Whether you are a full-time homeschooling family or looking to supplement your child’s interests with fun projects, there is a wealth of educational and fun online learning resources for kids. We’ve rounded up a comprehensive list of our favourites, ranging from reading, writing, and languages to math, science and digital learning. Happy learning!

Don’t miss our best content straight to your inbox! Sign up now and get our FREE newsletters packed with fun ideas and things to do with the kids, family-friendly recipes, expert advice, parenting tips and great competitions.

Many of these online learning resources for kids are free, while others offer a free trial period so you can determine if it is right for you.

We will continue to add to this list as we come across useful resources and tools – please let us know in the comments if you have any suggestions!

At the time of writing (January 2021), many normally paid-for sites are offering temporary free access to help parents who are looking for help educating their children at home during the COVID-19 school closures.

Fun Online Learning Resources

Reading and Stories

Vooks.com

Vooks.com is a kid-safe, ad-free streaming library of read-aloud animated storybooks is a great resource.

The library of storybooks can be streamed on all your favourite devices: TV, iOS, Android, Computer, and more. There is one month free, then a monthly subscription.

Reading Eggs

Reading Eggs makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online games and activities. You can also download the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Children love the games, songs, golden eggs and other rewards which, along with feeling proud of their reading, really motivate children to keep exploring and learning.

You can get 30 days’ free access to Reading Eggs.

Storyline Online

With stories read by high-profile celebrities, the award-winning children’s literacy website Storyline Online is bound to be popular with kids.

Readers include Oprah Winfrey, Viola Davis, Kristen Bell, Chris O’Dowd, Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Betty White and dozens more.

BorrowBox

Bolinda’s BorrowBox offers a huge range of adult and junior eBooks and eAudiobooks. Simply register with your library card number and PIN.

Alternatively, download the BorrowBox app from your app store (iOs or Android) to enjoy eBooks and audiobooks on the go with your mobile or tablet.

Audible

The world’s largest collection of online audiobooks is an absolute wealth of information!

During school closures, kids can instantly stream an incredible collection of Audible stories, including titles across six different languages. Stories include folk and fairy tales from around the world; childhood favourites like Winnie the Pooh and Beatrix Potter; as well as literary classics such as The Jungle Book, Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, and Wuthering Heights.

All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.

ABDO Digital Bookshelf

Get instant access to hundreds of eBooks, read-to-me books and interactive stories with ABDO Digital Bookshelf.

Take your pick from fiction in a range of themes from comedy to sci-fi, or non-fiction books on geography, history, famous biographies, animals, arts & crafts, health, music, languages and science. You can search by age/grade level, genre, subject and format to make finding what you’re looking for easier.

You May Also Enjoy 10 Hugely Entertaining and Educational Podcasts For Kids

Phonics and Spelling

Mr T’s Phonics

Mr Thorne is a UK teacher publishing apps, YouTube videos and creating educational content to help anyone learn to read.

Chosen as the #1 website to make your child smarter by The Times, Mr T’s Phonics has over 600 videos teaching how to read using phonics, grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Starfall

Young children who are learning letter recognition and starting to read will enjoy the games and activities on Starfall. The emphasis here is on phonemic awareness, systematic sequential phonics, and common sight words, while the interactive game has proven effective for young readers.

Monster Phonics

Through stories, songs, flashcards, word charts and activities, Monster Phonics helps young children and early readers learn curriculum-based phonics in an engaging way.

The Monster Phonics programme has a 15-day free trial for parents and free phonic activities and worksheets available to help you at home.

As schools have closed again, they are running a special webinar for parents to support you with phonics over the next six weeks. You can register for the free webinar or watch it in your own time by requesting the recording via email.

Starcamp

STARCAMP have decided to give their online camp to every child in Ireland for free due to another lockdown. They have 5 x 90 minute programs available for children to watch with contributors, including Keith Barry showing magic tricks and Don Conroy giving drawing lessons along with lots of the usual STARCAMP team teaching everything from science experiments, baking, games & jokes to music, dance and drama! Sign up for the online camp (which can be watched over 5 days or all at once) by visiting their website, free of charge.

