Free (or low-cost) educational resources during COVID-19 school closures

**Updated 3/26/20 to include more resources

Like so many others right now, the coronavirus, COVID-19, has created challenges for Best Egg’s working families. We’re all still figuring out how to make sure our kids are learning, while facing our own unique work challenges, and most importantly, keeping our families safe.

And we’d like to help. Below you’ll find a growing list of free or low-cost resources to educate and entertain your families during this period.

Scholastic Learn At Home Lessons
Grades: PreK – 6+
Scholastic has opened its Learn at Home program to families affected by school closures. Access premium articles, videos, virtual field trips and other activities for free.

Outschool
Grades: PreK – 12
Outschool has made its platform free up to $100 for students affected by school closures. Learners can explore thousands of courses, from counting to college prep, to American Sign Language and NASA history.

ABCMouse.com
Grades: K – 4
ABCmouse.com offers a 30-day free trial for lessons in different subjects like math, science and art. The company is also accepting applications from school administrators to allow all students affected by closures access its learning platform for free.

NaNoWriMo
Grades: 1 – 12
NaNoWriMo offers free lesson plans and workbooks for students who want to learn how to write a novel. The curriculum is designed to sharpen writing and critical thinking skills, while encouraging students to be their most creative.

Storyline Online
Grades: K – 4
Your kids’ favorites books, read by names (and voices) you know. Storyline Online has dozens of free books to watch, read by celebrities like Kevin Costner, Allison Janney, and Rami Malek.

Google Arts & Culture Museum Tours
Grades: PreK – 12
In the wake of mass closures of museums, Google has opened up its Arts & Culture Museum tour feature for free. Tour the exhibits of more than 500 museums from around the world, including the MOMA in New York, the Belvedere in Austria, or Tokyo’s National Museum.

PBS Learning Media
Grades: PreK – 12
Visit PBS Learning Media’s site to access thousands of videos and lesson plans on everything from curriculum-aligned math to explainers on the electoral college, engineering, and world languages.

Minecraft Education Edition
Grades: 3+
Anyone with an Office 365 educational account now has free access to Minecraft’s Remote Learning Resources. Families can take 50+ STEM-focused lessons on coding, chemistry, biology and design.

Walkabouts
Grades: PreK – 2
Walkabouts, a resource for giving your kids much-needed active brain breaks in the classroom, is offering free access to its library of courses and videos.  Each video has movement-rich activities to fuel healthy minds and bodies.

Accessibyte
Grades: PreK – 12
Accessibyte has opened up its suite of apps and tools free for families. These assistive technology apps allow families with users who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, dyslexic, or have other reading difficulties, to have accessible and enriching remote learning options.

Khan Academy Kids
Grades: K – 12
Khan Academy Kids is livestreaming daily lessons and sharing its resources to families for free. Available in 40 languages, Khan Academy (and its early learning offshoot, Khan Academy Kids) offers free exercises, quizzes and college prep.

Amazon Computer Science Courses
Grades 6 – 12
Amazon’s Future Engineer Computer science courses are now free. Students can enroll in introductory coding and Advanced Placements in Java, Python and Statistics.

Teacher.org Lesson Plans
Grades: K – 12
Created by teachers, for teachers, but easily adapted to their new teacher–you. Access free lesson plans across subjects and ages.

Busuu
Grades: K – 8
Busuu is offering free language courses for students during the coronavirus outbreak. Access free sessions led by real educators on English, Spanish, Chinese and French.

How to Talk about COVID-19 with your family:

When it’s hard to talk about, it’s going to be hard to talk to your child about. Here are some resources to help you discuss the coronavirus outbreak with your family:

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• Scholastic
• The New York Times (With no paywall)

Curb the Coronavirus Wanderlust from Your Couch

Getting used to not going anywhere (Even to the park down the street) is an adjustment. Here are some free virtual tours to scratch the social distancing itch:

• The San Diego Zoo
• Yellowstone National Park (and other National Parks)
• NASA’s Virtual Tours of the Solar System
• 360° Farm Tours
• The Cincinnati Zoo Live Cams and Daily Livestreams

Ways to Make the Most of the Free Time

In this time of uncertainty, it can be hard to do nothing or enjoy any free time. But doing nothing, for you and your young ones, is important. While these links aren’t strictly educational, they stand in as enriching time-suckers, which can help you or your kids relax and reset:

• Chrome Music Lab
• Pudding.Cool
• The Metropolitan Opera’s Free Nightly Streams
• The World Health Organization’s Live Instagram Concerts
• Lunch Doodles with Kennedy Center Artist in Residence Mo Willems

Managing Stress & A Full Nest During the Coronavirus Outbreak

Forget about the complex study schedules or Instagram-perfect midday snacks. Between juggling work, finances and taking care of your family, you deserve a medal. And trophies. And a spot on the news. We are blown away by the stories we’ve heard, including the rockstar parents on the Best Egg team, and want to commend every single parent and caretaker right now. You are truly incredible.

So we’d like to encourage you to take the time you need to be your best. Sleep an extra hour over the weekend, practice your ‘self-care’ routine, do whatever you do to recharge so you can continue to be amazing. The (entirely remote) Best Egg team is rooting for you.

We will continue to refresh this page as we find more resources. Visit our COVID-19 page for our latest.