Looking for the top educational websites for kids? Discover an amazing collection of free online learning resources for school and at-home enrichment. From engaging online games to interactive lessons, these best learning websites offer engaging and effective learning. Plus the best home education websites for homeschoolers to grab free home education resources too! You will want to bookmark this list of fun online learning platforms.
Educational Websites
Are you on the hunt for engaging and educational websites to help your elementary-aged kids learn while having fun? With so many online options, figuring out which sites will benefit your child’s education can be overwhelming. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through our picks for the best educational websites for elementary kids. By the end, you’ll have a curated list of trustworthy learning websites to help your children master essential skills. These resources will also keep them engaged and eager to learn!
Plus don’t miss our resources for homeschool, science, and math
My Criteria For Choosing Educational Websites
Finding the best educational websites for your kids can be overwhelming. I understand how challenging it is to sift through countless options. That’s why I’ve done the hard work for you! I waded through hundreds of websites to handpick the ones that truly stand out. For a website to make the cut, it had to meet strict criteria. They had to be
- Visually appealing to kids
- Easy to navigate
- Packed with solid educational content
- Age-appropriate
The result is a carefully curated list of sites you can trust to enrich your child’s learning experience.
Best Learning Websites
Let me break down the best sites by type to make it easy for you to find exactly what you are looking for!
Best Science Websites
Science Bob
Science Bob is a fantastic resource for sparking a love of science in kids. Created by “Science Bob” Pflugfelder and packed with exciting experiments. It also features engaging videos designed to make science fun and accessible.
Science Bob presents the content with contagious enthusiasm for learning.
This makes it a go-to destination for young scientists eager to experiment and discover.
Parents: Although designed for kids, many experiments require adult supervision to ensure safety. Whether you’re looking for project ideas or a fun activity at home, Science Bob will ignite your child’s passion for science.
NASA Kids Club
NASA Kids is a stellar resource for young space enthusiasts (grades k-4). It’s perfect for kids eager to learn about science, math, and language arts through space exploration.
It offers a range of educational games and activities aligned with national and Common Core State Standards.
The games are thoughtfully organized by difficulty levels, helping kids build their skills step by step.
Kids will also enjoy seeing familiar faces like Buzz Lightyear in a space-themed game. Elmo also appears in a video that recounts his exciting trip to NASA.
San Diego Zoo Wild Life Explorers
The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers website is a fantastic gateway for young wildlife enthusiasts. It allows them to explore the fascinating world of animals.
This family-friendly site is bursting with engaging content that captures the excitement of the animal kingdom.
I particularly like the dedicated section on ways to help animals. It’s not just about learning; it’s about inspiring kids to make a difference in the world around them. This section offers practical tips and ideas on how children can contribute to animal conservation.
Climate Kids
The Climate Kids website offers a visually appealing, nature-inspired experience.
The website contains a wide range of information, activities, multimedia content, and DIY projects about climate climate change.
A highlight of the site is the Climate Change Time Machine. This interactive tool lets users visually explore Earth’s changes, including shifts in Earth’s sea levels, carbon emissions, and global temperatures.
The hands-on activities are practical and fun, encouraging kids to repurpose old items. They can engage in eco-friendly projects like creating reusable shopping bags or homemade paper.
Science Kids
Science Kids is a fantastic online resource that brings science and technology to life for children worldwide.
It’s especially useful for homeschooling. It offers a treasure trove of fun experiments, cool facts, and engaging activities that make learning science enjoyable and accessible.
Personally I found the ads intrusive. For the best experience, I recommend using an ad blocker to keep the focus on the educational material.
Parents: This site also offers lots of free lesson plans covering a wide variety of subjects.
Educational Websites That Focus On Math And Coding
Cool Math 4 Kids
Cool Math 4 Kids is a fantastic resource that turns math learning into a fun adventure for kids 12 and under. The site offers a wide range of games and lessons designed to make math enjoyable while aligning with Common Core math standards.
One key feature is the ability to search games by grade level or topic. This ensures that kids can focus on the math skills they need to develop.
Each game includes an additional lesson, providing further learning opportunities. The games clearly link to specific standards, making it easy for parents and teachers to track progress.
The site also includes four virtual manipulatives that help kids with mental arithmetic, spatial reasoning, and basic number sense.
Math Playground
Math Playground is a dynamic educational platform that transforms math learning into an enjoyable experience. It covers a wide range of topics, from problem-solving and mathematical art to real-world math and thinking games.
