Kenosha – Many parents are struggling with kids at home as a result of the statewide school closures. There is a lot of free time, and it’s important for the children – and their parents’ sanity – that they are kept active and engaged. At the same time, parents want to use this time productively. Fortunately, there is a wealth of free or low-cost resources available to help kids pass the time while still learning something new. Some examples include:
Scholastic – The company has established a “Learn from Home” website for children in preschool and older; the site provides up to three hours of content per day and can be found at classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html.
Virtual Field Trips – Google has compiled a list of over 30 virtual field trips, including the San Diego Zoo, Yellowstone National Park, Mars, The Louvre, and the Great Wall of China. Search “Virtual Field Trips” on Google to find this list, plus many more.
PBS – In addition to information about the coronavirus, PBS, PBS Kids and PBS LearningMedia are offering a variety of tools to support learning at home, including videos, games and skill-building activities. PBS.org
Google Arts and Culture – This collection features content from over 1200 leading museums and archives around the world. artsandculture.google.com
Kahoot! – This is a Yahoo! based site, featuring educational games and challenges created by teachers and students. kahoot.com
Cleveland Inner City Ballet – Children will need some form of physical education to burn off some energy, as well. The Cleveland Inner City Ballet is offering a free virtual online ballet instruction program. clevelandinnercityballet.org
Code.org – This site offers students, parents and teachers information and instruction on developing computer science and coding skills.
UNESCO – The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s website offers a massive list of distance learning options and websites on a variety of subjects. en.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies/coronavirus-school-closures/solutions
Crash Course – This is an educational YouTube channel featuring short videos on such topics as world history, biology, literature, English, science, and geography. Search “Crash Course” on YouTube
These are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many, many more sites out there, including: Duolingo, Khan Academy, Prodigy Math, Outschool, No Red Ink and Mystery Science. Open Culture (openculture.com/free_k-12_educational_resources) has another vast listing of free educational resources for learners of all ages.
As you can see, just because schools are closed doesn’t mean our kids’ educations must suffer.
