellness
- Sworkit Kid Workouts
- Cosmic Kids - Yoga & Mindfulness for Kids
General Learning
- Discovery Education
- Courseera (College-level courses)
- The Great Courses Plus (Free month-long trial)
- Discovery K12 - Online Homeschool (Free student account)
- HippoCampus (Resources for middle school through college)
- Carmen San Diego (Resourses for elementary through high school)
- Khan Academy (Preschool and up)
- Supercharged School (Kindergarten and up)
- Quizlet
- Walkabouts - Active Learning Platform
- Good and Beautiful
- IXL Family Learning Hub
- Bamboo Learning Resources
Geography
- National Geographic Kids
- Country Reports
- Project Explorer (Grades 3 - 12)
History
- Big History Project
- Bunk History
- CK-12 (Kindergarten - High School)
Languages/ELA
Math
- Math Score (Free resources available)
- ABCya! (Pre-K through Grade 6+)
- Bedtime Math
- Boddle Learning (Grades 1 - 6)
- FunBrain (Pre-K through Grade 8)
- Arcademics - Arcade + Academics
- CanFigureIt Geometry
- CK-12 (1st Grade Math - Pre-Calculus)
- DeltaMath
- DreamBox (Grades K - 8, 90-day free trial)
- HMCO - Math at Work
- Math Celebrity
- Math Playground (Grades 1 - 6)
- PhET - Interactive Simulations
- Couponing for Kids - Consumer Math Games
- Economics for Kids (K-12) - Fun Learning Games for Business, Math and Money
Music
- Dr. Stafford's Musical Cures
- Chrome Music Lab Experiments
- Mindful Music & Poetry Moments
- Prodigies Music (21-day Free Trial)
- Quaver Music - At-Home Resources
- Sight Reading Factory
Printables
- Dog on a Log Books
- 123 Homeschool 4 Me - Free Printables
- Literacy with Littles
- Little Spark Company
Reading/Phonics
- FunBrain (Pre-K through Grade 8)
- Starfall (Pre-K through Grade 3)
- Suessville
- ABCya! (Pre-K through Grade 6+)
- Into the Book
- Dreamscape (Grades 2 - 8)
- ReadWorkds
Science
- Backpack Sciences
- Biology Simulations
- CK-12 (Kindergarten - High School)
- Play Mada Games
- Mystery Science (Kindergarten - Grade 5)
- EveryDay Earth - Experiements
- Elemental Science - Free Science Activities Blog
- PhET - Interactive Simulations
- SEPUP (Middle School & High School)
- The Science Spot - Lessons for Learning at Home (Middle School)
- National Geographic Kids
- Club SciKids Blog
STEM/Makers Space
- Maker Stations by Brooke Brown
- The Concord Consortium - STEM Resource Finder
Typing
Writing/Spelling/Grammar
- Classroom Cereal - Grammar Practice with Short Stories
- Brainbox Games
- No Red Ink
- Paragraph Punch - Paragraph Writing Tutorial
- Spelling City - Use code VSCFree90
Fun Activities
When it's time for some fun, but you still want your child to learn a little something, these sources are just what you need!
Activities & Games
- PBS Kids
- All Kids Network - Worksheets and Crafts
- "Highlights" Kids
- Breakout EDU - Fun @ Home
- Scholastic Learn at Home
- Busy Toddler - Indoor Activities Blog
- Kiwi Co
Educational Shows/Videos
- Homeschool Hideout - 150+ Educational Shows on Netfilx Blog
- Izzit.org
- Mo Willems Livestreams Doodles