You May Also Enjoy Listen Up! The Best Audio Books for Kids

Grammar and Creative Writing

TomFoolery’s Creative Writing Classroom

TomFoolery is running an informal, free creative writing workshop to help 11 to 18-year-olds express themselves using the written word. To get involved, all you need to do is register and the sessions usually run for 45 minutes to an hour. Classes start on January 19th.

Pobble365

Each day, Pobble365 posts a weird, wonderful or thought-provoking image to inspire creative writing.

Use the image on its own to get started, or scroll down and use the writing prompts, comprehension questions and activities provided to spur conversation and imagination.

Classroom Cereal

Classroom Cereal is a series of free, printable short stories that double as grammar exercises. The original short stories are published monthly and in five parts. Each part of the story contains five grammatical errors, such as punctuation, spelling, capitalisation, etc. Enjoy the story and find the errors. It’s that simple!

Quill

As a non-profit, Quill provides free learning tools and materials to develop your child’s grammar, vocabulary and writing skills. There are over 700 courses and activities for all ages and abilities, with instant feedback and grading so your child can continue to learn and progress.

Languages

Cúla4

Cúla4 is an app that offers a wide range of Irish language content for young people in the pre-school and primary school age groups, ideal for helping kids learn Irish.

The Cúla4 App (available for iOS and android) enables younger viewers to access Cúla4 at any time of the day that suits them (or their parents). Up to 200 hours of top-quality Irish language content can be viewed, featuring series such as Dennis & Gnasher, Peg & Cat, and Masha agus an Béar. 

In addition to these versioned series, the new App also offers original Irish language content including science and nature programmes like Is Eolaí Mé and Na Dúlradóirí.

Stories in Irish

The WalkerEireann channel on SoundCloud channel is a great way to get young children listening to familiar stories through Irish.

You May Also Enjoy 60+ Fantastic Irish Words and Phrases to Teach Your Kids

Lámh Signs Online

Lámh is the manual or key word sign system used by children and adults with intellectual disability and communication needs in Ireland.

Little Lámh is a series of 26 introductory Lámh Signs to help you get started and costs €2 for access.

Rosetta Stone

Start learning one of many new languages with the immersive language courses from Rosetta Stone. Get instant feedback on pronunciation to help prepare you for real-world conversations.

Take your pick from Spanish, French, German, Italian, Arabic, Korean, Irish, Mandarin, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Vietnamese, Russian, Turkish, Swedish, Japanese, Farsi, Tagalog, Polish, or Portuguese.

A three-day free trial is available and then payment plans once the trial is up.

Duolingo

With over one million downloads and a 4.7 star rating, Duolingo is one of the best language learning apps out there. Download the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Duolingo is an effective app to teach children to read, write, listen and speak. To keep it engaging, Duolingo users lose a life when they get something wrong and earn points when they complete a lesson.

Users can learn up to 2,000 words and 8,000 sentences and it’s suitable for both adults and children. You can learn Spanish, German, English and Italian just to name a few.

You May Also Enjoy Fun Ways To Introduce French For Kids To Improve Learning

Muzzy BBC

Muzzy BBC is an award-winning language website for kids loved by millions worldwide. It teaches Spanish, English, Italian, Korean, German, Chinese and French.

Muzzy is taught through episodes, a natural immersion process of “see and listen, say and learn”. Providing the foundations to learn a new language, Muzzy can introduce over 1200 words to people of all ages, including toddlers and preschoolers.

Cantonese for Families

Try something new with articles and printables from Cantonese for Families. There is everything from nursery rhymes in Cantonese to vocabulary lists and a guide to Cantonese cartoons.

Chalk Academy

Fancy learning Chinese? Chalk Academy has lots of activities, worksheets, vocabulary lists, teaching tips and more information on raising multilingual kids.

