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The past couple of weeks, my social media feed has been filled with family and friends sharing their stories of being thrown into the world of homeschooling.
Some are excited about the prospect…others, well…not so much!
However, one resounding cry is that most feel unfit or not up to the task.
Unqualified even.
That’s so not true, folks!
Remember, God gave those kiddos to you! While your child’s teachers are fantabulous, and do an outstanding job of educating and caring for your children, you will always remain their first and MOST qualified teacher. In fact, you are more than qualified for the job. I PROMISE you that. You’ve GOT this!!
While my oldest attends a tech high school, I do homeschool my youngest son, who is in 8th grade. Our current days are just as far from normal as anyone else’s (contrary to belief, we don’t spend all of our time at home!), but I do recognize I may have some blessed insight that others may not have when it comes to this homeschooling gig.
I have compiled a list of over 800 resources that I pray will help you in your journey in the weeks ahead. I urge you to take those packets or remote learning materials that your teachers sent home with you and pull some of these extra materials to go along with them. Perhaps a video or online gaming site that supplements that particular day’s lesson material.
I have put a star next to those sites that I am using now, or have used in the past. Those I recommend highly. The other sites, while I have not used them (yet!!), I did visit and them seem pretty solid.
Just a note, my son and I really LOVE Crash Course, which can be found on You Tube (link below). The videos are solid, and John Green is a fantastic teacher. He is also the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, and An Abundance of Katherines. The videos cover all subject matters in depth, but in an engaging way. It is geared to and high school and college, but we started using it last year in 7th grade and he understood it all very well. There is also a Crash Course For Kids, although not as many videos because they are still curating it. You can visit here for info about the series.
My son is also a history buff studying the Civil War in depth this year, and absolutely loves “The Civil War In 4 Minute” series by the American Battlefield Trust, also found on You Tube (link below). You can find out more about them here.
We are also a HUGE fan of notebooking, which is sort of like lap books on steroids. Fantastic for kids where textbook learning is just not their thing. My son loves this over traditional textbook learning any day. Find more info about notebooking here.
I hope this helps you in your journey ahead! 🙂
Remember, He’s got your back!!
Multi-Subject Resources:
* Ted-Ed
*Crash Course
*Crash Course For Kids
*Khan Academy
*Biography
*Smithsonian Channel
*Happy Learning English
*TopTenz
*Free School
Dexter School
*PBS Kids
*ABC Mouse
Scholastic Learn At Home
4-H
*PBS Learning Media
*PBS
Pinna
*Adventure Academy
*Outschool (Online Classes, Please note, this is my referral link. I get credit if you take a class. This includes a $20 coupon for you. They are also offering $200 in free classes now through June 1st because of very generous donors.)
*Teachers Pay Teachers
*Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool
*Productive Homeschooling Notebooking Pages & More (Please note, there are a ton of FREE resources on here, but this is my referral link. I get credit if you purchase anything premium)
*Ed Helper
The Arts:
Center For Puppetry Arts (Workshops, Museum Tours & Puppet Shows)
The Metropolitan Opera
Irish Dance Academy (Single Performance, 8 Minutes):
15 Broadway Plays & Musicals You Can Stream At Home
Broadway
Art:
*Art With Mati & Dada
*Famous Artists For Kids
12 You Tube Art Lessons
Draw Every Day With JJK
Live Art Lessons With Art Teacher Cassie Stephens (She archives as well)
Free Personalized Coloring Book
*How To Sketch Cordelia With Author Michelle Nelson-Schmidt
Lunch Doodles With Mo Williams
Downloadable Coloring Books From 113 Museums
Masterpiece Society
Women Create Weekly (Live & Archived Lessons, suitable for kids & teens):
*Bluprint (A huge variety of arts & crafts classes):
Exercise:
YMCA
Yoga
Delaware Dance Festival (Live & Archived Ballet & Jazz Lessons):
Planet Fitness (Live & Archived)
P.Volve Fitness
LIVE Dance Lessons (A Variety) From CLI Studios
*GoNoodle
Ballet En Demand
Foreign Languages:
*Rosetta Stone Homeschool Edition
*Duolingo.com
*Joy Of Languages, Italian
Free Book And/or Audio Downloads:
*New York Public Library
*Free Kids Stories From Audible
*Teen Book Cloud
Audio Book Cloud
*The Gutenberg Project
Big Universe
Mims House Books
Big Timber Media
History:
*American Battlefield Trust: Civil War in 4 Minutes
*Liberty’s Kids
*Tom Richey
*History Channel
*Mr. Betts’ Class
Hamilton’s America (Lin-Manual Miranda) Adapting History into Musical Theater
Ken Burns In The Classroom
Math:
Dream Box Learning
*Teaching Textbooks
Happy Numbers
Mathletics
Beast Academy
Math Nation
Music:
Beat Drop Music Production For Kids
*2 Cellos
*Free School Mozart
*Maestro Classics (Fantastic Free Resource For Teaching Classical Music)
Kennedy Center Arts Edge Teaching Music Free Resource
New York Philharmonic Kids Zone
Nature And/or Ocean Life:
*National Geographic Wild
*National Geographic Kids
*Nautilus Live
*Zoological Society of London
*Brave Wilderness
*Zoo Borns
Cohanzick Zoo (Animal Encounters & Story Times)
Georgia Aquarium Live Webcams
Cincinnati Zoo (Daily Live Safari)
Delaware Museum of Natural History Live Animals
*San Diego Zoo Live Web Cams
*Ouwehand Park Polar Bear Cubs Rhenen, Netherlands
*Smithsonian National Zoo
Zoo Atlanta Live Panda Cams
The Nature Company Online Live Animal Lessons
*Curiosity Stream
*World Wild Life
Reading:
*Storyline Online
National Center For Children’s Illustrated Literature
Kid Lit TV
Live Story Times With Dan Gutman (Watch Live or Archived)
The Growly Reading Adventure
*Teach Your Monster To Read
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (Live & Archived Story Time)
*Mrs. Readerspants
*Amy’s Book Cottage: Front Porch Gatherings
First Book (Free Resources At Bottom of Home Page)
*Story Time With The Vineland Public Library
Famous Folks & Authors Reading Story Books & Chapter Books (A WHOLE BUNCH!!)
Bright Fish Reading
Science:
*SciShow
*MakeMeGenius
*Frank Gregorio
*Amoeba Sisters
NASA Kid’s Club
*NASA
Quark Academy
Mystery Science
*Kids Discover
*National Museum of Natural History Distance Learning (Live & Archived)
STEM/STEAM:
Left Brain Craft Brain
SciGirls (Girls in STEM)
*Crash Course: Artificial Intelligence 21 Video Course
*Typetastic
National Air and Space Museum LIVE STEM Chats
*National Air and Space Museum Teaching Resources
*National Air and Space Museum Videos & Activities
Early Code (This is a pay site, but they are offering FREE coding lessons on Facebook during Covid-19)
Tynker
*Kiwi Co.
Little Passports
VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS:
Freedom Homeschooling (30 Trips)
*Virtually Tour More Than 500 Museums World Wide
Virtual Farm Trips
33 National Park Tours
Writing:
Flash Fiction Writing Course
Diary of a Not So Wimpy Teacher (Free Writing Video Course)
Boom Writer
*Shel Silverstein Free Writing Poetry Resources
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Bilingual Homeschooling