Friday, 26 June 2015

The 100 Best Video Sites For Educators

The 100 Best Video Sites For Educators
Bringing multimedia into the classroom is a great way to engage students in learning. Supplementing lessons, opening up new interests, and offering inspiration, online videos make for an incredible teaching tool. In 2010, we covered our favorite 100 video sites for educators, and we’ve now updated our list for 2012 with more than 100 resources and more than 25 brand new entries. Read on, and you’ll be able to check out the very best sources for educational videos on the web.

Educational Video Collections

Specifically designed for education, these collections make it easy to find video learning resources.
  1. TeacherTube: This YouTube for teachers is an amazing resource for finding educationally-focused videos to share with your classroom. You can find videos uploaded by other teachers or share your own.
  2. Edutopia: An awesome place to find learning ideas and resources, Edutopia has videos, blogs, and more, all sorted into grade levels.
  3. YouTube EDU: A YouTube channel just for education, you can find primary and secondary education, university-level videos, and even lifelong learning.
  4. Classroom Clips: Classroom Clips offers media for educators and students alike, including video and audio in a browseable format.
  5. neoK12: Find science videos and more for school kids in K-12 on neoK12.
  6. OV Guide: Find education videos on this site, featuring author readings and instructional videos.
  7. CosmoLearning: This free educational website has videos in 36 different academic subjects.
  8. Google Educational Videos: Cool Cat Teacher offers this excellent tutorial for finding the best of Google’s educational videos.
  9. Brightstorm: On Brightstorm, students can find homework help in math and science, even test prep, too.
  10. Explore.org: Explore.org shares live animal cams, films, educational channels, and more for your classroom to explore.
  11. UWTV: Offered by the University of Washington, UWTV has videos in the arts, K-12, social sciences, health, and more.
  12. Videolectures.net: With Videolectures.net, you’ll get access to browseable lectures designed for the exchange of ideas and knowledge, offering videos in architecture, business, technology, and many more categories.
  13. TED-Ed: From a site that’s long been known for big ideas, you’ll find TED-Ed, videos specifically designed to act as highly engaging and fun lessons.
  14. Zane Education: Zane Education offers resources for visual learning, including the very popular on demand subtitled videos.
  15. Backpack TV: In this educational video library, you’ll find a special interest in math, science, and other academic subjects.
  16. MentorMob: Featuring learning playlists, MentorMob is a great place to find lessons you want to teach.
  17. Disney Educational Productions: This resource from Disney is a great place to find videos for students at the K-12 level.

General Video Collections

Network TV, inspiring talks, and more are all available in these collections. Check out special categories and searches to find videos that will work in your classroom.
  1. Hulu: A great place to find the latest TV shows, Hulu is also a source of educational videos. Documentaries, PBS, even Discovery videos are all available on the site.
  2. Internet Archive: Find so much more than videos in the Internet Archive. Images, live music, audio, texts, and yes, historical and educational videos are all available on Archive.org.
  3. TED: Share seemingly endless inspiration with your students through TED, a fountain of talks based on compelling ideas.
  4. MIT Video: Online education giant MIT has an incredible video collection, offering more than 10,000 videos for science, technology, and more.
  5. TVO: TVO is a really fun and useful online TV station, with great ways for kids, parents, and educators to learn about the world.
  6. Big Think: Much like TED, Big Think offers videos (and more) from some of the world’s top thinkers and learners.
  7. @Google Talks: On this YouTube channel, you’ll find talks from creators: authors, musicians, innovators, and speakers, all discussing their latest creations.
  8. Metacafe: Find free video clips from just about anywhere, offering educational videos, documentaries, and more.
  9. Link TV: On Link TV, you’ll find videos and broadcasts meant to connect you and your students to the greater world through documentaries and cultural programs.

Teacher Education

Featuring higher-level learning, these video sites are great resources for finding education that’s fit for teachers.
  1. Academic Earth: Learn about science, justice, economics, and more from some of the world’s great universities. You can even earn a degree from this site!
  2. Teacher Training Videos: Specifically created to teach educators, Teacher Training Videos is a great place to find online tutorials for technology in education.
  3. Classroom 2.0: Check out Classroom 2.0′s videos to learn about Web 2.0, social media, and more.
  4. Atomic Learning: Visit Atomic Learning to find resources for K-12 professional development.
  5. iTunesU: Find university-level learning and more from iTunesU.
  6. Videos for Professional Development: An excellent collection of professional development videos, Wesley Fryer’s post shares some of the best teacher videos available.
  7. Learner.org: Annenberg Learner offers excellent teacher professional development and classroom resources for just about every curriculum available.
  8. MIT Open CourseWare: The leader in Open CourseWare, MIT has free lectures and videos in 2,100 courses.