Conjuguemos

Conjuguemos offers a variety of verb learning games that can be played as single player or multiplayer and compete with friends. There are also grammar, vocabulary and learning resources available with a choice of languages – Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Korean and Latin.

FabuLingua

With FabuLingua, your kids will dive into beautiful tales full of fun characters to learn Spanish in an immersive way. Download the app from the App Store or Google Play.

FabuLinga has a 30-day free trial and payment plans if you wish to continue learning.

Online Free Spanish

Whether you are an absolute beginner or more advanced, Online Free Spanish offers printable worksheets, games, puzzles, colouring pages, and interactive activities to help you learn Spanish at home.

You May Also Enjoy The Best Language Learning Apps and Websites for Kids

Mathematics

The Maths Factor

Carol Vorderman’s maths school, The Maths Factor, is a specially designed programme for children aged 4-12 years that teaches in line with the national curriculum.

The course contains over 1,000 maths sessions, and Carol Vorderman teaches each topic through a fun and lively video, with practice sessions to build your child’s knowledge and confidence in maths.

The Maths Factor is available for free for 21 days, and then £4.99 per month.

You May Also Enjoy 11 Brilliant Math Websites for Kids That Make Learning Fun

Math Drills

Math-Drills includes over 50,000 free math worksheets on a broad range of topics including arithmetic, fractions and decimals, algebra, geometry, measurement, money concepts and much more.

There are also a few interactive math features, including Sudoku and Dots math games, math flash cards and unit converter.

Mathletics

Many schools use Mathletics in the classroom, and there is an option for home use also. You can try a free session, then there is a monthly subscription.

Math Playground

Math Playground offers hundreds of free math games and activities for younger children that are available to play immediately. Topics covered include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and decimals, shapes and graphs, and much more.

Brilliant

All of the interactive math, science and computer science courses on Brilliant.org are crafted by award-winning teachers, researchers, and professionals from MIT, Caltech, Duke, Microsoft, Google, and more. Topics include logic, geometry, probability, calculus, and plenty more.

PBSkids.org

For those familiar with PBS characters such as Curious George and Caillou, the PBSkids.org Math section lets kids play math games with the characters with a good range of topics from What groceries can you buy with your budget? to Measure crystals with May.

Bedtime Math

Every day, Bedtime Math serves up a quick bite of wacky math just for fun. Parents can sign up for free by email, on the website, and on the free app. Whether it’s flamingos, ninjas or pillow forts, kids can see the math in their favourite topics.

Cool Math

There are several sites under this umbrella:

Cool Math offers “math for ages 13-100”, with explanations that are easy to grasp on topics like algebra, pre-calculus and more.

For children aged 12 and under, Coolmath4Kids is an amusement park of math, games, and more, designed to teach math and make it fun.

Cool Math Games is a fun brain-training site for everyone, where logic and thinking meet fun and games. Take your pick from hundreds of strategy, memory, trivia, logic and skill games.

You May Also Enjoy 7 Cool Math Games Websites for Kids

Science and Nature

Discovery #MindBlown

Brought to you by The Discovery Channel, Discovery #MindBlown is STEM-based edu-tainment exploring the world around us. On the website, you can watch #MindBlown videos and play games. Alternatively, download the free app from App Store or Google Play and decide the topics you want to learn more about.

You May Also Enjoy 14 Science Websites for Kids That Are Sure to Inspire

The Wildlife of Ireland Map

Delve into Irish wildlife with interactive maps, brought to you by Libraries Ireland. Take fantastic quizzes and learn about native birds, fish and mammals that inhabit Ireland. When you’re out walking, be sure to note the animals that you see!

NASA Kids Club

The NASA Kids Clubs is the perfect starting point if your child is interested in all things space! There is a full A to Z of topics to choose for learning at home, including space tech, the solar system, gravity, Hubble Space Telescope, supersonic flight, astronaut profiles, International Space Station, mission updates and lots more.

