The Top 100 Educational Websites of 2013 is sponsored by: Time4Learning.com

Kids love the computer so it makes sense to use it as part of a homeschooling routine.

Time4Learning.com offers award-winning online curriculum that can be used with a broad array of student types, learning styles and homeschooling methods.

For only $19.95/month for the first child (and $14.95 for each additional child), members get 24/7 access to the curriculum in each subject. Parent tools, teaching resources & more are provided within an automated learning system that teaches and grades the lessons, tracks progress and keeps reports perfect for portfolio usage.

Does your child work at different levels in different subjects? No problem! Parents can set each subject at any grade level. Plus, students will receive access to each subject in the grade above and below!

Time4Learning requires no contracts and includes a 14-day money back guarantee.
Watch the 60 second tour , try the demos or browse the curriculum overview.
 

The Top Ten Sites for 2013 (in no particular order)

www.education.com
www.spellingcity.com
www.starfall.com
www.donnayoung.org
www.khanacademy.com
www.time4learning.com
www.homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com
www.learninga-z.com
www.ellenjmchenry.com/index.php
www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Grade-Level/Homeschooler/
 

NEWS

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!

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.
 

MULTIPLE SUBJECTS

Time4Learning
http://www.time4learning.com
A favorite among Homeschool.com readers. Affordable and engaging online curriculum for preschool to 8th Grade. Interactive lessons, printable worksheets, detailed reporting and MORE! This is a subscription site -- $19.95/month.

Homeschool.com reader Janet writes, "This website allows us to use 3 different grade levels for each subject. So it allows my daughter to work in math at 2nd grade level, yet work on Language Arts at 4th grade level. The website is very well done. My daughter feels like she is playing, while she is learning. Great graphics. My favorite part? It keeps track of all her work, grading everything she does. I can print this and keep it for my records. It's not free, but it is very affordable!!! We have been using it for 5 years! I also like, Time4Writing.com."

Khan Academy
www.khanacademy.org
Another favorite among Homeschool.com readers. Watch....practice....and learn almost anything! This site has over 3,600 videos covering everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, history, and more.

Teachers Pay Teachers
www.teacherspayteachers.com and www.teacherspayteachers.com/Homeschooler/
Another favorite among Homeschool.com readers. This site offers free homeschool downloads plus items for purchase. You can spend HOURS on this site--it is so interesting! Also, this site offers a way for homeschoolers to perhaps earn a little money--www.huffingtonpost.com

Per Homeschool.com reader Laurel, "I have found a lot of great stuff on the Teachers Pay Teachers website and a lot of it is free." Homeschool.com reader Anna agrees, and also mentions the sites www.sharemylesson.com and www.teachercreatedmaterials.com.

Ellen McHenry's Basement Workshop
www.ellenjmchenry.com/index.php
Another favorite among Homeschool.com readers. The website reads, "I've been building and inventing educational things for the past 20 years, including educational games, projects, songs, activities, skits, plays, textbooks, hands-on science exhibits, and published books. This site really is like putting my basement online. One by one, I am working my way through the stacks of things sitting on my shelves, digitalizing them, and posting them for anyone who might find them useful. Individual items are posted as FREE DOWNLOADS." What a FUN site!

Homeschool.com reader Nancy writes, "I'd like to recommend Ellen McHenry's Basement Workshop.  I challenge you to find better free stuff on the web. Her offerings are incredible - a full botany course, lots of Latin games, the Elements, math, classification and animal learning activities, and more. Not only is the quality superb, but it's shared generously. Unlike many sites where 2-3 things are free while everything else is for sale, on this site nearly everything is free (the 5 or 6 things that are for sale are reasonably priced, BTW, and I found them well worth the price).

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.

Homeschool.com reader Alicia writes, "My go-to website."

Zane Education
www.zaneeducation.com
1,000+ subtitled curriculum videos for K-12. Emphasizes the "Missing Piece" - closed captioning along with video, which enables students to study topics effectively PLUS improve their reading and literacy skills at the same time. A variety of membership options, including a free membership, are available.

Annenberg Learner
www.learner.org
Their multimedia resources help teachers (homeschool parents) increase their expertise in a field and assists them in improving their teaching methods. Many programs are intended for students in the classroom and viewers at home.

Homeschooler Andrea writes, "Learner.org is very useful--I like the literature and Spanish courses on the site... also it's free." 

Discovery Education
school.discovery.com and streaming.discoveryeducation.com
High quality, dynamic, digital content. Student, parent and teacher resources. Recommended by many Homeschool.com parents.

BBC
www.bbc.co.uk/schools
Parent and teacher resources. 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!

Donna Young
www.donnayoung.org
ANOTHER favorite of Homeschool.com readers--and for multiple years! Started by a homeschooling Mom. Contains lessons on history, handwriting, math, science, art, English, and more.

Dynamic Two Moms
http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/
Lapbooks, unit studies, notebooking and a little bit of education for the educator.