Lesson Planning

Put together your lesson plans with the help of these useful video sites.
  1. Teachers’ Domain: Join the Teachers’ Domain, and you’ll get access to educational media from public broadcasting and its partners, featuring media from the arts, math, science, and more.
  2. Meet Me at the Corner: A great place for younger kids to visit, Meet Me At the Corner has educational videos, and kid-friendly episodes, including virtual field trips and video book reviews by kids, for kids.
  3. WatchKnowLearn: WatchKnowLearn is an incredible resource for finding educational videos in an organized repository. Sorted by age and category, it’s always easy to find what you’re looking for.
  4. BrainPOP: On this education site for kids, you’ll find animated educational videos, graphics, and more, plus a special section for BrainPOP educators.
  5. The KidsKnowIt Network: Education is fun and free on this children’s learning network full of free educational movies and video podcasts.
  6. Khan Academy: With more than 3,200 videos, Khan Academy is the place to learn almost anything. Whether you’re seeking physics, finance, or history, you’ll find a lesson on it through Khan Academy.
  7. Awesome Stories: Students can learn the stories of the world on this site, with videos explaining what it was like to break ranks within the Women’s Movement, the life of emperor penguins, and even Martin Luther King, Jr’s “We Shall Overcome” speech.
  8. Nobelprize: Cap off lessons about Nobel Prize winners with videos explaining their work and life, direct from the source on Nobelprize.org.
  9. JohnLocker: JohnLocker is full of educational videos and free documentaries, includingYogis of Tibet and Understanding the Universe.

Science, Math, and Technology

You’ll find special attention for STEM subjects on these video sites.
  1. Green Energy TV: On Green Energy TV, you’ll find learning resources and videos for the green movement, including a video version of the children’s book Living Green: A Turtle’s Quest for a Cleaner Planet.
  2. BioInteractive: Find free videos and other resources for teaching “ahead of the textbook” from BioInteractive, part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
  3. ARKive: Share images and videos of the world’s most endangered species with your students, thanks to ARKive. These wildlife films and photos are from some of the world’s best filmmakers and photographers, sharing stunning images that everyone can appreciate.
  4. MathTV: Students who need extra help with math can find support on MathTV. This site offers videos explaining everything from basic mathematics all the way to trigonometry and calculus.
  5. The Vega Science Trust: A project of Florida State University, The Vega Science Trust shares lectures, documentaries, interviews, and more for students to enjoy and learn from.
  6. The Science Network: Check out The Science Network, where you’ll find the world’s leading scientists explaining concepts including viruses and the birth of neurons.
  7. PopTech: Bringing together a global community of innovators, PopTech has videos explaining economics, water, and plant-based fuels.
  8. PsychCentral: Students can learn about what makes people tick through PsychCentral’s brain and behavior videos.
  9. How Stuff Works: The video channel from How Stuff Works offers an in-depth look at adventure, animals, food, science, and much more.
  10. Science Stage: Find science videos, tutorials, courses, and more streaming knowledge on Science Stage.
  11. Exploratorium TV: Allow students to explore science and beyond with Exploratorium TV’s videos, webcasts, podcasts, and slideshows.
  12. SciVee: SciVee makes science visible, allowing searchable video content on health, biology, and more.
  13. The Futures Channel: Visit the Futures Channel to find educational videos and activities for hands-on, real world math and science in the classroom.
  14. ATETV: Check out Advanced Technological Education Television (ATETV) to find videos exploring careers in the field of technology.

History, Arts, and Social Sciences

Explore history and more in these interesting video collections.
  1. The Kennedy Center: Find beautiful performances from The Kennedy Center’s Performance Archive.
  2. The Archaeology Channel: Students can explore human cultural heritage through streaming media on The Archaeology Channel.
  3. Web of Stories: On Web of Stories, people share their life stories, including Stan Lee, writer, Mike Bayon, WWII veteran, and Donald Knuth, computer scientist.
  4. Stephen Spielberg Film and Video Archive: In this archive, you’ll find films and videos relating to the Holocaust, including the Nuremberg Trials and Hitler speeches.
  5. Culture Catch: Students can tune into culture with Dusty Wright’s Culture Catch.
  6. Folkstreams: On Folkstream.net, a national preserve of documentary films about American roots cultures, you’ll find the best of American folklore films.
  7. Digital History: A project of the University of Houston, Digital History uses new technology, including video, to enhance teaching and research in history.
  8. History Matters: Another university project, this one is from George Mason University. Sharing primary documents, images, audio, and more, there’s plenty of historic multimedia to go around on this site.
  9. Social Studies Video Dictionary: Make definitions visual with this video dictionary for social studies.
  10. The Living Room Candidate: From the Museum of the Moving Image, The Living Room Candidate features presidential campaign commercials from 1952 to 2008.
  11. Video Active: Find Europe’s TV heritage through Video Active, a collection of TV programs and stills from European audiovisual archives.
  12. Media Education Foundation: The Media Education Foundation offers documentary films and other challenging media for teaching media literacy and media studies.

Video Tools

Make it easy to find, share, and view videos with these tools.
  1. DropShots: On DropShots, you’ll find free, private, and secure storage and sharing for video and photos.
  2. Muvee: Using Muvee, you can create your own photo and video “muvees” to share privately with your class.
  3. Tonido: Tonido makes it possible to run your own personal cloud, accessing video files on your computer from anywhere, even your phone.
  4. Vidique: On Vidique, you’ll find a video syndication system where you can create your own channel of curated content for the classroom.
  5. SchoolTube: On SchoolTube, you’ll find video sharing for both students and teachers, highlighting the best videos from schools everywhere.

