Parents, it's hard to keep kids busy and learning in times like this, but somehow, my mom figured it out a long time ago with her two rambunctious daughters. She did have a head start though since she's a first-grade teacher.
She told me she shared these some of these resources with her students and their families to use while they are out of school, so I figured I would look into them and share them with you too. I also dug around to find more resources.
Here are tools for all ages to help your kids keep their brains strong and help you keep your sanity. All the way at the bottom, there are resources everyone in your home can do together. And here's some good news: most of these are free and should not require you becoming a teacher!
Preschool and elementary school
Brain Pop: Use Brain Pop Jr. for kindergarten through third grade, or go through lessons breaking down the main school topics for upper elementary school students. There are too many topics under each unit to count.
Funbrain: You can find games, videos and books by grade level, from pre-K through eighth grade.
Khan Academy Kids: Khan Academy offers courses for all ages, but it also has a specialized educational program for children ages two to seven.
PBS Kids: Watch videos and play online games centered on different topics. You can also sign up for a newsletter to get daily activities and tips to help kids play and learn at home.
Amazing Space: Don't have a telescope? Explore comets, black holes, galaxies and other things in space with Hubble images, online explorations and more.
Switch Zoo: Learn all about animals and make your own new animals with the Switch Zoo. Kids can also build biomes and online habitats, explore music created by animals and practice creative writing.
History for Kids: Explore history through a free online network that has games, videos and worksheets on many historical events.
Squiggle Park: Build and improve reading skills through personalized reading-skills games and an app built by literacy experts and teachers to align with classroom curriculum.
Starfall: Practice phonics skills with read-along stories.
Storyline Online: Stream videos featuring actors reading children's books along with illustrations.
TypingClub: Practice typing and writing skills.
Time for Kids: Read student articles from the magazine based on grade level.
The Spanish Experiment: Read along with well-known children's stories translated into Spanish and spoken by a native Spanish speaker.
Dr. Seuss Word Challenge: Your child can do activities based on Dr. Seuss's classics.
Pete the Cat: Creator James Dean was hosting live reading and drawing tutorials on Instagram Live at noon each day.
ABCYA: Practice math and reading skills through games and go on online adventures organized by grade level.
Prodigy: Need to work on math? Prodigy is a free platform aligned with curriculum for first through eighth-grade students.
Math Playground: Kids in first through sixth-grade can play hundreds of math games, logic puzzles and fun brain builders.
SplashLearn: Your kids might be all over the place when it comes to math, but this site can help. Elementary school kids can get a personalized learning path with interactive games to help them catch up, enrich their skills or just get in some practice. You can also download a specific app per grade.
MathGameTime: What time is it? MathGameTime! There are math games, videos and worksheets based around different skills from pre-K to seventh grade.
PHET Interactive Solutions: Go through interactive simulations to learn math and science skills and topics. There are lessons on magnets, gravity, waves and more.
National Geographic Kids: Play games, watch videos and explore to learn about animals, history, science and space.
National Ocean Service: Explore the ocean through videos, group activities, outdoor and tabletop challenges and other projects.
Smithsonian Kids: Play online science-themed games and meet the animals at the National Zoo.
San Diego Zoo: Meet the animals of the San Diego Zoo all the way from your home. Read their tales and enjoy fun arts and crafts.
Highlights Kids: Read the magazine's comics, play games and conduct science experiments.
LEGO Challenge Cards: Grab your LEGOs but make sure not to step on them! Use this giant collection of LEGO challenge cards to sneak some STEM learning into the day.
NASA Kids' Club: Does your kid want to be an astronaut? You can find activities and play games to teach your child about NASA.
Mystery Science: Find mini and full science lessons for each grade level, kindergarten through fifth grade. Some lessons include hands-on activities.
Discovery Mindblown: Download and print free DIY science experiments and explore STEM topics through games, fun facts and activities on its app.
Here are some fun science experiments you can do at home, taught by one of our junior anchors.
Middle school
Brain Pop: Go through lessons breaking down the main school topics. There are too many topics under each unit to count.
NoRedInk: Build stronger readers and writers through online assessments, practice and actionable data.
CommonLit: Read from a free collection of fiction and nonfiction. You can search by grade level, theme, genre, literary device or common core standard.
Virtual Nerd: Learn middle school math functions by grade level.
Prodigy: Prodigy is a free platform aligned with math curriculum for first through eighth grade students.
MathGameTime: Find math games, videos and worksheets for sixth and seventh graders.