National Geographic Explorer Classroom

The National Geographic Explorer Classroom gives students a chance to hear real stories from real explorers – cutting-edge scientists and researchers, transformative educators and powerful storytellers.

These live video events connect students with National Geographic Explorers across all seven continents to bring exploration to life. Events are free and open to the public. Register for a chance at one of six on-camera spots to ask Explorers your questions face to face!

The Explorer Classroom resumes on January 18 2021, and there are live events on different days depending on your child’s age. If your kids have missed the previous events, fear not as they can watch them on demand.

Earth School From TedEd

Earth School from TedEd introduces your child to a month of daily adventures – or Quests – that will help you understand and celebrate the natural world, while learning about how dependent we are on our planet.

Now more than ever, we need to protect, nurture and care for Earth. The weeks are themed, from the ‘stuff’ we have and how it’s made to the nature around us and the nature of change.

Within each lesson, you’ll find fascinating resources compiled by Earth experts and ideas for getting involved in ways that count.

AstroStem

Further your child’s interest and understanding of science, space, astronomy and other STEM topics with access to documents, lesson plans, games, posters, books, magazines, and digital materials prepared by experts at AstroStem. Just create an account and access is free.

The American Museum of Natural History

Since its founding in 1869, The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions with a mission to discover and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world and the universe.

While the museum is renowned for exhibitions and collections, it also offers a large range of fascinating videos on YouTube on everything from dinosaurs and climate change to meteorites and the moon landing.

The SSE Airtricity Eco Explorers Club

Together with their Sustainability Partner Dublin Zoo, SSE Airtricity have launched The Eco Explorers Club. Enjoy two series designed to entertain and educate primary school children and their families alike.

Catch up on episodes that explore all things sustainable with your kids and discover what eco-friendly adjustments you could make to your current lifestyle.

Don’t miss out on:

• The Draw with Don Conroy – Art Classes and the Animated video series on Youtube
• Instagram Live Storytelling with Reuben the Entertainer & SSE Airtricity’s Mia Fahey McCarthy
• Imagination Children’s Yoga
• Virtual Eco Explorer Tours at Dublin Zoo

Join SSE Airtricity on an exploration of our world right from your home and help our little ones on their journey to becoming Eco Warriors of the future.

Exploring Nature

Exploring Nature is a science education website with more than 6,000 pages of illustrated Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science, Biology, Anatomy, and Ecology resources for all primary and secondary school levels.

Gideon’s World

Gideon’s World is a YouTube channel with a mix of videos, from gaming to science experiments. With new videos posted every week, there is plenty of content, including videos on homemade bubbles, force and motion.

Learning Circuits

Learning Circuits is a free website to help younger children (and others) to learn about circuits and electricity. Topics covered include sources of electricity, dangers of electricity, circuits and conductors, changing circuits, and circuit diagrams.

You May Also Enjoy 15 Fascinating Science Facts For Kids To Amaze Their Friends

Geography, History and Social Sciences

CleverBooks

CleverBooks have 3D augmented apps that enable children to interact with learning in a fun educational way that helps to embed that knowledge. From maps to science and math to reading, children can learn through a fun, engaging and discovery process.

You can try CleverBooks augmented reality for yourself! Bring Africa to Life in 3 simple steps:

1. Download and print this special map of Africa called a Marker
2. Download and launch the FREE #CleverBooks Geography App for iOS or Android
3. Select Continents and face the camera of your mobile device on the printed marker.

Watch as Africa comes to life!

Google Earth

Explore worldwide satellite imagery and 3D buildings and terrain for hundreds of cities with Google Earth. Zoom to your house or anywhere else, then dive in for a 360° perspective with Street View.

Children will enjoy taking a guided tour around the globe with some of the world’s leading storytellers, scientists, and nonprofits – you can also solve clues to track Carmen Sandiego around the world!

Ducksters

Ducksters is a great resource for world history, geography, science and biographical info. As well as facts and information for homework and projects, there are also plenty of learning games.

