Hope you enjoy our Top 100 Educational Websites for 2014!
www.allinonehomeschool.com
www.cathyduffyreviews.com
www.educationcreations.net
www.educents.com
www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org
www.homeschool.com
www.khanacademy.com
www.thehappyscientist.com
www.time4learning.com
www.xtramath.com
NEWS
PBS
http://www.pbs.org and http://pbskids.com
Pre-K—12 educational resources and activities.
NPR
www.npr.org
A staple in the news industry.
Grolier
www.Grolier.com
This is a Scholastic site which offers nonfictional content targeted for Grades 3 and up. Users can choose elementary, middle and high school interfaces for over 120,000 articles, over 340,000 editor vetted web links, and over 1,100 world newspapers in 73 languages representing 195 countries. This is a fee site—a free trial is available.
New York Times Learning Network
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com
The word of the day, the news, lesson plans, a blog, and so much MORE!
MULTIPLE SUBJECTS
Time4Learning
www.time4learning.com
A favorite among Homeschool.com readers. Affordable and engaging online curriculum for Pre-School to 12th Grade. Interactive lessons, printable worksheets, detailed reporting and MORE! This is a subscription site—$19.95/month for Pre-K—8th and $30/month for High School. Homeschool.com reader Bobbie writes, "My kids have always used Time4Learning—I'm so happy they've added advanced grades!"
Educents
www.educents.com
A favorite among our readers—Educents is a daily deal website which features top educational products at 30-90% off. Homeschool.com reader Elise writes, "This site is so fun-the products on the site change regularly, and they are offered at quite a discount!" Homeschool.com reader Barb agrees, "I check this site several times a week!"
Khan Academy
www.khanacademy.org
Another favorite among Homeschool.com readers. Watch...practice...and learn almost anything—for free! This site has videos covering everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, history, and more. Homeschool.com reader Chanel writes, "This is one of my go-to sites."
Lesson Pathways
www.lessonpathways.com
For kids Pre-K—5th Grade. More than 900 weekly Learning Units (Pathways), in a variety of subject areas. Easy to use curriculum or use as a supplement to your current homeschool program. This is a free site.
Education Creations
www.educationcreations.net
Another favorite among our readers—this site is your one stop "file cabinet" for standards based K-6 materials—with over 14,000 items. The resources spiral, building upon previously learned skills. This is a subscription site—but the cost is just $37/year. Homeschool.com reader Karen writes, "This is an EXCELLENT site. My daughter uses it all the time." Homeschool.com reader Mary Jo loves it too—calling it a "lifesaver"!
Enchanted Learning
www.enchantedlearning.com
Recommended by many Homeschool.com readers, Enchanted Learning has over 35,000 pages of educational materials. Free Sample pages are available. This is a subscription site—$20/year.
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 $79 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 costs $99/year. Homeschool.com reader Sue writes, "It's an excellent site. The reading program is great and the information offered is wonderful"
Pete's Power Point Station
www.pppst.com
Free presentations in Power Point format, in so many subjects! Homeschool.com reader Anna writes,"I love this site!"
Homeschool Buyers Co-op
www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org
A favorite among our readers—this site offers homeschoolers a purchasing cooperative featuring "group buys" for volume discounts on homeschooling curriculum. Homeschool.com reader Lynne writes, "I sure depend on the Co-op!"
NeoK12
www.neok12.com
Free online educational videos, lessons, quizzes, games and puzzles, covering the subjects of math, science, social studies, history and so much more. For Grades K-12.
Power My Learning
http://powermylearning.org
Free web-based platform designed for K-12 students. Thousands of online learning activities in a variety of subjects including math, language, science, art & music, technology, plus much, much more.
Discovery Education
school.discovery.com and streaming.discoveryeducation.com
Free, high quality, dynamic, digital content. Student, parent and teacher resources. Recommended by many Homeschool.com parents.
BBC
www.bbc.co.uk/schools
Free parent and teacher resources, and many lesson plans covering the subjects of math, history, languages, art, geography, and more. For Pre-Schoolers to Grade 12—great for U.S. students as well!
