Best online resources for home-schooling
Are you a teacher left wondering how to put together an online classroom? Are you a parent being suddenly swept into the world of home schooling?
We understand that it is an extremely challenging time for teachers, for parents and for our students now confined to a living room classroom, however help is on its way.
We have teamed up with Sue Hassler ABC’s ‘War on Waste’ star, Australian teacher, mother of three and curator of Sustainable Schools Australia to bring to you the very best of “COVID 19: resources, tips and support for home schooling”.
Sue created the Sustainable Schools Australia Facebook page back in April 2, 2018. The group quickly gained traction, now with over 3,400 members and growing. It is a group for teachers and school community members who are interested in implementing sustainable options/actions/resources for your community and help each other by the sharing of resources, experiences, ideas and of course support.
Sue has shared with us her top 10 resources to help keep you up to date with the current curriculum including support learning pages for all years, virtual excursions to world famous zoos/museums/art galleries, virtual science experiments on YouTube, free maths help programs with outstanding results and kids YouTube exercise classes just to mention a few. Sit back, relax and let technology take over.
1.Plastic Free Boy
Plastic Free Boy is sweeping the nation by storm. Arlian Ecker 13 year old Byron Bay school student is creating big splashes in the world of sustainability, education, health and wellbeing. Following in the footsteps of his idol Sir David Attenborough, he wants to save the world one plastic bag at a time.Plastic Free Boy is a 22min film designed in creating positive mindsets contributing to mental and environmental health.
“We believe that in this time of crisis, it is important for students to maintain a positive mindset, with the opportunity to feel empowered and enabled to make a positive impact on this planet. This will support their mental health and stimulate happiness by engaging them in productive and creative ways with a focus to protect the marine animals, keep our oceans and waterways protected. Connecting them as a community, while sharing fun and practical sustainable solutions.” (www.plasticfreeboy.com). Arlian is being invited to speak at world conference’s and schools all across Australia and the world.
2.‘Free Activities for Teachers’ Facebook page
A Facebook Page dedicated to teachers from a community-based group of Lead Educators as part of a project to invest in access to resources for teachers across the world.“Thumbs up for free resources!”.
A wide range of free activities designed to promote language development, free online math programs seeing incredible results, free shape brain teasers to teach geometry, arts and craft/entertainment ideas, zoom tips and more.
3.North American Association for Environmental Education
Online learning tools and resources during difficult times. “It always seems impossible until it is done”. Nelson Mandela. “This site includes a list of resources designed to keep learners of all ages interested and engaged during the crisis, from hands-on activities and lesson plans to websites, virtual tours, and more.” (NAAEE).
Resources, curriculum, websites, lesson plans, activities and guides for young children, grades 3-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12 including online higher education resources. Online courses, webinars, learning modules for professional development. Access to eePro resources with thousands of searchable resources.
4.ABC Covid19 Home School Help Centre
The ABC will be working with state and territory education departments and other education providers to deliver additional curriculum-linked content to children of all ages including access to thousands of free educational videos, interactive resources, games and original teacher-led mini-lessons, ABC iview’s enhanced collection of carefully curated education content, reflective Journal blog posts for educators, shows and podcasts across the five preschool curriculum areas of family, community and culture, sustainability and nature, creativity and self-expression, STEM health and wellbeing.
“From Tuesday 14 April – with students having started Term 2 or readying to do so, depending on their location – the ABC will extend its educational programming on ABC ME to support children and caregivers at home, from 10am to 3pm each weekday. The expanded schedule moves from blocks of primary school content in the mornings through to secondary school content in the afternoons, featuring programs such as Ecomaths, ScienceXplosion, Numberblocks and English on the Go. The final schedule should be available via the ABC TV Guide on Wednesday, 8 April.
The ABC will offer additional online support through its portal ABC Education, with access to more than 4000 free videos, interactive resources and games mapped to the Australian curriculum – across subjects such as English, maths, science, history, geography, media Literacy, financial literacy and the arts and technologies, including STEM. Sign up to the ABC Education weekly newsletter for engaging online resources, competitions, news and events to help teachers and parents.” (ABC Help Centre).
5.ABC’s ‘Behind The News’
BTN is ramping up its vital education offering to make sure parents and teachers have plenty of trusted, quality video content mapped to the Australian curriculum, including its daily and weekly programs ‘Newsbreak and ‘BTN Classroom’. “Behind the News (more commonly known as BTN) is a long-running news programme broadcast on the ABC made in Adelaide and aimed at school-aged children (8–13 years of age). BtN is aimed at upper primary and lower secondary students with the hope of helping them understand issues and events outside their own lives. .