Network and Program Videos

Check out these sites to find public broadcasting and other educational programs.
  1. PBS Video: Watch and share PBS videos online with this site.
  2. National Geographic: Find some of the world’s most amazing videos of natural life on National Geographic’s online video home.
  3. NOVA Teachers: NOVA shares highly organized videos for teachers, with 1-3 hour programs divided into chapters, plus short 5-15 minute segments from NOVA scienceNOW.
  4. Discovery Education: Use Discovery Education’s videos to inspire curiosity, bringing the Discovery channel into your classroom.
  5. C-SPAN Video Library: Find Congressional and other political programs and clips in this digital archive from C-SPAN.
  6. NBC Learn: Check out NBC Learn to find excellent resources for learning from NBC, including the science behind just about everything from the summer Olympics to hockey.
  7. History.com: Watch full episodes, clips, and videos from the History channel.
  8. Biography: Get the true story behind peoples’ lives from these videos from the Biography channel.
  9. BBC Learning: BBC offers an excellent learning site, including learning resources for schools, parents, and teachers. One of BBC’s most impressive resources is a live volcano conversation discussing the world’s most active volcano in Hawaii.

Free Movies and Clips

Documentaries and other educational movies and clips are available on these sites.
  1. Free Documentaries: On Free Documentaries, “the truth is free,” with a variety of documentary films available for streaming.
  2. SnagFilms: On SnagFilms, you can watch free movies and documentaries online, with more than 3,000 available right now.
  3. Top Documentary Films: Watch free documentaries online in this great collection of documentary movies.
  4. TV Documentaries: This Australian site has excellent documentaries about child growth, historic events, and even animations about classical Greek mythology.

How-Tos

Satisfy students’ desire for knowledge and hands-on learning by sharing how-to videos from these sites.
  1. 5min: If you’ve got five minutes, you can learn how to do something on this site. Check it out to find instructional videos and DIY projects.
  2. Wonder How To: Learn everything about anything from Wonder How To’s show and tell videos.
  3. Instructables: This community of doers shares instructions (often, video) for doing just about anything, from making secret doors to tiny origami.
  4. Howcast: Find some of the best how-to videos online with Howcast.
  5. MindBites: Check out MindBites to find thousands of video lessons, how-tos, and tutorials.
  6. W3Schools: Through W3Schools’ web tutorials (video and otherwise), you can learn how to create your own websites.
  7. Videojug: Videojug encourages users to “get good at life” by watching more than 60,000 available how-to videos and guides.

Government and Organizations

Offered as a service from government organizations and other groups, these are great places to find top-notch educational videos and often, historical treasures.
  1. US National Archives: Explore US history in this YouTube channel from the US National Archives.
  2. National Science Foundation: From the National Science Foundation, you’ll find a wealth of multimedia, including instructional and educational videos.
  3. NASA eClips: NASA offers a great way for students and educators to learn about space exploration, with clips divided by grade level.
  4. NASA TV: Tune in to NASA TV to watch launches, talks, even space station viewing.
  5. Library of Congress: Through the Library of Congress, you can find videos and other classroom materials for learning about American history.
  6. American Memory Collections: Search America’s collective memory to find videos and other multimedia from the American past, including film and sound recordings from the Edison Companies and 50 years of Coca-Cola TV ads.
  7. Canadian National Film Bureau: Check out the Canadian National Film bureau to find hundreds of documentaries and animated films available online

100 Educational Websites


  Homeschool.com
http://www.homeschool.com
  • Printables
  • Resource Guide
  • Local Resources
  • Forum
  • Product Reviews
  • Articles
  • Homeschooling Magazines
  • Blog
  • Free Stuff
  • Top 10 Lists
  • Homeschooling FAQs
  • Mentor Moments
  • Podcasts
  • And MORE!
  • A favorite among homeschoolers!   Kidzmethttp://www.kidzmet.com
    Kidzmet acts as a Learning GPS (Guided by Passions and Strengths) and helps parents have the tools to learn how to speak in their kids' learning languages. $15/year.
      
    Cathy Duffy Reviews
    www.cathyduffyreviews.com
    A top ten among Homeschool.com readers—this site provides homeschool reviews of core curricula plus so much more.
      
    The Old Schoolhouse
    www.theoldschoolhouse.com
    Free digital magazine available at 
    www.TOSMagazine.com or on mobile apps atwww.TOSApps.com.
      
    Homeschool Share
    www.homeschoolshare.com 
    Many minds make light work—a site where homeschoolers can submit and share their lessons.
      
    Homeschool Helper Online
    http://homeschoolhelperonline.com 
    Where homeschoolers share resources they have written.

    HOMESCHOOLING METHODS  
    The Well-Trained Mind
    www.welltrainedmind.com
    A guide to Classical education at home. 
      
    Simply Charlotte Mason
    http://simplycharlottemason.com
    Free curriculum guide, living books, narration/dictation ideas, CM Organizer, and more.
      
    Project Based Homeschooling
    http://project-based-homeschooling.com
    A blog about self-directed, learner-centered education.
      
    Unschooling
    http://unschooling.com
    Learn what unschooling is all about...and get the resources to support it.
      
    Eclectic Homeschool Online
    http://eclectichomeschool.org
    Homeschool resources, reviews, articles, and more.