National Geographic Kids

If you love animals and learning about nature and geography, then National Geographic Kids is a fantastic online resource!

With quizzes, facts, games, videos and lots of weird, wacky and adorable animal info, there’s plenty of info here. Don’t miss the Nat Geo Kids YouTube channel either.

National Marine Aquarium

Dive down deep with free live lessons from the National Marine Aquarium. Every Friday for the next 7 weeks, there will be two sessions available on Youtube with a new theme each week.

The first session, ‘Deep Science’ (1:00pm to 1:20pm) will explore the science behind the animated ocean exploration tv series ‘The Deep’. Kids will learn amazing facts and watch experiments. The second will be ‘Mermaid Tales’, a short story narrated by the Aquarium’s resident mermaid, Marina. The story starts at 1:30 – 1:45pm and makes a perfect afternoon break from remote learning.

Academy4SC is a video series on various philosophical, psychological and economical topics which is a great learning tool for older children and teens.

Topics covered include oxymorons, hyperbole, Pavlov’s dog experiment, cognitive bias, and series discussing logic, rhetoric and reasoning. Each video comes with an explanation of the topic, as well as a lesson plan.

Ask About Ireland

Created by the public libraries and teachers as a learning resource, Ask About Ireland has thousands of articles, images, maps, audio tracks, ebooks, videos and more. With primary and secondary learning zones, there is plenty of information about Ireland’s past and present, as well as the ENFO section which cover environmental topics, growing your own and sustainable living.

Active History

Active History provides interactive simulations, decision-making games, self-marking quizzes, worksheets and lesson plans for teachers and students of World History. It provides materials on hundreds of topics from the Middle Ages to the present day, aimed at every age range between 11-18 years.

World Atlas

At World Atlas, children can learn about any country in the world with maps, facts and information to help with homework, projects or general knowledge.

History Hit

Discover a variety of historical topics covering all eras of history with videos, interviews and podcasts on History Hit.

During school closures, a free 30-day unlimited access trial is available.

CountryReports

CountryReports provides over 35,000 pages of online content on the cultures and countries of the world. A subscription is required for access.

You May Also Enjoy Moon-tastic! 21 Mega Moon Facts for Kids To Enjoy

Coding and Digital Learning

Scratch

Scratch is a programming language and an online community where children can program and share interactive media such as stories, games, and animation with people from all over the world.

As children create with Scratch, they learn to think creatively, work collaboratively, and reason systematically.

While Scratch is aimed at children 8-16, it can be valuable for all ages. Younger children, however, may prefer to try the simplified version ScratchJr first.

iDEA

The Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award, known as iDEA, is an international programme that helps you develop digital, enterprise and employability skills for free.

Through a series of online challenges, you can win career-enhancing badges, unlock new opportunities and, ultimately, gain industry-recognised Awards that help you stand out from the crowd.

Badges can be achieved in coding, social media, e-safety, virtual reality, blockchain, research and more. Each badge is an interactive online module – the more badges you get, the more points you get towards a bronze, silver or gold award.

codeSpark Academy

Interactive puzzles from codeSpark Academy teach little learners the basics of computer science. Once your mini coders master the puzzles, they can create games of their own.

With new puzzles and games added every month, kids as young as four can develop 21st century skills that will help boost their performance in all subjects.

Enjoy a 7-day free trial, and then there are price plans available.

Minecraft: Education Edition

Minecraft: Education Edition is a game-based learning platform that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive digital environment.

Through project-based lessons, students build critical 21st century skills like collaboration, creative problem solving and digital citizenship. Explore the wealth of resources available to download.

EduCode Academy

On EduCode Academy, video micro-lessons break down complex computer science concepts like JavaScript or HTML into fun and engaging exercises. Rich storylines provide context and motivation throughout the learning journey.

You can avail of a free 7-day trial when signing up.

Blocksmith

With Blocksmith, students can learn about 3D modelling, animations and programming, before starting with advanced programs like Unity3D and Unreal.