Homeschool.com reader Nancy writes, "I applaud Dynamic Two Moms - beautiful notebooking and lapbooking units on history and science, including some interesting topics like Amber, Glass Blowing and Carniverous Plants. All free, and as good (no, better) than most stuff you buy - and they are a hoot to read, too!"

Click Schooling
www.clickschooling.com
This website sends you one free web-based curriculum idea a day, Monday through Saturday! How cool!

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.

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.

Thinkfinity
www.thinkfinity.org/community/thinkfinity-resources
Not one site--but MANY. Verizon Foundation proudly partners with some of the country's top educational organizations to provide you with the latest topics, tools and trends in education. Content partner resources are aligned to state standards and the common core.

Education
www.Education.com
Not a homeschooling site per se, but a favorite of Homeschool.com parents. Browse by age -- from babyhood to highschool. Activities and worksheets by grade. Lots of information about education in general.

Learning A-Z
www.learninga-z.com
Not one website, but many! And a favorite of Homeschool.com readers! Learning A-Z offers easy-to-use teacher resources in the subjects of Reading, Writing, and Science. Resources include printable books and worksheets, and other projectable, online interactive and mobile teacher resources. There is a fee--but it's certainly reasonable considering all that you receive.
 

MATH

Math Playground
http://www.mathplayground.com
For elementary and middle school students. Students can watch a math video, play a math game, solve a logic puzzle, and/or just have some good fun!

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!

Cool Math Games
http://www.coolmath.com
A fun site for kids as young as three.

Math-U-See
www.MathUSee.com
Math-U-See was written by a homeschool Dad, for the homeschool community. Rather than a curriculum designed for a classroom, Math-U-See is designed with the homeschool "tutor" environment in mind and covers general math through calculus. For a review of Math-U-See, click here. There is a cost associated with this product.

Math
www.Math.com
Basic math--calculus. General information free of charge, as well as a math store.

Xtra Math
https://www.xtramath.org
A free web program for students, parents and teaches. Helps with the foundations of all Math--addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

GeoGebra
http://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.

Math Tutor DVDs
www.mathtutordvd.com
Tutorials covering basic math through calculus, physics, chemistry, and more. View online for $19.95 per month. Purchase price varies.

Hands-On Equations
www.borenson.com
The program that demystifies the learning of algebraic concepts. For Grades 3-9. Various prices, starting at $20.

ALEKS
www.aleks.com
ALEKS is an online mathematics tutorial program that provides a cycle of assessment and learning. ALEKS provides targeted, individualized instruction, ideal for homeschooling students in grades 3-12.

Homeschool.com reader Andrea writes, "ALEKS.com is an amazing site for math (and some science).  If forces the student to master concepts, and also lets them accelerate at the same time. That can take as little or as much time as they need for any course and students can earn college credit for a couple of the courses.  I wish I had found it sooner.  And it just costs $20.00 a month." 
 

SCIENCE

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!

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".

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.

Edufy
www.edufy.org/
Built by teachers, for teachers, for the purpose of sharing science based learning activities.

Chem 4 Kids
www.chem4kids.com
Where your kids can learn about matter, atoms, elements, the periodic table, reactions and biochemistry. The site links to cosmos4kids.com , biology4kids.com , geography4kids.com and physics4kids.com .

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 Anna writes, "I LOVE this site!"
 

READING

Reading is Fundamental
www.Rif.org/kids/leadingtoreading
For ages 0-5.

Starfall
http://www.starfall.com
A favorite among Homeschool.com readers. Starfall provides a systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development.

Homeschool.com reader Jennifer writes, "Starfall.com is the site I wouldn't want to do without. It is easy for a toddler to use, yet interesting enough for a 1 year old to watch and for older kids to stay entertained as they practice their skills. By the time my daughter was 3, this site became a useful tool in her learning how to use a computer and navigate a site. It is fantastic."

Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org
Over 40,000 free ebooks 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.
Recommended by Homeschool.com reader Janet.

LibriVox
http://librivox.org/
LibriVox provides free audiobooks from the public domain. There are several options for listening.

Homeschool.com reader Klaudette writes, "You can copy audio books onto cd & listen to them--read some chapters, & listen to others."
 

SPELLING and Grammar

Vocabulary Spelling City
http://www.spellingcity.com/
A favorite among Homeschool.com readers. Spelling, vocabulary, writing, handwriting and more. Family membership is $29.99/year.

Homeschool.com reader Janet writes, "Another website I use is SpellingCity.com, which has great resources, including games for vocabulary lists, word search, unscramble words, crossword puzzles, and more." Dawn agrees, "My favorite go-to site is Spelling City.  My kids love it and so do I."

English Grammar 101
http://englishgrammar101.com
Free and subscription material. Annual subscription rates start at $40/year--and can be the principal teaching tool or textbook for a homeschool teacher's lessons in English grammar.
 

HISTORY and GOVERNMENT

The Civil War Homepage
http://www.civil-war.net
SO MUCH information!

