You don&#39;t have to leave the house to see the world.
Explore the world with <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/virtual-field-trips-4160925">virtual field trips</a> and <a href="https://www.tripsavvy.com/best-virtual-vacations-around-the-world-4799910">virtual world tours</a>. The lists include Livestream events and interactive tools. There is also a list of <a href="https://www.tripsavvy.com/childrens-museums-virtual-visit-4800065">children&#39;s museums</a> you can explore online.

Virtual Field Trips and World Tours

An astrophysicist mom created <a href="http://bedtimemath.org/">bedtime Math</a> to help children use math naturally in their everyday lives.
Daily activities take around 5 minutes to complete and can be adjusted to four different skill levels. The app is also available in Spanish.

Bedtime Math

Pitfalls to watch out for:
<ul>
<li>Ensure the freebie is really useful. Have a plan in place to make sure homeschooling is thorough, sequential, and appropriate.</li>
<li>With a plan in mind and the right series of free resources, concepts in maths can be learned in order. But random free math printables will likely not ensure a strong foundation.</li>
<li>Avoid printable or other free resources when they only create busywork. Ensure each resource has a specific purpose. Using a typical course of study guide can help make the best choices at each stage.</li>
<li>Make sure the freebie is really free. Sometimes websites offer sample pages of their material.</li>
</ul>

Cautions When Trying to Homeschooling Free

<a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/">Khan Academy</a> is a non-profit educational site started by American educator Salman Khan.
It provides quality educational resources for all students. It is organized by topic and includes math (K-12), science, technology, economics, art, history, and test prep. Topics include lectures delivered via YouTube videos. Students can use the site independently.

Khan Academy

<a href="https://newsela.com/">Newsela</a> is a free educational website that promotes literacy using news stories. Articles are adjusted to different reading and maturity levels.
A suite of tools allows parents to evaluate reading comprehension and vocabulary, monitor progress, and personalize lessons.

Newsela

<a href="https://www.funbrain.com/">Funbrain</a> provides free educational games, comics, books, and videos for children - Pre-K through 8th grade. Content is organized by grade level.
Their activities focus on developing skills in math, reading, problem-solving, and literacy.

Funbrain

<a href="https://code.org/">Code.org</a> offers structured computer science curriculum for children at all levels. Children can learn at their own pace and stay challenged.
Lessons teach coding and touch on topics such as online privacy and digital citizenship. Children learn to design and build their own apps and games.

Code.org

<ul>
<li>Free courses for students in grades K-12, <a href="https://www.ck12.org/">The CK12 Foundation</a> and <a href="http://discoveryk12.com/dk12/">Discovery K12</a> are useful resources.</li>
<li>For current events, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/">CNN Student News</a> is an excellent resource.</li>
<li>For geography, look at <a href="https://www.google.com/earth/">Google Earth</a>.</li>
<li>For nature study, the best free resource is the great outdoors itself.</li>
<li>Nature study can be combined with sites such as <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/">National Geographic</a>. <a href="https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/">NatGeo Kids</a>, <a href="https://handbookofnaturestudy.com/">The Handbook of Nature Study</a>, <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/">U.S. Forest Service</a></li>
<li>Sites for high-quality free printables are <a href="http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html">Enchanted Learning</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/">Teacher Pay Teachers</a> (Offers free and paid printables), <a href="http://www.freehomeschooldeals.com/">Free Homeschool Deals</a>.</li>
</ul>

Online Education Sites

<a href="https://allinonehomeschool.com/">Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool</a> is a free online resource created by homeschooling parents for homeschooling parents. It contains a full homeschool curriculum from a Christian worldview for grades K-12.
It has a daily planner so children can go to their level, scroll down to the day they are on, and follow the directions. Parents can print the worksheets or order the inexpensive workbooks.

Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

Free educational apps can be very useful.
<ul>
<li>For foreign languages, try Duolingo and Memrise.</li>
<li>Young learners can benefit from Reading Eggs and ABC Mouse. (subscription required after a trial period)</li>
<li>For math practise, try the free apps provided by the <a href="https://www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/apps">Math Learning Center</a>.</li>
</ul>

Apps

The <a href="https://school.bighistoryproject.com/bhplive">Big History Project</a> was created for students in middle and high school. It is a free, social studies curriculum aligned with Common Core ELA standards.
Although designed with teachers in mind, the website offers different versions for parents and history fans.