Blocksmith does not require special equipment and can run on regular home computers (Windows PC, Mac and Chromebook). Get one month free to create 3D games and experiences.

Nitro Type

Nitro Type is a free game-based resource to help your child learn how to type accurately. Kids will enjoy improving their typing skills while competing in fast-paced races with up to 5 typers from around the world. Compete against friends, earn new cars, track your scores, and more.

Health & Fitness

GoNoodle

Get active with the GoNoodle videos – kids love them! Dancing, exercising, yoga, movement and mindfulness are all key aspects of the GoNoodle videos, and the catchy tunes will have the kids begging for more.

Check out GoNoodle for more information, or look on YouTube for the free GoNoodle videos.

HeyKiddo

Best for ages 6-11 years, HeyKiddo was developed by Dr. Nicole Lipkin and her team of psychologists and child experts to make it easier for parents to help their kids develop social, emotional, and leadership skills.

Choose the topic you most want to discuss with your child (e.g. relationships, resilience, peer pressure, empathy, confidence), then HeyKiddo will then text you conversation starters, coaching tips and activities each week. At the end of eight weeks, choose a new topic.

During school closures, use the code NEWYEAR2021 for one month free.

PE With Joe Wicks

Joe Wicks, aka The Body Coach, has relaunched his 30-minute PE class for kids. Work up a sweat with Joe on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the current COVID-19 school closures. The live streams take place daily at 9 am (GMT), but can be accessed at any time on The Body Coach TV YouTube channel.

Cosmic Kids Yoga

The Cosmic Kids Yoga YouTube channel is a great resource for children aged 3 years and up. The fun, interactive adventures build strength, balance and confidence – and get kids into yoga and mindfulness early!

Art and Creativity

Crayola

Crayola offers thousands of art-infused lesson plans for toddlers to teens that can be done at home.

There are creative art projects solely designed to inspire your child, as well as projects and lesson plans to complement history, maths, science and other school subjects. All equipment needed are listed, and step-by-step instructions help your child complete the lesson.

Artrageous with Nate

Artrageous with Nate is a six-time Emmy award-winning video series on YouTube. Join in as Nate travels the globe exploring where creativity is happening.

Videos include a trip inside La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, how to spot a fake painting, stop motion animation, and the art of optical illusion – as well as a series looking at artists such as Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, Vincent Van Gogh and Andy Warhol.

Doodle Do-It

Anyone can draw, it’s just about putting pencil to paper and having fun! Join author and illustrator Tom McLaughlin for a weekly session of Doodle Do-It on YouTube as he gives young artists helpful hints, tips and tricks.

Make Beliefs Comix

Create your very own comic strip and story with Make Beliefs Comix. Story prompts and ideas are available if you aren’t sure where to get started, and getting started is easy.

Jigsaw Explorer

Run out of jigsaws at home or just fancy something new? Take a break with an online puzzle at Jigsaw Explorer where you can take your pick from hundreds of different options and themes.

Topics range from hilarious animals (like this movie night puzzle!), famous art and landscapes to space, iconic advertisements and nature.

With a puzzle added daily, there’s always something new to choose from.

Creative Music Lab

Chrome Music Lab is a website that makes learning music more accessible through fun, hands-on experiments.

Areas covered include rhythm, sound waves, arpeggios, and harmonics.

Doodles Academy

Doodles Academy offers a variety of free art projects to be inspired by. They can be done at home, and you can check the staple art supplies Doodles Academy recommends on the site.

Nomster Chef

Designed for kids aged 2-12 and their parents, Nomster Chef is a free resource to get kids cooking safely and healthily. The step-by-step recipes are fully illustrated (by cute monsters!) so there is no guesswork as you progress through the instructions.

Take your pick from recipes like loaded sweet potato nachos, chocolate chip zucchini banana bread, banana pumpkin pancakes, pecan chocolate chunk cookies, and more.

Unique Voice

Unique Voice uses the art, drama and creativity to help develop children’s social and emotional resilience. They have created an at-home activity pack full of fun projects to make, do and keep busy with, including making slime, tie-dye, making treasure maps and lots more.