All In One Homeschool (Easy Peasy)
http://allinonehomeschool.com and http://allinonehighschool.com
These are absolutely free sites and are favorites among Homeschool.com readers. Lessons are available for Pre-K—High School. Homeschool.com reader Margaret writes, "This is by far, one of our favorite sites."
Donna Young
www.donnayoung.org
Started by a homeschooling Mom. Contains free lessons on the topics of history, handwriting, math, science, art, English, and more. Recommended by many homeschool.com readers.
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. Homeschool.com reader Lynn writes, "I like the multi-subject focus this site offers."
Quizlet
http://quizlet.com
Quizlet is a free website providing learning tools for students. All of the material is user-generated.
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.
Lesson Library
lesson-library.com
8,000 learning resources for kids Pre-K—12th Grade. Homeschool.com reader Asta writes, "This is a wonderful site and the fact that it is free is amazing."
MATH and SCIENCE
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.
Dreambox
www.dreambox.com
DreamBox combines a rigorous math curriculum with fun online lessons that intelligently adjust to the way your child learns. And with the Parent's Dashboard, you can always monitor progress. This is a subscription site—$12.95/month. Free trials are available.
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.
Xtra Math
https://www.xtramath.org
A favorite among Homeschool.com readers, this is a free web site for students, parents and teachers. It helps with the foundations of all math—addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Homeschool.com reader Marta writes—"My sons love math—and I think this site has a lot to do with that!"
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.
IXL
www.ixl.com
A site where kids can practice math & English. Recommended by many Homeschool.com readers. This is a subscription site—$9.95/month.
How to Smile
howtosmile.org
Science and math activities—SMILE has been a major project at UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science—it focuses on math, chemistry and ocean literacy. Homeschool.com reader Anna writes, "This is such a good site!"
Exploratorium
http://www.exploratorium.edu
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. Homeschool.com reader Trina writes, "This site has really interesting info! I enjoy learning alongside my kids."
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 free of charge.
Super Charge Science with Aurora Lipper
www.superchargedscience.com
Recommended by MANY Homeschool.com readers! K—12th Grade curriculums—$37/month for K—8 and $57 per month for the expanded 9—12th Grade material. The site offers a free homeschool science guide with over 30 fun activities.
Edufy
www.edufy.org/
Free website, built by teachers, for teachers, for the purpose of sharing science based learning activities. Recommended by many homeschool.com readers.
Science4Us.com
www.science4us.com
Complete science curriculum for K-2nd. Over 350 animated activities, printable worksheets and hands-on project ideas. Automated student reports track progress. This site charges $7.95/month.
The Happy Scientist
www.thehappyscientist.com
Covers the topics of life, earth, space, chemical, physical science and more. Study units, science videos, science picture of the day and so much more. Many free items on the site, and a paid subscription is just $20/year. This is a new site for our Top 100 this year—and it made the Top Ten!
Middle School Chemistry
www.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.com, biology4kids.com, geography4kids.com and physics4kids.com.
READING and WRITING
Reading Kingdom
www.ReadingKingdom.com
An online reading and writing program for kids K-3. The program is fun, adaptive, and kids can use it on their own. This is a subscription site and costs $19.99/month. There is a 30-day free trial.Homeschool.com reader Beverly writes, "This is a well-structured and skillful online program. Homeschool.com reader Christina agrees—"Dr.Blank's reading program has helped my child read and enjoy learning."
Reading is Fundamental
www.Rif.org/kids/leadingtoreading
Free site for ages 0-5.
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.
Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org
Over 42,000 free e-books to download to your PC, Kindle, Android, iOS or other portable device. Recommended by many Homeschool.com parents.
Homeschool Literature
www.HomeschoolLiterature.com
A website that features literature and stories about homeschoolers, plus lesson plans.
Brave Writer
www.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
Vocabulary Spelling City
www.spellingcity.com
A favorite among Homeschool.com readers – SpellingCity is a free website offering a fun way to turn any word list into spelling, vocabulary, and writing practice. Premium games and advanced features are also available for only $29.99/year—and that's for up to five children.
English Grammar 101
http://englishgrammar101.com
Free and subscription material. Annual subscription rates start at $40/year—this site can be the principal teaching tool for lessons in English grammar.