Amazing Space: You can explore comets, black holes, galaxies and other things in space from the comfort of your home through Hubble images, online explorations and more.
PHET Interactive Solutions: Go through interactive simulations to learn all kinds of science topics. There are simulations on subjects including forces and motion, energy and graphing.
Funbrain: You can find games, videos and books by grade level, from pre-K through eighth grade.
Scholastic: It has days of learning set up for middle schoolers to learn something new from the comfort of your home.
Girls Rock: Girls Rock is offering live online classes in a variety of topics for ages 10 to 18. The classes include ballet, poetry, photography and yoga.
High school
Khan Academy: AP tests take a lot of preparation and hard work, but Khan Academy has courses for different classes to help you work toward the score you need. There are also courses that cover other high school topics.
Crash Course: Watch videos or go through full video playlists for crash courses in engineering, literature, statistics, chemistry and many other topics.
CommonLit: Read from a free collection of fiction and nonfiction. You can search by grade level, theme, genre, literary device or common core standard.
NoRedInk: Build stronger readers and writers through online assessments, practice and actionable data.
Story Starters: Practice creative writing by getting started with these prompts.
PHET Interactive Solutions: Go through interactive simulations to learn all kinds of science and math topics including physics, chemistry and algebra.
Virtual Nerd: Learn topics in Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry through video lessons. Students can also prepare for the SAT and ACT math portions.
SparkNotes: Read classic books and Shakespeare's plays with modern English translations to the side along with their study guides. You can also find study guides for history, math and other subjects.
Quizlet: Master any topic through online flashcards, or create flashcards for the topics you're already studying.
Girls Rock: Girls Rock is offering live online classes in a variety of topics for ages 10 to 18. The classes include ballet, poetry, photography and yoga.
For the whole family
Knox County Public Library: Get free e-books and audiobooks through Libby, an app. You can also download, stream and view digital magazines, online courses and educational movies online. The library is also starting storytelling sessions on Facebook Live!
Khan Academy: My mom recommends this to everyone! If you don't know how to go about your day, it has schedules for different age groups. It also has math and reading courses for just about every grade, from preschool to 8th grade. It also has courses for various AP classes, computer programming and personal finance.
Codecademy: Your whole family can learn how to code, a skill helpful from building websites to analyzing data.
Scratch: Create stories, games and animations through a free programming service.
TED Talks: There's a playlist of informative and inspirational talks to watch with kids and another website sorting educational TED Talks by subject.
Duolingo: Learn a new language or two with the family through practice, flashcards and games.
Google Arts and Culture: Learn about historical sites through online exploration. Go backstage at the Paris Opera to the top of the Taj Mahal with Street View.
Smithsonian Institution: Take a virtual trip to Washington, D.C.! The Smithsonian's 3D program has digitized valuable items at various museums, including the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Portrait Gallery.
American Dairy Association: Learn about farms by going on a virtual tour while you're stuck at home.
Yellowstone National Park: Enjoy the outdoors by virtually exploring the main attractions around the park.
MORE VIRTUAL TOURS: Here are some museum virtual tours you can take while cooped up at home
Crash Course: Watch videos or go through full video playlists for crash courses in engineering, literature, statistics, chemistry and many other topics.
Who Was?: If you've ever seen the "Who Was?" books, there's an app and Netflix sketch comedy series dedicated to the same trailblazers, legends, places and events.
National Geographic Kids: Take personality quizzes to find out things like which cute animal, Greek god and explorer you are with the whole family. Play Funny Fill-in for child-friendly fill-in-the-blanks adventures.
Mad Libs: Work together to fill-in-the-blanks and create some laughs on different Mad Libs apps.
Hello Kids: Find coloring pages, crafts and activities everyone can do together.
howstuffworks: Pick a topic, any topic, and your family can learn how it works, where it came from and any other questions you might have about it.
Wonderopolis: Get the answer to that thing you're wondering about, right now, or find out the answer to some other random question.
Go Noodle: Get up and get moving with movement videos, or you can all sit down and get calm with mindfulness videos.
Cosmic Yoga: Everyone can go on a yoga adventure together.
National Zoo: If you need some cuteness, the National Zoo has four webcams where you can keep an eye on animal friends including the lion exhibit, giant panda and elephant.
Learn in Color: There are extensive lists of ideas and free printables to help your kids learn a variety of subjects, from the main things like math and language arts to life skills like managing money and acts of kindness. There are also lists of movies you can watch together where everyone can learn something.