The games intuitively encourage kids to explore math concepts through play, making learning less intimidating.
Math Playground is a flexible and engaging supplement to traditional math curricula.
The games’ visual and interactive nature is particularly beneficial for children, who learn best by seeing concepts in action.
Code.Org
Code.org is a fantastic platform for kids to explore the world of computer science in a fun and engaging way.
Kids can start with fundamental principles and gradually move on to more advanced concepts like algorithms, nested loops, and conditionals.
They can explore coding by creating art, stories, and games. The step-by-step approach helps them understand how small coding actions build up to bigger programming tasks.
This process reinforces both logic and strategic thinking.
The site’s instructions are clear and easy to follow, making complex concepts accessible. Kids can access some learning activities without logging in, but they must register to save their creations.
Scratch
Scratch is a powerful, free tool that allows kids to unleash their creativity.
They can combine graphics, photos, music, and sound to create interactive animations, games, and slideshows.
The platform’s interface lets users build projects by dragging and dropping graphical blocks that snap together like building blocks. This makes it accessible even for beginners.
One of Scratch’s standout features is its community. Kids can post their creations on the Scratch site for others to view, download, and even build upon.
This fosters a collaborative environment where they can share and improve on each other’s work.
The site provides plenty of tutorials and guides to help kids get started. These resources ensure they have the support they need to bring their ideas to life.
You should know that user-generated content varies widely, from educational projects to some first-person shooter games. While adult moderators are on the site, they don’t catch everything. If you are concerned, you can download the offline version of Scratch.
Best Websites That Focus On Literacy
Storyline Online
Storyline Online brings picture books to life for young children. Prominent American actors narrate beloved picture books in streaming videos featured on this website.
The narration is accompanied by animated illustrations, which enhance the storytelling experience. This makes it even more engaging for young audiences.
What sets Storyline Online apart is the thoughtful addition of book-related questions and activity guides that accompany each story.
These resources make the reading experience interactive and educational. They encourage kids to think deeply about the story and engage in creative activities afterward.
Parents and teachers will also appreciate the supplementary learning material, available as a downloadable PDF with each book.
PBS Reading Games
PBS Reading Games is a fantastic resource for young readers. It offers over 70 engaging games featuring beloved characters from popular PBS Kids shows.
These games make learning to read fun and interactive. Rewards such as video clips and additional games keep kids motivated and entertained.
The familiar PBS characters capture children’s attention, keeping them engaged while they develop essential reading skills like phonics and comprehension.
In addition to the games, the site offers a variety of reading materials, including poems, rhymes, and vocabulary activities.
It also offers printable books and activities for use in the classroom or at home.
Reading Bear
Reading Bear provides an excellent resource for early readers aged 4-7. It offers a phonics-based approach that makes learning to read effective and engaging. It provides a series of presentations that teach phonics rules in a simple, interactive way.
Reading Bear is particularly valuable for educators and parents seeking a comprehensive tool. It helps young children build a strong foundation in reading.
It offers a clear, step-by-step approach that simplifies the learning process. This makes it easier for kids to grasp the basics of phonics and word formation. As a result, they begin their journey to becoming confident readers.
Word Game Time
Word Game Time is a valuable resource for 4th graders. It helps them enhance their vocabulary, spelling, and grammar skills through interactive learning.
As students begin to tackle more complex language concepts, this website provides a variety of free resources.
These include videos, worksheets, and engaging games that make learning enjoyable. The games challenge students and build upon their existing knowledge.
They help kids understand different parts of speech and subject-specific vocabulary, especially in science and social studies.
Word Game Time also features typing games that help students improve their typing speed and accuracy. An essential skill in today’s digital world.
Best Sciences and Social Studies Websites for Kids
National Geographic Kids
National Geographic Kids is a vibrant online resource that brings the wonders of the natural world right to your child’s fingertips.
The site offers educational games, videos, and activities that focus on animals, geography, and science.
Children can take virtual tours of different countries, uncovering fun facts and fascinating information along the way.
Parents will find this site a treasure trove of resources for teaching their kids about animals, other countries, and science. The site offers a wealth of information on these topics.
However, it’s important to note that the site includes ads promoting subscriptions to National Geographic. Additionally, some content is only accessible with a paid subscription.
History For Kids
Twelve-year-old Stephen Byrne and his dad created the impressive educational resource, History for Kids.
It tackles historical topics, including Egypt, Greece, Rome, Asia, China, America, and the Middle Ages.