    GREAT PLACES TO PURCHASE HOMESCHOOLING PRODUCTS
      
    Educents
    www.educents.com
    The first and only flash deal site for educational products. Find new educational products for kids Pre-K through 12th Grade at up to 90% off.  In addition, the site offers freebies on a regular basis and homeschoolers can earn 
    EduBucks which can be used towards Educents purchases.  Items are delivered online or shipped immediately.
      
    Exodus Books 
    http://www.exodusbooks.com
    A full-service curriculum provider featuring new and used 
    homeschool resources, as well as a large variety of secular and Christian books (fiction and nonfiction). They have almost 30K titles in stock, and almost 16,000 in used titles online. Plus, they offer games, puzzles, CDs and more.
      
    Homeschool Buyers Co-op
    www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org 
    With over 130,000 families, the Homeschool Buyers Co-op is the world's largest buyers club for homeschoolers, with savings of up to 90% on award-winning homeschool curriculum. Membership is FREE and includes 
    free homeschool ID cards, free SmartPoints (a Co-op currency), and access to our popular databases of homeschool field trips and free curriculum.
      
    Stubby Pencil
    www.stubbypencilstudio.com 
    Stubby Pencil Studio offers a large selection of eco-friendly gifts and creative products for kids, including art materials, school supplies, non-toxic toys, classic games, books, craft projects, party supplies and more. In addition, they offer Earth smart office (homeschool) supplies. Products are long lasting, non-toxic, and responsibly sourced for students of all ages.

    MULTIPLE SUBJECTS
      
    Time4Learning
    www.time4learning.com 
    Affordable and engaging online curriculum for Pre-K to 12th Grade. Interactive lessons, printable worksheets, detailed reporting and MORE. This is a subscription site—$19.95/month for Pre-K to 8th grade and $30/month for their High School Curriculum.  To see lesson plans by grade and subject, click 
    here.  View a demo before purchase here.
      
    Standard Deviants Accelerate 
    http://www.sdaccelerate.com/homeschool-parents/ 
    The website offers e-learning programs for Grades 3-11 which include video instruction and a teach and re-teach system which helps students learn
    progress, and master a subject. You can see a list of homeschool classes 
    here. Homeschool pricing can be found here. 
      
    Khan Academy
    www.khanacademy.org
    Watch...practice...and learn almost anything—for free. This site has videos covering everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, history, and more.
       

    MobyMax
     
    Mobymax.com
    This site offers a "complete learning eco-system" for kids K-8, with free and paid for classes in math, reading, writing, language, and more. If you choose the paid version, it's $99 for 12 months.
      
    BrainPOP
    www.brainpop.com
    Animated science, health, technology, math, social studies, arts & music, and English help for kids Pre-K—12th Grade. This is a subscription site and 
    prices start at $130/year
      
    IXL
    http://www.ixl.com/
    The site's math and language arts programs offer complete coverage of K-12 content, on the web and through the IXL app (iOS, Android, and Kindle). It is self-paced learning with curriculum that automatically adapts to each student's skill level, and it provides students with immediate feedback and question-specific explanations. Virtual awards and certificates motivate students, while real-time data tracking keeps parents and students informed of progress.  Family memberships start at $9.95/month.
      
    All In One Homeschool (Easy Peasy)
    http://allinonehomeschool.com and http://allinonehighschool.com
    These are absolutely free sites. Lessons are available for Pre-K—High School.
      
    Lesson Planet
    http://www.lessonplanet.com/search
    Lesson Planet connects homeschooling parents with high caliber online lesson plans, videos, apps, activities, worksheets, printables, and presentations. The site helps parents find teaching resources quickly and easily. To learn how Lesson Planet helps educators find the resources they need, visit http://vimeo.com/75440364. To browse courses, click onhttp://www.lessonplanet.com/professional-development/courses. To get a free trial click here. This is a subscription site.
      
    Earth Rangers
    www.earthrangers.org/bring-back-the-wild-curriculum-resources/
    Multi-disciplinary lessons/resources that provide connections to the natural world beyond a science and technology scope. Lessons offer curricular benefits in health and physical education, language, mathematics, and the arts. This is a free site.
      
    Smithsonian Education
    www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/explore_by_topic/explore_by_topic.html
    Interactive lessons on the topics of science/nature, history/culture, art, and people/places.

    MATH and SCIENCE
      
    ShillerMath: Montessori Math at Home
    http://www.shillermath.com
    Multisensory homeschool math for Pre-K to Pre-Algebra. Provides proven methods that keep students on track. No lesson preparation required. Kits include free downloads of replacement consumables, and one kit works for the entire family. Visit the site for free diagnostic testing, eBooks, webinars, and their Montessori homeschool math blog. Products range from free-$299 (multi-year kits). Free sample lessons are available.
      
    Kungfu Interactive Pte Ltd
    www.kungfu-math.com
    Kungfu Math is an online math practice site filled with motivational game-like quizzes. It is based on the Singapore math curriculum and is suitable for children adopting the Singapore math curriculum or as supplementary learning material for elementary math students. Basic account access is free with premium paid option available (the subscription price is approx. $9.90/month). To view the curriculum, click 
    here.
      
    GeoGebra
    www.geogebra.org
    GeoGebra is free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for all levels of education. It joins geometry, algebra, tables, graphing, statistics and calculus.
     
