50 Exciting Educational Activities for Young Children!

Spring can be a difficult time for homeschool families, even under the best circumstances. Why? Spring break is over and it feels like endless weeks lay ahead until the end of the semester. We are so close, we can almost taste it — and that bait is exactly what has depleted our motivation to finish strong.  To help, we’ve compiled fifty exciting activities for kids to breathe fresh life into your homeschool day!

50 Ideas to Refresh Your Quarantined Homeschool Day

Though the quarantine has not been ideal for anyone, there is an upside. More than ever, businesses are offering educational materials for students at home, oftentimes free or greatly discounted. Whether you have always homeschooled or you are just getting started as new homeschoolers, these activities are helpful for everyone! I’m sure you’ve been on Pinterest night and day since the social distancing recommendations began, and the odds are pretty high that you’ve exhausted your searches and saved ideas. Here are 50 new educational activities to try!

 

  • FunBrain. Educational games for children in grades pre-k – 8th for improving math, reading, problem-solving, and literacy.
  • Zearn. An immersive and thorough free math curriculum for children in grades K-5. The lessons are taught through games, video instruction, and practice lessons. They also offer free printables to go along with each lesson.
  • Free Printable Science Worksheets. This is perfect for your K-3rd grade students looking for fun science activities for kids!
  • Amazing Space. This is a wonderful resource for kids to learn more about astronomy! With various topics, ranging from gravity, black holes, comets, extrasolar planets, the solar system, and more, your children have several learning opportunities available.
  • Google a 3D Animal. What a cool way to see wild animals up close! With your smartphone, all you have to do is type in a Google search for a certain animal, for example, a wolf. Then, click the “View in 3D” button, and it’ll use your camera to cast the animal right there in your house! So fun!
  • Crash Course Video Series. Crash Course is a fantastic way to help inspire interest in science for kids and also learn factual information in an entertaining way! John and Hank Green present fun videos in various series, from science, history, economics, and more.
  • NASA Kids Club. If your kids want to learn more about the space program, NASA is the obvious choice for educational resources. However, even better, NASA has its own Kids’ Club for playing educational games and learning more about NASA itself. Do you have a future astronaut on your hands? This is a great place for them to start!
  • National Geographic for Kids. National Geographic has always been a credible educational resource. Beyond their normal resources, though, they now have a website just for kids! Children have their choice between videos, games, interactive programs, and more.
  • SciShow Kids. YouTube is an excellent learning tool for students, especially visual and auditory learners. This channel is great for learning about all kinds of scientific topics, broken down and entertaining for kids!
  • Smithsonian Science Education Center. The Smithsonian is a fantastic educational resource for everyone, and this science education center website is especially great for kids. Explore all kinds of topics about science with videos, eBooks, curricula, apps, and more.
  • Wow in the World Podcast. If your family enjoys listening to podcasts, this is a fun one to experience with your kids! Travel all around the world from the comfort of your home while learning amazing facts!
  • Free K-12 STEM Curriculum. If STEM is a big focus in your homeschool, you definitely need to take a look at this free curriculum!
  • Canadian Farm and Food Tours. Tour farms and learn about where our food comes from.
  • National Park Virtual Tours. Thanks to virtual reality, your students can learn alongside park rangers as they explore a few different National Parks. The visuals are amazing!
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met is offering virtual tours, which is perfect for learning more about the arts with your students.
  • Virtual Ocean Dives. Explore marine life with this virtual ocean dive!
  • Free Metropolitan Operas. If you are looking to add an art & culture experience to your homeschool, consider streaming these free Metropolitan operas. What a great opportunity for our children!
  • The Surface of Mars. Do you have any astronomy or space fans? Thanks to NASA, you can explore Mars.
  • The Great Wall of China Travel Guide. Explore the Great Wall of China! Many dream of visiting this location, so now your students can learn more about it like never before.
  • San Diego Zoo Live Webcams. Is your local zoo closed? Watch the live webcams at the San Diego Zoo!
  • Unbelievably Fun Homeschool Science. With these crazy fun experiments, homeschooling science is far from boring! Need a fun science fair project? One of these experiments would be perfect! Read on to find out about people-powered research and how to use it for homeschooling science. 
