5 Helpful Homeschool Resources for Traditionally Schooled Children

We are living in uncertain times!

With the constant flow of daily reports about new cases of the disease caused by the cornonavirus, officially named COVID-19 popping up, every facet of society is experiencing unprecedented impacts!

I’ve always advocated for parents who desire to educate their own children. However, it doesn’t matter where that educational experience takes place. And now, with the uptick in school closures for social distancing purposes, many parents of traditionally schooled children are faced with unexpected educational decisions. For this article, the term “traditionally schooled” means children enrolled in a public, private/parochial or charter schools.

I don’t have all the answers. But what I can do is help encourage and support these parents, including some of you! Here’s a list I’ve compiled of 5 helpful homeschool resources for traditionally schooled children.

1. 30+ Homeschooling Websites for Black Homeschoolers by Brown Mamas

This comprehensive list of homeschool websites by an organization called Brown Mamas, is your one stop shop for all things homeschool with a bent towards the African American experience. You’ll find melanated mommas homeschooling their crews. Brown skinned bloggers tell their unique experiences. And your girl ’round the way utilizes her YouTube platform to share time-saving life and homeschool hacks. This very thorough list is exactly what you’re looking for! I’ve utilized many of the resources on this fabulous list and encourage you to do the same!

2. Next up, Hoopladigital

If your friendship loving 8-year-old REALLY wants to read the next book in the rebooted Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel series, Hoopladigital, is where its at! But Hoopla Digital is SO much more than your regular book lending service! On its website, Hoopla Digital boasts, “[it] partners with libraries across the United States and Canada to provide online and mobile access to eBooks, audiobooks, comics, music, movies, and TV.” All you need to gain access to this invaluable resource is a valid library card. Then you can “borrow, instantly stream, and download dynamic content via hoopla’s mobile app”.

3. Outschool…”where kids love learning!”

Ever wish your child could learn to sew, how to play an instrument or speak a foreign language from the safety and comfort of your own home? Well, with Outschool, that’s just what you’ll get. This online community offers online classes for kids ages 3-18. With classes starting as low as $5, your scholar can join one of 10,000 small group, video chat classes. I know numerous homeschoolers who have taken advantage of this great resource. Its also a really cool option for the parent curious about homeschooling but not too sure of his or her own capabilities. The beauty of Outschool, is it takes the guessing out of the equation and allows your child the freedom to learn the way you believe is best!

4. Virtually Tour a Musem

Do you have a history buff in the making? Ever wanted to see the Pyramids up close and personal but your wallet just wouldn’t allow it? Want to tour an exclusive exhibit, but the chances of seeing it in person are slim to none because the museum is halfway around the world? Never fear, a virtual museum tour can get you front row seats to all the action! Check out any of these cool virtual museum tours today and feel free to go again and again anytime! When my kids and I studied Ancient Egypt, we took numerous virtual tours because my daughter who is certified Ancient Egypt obsessed, (I don’t even know if that’s a real thing!), couldn’t get enough! Here’s a cool virtual tour of the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California. Granted we’ve never been on this one. But, I had to add it to our growing virtual museum tour list! The options for virtual museum tours are endless. Just Google one, the sky is the limit!

5. Kids Invent Stuff is just what your budding science lover needs!

Let’s face it, Kids Invent Stuff is cool! Every month, the creators of this YouTube Channel bring a kid’s science invention to life! Do you want to wear an oven? Or wouldn’t it be so much easier if your alarm clock could fire cereal? You could’ve even celebrated Pi Day yesterday by tuning into the Phone Activated Pie Flinger invention! With over 700,000 views and counting, the inventive possibilities are endless.

Well, that’s my rundown on helpful resources for traditionally schooled children. But before I go, let me list one final resource that didn’t make my list. I just so happened to stumble upon it right before publishing this post. But, I was BEYOND impressed with its extensiveness. Its more than deserving of being mentioned!

The K-12: School Closure Learning Resources document, was developed by accomplished practitioners in the educational, social services and psychological fields. I am also super proud to share that several of the authors of this document are very good sisters and friends of mine. Thomas Ward, M, ED., covered the Pre-K routine; Amber Hill, MEDL, strategized the K-12 academic section; Coleen Felder, LCSW, covered the social-emotional learning tasks; and Dr. Dara Winly, P.HD, generously complied family activities!!

In all, I hope this post is one more piece to the puzzle of ensuring children and families everywhere are equipped to handle the days of unknown that lie ahead!

Thanks for reading! And please know I am praying that God’s peace which passes all understanding with be in your midst! Be safe. Be well!

Blessings,

Courtney