    Algebra Help
    http://www.algebrahelp.com
    A collection of lessons, calculators, and worksheets created to assist students. Lessons cover key algebra topics. Their equation calculator shows the right answer and a step-by-step solution. Over the years, algebrahelp.com has helped students solve over 15 million equations. This is a free site.
      
    McGraw-Hill Education/ ALEKS http://www.aleks.com/ 
    ALEKS is an adaptive, online math program that provides personalized learning and assessment for students in grades 3-12. Using research-based artificial intelligence, ALEKS identifies what each student is most ready to learn, and helps students achieve mathematics proficiency through targeted instruction.  For a list of courses, 
    click here.  For a free trial, click here. Click here for ordering information.  
    Times Tales Multiplication Programhttp://www.timestales.com
    Times Tales is a mnemonic-based program that makes it fun and easy to memorize the upper times tables. Times Tales uses simple stories to provide students with a "memory peg", allowing them to quickly recall otherwise abstract facts.  Homeschoolers will be happy to learn that they have a new animated version of their Times Tales DVD.  Their products include Times TalesMemory TriggerZone Clean 'n' Flip for KidsMath Bundle Deluxe, and more.
      

    Study Jams
    www.studyjams.com
    This is a free site from Scholastic.com. Through real world examples presented in a multimedia format, StudyJams helps students understand the underlying concepts of math and science so they are better able to solve individual problems.  For Grades 3-8.
      
    Xtra Math
    https://www.xtramath.org
    This a free web site for students, parents and teachers. It helps with the foundations of all math—addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
      
    How to Smile
    howtosmile.org
    Howtosmile.org is a free-access collection of 3,500 of the best hands-on science and math activities for all ages. Based at UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of the Science, SMILE makes STEM fun and educational, and draws activities from leading science centers, science and science education organizations, universities and national agencies.  
    Exploratorium 
    http://www.exploratorium.edu
    The Exploratorium is located in San Francisco—but this site is of interest to everyone, regardless of location. Topics cover every day science, the earth, the human body, living things - even the science of baseball. This is a free site.
      
    NASA for Students
    http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html and http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov 
    Nasa.gov is a great site for students K and above and includes educational programs, Nasa e-clips, podcasts, and MORE. Starchild is geared toward a younger audience interested in learning about "space stuff". Both sites are offered free of charge.
      
    FortunaPixhttp://www.fortunapix.com This site offers 3D digital education content of 1000+ Life to Learning (L2L) videos and learning objects for global middle and high school sciences.  All the topics are mapped to major global curriculums with multi device experience - desktop, tablet or mobile device. You can view the demo topics here.  As students' progress through animated videos and learning objects, parents can view the data analytics and reports to see what their child knows, and then recommend what the student should study next.  Use of their L2L content has resulted in students increasing their test scores on an average of 134% and attention levels by 81%.
      
    Science4Us.com
    www.science4us.com Complete science curriculum for K-2nd Grade. Over 350 animated activities, printable worksheets and hands-on project ideas. Automated student reports track progress.  New iPad app available for student use. This site charges $7.95/month.
      
    Fascinating Education
    http://fascinatingeducation.com This site uses an audio-visual technique to teach science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) in a step-by-step manner.  The "right-hemispheric" learning approach takes advantage of the brain's ability to process images more efficiently and more effectively than just reading text. You can see how the site works and use sample lessons here.  Pricing is $79 for one course and $125 for a combination package of any two courses for a one-year subscription. You can also purchase a two-year subscription for $175 for all three courses.  You can visit the site and sign-up for current news and offers here.
      
    The Happy Scientist
    www.thehappyscientist.com
    Covers the topics of life, earth, space, chemical, physical science and more. Includes study units, science videos, a science picture of the day and so much more. There are many free items on the site, and a paid subscription is just $30/year.
      Middle School Chemistrywww.middleschoolchemistry.com
    You can download all of the lessons from Middle School Chemistry for free. Middle School Chemistry is a resource of guided, inquiry-based lesson plans that covers basic chemistry concepts, along with the process of scientific investigation.
      
    Science Buddies
    www.sciencebuddies.org
    This is a free site with over 1,000 science fair project ideas in more than 30 different areas of science. Great for home experiments too.
      
    Chem 4 Kids 
    www.chem4kids.com 
    Where  kids learn about matter, atoms, elements, the periodic table, reactions and biochemistry. The site links to 
    cosmos4kids.combiology4kids.comgeography4kids.com and physics4kids.com.



    READING and WRITING
      
    Read Naturally, Inc.
    www.ReadNaturally.com 
    Read Naturally provides supplemental research based reading intervention strategies and materials for struggling readers of all ages.  Its strategy combines the methodologies of teacher-modeling, repeated reading and progress monitoring. They also provide programs for reading assessment, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and for ELL students. The website offers various sample lessons, best practices, and other resources for teaching reading. A catalog of their products can be seen 
    here.
      
    Essential Skills Advantage (ESA)
    www.LearnWithESA.com 
    ESA offers a free reading & language program for children in K-6 (ages 4-12). The program supports children with different learning styles and abilities, including those with special needs. Units include sight words, phonics, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension and more. For additional information about ESA, 
    click here.
      