The site is a goldmine for young history enthusiasts. It features engaging articles, worksheets, and quizzes for each section, making learning about the past fun and interactive.
In addition to informative content, History for Kids includes cool games and videos that bring historical events to life.
ICivics
iCivics is an outstanding educational platform designed to help tweens and teens. It covers important civics topics like democracy, constitutional law, and the workings of government.
Through engaging and interactive games, the site makes learning about complex subjects like elections, the court system, and governance enjoyable. It also makes these topics accessible to students.
The games on iCivics focus on key concepts such as rights, freedom of speech, and constitutional law. The content is thoughtfully crafted to be clear and easy for tweens and teens to comprehend. This ensures that students can effectively grasp the material.
Overall, iCivics is an invaluable tool for preparing young Americans to become informed and active citizens. It offers a creative and engaging way to learn about the principles that shape our society.
MissionUs
Mission U.S. is an exceptional online resource that brings U.S. history to life through immersive, interactive adventures.
Designed for students in grades 5-8, this free platform immerses players in rich historical settings. In these settings, they make crucial decisions that shape the story.
The “choose your own adventure” style of gameplay keeps students engaged. It also helps them understand how ordinary people experienced significant historical events.
Each game in Mission U.S. is thoroughly researched, ensuring historical accuracy and depth.
The gameplay is designed to develop critical thinking skills. Students must weigh their choices and consider the consequences of their actions, much like real historical figures.
What sets Mission U.S. apart is its inclusion of diverse perspectives, often overlooked in traditional textbooks. This website offers a more comprehensive view of history.
Best Learning Websites That Focus On The Arts
Art For Kids Hub
Art For Kids Hub is a delightful and accessible resource for young aspiring artists. It was created by Rob, a fine arts graduate and former exterior designer for Ford Motor Company.
The website features a wide array of art lessons, including painting, sculpture, and drawing. Rob presents the lessons through engaging instructional videos in which he completes projects alongside his children.
What makes Art For Kids Hub so appealing is its focus on making art fun for kids of all ages. The projects are simple enough to ensure that even the youngest artists can participate without feeling frustrated. Many activities are inspired by seasonal themes or popular cartoon characters, adding extra appeal for kids.
Art For Kids Hub is a fantastic tool for parents looking to nurture their children’s creativity with easy-to-follow art projects. It’s a wonderful way to introduce chiIt’sn to the joy of making art while spending quality time together.
Classics For Kids
Classics for Kids is an engaging and educational platform that introduces children to classical music. It does so in a fun and accessible way.
The website is suitable for young learners from kindergarten through middle school.
It explains classical music, composers, and musical terminology in a language that is easy for kids to understand.
Classics for Kids offers a wide range of free resources, including musical games, activity sheets, and educational podcasts.
These resources provide a comprehensive approach to music education. This “open and go” resource, requires minimal preparation from parents. This feature is especially helpful for busy homeschooling families.
Whether your child is new to music or already has a budding interest, Classics for Kids has something to offer. Structured yet flexible, this curriculum makes learning about music both enjoyable and informative.
It’s a great tool for parents looking to support their child’s music education without needing extensive prior knowledge.
Tate Kids
Tate Kids is a lively and engaging online platform from the Tate Modern Museum in London. It is perfect for introducing children to the world of art. The site is bright and easy to navigate, with three main sections: Make, Games and Quizzes, and Explore.
In the Make section, kids can engage in hands-on activities like sculpting, painting, and crafting, all guided by step-by-step instructions. Each project is inspired by famous artists or art styles, with videos and illustrations adding depth to the experience.
The Games and Quizzes section offers fun, interactive quizzes like “Which Art Animal Are You?” There are also creative games that let kids make and share their art in a moderated gallery.
The Explore section provides information on various artists, mediums, and genres. These encourage kids to think more deeply about art through images, videos, and thought-provoking questions.
Tate Kids is a fantastic resource for young artists. It combines creativity and learning in a fun and educational way.
Multi-Discipline Educational Websites for Kids
Fun Brain
Funbrain is a dynamic educational platform designed for children from preschool through grade 8. It offers over 100 interactive games covering a variety of subjects, including math, reading, and life science.
The games are conveniently grouped by grade level, making finding content tailored to your child’s needs easy.
Funbrain also provides access to popular books and comics, adding a literary element to the learning experience.
The site’s visually engaging graphics and sounds help capture children’s interest, making learning fun and effective. Teachers and parents will appreciate the educational tools and teaching information that accompany the games.