Various Subjects

Twinkl

Twinkl is one of the world’s leading resources for schools and those learning at home. The teacher-created content provides entire schemes of work, lesson planning and assessments right through to online educational games, augmented reality and more.

During school closures in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, use Twinkl’s Home Learning Hub, and Twinkl Go! for free. The Home Learning Hub provides a range of resources including worksheets, crafts and educational games, as well as guides for parents to help them navigate the curriculum.

Twinkl Go! provides a variety of interactive and audiovisual resources suitable for all ages and covering all subjects. This collection offers hundreds of games, videos, audiobooks and activities, which can be completed on any device.

To get access to the resources on the Home Learning Hub or Twinkl Go!, individuals need to create a free log-in using an email address and password.

Scoilnet

Scoilnet is the Department of Education and Skills (DES) official portal for Irish education. Here, you can search by primary and post-primary for resources relevant to your child’s class and subjects.

There is currently also free home access to students to World Book Online. World Book is a trusted encyclopedia containing thousands of informational articles with stunning illustrations, videos, interactive maps, research help, and activities.

GillExplore

Educational publisher Gill Books has made their digital resources available online at GillExplore, including workbooks, skills books and readers for all primary school ages.

Subjects covered include English spelling and comprehension, maths, Irish and problem-solving.

Children may be familiar with some of these books from school, including Sounds Good Phonics, Word Wizard, Cracking Maths, Tables Expert, Super Sleuth, and Réalta Litriú.

Highlights Kids

Highlights Kids is a great source of activities, quizzes, games and topics to explore. There’s everything from kid-friendly baking and recipes to dinosaur facts and craft projects. You’ll also find answers to burning questions such as: Why can’t we feel the earth spinning? Do vampire bats really drink blood? How is maple syrup made? and What’s inside a black hole?

BBC Teach

BBC Teach is home to thousands of free curriculum-mapped videos, arranged by age-group and subject.

Subjects include: Art & design, maths, history, computing, design & technology, English, geography, French, German, citizenship, drama, media studies, music, science, PSHE, Spanish, physical education, business, biology, chemistry, and physics.

Khan Academy

As a non-profit, Khan Academy offers a free world-class education through practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalised learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace. Subjects covered include math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more.

Khan Academy has also partnered with institutions like NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialised content.

Khan Academy Kids

The free Khan Academy Kids app (available from App Store and Google Play) helps children learn reading, language, writing, math, social-emotional development, problem-solving skills, and motor development. Open-ended activities and games like drawing, storytelling, and colouring encourage creativity and self-expression.

123Homeschool4Me

With over 100,000 pages of free printable worksheets and educational activities for toddlers through to tweens, 123Homeschool4Me is a valuable resource. In addition to the usual school subjects, there are also plenty of seasonal activities, games, recipes, and information on how to homeschool.

Oxford Owl

From Oxford University Press, Oxford Owl is a great resource for learning at home with primary school children.

Help your child learn to read or progress with over 100 free eBooks, including well-known characters such as Biff, Chip and Kipper or Winnie the Witch, there’s also find some great non-fiction eBooks to help your child explore their world.

School topics covered include phonics, comprehension, handwriting practice, spelling and grammar, maths, times tables, telling the time, and more. There are also lots of complementary activities such as colouring, creative writing, activity sheets, and more fun ideas.

DKfindout!

From publishers DK comes DKfindout!, which allows your child to search, learn, and explore information on a safe and secure site. Perfect for help with homework, DK’s clear and highly visual content covers all curriculum subjects.

Enchanted Learning

There are 35,000 pages on Enchanted Learning covering a wide range of topics – English, World Languages, Social Studies, Math, Science, Health, Arts & Crafts, and Music.

In addition, there are numerous writing, drawing, colouring, comprehension, and reading activities to choose from.