Big History Project

<a href="https://family.gonoodle.com/">GoNoodle</a> is a free app and website with active games and videos designed to manage kids&#39; energy levels.
It offers a wide variety of activities - from Zumba exercise videos to Wii-like sports games and mindfulness videos.

GoNoodle

As an award-winning children&#39;s literacy website, <a href="https://www.storylineonline.net/">Storyline</a> features famous people reading beloved children&#39;s books.
Children can listen to the story, follow the words, and enjoy colourful animations.

Storyline

The <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/">Smithsonian Learning Lab</a> is free and puts the treasures of the world&#39;s largest museum, education, and research complex within reach.
It offers images, texts, video, audio recordings, and learning activities featuring more than 1 million artefacts. You can curate your own collection and share with your students to match your educational goals.

Smithsonian Learning Lab

<ul>
<li>Many homeschooling families like to suggest museum and zoo memberships as holiday gifts from grandparents.</li>
<li>Many zoos, museums, and aquariums offer reciprocal memberships, allowing members to visit participating locations at a free or discounted rate.</li>
<li>Consider scouting programs such as Boy or Girl Scouts, AWANAS, and American Heritage Girls. These programs are not free, but handbooks usually contain educational material that can be used as an added resource.</li>
</ul>

Local Resources

Don&#39;t take for granted a well-stocked library or a moderately stocked one with a reliable inter-library loan system. Homeschooling students can choose fiction and non-fiction books related to topics they&#39;re studying or those which interest them.
Series resources to consider:
<ul>
<li>The Magic School Bus series for science</li>
<li>The Magic Treehouse series for history or science</li>
<li>Life of Fred for math</li>
<li>Discover America State by State for geography</li>
<li>The American Girl, Dear America, or My Name is America series for history</li>
</ul>
Most libraries offer free wi-fi and make computers available to patrons so that families who don&#39;t have internet access at home can take advantage of free online resources.

The Library

Scholastic is one of the best-known names in the educational materials industry. <a href="https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html?caching">Learn at Home</a> is a site for students in grades Pre-K through 9th. It features two weeks&#39; worth of daily activities and projects on subjects, including science, math, ELA (English language arts), and social studies.
The curriculum includes stories, articles, videos, and activities designed to stimulate curiosity.

Scholastic Learn at Home

<a href="http://www.amblesideonline.org/">Ambleside Online</a> is a free, <a href="https://deepstash.com/stash/1863866/charlotte-mason-method">Charlotte Mason-style,</a> Christian-based homeschool curriculum for children in grades k-12. It has a long-standing reputation in the homeschooling community as a quality resource. It offers an emergency-plan curriculum for families homeschooling in the midst of crisis.How it works: The program provides a list of books needed for each level. The books cover history, science, literature, geography, picture and composer studies. A list of possible resources for math and foreign language is provided for parents to choose from.

Ambleside Online

<a href="https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Experiments">Chrome Music Lab</a> is a highly visual tool and organized in experiments.
It enables students to explore music and its connections to math, science, and art.

Chrome Music Lab

<a href="http://www.starfall.com/">Starfall</a> is a free educational resource for Pre-K through 3rd grade.
It offers an extensive library of interactive online reading and math activities, printable lesson plans and worksheets. It is also available as an app for smartphone and tablet users.

Starfall

With parental oversight, YouTube can be a wealth of knowledge to supplement homeschooling.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse/featured">Crash Course</a> is a top-rated channel for older kids and covers topics such as science, history, economics, and literature.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcoursekids">Crash Course Kids</a> is a version for younger students.</li>
<li>Other valuable channels include <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDEducation/featured">TED Education</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/minutephysics">Minute Physics</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/bigthink">Big Think</a>.</li>
</ul>

YouTube

<a href="https://826digital.com/">826 Digital</a> is excellent to supplement your ELA (English language arts) curriculum and encourage creative writing. It is designed for students in grades 1 through 12.
The site offers mini-lessons (Sparks), larger lesson plans, and writing projects featuring creative, relatable, and age-appropriate topics. Writing prompts incorporates STEM concepts to help students understand and write about science and math.

826 Digital

Cost is often the biggest concern for new home educating parents who find themselves unexpectedly homeschooling due to school closures. 
There are several ways to save money on a homeschool curriculum. Many high-quality homeschooling resources are available at no cost to anyone with access to the internet.

Cost of high-quality homeschooling can be very small

Learn how to homeschool for free (or almost free) and how to make the most of inexpensive and free homeschool resources.