5 resources you can use to help your child with online school.
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Whether you’re a seasoned homeschooler or a reluctant parent with no other choice, you’ve probably figured out there are pros and cons to learning at home. There’s nothing like a stimulating classroom with a teacher who knows how to motivate, but not all school situations are ideal. Online school gives students with different learning styles a chance to find out what works best for them. We have resources to make your job easier and inspire your child.
If you’re using a school curriculum, you have guidelines to follow, but we’ll give you resources to supplement the lesson plans. If you’re preparing your own lessons, we’ll show you the secrets teachers use to prepare their lesson plans and stimulate the desire to learn.
Tutoring
All children benefit from tutoring during certain stages of their education, regardless of whether they’re in the classroom or in front of a computer. Depending on your location, you’ll find a variety of professional tutoring services, private tutors, and nonprofit organizations to fill in the gaps or get students up to speed on what they’ve missed.
One example is the Gideon Math and Reading in Frisco, Texas, a tutoring service that works with students in person or online. From kindergarten readiness to prepare for college entrance exams, experienced tutors are available in all subjects and levels.
Worksheet generators
Did you know you can find free websites that allow you to print out worksheets on any topic? Do you have an art student who is learning states and capitals? Do you want to make a puzzle using vocabulary and spelling words? You’ll find it all in easy-to-generate worksheets.
Online study groups
If the thrill of doing multiplication in pajamas has worn off, it may be time to find an online study group. Besides making it easier to learn, study groups discourage procrastination, promote creativity, and build communication skills. They also compensate for some of the social contact missed during home study. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can organize your own Zoom circle.
Free virtual tours
Maybe you can’t visit a museum or go on a field trip right now, but you can take a virtual tour of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, see the Vatican Museums, or get a glimpse of Egyptian antiquities and the works of Michelangelo in the Louvre. For science lovers, NASA has an online tour of Langley Research Center in Virginia and Glenn Research Center in Ohio. The Google Art Project features art from the White House and famous galleries around the world.
Online learning games
Games make learning fun, and the internet is filled with hundreds of free options. Explore a coral reef at FUNBRAIN, check out age-appropriate books, or try game-based learning for grades 1-8. Download education apps from PBS Kids, watch movies, and learn about math, science, reading, or Spanish in a fast-paced game. You’ll even find ways to tackle difficult topics like racism.
Other resources
Schools and libraries often have free subscriptions that let families access services like word processing and genealogy research. The library, of course, is still a classic source for finding information or finding out where to get the information you need, but online resources have extended its reach. Other sources, such as the Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg, offer free movies, software, books, and music. The sky’s the limit for online research.
One of the hardest problems in finding resources may be narrowing down the choices and sticking to the subject. A little patience and an online search are likely to produce anything you need. From the reading tutor program in Frisco TX to educational TV, information is plentiful.