Online Educational Resources for Kids: TrustElevate has collated some of the best on the internet
With school closures around the world, there is a greater emphasis than ever before on at-home learning via the internet. While it’s not possible for many parents to oversee all of their children’s activities on the internet, particularly given the attention divide that working from home can generate, it is possible to recommend particular, more secure resources to your children. Here are some of our top YouTube channels, podcasts and digital activities for kids:
YouTube channels
Digital Citizenship
Common Sense Education
As children embark on their distance learning journeys, it’s the perfect time to place an emphasis on digital responsibility. Common Sense Educators seek to educate children and young people and safe and responsible behaviour on the internet. From their About page: “Our videos range from tips on teaching with technology to plug-and-play lessons that build students' digital citizenship skills.” We like the sound of that!
Science
SciShow Kids
SciShow Kids has uploaded over 360 videos for curious young children, so there’s plenty for your kids to catch up on. The show poses questions kids commonly ask and uses experiments to demonstrate how an answer might be arrived at. With videos like ‘Check out the Great Barrier Reef!’, ‘Why do we get sick?’ and ‘Build Earth from the inside out!’, there’s plenty for children to watch, learn and do with SciShow Kids.
It’s Okay to Be Smart
It’s Okay to Be Smart’s audience may skew toward the older kids. The show is hosted by Joe Hanson and explores topics from ‘Physics’ to ‘Food Science’ to ‘Animals’. They have also worked quickly to make informative and engaging videos for kids about coronavirus. The videos are interesting and well illustrated, to keep the kids’ attention, with references for eager beavers to follow up on.
Maths
Maths & Learning Videos for Kids
Math & Learning Videos 4 Kids creates educational videos about maths for younger children, up to the 4th Grade, or Year 5. They use 3D animation to illustrate the concepts behind making numbers from numbers and moving them around, helping to build up those critical skills that older students will rely on later on in their academic lives.
Math Antics
MathAntics provides older children with clear and instructive videos on more advanced maths. Their videos are sorted into playlists, which cover ‘Algebra Basics’, ‘Arithmetic’, ‘Fractions’, ‘Geometry’ and ‘Percents’. They also have a website with further resources and exercises for students and teachers. Math Antics have also just announced that a new feature is coming which will allow teachers to use the whole website as a distance learning resource, so keep an eye out.
Literature
Authors Everywhere
Authors Everywhere is a channel run by author Susan Tan, who writes for kids aged 11 to 14. The videos posted include writing workshops, readings by authors and other creative activities, providing children with an outlet for the emotions they experience in lockdown and in response to the pandemic.
Crash Course (Literature series)
Authors Everywhere is a channel run by author Susan Tan, who writes for kids aged 11 to 14. The videos posted include writing workshops, readings by authors and other creative activities, providing children with an outlet for the emotions they experience in lockdown and in response to the pandemic.
Art
Lunch Doodles
Crash Course is a great resource for students looking to learn about most subjects, from AI to Anatomy to Philosophy. But their Literature crash courses, divided across 4 mini series and hosted by author John Green, are particularly interesting. Students will learn the importance of reading critically with concrete examples from actual texts, ranging from Oedipus to Langston Hughes.
Draw Every Day With JJK
Author and illustrator Mo Willems is running, through the YouTube channel of the Kennedy Centre for performing arts, based in Washington, a series in which children are invited to doodle with Willems and “explore ways of writing and making.” Videos are posted daily and children also have the chance to be featured on the show by emailing their doodles in to this address: LUNCHDOODLES@kennedy-center.org.
Podcasts
Educational
“But Why?”
This podcast is led by children! Adults are invited to record children’s questions and send them into questions@butwhykids.org to be answered on the show. Some recent episodes have covered ‘How do we fall asleep?’, ‘Are llamas ticklish?’ and ‘Coronavirus for kids, and the science of soap’.
This show was developed by the hosts of another great podcast for kids, “Wow in the World”, as a rapid response to the school closures caused by coronavirus. The show is interactive, and a worksheet (or wowsheet!) can be found on their website with questions for before and during listening as well as daily challenges to keep your kids curious and creative.
Graphic novelist Jarrett J. Krosoczka is livestreaming drawing sessions daily, with recordings of the streams then posted to his channel. Krosoczka covers the techniques behind illustration, explaining how to use word balloons and panels as well as expressions and proportions.
Meditation
“Soundwalks” — This Australian podcast is based around the painting of sonic landscapes. Children can listen to the sounds of nature and immerse themselves in them. Note that a new episode hasn’t been released since the end of 2018 but they are still very much worth the listen!
Activities
Joe Wicks is hosting PE sessions over on his Instagram page: @thebodycoach
Several galleries and museums have set up virtual tours! Tour the Louvre from your living room, tour Chester Zoo while on the couch and navigate the American Natural History Museum in your nightie!