PBS For Kids
Designed for preschool and early elementary-aged children, PBS Kids serves as a hub for over 30 TV and web-exclusive PBS Kids shows.
The site allows kids to easily navigate to the individual pages of their favorite shows. Then they can enjoy a variety of engaging games, videos, and activities related to each program.
Each show’s page has helpful resources, making it a great educational tool for kids and parents. These include learning goals, printable activities, and suggestions for offline fun.
PBS Kids offers a rich blend of entertainment and education. It provides children with safe, fun, and informative content while giving parents the tools to support their child’s learning journey.
Parents: the PBS Kids Super Vision app also allows you to monitor your child’s activity on the site.
Old Farmer’s Almanac For Kids
The Farmer’s Almanac For Kids is a delightful resource packed with fun and engaging content for children.
The website offers a variety of activities, including riddles, puzzles, and a daily question that keeps kids thinking.
The site offers a timeline of interesting historical facts, sky events to watch for, and weather conditions to track.
It’s a great way to bring learning to life and make learning at home both engaging and interactive.
Kids can explore topics like identifying clouds and animal tracks while picking up new jokes and fascinating facts.
The site also provides access to past editions of the print magazine. This archive offers even more ways to learn about animals, weather, gardening, and the phases of the moon.
It’s a wonderful, free resource that Makes learning fun and informative for students of all ages.
Puzzlemaker
At first glance, this website looks very dull. However, it is rather fun. As the name suggests, it is a site that allows you to make your own puzzles.
There are 10 different puzzles, but my favorites are the Word Search, Criss-Cross Puzzle, and Cryptogram.
Children will enjoy making puzzles, and it is a fun activity that has educational benefits.
Are you doing a unit on Arctic animals? Challenge your children to create a list of 10 animals and make a word search.
Have you just finished a history unit? Invite kids to write down 10 words associated with the unit. Then compose 10 clues to go with the words, and create a Criss-Cross puzzle.
Of course, parents and teachers can also create customized worksheets to accompany whatever the children are studying. For example, you could create an activity book full of puzzles to accompany your unit.
In today’s digital age, the abundance of free educational websites available for kids is remarkable.
Each of the 24 websites highlighted in this post will help engage young learners and support their educational journey.
Home Education Websites
While all the above resources outstanding ways for students to learn more, I wanted to share a few of my favorite homeschool websites that I have used over our many, many years homeschooling. These are places to learn how ot teach your child to read, how to make learning fun from other homeschoolers, and places to download TONS of free worksheets and other materials so you can teach your kids at home, without breaking the bank.
Homeschool Websites
Here are our favorites homeschool blogs for you to check out:
123 Homeschool 4 Me
You are here, so it probably goes without saying, so you know 123homeschool4me offers a ton of resources for homeschooling famlies. You will find over 1 million free printable kids worksheet pages, hands-on history lessons, fun science experiments, creative writing prompts, activities to teach your kids to read, fun crafts, and so much more. Plus you can search by subject or grade to make it easy to find exactly what you are looking for!
Kindergarten Worksheets and Games
Find resources specifically geared at teaching kindergartners at Kindergarten Worksheets and Games! So many cute activities for every holiday, theme, and month of the year plus math, science, literacy, phonics, alphabet, spanish, and so much more! Plus all the kindergarten worksheets are free to download and use at home or in the classroom!
Preschool Play and Learn
If you have a preschooler, you have got to pop over to Preschool Play and Learn! This site has so many fun and clever learning activities for you to try with your pre-k child. From printable alphabet letter crafts to adorable craft projects. There are thousands and thoudsands of free preschool worksheets to practice any skill from alphabet letters to counting, themed packs to science, and loads of coloring pages to strengthen those hand muscles and fine motor skills.
Science Sparks
If you need science experiments with the nitty gritty instructions, this is your place. Science Sparks not only shares the activities but the vast amounts of knowledge kids can gain from the various activities.
The Homeschool Mom
With over 20 years of experience, The Homeschool Mom has a ton of not only printable activities but printable lesson plans to help homeschool parents plan better and more efficiently for our children.
This Reading Mama
If you have a literacty question, This Reading Mama has an explanation along with ideas on how to help your child master the skill.
Free home education resources
Now that you’ve explored some of these websites for kids, why not try a few? These resources are just a click away and could significantly impact your child’s learning experience. Don’t forget to pin this post for easy access to these amazing websites whenever needed. Happy learning!
Leave a Reply