LANGUAGE
Duolingo
www.duolingo.com
Free language education in Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese and Italian.
GEOGRAPHY National Geographic http://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
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.
Gifted Homeschoolers
http://giftedhomeschoolers.org
Everything you need to know about homeschooling a gifted child! A family membership is $24/year.
SPECIAL NEEDS
SEN Teacher
www.senteacher.org
Teaching and learning resources for students with special needs and with learning disabilities. Math, reading, writing and more.
PRE-SCHOOL
Letter of the Week
http://www.letteroftheweek.com
Free online curriculum. Recommended by numerous Homeschool.com readers.
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
Textbook Media Press
http://www.textbookmedia.com
Students choose from online, PDF, iPhone or paperback options for textbooks.
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.
Free Video Lectures
http://freevideolectures.com
1000+ college courses with video tutorials.
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.
Education Portal
http://education-portal.com
Free online courses.
Weebly
Openeducationsource.weebly.com
This free site offers educational resources available for home schooling and supplemental education for kids Pre-School through High School and beyond. Subjects include math, science, social studies, English and more.
EDUCATIONAL GAMES
Fun Brain
http://www.funbrain.com
Great array of games including math games, reading games, and games for both kids and parents to play. One of the sites recommended by Homeschool.com reader Alicia.
Sheppard Software
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com
Hundreds of educational games and activities.
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. Homeschool.com reader Emily writes, "I appreciate the computer skills component of this site."
WORKSHEETS
School Express
http://www.schoolexpress.com
Over 17,000 free worksheets!
Dad's Worksheets
www.dadsworksheets.com
This site has math fact worksheets, place value problems, addition without carrying, subtraction without borrowing, suites of multiplication tests using various methodologies, fractions and more.
The Teacher's Corner
http://www.theteacherscorner.net
Teacher resources, lesson plans, worksheets and activities.
ARTS & CRAFTS
Deep Space Sparkle
http://www.deepspacesparkle.com
Art lessons for kids K — 6. Recommended by many Homeschool.com readers.
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.
The Crafty Classroom
http://thecraftyclassroom.com
The Crafty Classroom is a website entirely dedicated to crafts you can use in your classroom.
Tux Paint
www.tuxpaint.org
Free drawing program for children ages 3 to 12
HOMESCHOOLING
Homeschool.com
http://www.homeschool.com
- Printables
http://www.homeschool.com/printables -
Resource Guide
http://www.homeschool.com/resources -
Free Stuff
http://www.homeschool.com/landing/freestuff.asp - Local Resources
http://www.homeschool.com/supportgroups -
Forum
http://www.homeschool.com/forum -
Product Reviews
http://www.homeschool.com/productreviews
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 at www.TOSApps.com.
Homeschool Freebie
www.homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com
Recommended by many Homeschool.com readers.
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. Recommended by many Homeschool.com readers.
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. Many Homeschool.com readers named this site as one of their go-to websites.
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.
GENERAL
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!
BLOGS
Homeschool.com
http://www.homeschool.com/news
Homeschool.com's Guest Blogger program offers Homeschool.com readers a variety of interesting viewpoints. If you're interested in becoming a Guest Blogger for Homeschool.com, e-mail Ann@Homeschool.com.
Confessions of a Homeschooler
www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com
Homeschool Mom blog with free printables, curriculum, and more!
Guilt-Free Homeschooling
http://guiltfreehomeschooling.org
This site is the creation of Carolyn Morrison and her daughter, Jennifer. Carolyn spent 11 years homeschooling her two children, from elementary to high school graduation and college admission. Her blog posts are informative and fun.
Hodgepodge
www.hodgepodge.me
Written by an entire family of Christian homeschoolers (including Hodgepodge Nana), this website is colorful and educational.
CHRISTIANAnswers in Genesis
www.AnswersinGenesis.com
Free power-point presentations as well as products available for purchase.
An Old Fashioned Education http://www.oldfashionededucation.com
Free homeschool curricula, literature and text books. Subjects include history, religion, economics, science & nature, and more.
MISCELLANEOUS
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.
The Top 100 Educational Websites of 2014 is sponsored by: Time4Learning.com
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