Behind the News explores news using the current language, trendy music and popular culture of youths. The programme explains the basic concepts that underpin the issues and events, while also providing background information in the hopes that children will take an interest.” (ABC.net/btn/about-us) BTN will expand its network of Rookie Reporters delivering news, views and opinions via mobile video, so that kids who are working remotely or in isolation will still have a voice in our news. Parents will also be able to access BTN’s teaching resources and lesson plans in the “Teachers” section of the BTN website.
6.The 20 day kindness challenge – Home Edition
The 20 Day Kindness Challenge – home edition is designed to support children and families from home. This challenge focuses on individuals or families being kind to yourself, others and the world. .
Designed for all ages including PreK, kindergarten, first through to twelfth grade, Higher Education, adult education and home schooling. Fun for parent’s task cards!
7. 2,500 Museums You Can Now Visit Virtually
Ever wanted to visit the Louvre in Paris or the Guggenheim Museum in New York? Now you can! Museums and galleries all around the world are now offering virtual tours and online collections. .
“There’s no point in sugar-coating it — things are bad and they’re about to get worse before they get any better. COVID-19 virus has brought the world to a halt, shuttering all art and cultural institutions in affected countries, and putting millions worldwide in quarantine, self-imposed or not. Meanwhile, if you’re feeling hungry for art while you’re stranded at home, you might be pleased to know that 2,500 world-class museums and galleries are now offering virtual tours and online collections on Google’s Arts & Culture pages. (And for opera fans, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City is streaming concerts for free.)” (Hyperallergic online publication – leading voice in contemporary perspectives on art, culture, and more.) Take the kids on a surprise virtual loungeroom excursion through the world famous Louvre!
8.COVID-19: Teach Starter’s Support for Schools, Teachers, Parents & Students Affected
Weekly home-schooling timetables from Teach Starter’s plus will be made available for free to ensure uninterrupted access to high-quality educational materials in the event of school closures. Teachers and parents can sign up for a free Teach Starter account and upgrade to access one month of Teach Starter Plus absolutely free. Teach Starter Plus gives you access to everything Teach Starter has to offer. “We understand the importance of maintaining children’s education through this disruption, and we are in the fortunate position of having a digital product that can quickly be made available to people all over the world. .
Teach Starter’s purpose is to Make Every Classroom Buzz. Whether that classroom is in a school, or a in living room at home, we’re here to ensure that children deeply engage with learning.” (Teach Starter Covid19 Support Programs). Please use the above blog as your central source of information regarding Teach Starter’s actions in supporting teachers, parents and students during this event.
9.150+ EDUCATIONAL SHOWS ON NETFLIX
‘Home School Hideout’ where learning is an adventure! Top 150 Netflix educational shows to keep your kids amused and learning at the same time.
“Let me tell you a little secret to keeping the kids on task: Create a separate profile on Netflix. Name it “School” and add ONLY educational materials to this profile. A great starting point is to add our “100 best Educational Shows to Stream on Netflix” list. Then when you need to keep the kids busy, allow them to watch only shows you have added to this account. It works great and keeps the kids from getting side-tracked by the show they’re currently binge-watching.”
Netflix is jam packed filled with educational content including Animals, Earth and Nature, Space, Presidents, History, Documentaries, Entertainment, Geography, Food/Nutrition/Health and Mystery. Here is a list of 150 to get you started!
10.World Zoos that offer virtual tours
10 zoo’s offering virtual tours. Kids love animals and it is a big part of their learning. Take your kids on a virtual tour through some of the world’s most prestigious zoos. .
“Kids adore animals, and learning about our furred, feathered and finned friends is a huge part of their education. But it’s not always possible to visit zoos in person, due to financial reasons, health issues, mobility issues, social distancing / social isolation, and more. In such situations, how can parents continue their child’s education at home and make sure they have activities to do that are interesting, engaging, stimulating, educational, and not to forget, FUN? Well, virtual excursions are a pretty cool answer!” (Brisbanekids.com.au)flix” list. Then when you need to keep the kids busy, allow them to watch only shows you have added to this account. It works great and keeps the kids from getting side-tracked by the show they’re currently binge-watching.”
Visit live polar bear enclosures, underwater worlds, check in with cuddly koala’s all from the comfort of your own living room! The best part, you will be learning about these fascinating creatures all along the way. ed!
More amazing online resources include:
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The Essential Masterclass ONE.
Wootube class room mathematics lessons on youtube.
Study ladder for Mathematics, English, Science and more! A comprehensive program of online educational activities for students aged 4 to 12, mapped to the curriculum.
NSW Government Learning From Home Daily Model.
For more resources and to keep up to date with home schooling discussions follow Sustainable Schools Australia facebook page, On Butterfly Wings ~ Creative Arts facebook page, On Butterfly Wings ~ English & More facebook page.