  • Astronomy Unit Study and Free Printables. This unit study will help your students learn all about how astronomy affects the earth.
  • Earth Science Unit Study and Free Printables. Earth science is all about pushing the boundaries and seeing how to create a sustainable future for our tomorrows — which makes it the perfect study for innovative homeschoolers!
  • Nuclear Science Unit Study and Free Printables. You’ll learn about the history of Nuclear Science Week, read about fun facts, STEM experiments, and as always, enjoy our free printables for puzzles, worksheets, and even a nuclear science-themed book report!
  • Chemistry Unit Study and Free Printables. We created a unit study to explore the importance of learning about chemistry, the various ways our world has benefited from biochemistry research, and especially, the practical impacts of chemistry in our daily lives.
  • Printable Science Experiment Journal. Make your science experiments easier with this printable journal! Your student can read about the scientific process and utilize various pages to record everything they need: a materials list, a bibliography page, lab journal pages, and more!
  • Living Books List for Homeschool Science Study. As with literature, living books are a great choice for a unit of study. Living books teach through the narrative to keep students engaged and excited. If living books are new to you, consider this article for how to include them in your homeschool.
  • Make Your Own Space Exploration Unit Study! Is your homeschooler fascinated with space? Or, perhaps you haven’t studied astronomy yet with your kids and it’s time to learn. Either way, these resources will help you create your own unit of study for space exploration!
  • Digital History. Bring the past alive through technology with news articles, music, art, and more for specific periods and events in the United States’ history.
  • History for Kids. A free online history network packed with articles, games, videos, and free homeschool printables on many historical events.
  • Who HQ. “Who Was” is a popular book series in classrooms and homeschools alike. The Who HQ website offers educational resources to expand the learning. Find lesson plans, free printables, and more.
  • Hand Exercises for Children Learning Music. If your child is learning an instrument, these hand exercises can be very helpful for increasing their hand strength and dexterity for improved technique!
  • Discovery Education Virtual Field Trips. Discovery Education has a fantastic range of virtual field trips for students! These free experiences also come with companion guides and suggested hands-on activities.
  • Great White Shark Dive. A little scary but thrilling without the risk! Settle in for a 360-degree ocean dive with a Great White shark.
  • Easter Island Exploration. Your kids can learn all about Easter Island with this virtual visit thanks to PBS!
  • Kids Cooking Lessons Videos. As a completely unique opportunity, your kids can learn to cook with these Facebook videos!
  • Atlanta Zoo Panda Webcam. Pandas are adorable and hilarious and now you can watch them with the webcams at the Atlanta Zoo.
  • The White House Virtual Reality Tours. Looking for social studies supplements? This is an awesome experience for students learning about the U.S. government!
  • Playbill Musicals. You can watch Playbill musicals and plays from several streaming services!
  • The Van Gogh Museum. Consider a Van Gogh unit study with this virtual museum tour.
  • Virtual Field Trip to Ellis Island. Have your kids learned about Ellis Island yet? Now they will! This would be a great supplement to an existing unit study or as an introduction to your homeschoolers.
  • Mount Vernon Virtual Tour. Mount Vernon is incredibly historical and now your kids can learn about it with a virtual tour from the comfort of your home.
  • Buckingham Palace Video Tour. A visit to Buckingham Palace is a bucket list item for many. Traveling is difficult at the moment, so instead, you and your children can watch a video tour.
  • National Aquarium Virtual Tour. If your kids love aquariums, they have to check out this awesome virtual tour!
  • Maestro Classics. Free Homeschool Music Curriculum with lessons in history, science, geography, language arts, art, music, and math.
  • Classroom Recorder Course. Music Teachers and Classroom Teachers and Parent Teachers and Student Teachers can all use this course effectively. Other than recorders, there is nothing to buy – for you or your students. All necessary teaching and student material can be printed as you need it. Everything is included. This sixty-five-page course is FREE.
  • Musicards. These music flashcards can be used by beginning music students who are becoming acquainted with key music rudiments, all the way up to intermediate and advanced students who wish to fill in gaps here and there or increase fluency with existing knowledge. 
  • Scratch. Give your children the power to program their own stories, animations, and games, all while learning the skill of coding.

More Activities for Kids