The kids are home unexpectedly. There are hours to fill and learning to do. You’ve got this. Here is a list of online resources to ensure your kids are busy and happy during this “mini-vacation.”
Good Kids’ Websites
A great website for children will offer quality content and lots of interactive choices. More than just color pages, these sites will have interactive games, downloadables and will relate to real learning. Take a look.
- sesamestreet.org Pre-schoolers love Sesame Street and always will. The online site continues with early learning fun and games.
- pbskids.org is already anticipating the need for new and fun games and videos for kids. They have an additional daily activity for kids during the break in regular classroom learning.
- scholastic.com has provided a free daily learning curriculum for pre-school through sixth graders. This free resource will keep your kids thinking and learning about the world around them. A real gift.
- khanacademy.org This remarkable free resource has special lessons and activities for continued learning during this coronavirus quarantine. Just go to the site, sign in as a parent and create an account for each of your children. You’ll find tons of learning opportunities and easy to follow lessons there.
- howstuffworks.com is a wonderful science, technology and culture site for older kids. Each article explains how something works using words, videos and illustrations.
- projectgutenberg.org is a library of over 60,000 free e-books. This is the world’s greatest literature available for free at your fingertips.
- kids.nationalgeographic.com/ This site has wonderful content about animals, culture, science and more with videos, games and lots of fun as they learn.
Great Reading Websites
Reading websites abound. Check out some of these and challenge your children to listen and engage with wonderful kids’ literature.
- storylineonline.net Your child can listen to wonderful children’s literature read aloud by celebrated actors.
- readtomely.com Mrs. Read for Fun has some reading surprises in store for young readers.
- oxfordowl.co.uk/ This wonderful educational site from Oxford University Press will fill hours with learning and fun.
- abcya.com offers lots and lots of online games designed to support learning in reading and math for Pre-K through sixth grade.
- storynory.com offers free audio stories for learners of all ages.
Great Author Websites
Many authors maintain websites to help kids interact with their stories and characters. Check out the ones below and have some fun.
- mowillems.com/ You gotta love Mo with his pigeon stories and all. He currently has a fun activity for kids called Daily Doodles.
- kevinhenkes.com You’ll find lots of fun activities, videos and games. Choose your favorite Kevin Henkes book and play the games with those characters.
- janbrett.com Everyone loves Jan Brett’s beautifully illustrated stories for kids. Check out her latest and don’t forget the old favorite stories as well.
- ericcarle.com Choose downloads and activities under resources and away you go.
- rosemarywells.com Want to make some cupcake toppers or play Pin the Tail on Max? You’ll find the downloads here.
Why not ask your kids about their favorite authors or book titles? Chances are they will show up in an online search and take your kids deeper into the world of reading.