    Nessy Learning 
    http://www.nessy.com/us
    A site geared specifically towards students with Dyslexia and struggling readers. The site offers a structured, multi-sensory reading and spelling program (Nessy Reading).  There is a
    'Free play' area where anyone can try out the program without registering.  There is also a free account whereby people can continue to use most of the program for free. For-purchase items start at $30/year and include a reading and spelling program, a touch typing program, a numbers program and additional reading products.
      
    Fortuigence 
    http://www.fortuigence.com
    Fortuigence offers online middle and high school level writing classes. Their teachers work one on one with students to review student work, give individual feedback, and provide strategies and suggestions for improvement for as long as each student needs until they're ready to move on. Free resources can be found here and their youtube channel offers free teaching and writing tips. Classes begin at $57.
      
    Reading Kingdom
    www.ReadingKingdom.com
    An online reading and writing program for children 4-10 (K-3) that uses a six skill model of reading instruction to teach decoding, spelling and comprehension.  There is a 
    30-day free trial.  Subscriptions are available, as are multiple child discounts. There is a scholarship program for those experiencing financial hardship.  You can watch a video about the program here: http://goo.gl/UhGdgP .  
    Time4Writing
    www.time4writing.com
    Time4Writing offers free writing resources, and 8 week writing courses for 2nd-12th Grade, taught online by certified teachers. Courses offer one-on-one instruction and personalized feedback in a student-paced environment. From the basics of grammar to writing an essay for the SAT, Time4Writing is designed to help students master the art of writing at all levels. Courses are $99 each, and start daily.

      
    Starfall
    http://www.starfall.com 
    Starfall is a free site that provides a systematic phonics approach in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice for kids Pre-School—2nd Grade.
      
    Homeschool Literature
    www.HomeschoolLiterature.com 
    A website that features literature and stories about homeschoolers, plus lesson plans.
    Bookopolishttp://www.bookopolis.com
    This is a social network and book discovery tool for K-8 students to share their love of reading with friends.  Students connect with peers to share book reviews and find their next favorite book through friends' recommendations or their curated book lists. It's like Goodreads made just for young readers with teaching tools such as online book reports and reading logs.  COPPA Certified to be safe for students under 13.  Schola Publications Inc http://www.thelatinroad.com 
    The website includes complete language arts curricula: 4 years of The PHONICS Road to Spelling and Reading (for kids as young as Kindergarten) & 4 years of The LATIN Road to English Grammar (for kids as early as 5th Grade).  Click 
    here for detailed scope and sequences, sample videos, and prices. 
    Brave Writerwww.bravewriter.com
    The website offers many free resources including podcasts, daily writing tips, exercises to try at home with your children, a forum where you can post questions, plus much more. In addition, the website sells a variety of products.

    SPELLING and GRAMMAR
      
    VocabularySpellingCity
    www.spellingcity.com VocabularySpellingCity is a game-based website and app used to build literacy skills with vocabulary and spelling. K-12 children practice their words using 35 fun activities. Use spelling games for free, or upgrade to premium for vocabulary, phonics, writing and language arts. Premium membership costs $29.99/year for up to five children.
      
    Easy Grammar Systems 
    http://www.easygrammar.com 
    The website offers the Easy Grammar series Grades 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and Plus; the Daily GRAMS series Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and Jr./Sr. High; and the Easy Grammar Ultimate Series (Grades 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12+). All Easy Grammar books include unit reviews, unit tests, cumulative reviews and cumulative tests.  Sample pages are available on the site. You can watch videos introducing the different products 
    here. Prices start at $5.00.

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE
      

    Language Lizard, LLChttp://www.LanguageLizard.com
    Language Lizard supports families and educators who teach and raise bilingual children, ages infants to twelve years old. They offer dual-language books and multilingual children's products in over 40 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian-Creole, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese and more. They also offer 
    free multicultural lesson plans that homeschooling parents and teachers can download and use to help teach kids about other languages and cultures.  Their 
    blog and newsletters support language learning and multicultural education.
      
    Duolingo
    www.duolingo.com
    Free language education in Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese and Italian.

    HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY 
      
    A Book In Time
    http://www.abookintime.com
    Read & craft your way through history with A Book In Time--a one-stop, hands-on history source. The site includes reading suggestions, crafts, projects, games, timelines, and maps-all kinds of extracurricular resources to enrich history in your homeschool. Items on the site are low cost or free, and everything is arranged in chronological order in American and World History categories.
      
    National Geographichttp://ww.nationalgeographic.com/kids and http://education.nationalgeographic.com 
    Wonderful content, amazing pictures—and who doesn't like the National Geographic? Plus, it's a free site.

    GIFTED
      
    Gifted and Talented
    http://giftedandtalented.com 
    Their courses are specially designed to meet the needs of advanced learners. Their K-12 courses in Mathematics, Language Arts, Science and Computer Programming feature a combination of multimedia instruction and automated assessment of student work to provide students with a personalized, self-paced learning experience. Can choose to work with the support of tutors or work independently. You can see an overview of courses 
    here. Info regarding tuition and financial aid can be found here.
      
    Hoagies Gifted
    http://hoagiesgifted.org
    The all-things-gifted site, full of resources, articles, books and links to help and support parents, teachers, and gifted children alike. This is a free site.

