5 Genres of Online Learning for Kids
Tag: Education
In the past month, the internet has exploded with free resources for kids to keep them educated and entertained in this time of social distancing. But many of us parents are finding this new era of online options overwhelming.
To help navigate through the endless sea of websites, here are 5 genres of online learning.
The Preschool Basics
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PBS Kids and Sesame Street have easy-to-use, interactive sites with games and videos that teach kids the alphabet, colors, shapes, and patterns. In addition, younger children will begin learning to use a computer mouse, a skill that is becoming more needed in elementary schools.
Reading is fun with Get Epic, a digital library with a vast inventory of books. Many of them have the option to be audiobooks that will read aloud to your child. While this is a bargain at $8 a month, it’s currently free through June 30th for most schools if you contact your child’s teacher.
Listen
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Take a break from looking at a screen and continue the learning through listening. There are lots of great podcasts and audiobooks for kids of all ages.
The But, Why Podcast has 15 to 30-minute episodes that answer all kinds of kids’ questions. Episode topics range from “Why Do We laugh”, or “How Do We Fall Asleep”, to “An Explanation Of Coronavirus And The Science Of Soap”. With over 100 episodes available, your kids won’t get bored!
Wow in the World Podcast is produced by NPR for kids aged 5 to 10. They explore topics in science and technology and have a large catalog of episodes to choose from.
Get Moving
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Thank God for the YouTubers that have created content that combines kids’ love of watching tv with their insatiable amount of energy.
Cosmic Kids Yoga acts out some of our favorite movies through simple yoga moves. Adventures range from Trolls and Moana to Harry Potter and Star Wars, so there’s something interesting for everyone. Teacher Jaime guides kids through stretching and holding poses while entertaining them with her storytelling.
Kids can never have enough dance parties! Kidz Bop puts choreographed dance moves to all the latest music hits so your kids can dance and sing along.
The Kiboomers have shorter, preschool-aged songs, to dance yourself silly.
Explore the Outside World (Virtually)
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The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., has a virtual tour you can take of their permanent, current, and past exhibits. Check out their dinosaur fossils, learn about mining for gems and minerals, and read about the tools our ancient ancestors used.
Take virtual tours of thousands of museums from around the world like the Taj Mahal in India or the Eiffel Tower in France.
The most visited zoo in America is the San Diego Zoo in Southern California. They have wildlife cameras on their penguins, giraffes, pandas, baboons, and more!
National Geographic for Kids has a plethora of information on animals, social studies, science and more through articles, videos, and photos. Parent bonus: there are quizzes your child can take to test what they learned!
Level Up
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Have your kids mastered video games? Introduce them to Scratch where they can learn to program their own! Developed by MIT, Scratch is a free computer coding site that teaches kids aged 8-16 how to create games, interactive stories, and animations. Once they create it, their friends can play it!
ABCya provides math and language arts activities and games for preschoolers through 6th graders.
Math Games is just that- math and games! It covers PreK through 8th grade math subjects like addition, geometry, measurement, money and more.
Top photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Kat Miller has a degree in print journalism from James Madison University and has written articles for www.churchinhollywood.com. She is currently a stay at home mom and pastor’s wife living in Los Angeles.