History - Many subjects
http://www.history.com
A one-stop website for history!

Civics
www.icivics.org
Citizenship, separation of powers, the judicial, legislative and executive branches of government and so much more.

Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/homepage/lchp.html
So much information!
 

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!
 

PRE-SCHOOL

Literacy Center
http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.php
Free, professionally-designed, education material for preschool-age children. Follows a modified Montessori approach for teaching reading. Recommended by Homeschool.com reader Jennifer.

Letter of the Week
http://www.letteroftheweek.com/
Recommended by numerous Homeschool.com readers.

Preschool Learners
www.preschoollearners.com
More than 400 free printable worksheets. Other worksheets can be purchased for five cents each. Worksheets cover the topics of early English, early geography, things we use, and others.

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 others.

First School
http://www.first-school.ws/INDEX.HTM
Free preschool lesson plans, educational early childhood activities, printable crafts, worksheets, calendar of events and other resources for children of preschool age.

Homeschool.com reader Shannon writes, "This is my favorite website for my daughter right now, it has a lot of preschool activities."

ABC Mouse
http://www.abcmouse.com
Preschool--K. Full online curriculum. Subscription price of $7.95/month. Recommended by Homeschool.com reader Alicia.

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.
 

SPECIAL NEEDS

SEN Teacher
http://www.senteacher.org
Teaching and learning resources for students with special needs and with learning disabilities. Math, reading,writing and other printables.
 

HIGH SCHOOL

Colleges Rankings and Reviews
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college
Very good source for college information.

College Atlas
www.collegeatlas.org
Lots of great info including college rankings in regards to the highest acceptance rates, the most students receiving aid, the top 50 community colleges and more.

Textbook Media Press
http://www.textbookmedia.com/ and http://www.textbookmedia.com/freeloadpress
Students choose from online, PDF, iPhone or paperback options of textbooks.

Per Homeschool.com reader Klaudette,"Some resources are free, some are almost free."

The HomeScholar 
http://www.thehomescholar.com
An entire website devoted to homeschooling high school students. Free information as well as items to purchase.

Bright Storm
http://www.brightstorm.com/#
English, math and science. Thousands of educational videos.

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.

Homeschool.com reader Janet writes, "We like this site because it has an active Forum where even my kids can go in and chat."
 

OPEN COURSES ONLINE

MIT Open Courseware
www.ocw.mit.edu
Lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT. 200 courses available--again--from MIT!

Open Coursware Consortium
www.ocwconsortium.org
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
High-quality, multimedia content on general education subjects such as algebra, calculus, physics, statistics, U.S. history, biology and more.

Homeschooler Andrea writes, "The bulk of my kids' high school courses utilized this site.  I especially like the NROC created courses as they are very complete."

Cosmo Learning
http://www.cosmolearning.com
Almost 500 shared courses, 1,800 documentaries, 1,350 videos, etc., in 36 academic subjects.

Education Portal
http://education-portal.com/
Free online courses.

Per Homeschool.com reader Lisa, "Education Portal has been a great tool to use for studying history. The videos are just the right stuff for my 12 year old: supposedly they are for a college class, but we find them interesting and fun(ny)!

Free Video Lectures
http://freevideolectures.com/
1000+ college courses with video tutorials. Recommended by Homeschool.com reader Klaudette.
 

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Rosetta Stone
http://www.rosettastone.com/homeschool
Interactive and engaging language-learning curriculum. Many languages to choose from. There is a cost associated with this program.

Language Tree
http://www.language-tree.com/
DVD and online learning options in a variety of languages. There is a cost associated with this program.
 

Homeschool Freebie
www.homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com
A favorite among Homeschool.com readers.

Homeschool.com reader Sue writes, "Free, good variety, some average, and others outstanding, weekly email with lots of goodies and a free extra for subscribers."

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. Recommended by many Homeschool.com readers.

The Old Schoolhouse
http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com
Subscription magazine. Great articles.

A to Z Home's Cool 
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com
Homeschooling and curriculum information.

Oklahoma Homeschool
http://www.oklahomahomeschooling.org
Overall information about homeschooling--pertinent no matter where you live.

Homeschool.com reader Anna writes, "I found this site by accident, but I'm sure glad I did. It is so very helpful."

Free Stuff & Samples
http://freestuffandsamples.com/newestsamplesblog/free-homeschooling-resources/
General information about homeschooling and homeschooling resources.

Homeschool.com reader Mary writes, "The site name might not be typical of a homeschooling page, but the content is top-notch."

How to Learn
http://www.howtolearn.com
A site for teachers, homeschoolers, and parents. And our very own Rebecca Kochenderfer is cited as a HowToLearn.com Official Expert!

AERO
www.educationrevolution.org
Not a homeschool site per se--but a site about alternative education. AERO publishes important news, articles, and books on issues related to alternative education, democratic education, homeschooling, unschooling, public alternatives, Montessori, Waldorf, and Sudbury schools.