Hi there! I hope you're doing well!

So, how has this "homeschooling" thing been treating you? As someone who homeschooled my children for six years, let me say, this situation that we are finding ourselves in is NOT homeschooling. At all. I heard it called "Crisis Schooling" the other day, and I think that term is FAR more fitting and appropriate. This is a LOT more intense than normal homeschooling because you didn't even get to choose this path (or the curriculum that you're teaching!)!  

It's likely that 99% of you didn't choose to become an interim teacher right now, but you are doing an EXCELLENT job, and I applaud you all SO much! 👏👏👏 Parents have stepped up in a BIG way, and even though it's not an easy task, you've all been making me SO proud of your valiant efforts! 

Since all of this is new territory for many of you, I thought it might be helpful to share some of our favorite online educational resources with you. These resources offer educational games, lessons, printables, and tutoring to help you get through all of this. Best of all, they're designed in a way that makes learning FUN for kids (and less of a struggle for the parents!).

Educational Resources for All Ages

Khan Academy

I've mentioned Khan Academy in a previous email, but it's so good that it bears repeating! Khan Academy has everything that you need (for FREE!) all in one place - schedules, lessons, games, and more for students aged 2-18. If I were only going to use one website for my resources, this one would be it!

CoolMath

The CoolMath family of sites has fun games and helpful math lessons for all ages! CoolMath4Kids is designed for children ages 3-12, while CoolMath also offers pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and pre-calculus lessons for older students. CoolMathGames is a little more game-based and a little less heavy on the math skills, but it offers a TON of fun games for all ages!

Prodigy

Prodigy is a household favorite when it comes to math lessons and games for 1st - 8th graders! My boys LOVE it! Prodigy is free, however, there are options to upgrade to a Premium Membership that includes additional games, learning incentives, and prizes. We don't often spend money on online resources, but we do have a Premium Prodigy Membership for my 3rd grader since he loves it SO much!

ABCya

ABCya offers lots of really fun learning games for grades K-6 in the subjects of math, language, and science. This is another site that is free with upgraded premium memberships available. 

Legends of Learning

Legends of Learning is another SUPER fun educational online game resource that offers over 2,000+ math and science games for grades 3-8. Bonus: They are offering FREE premium account upgrades for as long as schools are closed. 

Simply create a teacher account here and enter “UPGRADE2020” as your referral code on the last page of registration screen. That will automatically upgrade your account for FREE!

ABC Mouse

For younger children (ages 2-8), you can't beat ABC Mouse! With over 850 levels and 9,000+ lessons, there is SO much fun to be had at ABC Mouse! Math, reading, language arts, science, social studies, art, and more! 

My boys LOVED this one also, and even though they're all older than the recommended ages these days, I still catch them logging on from time to time! ABC Mouse is a monthly subscription, but you can get a FREE 30-day trial here (and I'm pretty sure that's all you'll need to convince you that this one is worth signing up for!). 

FunBrain

FunBrain is a wonderful website that offers not only educational games for children but also access to lots of FREE book excerpts that they can read online including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Judy Moody, Timmy Failure, and other popular books and book series! Perfect for trying out a series before you buy the books!

These are some excellent resources to start with, and we'll have even more coming up! We're all in this together, and we're determined to help you enjoy this situation and have the most fun possible! 

XOXO, Heidi

P.S.

Missed any of the emails in this series of 30 Days of Family Sanity Savers? (Today is Day 16!) Click the button below to catch up on even more family fun and helpful ideas!