Top Marks

Top Marks is a hive of online learning resources for a variety of subjects – pick the topic you are interested in and the results will give you a variety of information sources.

Homeschool Pop

Homeschool Pop is a popular YouTube channel with a diverse range of topics for kids, from similes and metaphors to the Mona Lisa, civil rights leaders and lots of fun animal facts.

e-Learning for Kids

e-learning for Kids is a non-profit organisation providing free, fun, curriculum-based primary education to children worldwide.

Children can learn age-appropriate information in math, science, environmental skills, computer skills, health, language arts, and life skills.

The Kids Should See This

Do you have a curious kid? Check out The Kid Should See This for a jaw-dropping collection of 4,300+ kid-friendly videos, curated for teachers and parents who want to share smarter, more meaningful media in the classroom and at home. And it’s free!

With 10-15 videos added each week, you can browse the collections (e.g. how things are made, climate change, the human body, LEGO, robots, volcanoes – or poop!) or take your pick from smart STEAM, history, and culture-focused content by museums, organisations, and creators who celebrate curiosity, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, kindness, and other essential themes for all ages.

ABCya

ABCya provides over 400 fun and educational games for grades Pre-K through 6. Games are categorised by grade and subject, and cover topics such as multiplication, parts of speech, typing, pattern recognition, and more. With so much variety, there is sure to be something for kids at all learning levels and styles.

BrainPOP

BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr provide online resources for your child to learn at home in science, English, math, social studies, arts & music, health, engineering, and technology.

All Kids Network

There are thousands of fun kids activities like crafts, worksheets, colouring pages, printable mazes, dot to dot, hidden pictures and more available on All Kids Network.

Fun Brain

Created for kids in grades Pre-K through 8, Fun Brain has been the leader in free educational games for kids since 1997. There are hundreds of games, books, comics, and videos that develop skills in math, reading, problem-solving and literacy.

Teacher Created Materials

Teacher Created Materials produces imaginative and award-winning resources for teachers and students in all subjects, and for all ages. Learn at home resources include free instant downloads, workbooks, and parent guides.

Activity Village

There are thousands of resources and printables on Activity Village, including colouring pages, kids crafts, educational resources, puzzles, worksheets, sudoku for kids, seasonal activities, and lots more. Some are available free, although an annual membership (£19.95/$26) will allow you to use and print to your heart’s content.

During school closures, these free activity packs have been made available.

Discovery K12

Discovery K12 has 7 main courses – Reading/Literature, Language Arts, Math, History/Social Studies, Science, Visual/Performing Arts, and Physical Education. Extra Curriculum includes Spanish, HTML Coding, Healthy Living, Personal Finance, Business 101, and Business Apps.

Carmen Sandiego

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, publishers of Carmen Sandiego resources, offers a variety of themed activities, worksheets and projects for all ages.

Transform subjects like reading, writing, geography, history, government, art, French, Spanish and social-emotional learning into fun activities – code breaking, map quests, origami and exploration are just some of the choices!

News For Kids

TIME For Kids

TIME for Kids is in a unique position to help kids understand this unprecedented moment. The school-based publication that has provided quality journalism to millions of students in elementary classrooms for 25 years, will now be available at home.

After the success of its free TIME For Kids digital library last March, they have launched a new subscription service for $19.99 per year, as an introductory offer. Those who avail will have digital access to new editions of TIME for Kids each week, as well as access to previously published issues in 2020.

Subscribers will also receive a TIME for Kids newsletter to serve as a supplemental guide for the content in each new issue, with helpful curriculum, conversation guides, resources, and engaging activities to make the most out of every issue of TIME for Kids at home.

News2Day

Your kids may be used to watching RTE’s News2Day programme in school, and they can continue watching it at home with new shows each weekday at 4.20pm. You can also catch up on previous episodes via the RTE Player.

You May Also Enjoy What is Augmented Reality Technology? A Parent’s Guide

Do you have more online learning resources for kids that we should add to our list? Leave a comment below and let us know – we’d love to hear from you!