    PRE-SCHOOL
      
    Mother Goose Time
    www.mothergoosetime.com
    Mother Goose Time is a fully aligned, research-based preschool curriculum program which fosters a joy for learning through sensory-based experiences. Their curriculum gives you concrete materials and ideas on how to inspire your child through art, music, logic games and more.  All materials included. Additional products include educational toy boxes, assessments, children's books, and  a preschool dance & fitness program. Find themes and prices here.
      
    Letter of the Weekhttp://www.letteroftheweek.com
    Free online curriculum.
      
    ABC and 123 Learning
    http://www.abcand123learning.com 
    A learning cooperative site—a site where one can collect and borrow teaching tools. Subjects include math, language arts, science and more.
      
    First School
    http://www.first-school.ws/INDEX.HTM 
    Free Pre-School lesson plans, educational early childhood activities, printable crafts, worksheets, and other resources for children of preschool age.
      Early Learning at Home
    http://earlylearningathome.com 
    A site for mothers and teachers to submit their ideas—YouTube videos demonstrate the lessons. For toddlers, Pre-Schoolers and kids in Grade 1.

    HIGH SCHOOL
      
    The HomeScholar 
    http://www.thehomescholar.com 
    An entire website devoted to homeschooling high school students. Free information as well as items to purchase.
      

    Let's Homeschool Highschool
    www.LetsHomeschoolHighschool.com
    A site designed to encourage you, point you to homeschool-friendly colleges and universities, link you to high school/homeschool bloggers, and create a community for both parents and students.
      
    Textbook Media Press
    http://www.textbookmedia.com
    Students choose from online, PDF, iPhone or paperback options for textbooks.
      
    TestRocker, Inchttp://www.testrocker.com
    This is an online SAT/ACT program. Students have seen score improvements of 280-590 points on the SAT and 4-8 points on the ACT. To see how TestRocker works:  
    http://vimeo.com/75249634. To take a free diagnostic test and view a customized study plan, visit www.testrocker.com.  For a free trial here.

    OPEN COURSES ONLINE
      
    Open Coursware Consortium 
    www.ocwconsortium.org 
    Free, open educational content—high quality university-level educational materials. These materials often include course planning materials and evaluation tools as well as thematic content.
      
    Hippo Campus
    http://www.HippoCampus.org 
    Free, high-quality, multimedia content on general education subjects such as algebra, calculus, physics, statistics, U.S. history, biology and more.
      
    Weebly
    Openeducationsource.weebly.com
    This free site offers educational resources available for homeschooling and supplemental education for kids Pre-School through High School and beyond. Subjects include math, science, social studies, English and more.


    CHRISTIAN
      
    Memoria Press
    http://MemoriaPress.com
    A family-run publishing company that produces Pre-K-Grade 12 Classical Christian education materials for homeschool use. To see their catalog, click here. For additional information regarding their Classical Core Curriculum, click here. Information regarding their online academy can be found here.
      
    An Old Fashioned Education
    http://www.oldfashionededucation.com 
    Free homeschool curricula, literature and text books. Subjects include history, religion, economics, science & nature, and more.
      
    Egglo
    http://www.egglo.com/
    Egglo Eggs are a fun and educational product  for homeschool families
    churches and youth groups, as they provide interactive glow-in-the-dark activities for Easter, or anytime.   Fun activities include light up scavenger or egg hunts, games, crafts, parties and more.  Activity and craft ideas such as the Light of Jesus Scavenger Huntare provided on the Egglo Blog. In addition, there are many craft ideas on their Pinterest  page and on their Egglo All Year page.   Get the Egglo Glow in the Dark Kit here.  For the Egglo Curriculum Kit click here.  

    ART & MUSIC
      
    Drawing with Children/Monart Schools
    http://monart.com
    This website offers academic based art projects designed by Mona Brookes, the author of "Drawing with Children". The on-line store projects help homeschool parents access information on how to add drawing to their curriculum.  The projects are user friendly—the homeschool teacher does not have to have an art background to teach these lessons.  Product videos and sample lessons are available on the site. This  website has a store for purchasing books and lessons. Prices vary.
      
    ArtAchieve
    https://artachieve.com/ 
    The website provides a constantly expanding curriculum that makes it easy for anyone to teach sophisticated 2-D art to children K-8. Plus, the lessons include suggestions for cross-curricular connections with social studies, science, and language arts. Free art lessons can be found 
    hereBundled lessons start at $10.
      
    Music Vision International LLC
    http://www.softmozart.com
    Online academy, computerized piano curriculum and lesson plans for early learners, beginners, intermediate and advance students and children with special needs.  You can check out their piano learning curriculum before becoming a subscriber.  Lessons start at $19 a month for the entire family.
      
    HomeschoolPiano
    http://www.homeschoolpiano.com and http://jazzedge.com
    Lessons follow a 6-step cycle that makes it easy for students to master the piano. Students have online access and learn at their own pace in the comfort of their own home or wherever they have internet access. No special equipment is needed. You can view the lessons as much as you like on any computer, tablet, or phone. Drum lessons are also available. Click here for drum lesson info.
      

    Harmony Fine Arts
    http://harmonyfinearts.org
    Homeschool art and music plans, written by Barb. Read how she includes art, music appreciation, and nature study in her children's educational programs. Free, and items for purchase are available on the site.

