Your Complete Guide for Online Resources and Home Activities
By Kimberly Ng, Project and Communications Coordinator, Sea Smart
We know this is a challenging time for many families. Children are isolating away from their school and adjusting to online learning. You may be working from home and are looking for ways to keep your kids happy, engaged, and stimulated. Luckily, many wonderful organizations that are sharing fun online resources for students to continue learning!
We’ve put together a list of some of our favourite online resources for families, educators, and others who are interested in educational content for kids. We also included some of our favourite activities you can do away from the screen! This list is getting updated often so check back.
Do you know a great resource that we should add? Let us know by emailing communications[at]seasmartschool.com.
ONLINE RESOURCES
We couldn’t create a list of online resources without mentioning Sea Smart’s Ocean Defender course! Students in Grades 2-4 (or enthusiastic younger learners) start their journey to become an Ocean Defender through a series of interactive and engaging virtual lessons with hands-on activities to learn about the amazing animals that live in our oceans and what we can do to protect our ocean.
You can also relax knowing that all of our lessons are developed by experienced educators and fulfill the BC Ministry of Education’s requirements, so your kids won’t miss out on learning while schools are closed!
We couldn’t create a list of online resources without mentioning Sea Smart’s Ocean Defender course! Students in Grades 2-4 (or enthusiastic younger learners) start their journey to become an Ocean Defender through a series of interactive and engaging virtual lessons with hands-on activities to learn about the amazing animals that live in our oceans and what we can do to protect our ocean. You can also relax knowing that all of our lessons are developed by experienced educators and fulfill the BC Ministry of Education’s requirements, so your kids won’t miss out on learning while schools are closed!
We want to help parents as much as possible. That’s why we’re launching a Pay What You Can initiative.
OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES
500 Women Scientists provide some science education resources and science-themed colouring books and pages for people of all ages, crowd-sourced from their amazing 500 Women Scientists community across the world!
Actua provides a great list of high-quality STEM resources for students to do at home. You can sort through resources based on age, type, and price! There are a variety of resources including at-home activities, virtual courses, mobile apps, and emotional well-being resources.
BrainPOP is a trusted learning resource supporting core and supplemental subjects, reaching millions of learners worldwide. With engaging learning games, animate movies, and activities, this resource is sure to keep kids engaged.
The programs of Can Geo Education aim to strengthen geographic understanding, both inside and outside of the classroom! Every week, new activities and resources will be shared to make learning from home or teaching at a distance, easy and fun.
This is a great YouTube channel filled with tons of awesome courses. Check out their playlists for past courses in physics, philosophy, games, economics, U.S. government and politics, astronomy, anatomy & physiology, world history, biology, literature, ecology, chemistry, psychology, and U.S. history.
eLearning For Kids
E-learning for kids is a non-profit organization providing free, fun, curriculum based quality primary education to all children world wide. Just find the courses you want by topic (math, science ...) or grade (K - 6) and click on them to begin, and that’s it!
Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere, 100% free. Math, science, engineering, economics, arts and humanities, or even computing, Khan Academy has it all. This is a great website for students who are looking for personalized help with what they’re studying or if they’re learning something completely new.
Ocean School is a groundbreaking educational experience that uses powerful storytelling techniques, immersive technologies, and interactive media. Their mission is to provide learners, the next generation of ocean citizens, with the knowledge and tools to understand our influence on the ocean and the ocean’s influence on us. You can learn from home with Ocean School with an educational video and a student activity for each weekday!
The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
Bring the shoreline to your living room! The Shoreline Cleanup team has compiled fun activities for kids (and adults!). Learn about the impacts of plastic debris and other forms of litter and engage in ways you can help keep our oceans and freshwaters healthy.
Sailors for the Sea Powered by Oceana’s Kids Environmental Lesson Plans (KELP) program features free, downloadable, educational activities that teach students the importance of preserving healthy and abundant oceans. Kids can learn how warm-blooded mammals survive in ice-cold ocean waters, how sea creatures use camouflage, and even view surroundings from the perspective of a whale.
Geering Up promotes STEM learning (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to show program participants how fun, exciting and useful engineering and science can be!
Join them at 11:00 am PST on YouTube for their daily live-stream activities!
Varsity Tutors is the largest live learning platform in the United States. They have numerous free resources to help students and parents cope with school and summer camp closures including Virtual School Day, Virtual Summer Camps, Adaptive Diagnostic Assessments and Varsity Learning Tools. With exceptional ratings from thousands of parents and students, Varsity Tutors helps keep your children academically and emotionally sound.
FUN AND SIMPLE HOME ACTIVITIES
Looking for activities to do at home away from a screen? Check out our database of fun and simple home activities! Kids can make a plastic bottle shark game, create their own playdough, or even make a water cycle in a bag! Click here to see our full database.
Did you know Sea Smart also offers virtual school workshops? Let your child's teacher know!
