Learning Resources... for FREE

As most homeschooling families.. we are on a tight budget! I love to make our son's learning fun and interactive, but sometimes I just need to be able to rely on a resource that doesn't involve laminating, cutting, driving, gathering, etc. This post is a mash up of some of my favorite online resources that are offered free of cost. Do you know of others? Give me all the details in the comments! (These are NOT affiliate links.)

This is a resource I used in the classroom, and I have since continued using it for tutoring and homeschooling. Scholastic Study Jams are very entertaining for kids, and cover a wealth of Math and Science topics through videos, slideshows, activities, songs, etc.

You can find over 200 Jams on topics like The Universe , listen to songs about Landforms , and test yourself on concepts like Range .

BrainPop and BrainPopJr are wildly popular among homeschoolers and classroom teachers, but many don't know that they have a "free stuff" section for those of us who don't subscribe. These short videos are packed with information on specific subjects and also include activities to go along with them. The "free" choices change from time to time. Scroll down at the link for free options in each grade level/specific section.

BrainPOP creates animated, curricular content that engages students, supports educators, and bolsters achievement.

TurtleDiary is a new-to-me site, but appears to be full of great content! Games and content are separated by grade levels, subject areas, and topics. Often they include videos followed by lesson activities to go along with them. Don't let the term "game" throw you off from clicking on a topic. It appears as though that is how they label their activities. For instance, if you visit the 3rd grade page and click on the "game" for Verbs you'll find a "play" button. Once you click "play" it takes you to a series of 5 lessons (videos) and follow up exercises. All of the content on this site appears to be free.

1,000+ Interactive Online Kids Games, Video Resources, Science Experiments and Much More!

3rd Grade Verbs Lessons

ReadWriteThink has some amazing interactive tools for kids to use to streamline their work. All of the tools are assigned age appropriate grade levels and cover K-12. Students can use them for all subject areas and many are designed to teach students how to organize information and to take notes. I just used the timeline generator with a student the other day which was very successful. The interactive tools are amazing, and they also offer free lessons and printouts. This is a great resource to bookmark!

 

readwritethink.org

There are tons of free resources online and it's difficult to keep them all straight. These are the few that I have (or plan to) repeatedly used and I've seen them make a difference in student learning. I'd love for you to share your favorites in the comments below.