My Favorite FREE At-Home Learning Resources

If you are looking for free at-home learning resources to do with your elementary-aged children, then you are in the right place! We delved into distance learning a few weeks ago, and since then, we’ve found a few favorite free at-home learning resources you can jump into during this quarantine. 

What will you find below? These resources are free, at least as of when this blog post was written. Many of them are printables. With a few exceptions, I printed these activities as low-quality draft copies in black ink. Then I have the girls color them in. Am I being cheap? I prefer to call it “extended learning opportunities.” Also fine motor development. This is how we win, friends. 🙂 

FREE AT-HOME LEARNING RESOURCES PACKETS:

The packets below are perfect for distance learning at the elementary school level.

• Miss Kindergarten has at-home learning worksheets on her website and in her Teachers Pay Teachers store. She is also included in another distance learning resource roundup, 18 Spring Freebies for K-2 Students, put together by Alleah Maree. We have used these resources extensively!

• LaToya Reed of Flying into Learning created an awesome FREE March/Leprechaun-themed elementary school learning packet in her Teachers Pay Teachers store. Even though St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, the girls enjoyed the spring-themed activities!

FREE KIDS’ ART PROJECTS:

Next up in the list of my favorite free at-home learning resources are these free art projects for kids. They encompass coloring, drawing, cutting & pasting, and MORE!

• Mo Willems hosts a daily Lunch Doodles program on YouTube. He is the artist-in-residence at The Kennedy Center. So there are several other free activities for kids to enjoy.

• The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has a page dedicated to at-home art projects families can do together. We enjoyed creating self portraits in the spirit of Frida Kahlo!

• Pete Cromer, an Australian artist, has vibrant printables for kids and adults, alike, to enjoy! I did print the Dream Bird – Cut & Paste in color. Totally worth it.

• Educlips, a graphic designer on Teachers Pay Teachers, has free coloring pages. These coloring pages are equally great for kids and adults. I use them as a soft start to our morning routine, a time filler if one daughter finishes her other work early, and as a general boredom reliever.

FREE LESSON PLAN TEMPLATES BY SUBJECT AND GRADE:

If you want free elementary school lesson plans by grade and/or subject, then the resources below are worth a look or two!

• Teacher.org is home to several lesson plans by subject and grade. I used them extensively when I home-preschooled the girls. I went right back to them when we started quarantining.

• Have Fun Teaching graciously created multi-subject relief packets for at-home learning during the pandemic. We haven’t had a chance to go through every material, but I am grateful to have an activity or two for several subjects across several grades. Toodle, Twinkle, and I now have several materials to work with as we need.

FREE CRAFT PROJECTS TO DO AT HOME:

My favorite free at-home learning resources list wouldn’t be complete without hands-on craft and sensory play activities. Below are a few of the ways we are keeping little fingers busy during quarantine!

We love the following books for doing hands-on crafts and sensory play! Links are to Goodreads reviews. Peruse and decide which books are right for you!

• 365 Toddler Activities That Inspire Creativity by Joni Levin, MEd
• Kitchen Science Lab for Kids by Liz Lee Heinecke
• 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids AND A Little Bit of Dirt, both by Asia Citro, MEd
• Loose Parts: Inspriring Play in Young Children by Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky 

To find these books for free, check out your local library’s online electronic catalog. Additionally, a few of the authors have their own websites where you’ll find activities. Asia Citro has a popular blog, Fun at Home with Kids. Liz Lee Heinecke also has a popular blog, The Kitchen Pantry Scientist, where you’ll find activities as well.

If you DO have Amazon Prime but you HAVEN’T discovered Creative Galaxy, there’s no time like the present. It’s an animated series with craft projects throughout. Some are simple, others are more complicated. But in between each animated segment, kids make crafts related to the episode, using mostly simple supplies you might already have on hand.

And if the voices sound familiar, trust your gut. George Takei, Samantha Bee, Cloris Leachman, and Brooke Shields are but a few of the famous actors who are part of the series!

Pictured above is our rendition of homemade flowers. We paired the craft activity with the story Miss Rumphius, and put tissue paper flowers throughout our home to 1) bring the outdoors in 2) make our space a little more beautiful. 

And then we wrap up the day with Olaf. Or, rather, Josh Gad, as he reads bedtime stories to kids on Twitter at the end of each day. 🙂 

Stay well, friends. We’re glad you’re here. ❤️❤️❤️