    EDUCATIONAL GAMES 
      
    ABCya!
    www.abcya.com
    ABCya.com offers free educational computer games and activities for elementary students. Grade level lessons incorporate areas such as math and language arts while introducing basic computer skills.
      
    Fun Brain
    http://www.funbrain.com 
    Great array of games including math games, reading games, and games for both kids and parents to play.

    SUPPLEMENTARY/FUN PRODUCTS and WEBSITES
      
    Picaboo Yearbooks
    www.picabooyearbooks.com
    Picaboo Yearbooks offers high-quality yearbooks at an affordable price, just $9.49 for a 20-page, softcover yearbook, with no minimum order. Their free design tools are easy to use and they offer predesigned layouts and covers making it easy to drag and drop photos into place. All yearbooks include four personalized pages for students to customize with their own photos and stories.  Picaboo Yearbooks has Yearbook Support Specialists to help with design and to answer questions, and they have a variety of tutorial videos, a get-started guidebook and other resources to help make the yearbook process an easy one. Plus, all yearbooks come with a digital eYearbook that can be shared electronically with family and friends.
      
    Bookemon, Inc.
    http://www.bookemon.com
    Free, easy-to-use online, iPad and iPhone book creator for parents, educators and kids to create their own personalized books in pro-quality print and e-book format. Their exclusive edCenter platform gives homeschool parents a safe and secure environment to collaborate and work with their kids online. Their Young Author Press program helps young authors turn their creative writings into published books with ISBN-13, which allows students to be recognized as published authors worldwide.
      
    MetaMoJi Corporation
    http://business.metamoji.com/education-solutions/
    MetaMoJi Education Solutions include the MetaMoJi Note app (for personal note taking, PDF annotation, and sketching) as well as the collaborative whiteboard app, MetaMoJi Share and the advanced handwriting app known as mazec. These cross-platform apps allow homeschool teachers and their students to teach and learn within a high resolution canvas combined with sophisticated note taking and drawing tools and collaborative learning environments. Innovative features like voice notes and interactive presentations make both products popular for personal and group productivity on Apple, Android and Windows. You can see a video of the product 
    here.  Click here to request a demo.
      
    Internet Marital Arts (IMA)
    www.internetmartialarts.com
    The site offers online martial arts courses which include web-based instructional videos, training, monitoring, and an online belt testing program for individuals age 6 (beginner friendly) and older. Students can train on their own schedule, and train anywhere while having access to instructor feedback—it's the cyber martial arts learning solution.
      
    How Stuff Works
    http://www.howstuffworks.com 
    Fun site for everyone. Topics include engineering, environmental science, forces of nature, innovation, and more. 
      
    Teach With Movies
    http://www.teachwithmovies.com 
    Lesson plans based on movies and films, such as The Sound of Music, Diary of Anne Frank, Mulan, and more. Teach With Movies provides the curriculum materials but not the movies themselves. 350+ guides—this was a subscription site and is now free.
      
    Typing
    www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing
    A free and fun colorful website with animation and games introducing touch typing to children ages 7 to 11.
      
    Songs for Teaching
    http://www.songsforteaching.com 
    Thousands of children's songs, lyrics, sound clips, and teaching suggestions. Songs about science, mathematics, social studies, the fine arts, life skills and more. You can listen to the songs online for free or purchase songs that you like.

    ONLINE SCHOOLS
      
    Forest Trail Academy
    http://www.foresttrailacademy.com
    A regionally, nationally and internationally accredited private K-12 online school. This is a NCAA approved curriculum school. Secular and Christian options are available. Full-time and individual courses—all are self-paced. Plus, a wide variety of electives, AP and summer courses are available. 
    Tuition is charged. Click here for an online school demo.
      
    Virtual Schools of Excellence
    http://www.myvsoe.com
    An accredited, private online school for students in grades K-12, VSOE offers a wide range of courses including core subject areas, credit recovery classes, electives, religious education, and Advanced Placement classes. Their teachers provide online activities, live collaboration sessions, science labs, projects, service learning, summer internships, fieldtrips, and more. For tuition details, click 
    here.  Click here to learn about tuition assistance.
      
    Halstrom Academy 
    http://halstromacademy.org
    Halstrom Academy offers Middle School and High School courses-by-credit to complement
    homeschooling course work. Choose from AP courses, UC/CSU approved courses, courses in math, science, fine arts and foreign language, summer courses, etc. On campus attendance and full time online options are available. The Middle School catalog can be found here and to see the High School catalog click here.
      
    Freedom Project Education
    https://www.fpeusa.org
    FreedomProject Education is a Judeo-Christian online school that offers a complete Classical education for students in Kindergarten - High School, free of public school and Common Core influence.  View FPE's full list of accredited classes, tuition, and sneak peek videos here.


    GENERAL
      
    Pinterest
    www.pinterest.com
    A content sharing service that allows members to "pin" images, videos and other objects to their pinboard. Great as an inspirational tool.
      
    You Tube
    www.youtube.com/education, and www.youtube.com/user/sciencedaily 
    Hundreds of thousands of educational videos.
      
    Amazon
    www.Amazon.com 
    Great source for just about anything and everything. Plus 
    Free Kindle CK-12 Foundation Textbooks!