Updated May 5, 2021
Here we go again There are a TON of online and printable educational resources available, but it's overwhelming, daunting and exhausting to find a few that work for your family and apply (to some extent to our local curriculums). Below you will find a list of apps, online stories, printables, crafts and staying active (think gym time!) resources that work for my family - links we actually use, and/or I've spent the time to check out. The 🍁 indicates a Canadian site.
Please check back often as I add more:
| Learning Apps | |
| Prodigy Math | Curriculum-aligned math game. It is free, although you can upgrade your account. |
| Really Great Reading - Letter Tiles | Free. A great letter swap game. |
| Starfall Education | Includes language arts and mathematics for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade. |
| Rosetta Stone | You can get some cashback if you use Rakutan. |
| Duck Duck Moose | Over 20 free apps for young kids |
| Raz Kids | Free trial available, most schools have access - ask your teacher!! |
| Khan Academy | Free online learning in a wide variety of subjects |
| Teach Your Monster to Read | Covers everything from letters and sounds to reading full sentences. |
| Stories, Reading, Videos | |
| Chestermere Public Library | The library regularly uploads new storytimes to their Youtube channel. |
| Loyal Books | 7,000 audio and e-books |
| Storynory | Free audio stories |
| Audible | Audible has made hundreds of children's books available for free listening. |
| Astronauts reading from space! | It's outta this world! |
| Cool School Youtube | Storytimes for kids, new videos every week. |
| Numberjacks | The Numberjacks go about their everyday lives until a call comes in from a real-life child Agent, who reports a problem that needs solving. |
| StorylineOnline | Stories read aloud by actors |
| Numberblocks | Learn to count with Numberblocks! |
| 🍁Virtual Stories with the Calgary Zoo | Storytimes (and other resources) from the Calgary Zoo. |
| Project Gutenberg | Online library of over 60,000 free e-books |
| Staying Active | |
| Cosmic Kids Yoga Adventure | Yoga and mindfulness for kids |
| Go Noodle | Movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts |
| I Am A Robot | Get some silliness out and pretend you are a robot |
| Yoga 4 Kids | Daily yoga activities |
| Freeze Dance! | Freeze! Get your kids moving with this fun song. |
| E-Learning | |
| DIY Science Experiments | Science experiments you are able to do with household items. |
| 🍁Media Smarts.ca | Online games to teach children about online privacy, marketing ploys aimed at kids and more. |
| 🍁 Zoe & Molly Online | Learn how to play safely online. French version |
| 🍁 Canada Vignettes | Short films about moments in Canadian history |
| 🍁 Canada's Captial | bilingual teaching resources from the Government of Canada. |
| 🍁 Canada's History for Kids | A great resource for all ages |
| 🍁 Canadian Geographic | Similar to National Geographic, and you can search by topic. |
| 🍁 Canadian Unsolved Mysteries | Ages 11 -18 French version also available |
| 🍁 Learn Alberta | Online resources from K - 12 |
| Science From Space | Is there a better place than outer space to learn science? |
| Hour of Code | Learn how to code |
| NASA Kids Club | A place to play games and learn about NASA |
| Pixar in a Box | Learn the fine art of storytelling |
| 🍁Earth Rangers | "Where kids go to save animals!" |
| Easy Science Experiments | 63 easy science experiments you can do at home, using household stuff |
| Mystery Doug | Help kids stay curious by creating better explanations |
| 🍁The Robertson Project | Inquiry-based learning in Math and Science |
| 🍁Music Play Online | Singing, recorder and ukelele lessons (and more) |
| Boodle | Free, interactive math game for grades 1 - 6 |
| Creative Writing Prompts | Disney-inspired prompts to help encourage creative writing |
| 🍁 Calgary Zoo Hub | Zoo-related activities to help engage kids. New content added weekly. |
| Science for Kids | Fun experiments, cool facts, games and activities |
| New York Science | At-home STEM resources |
| Progressive Phonics | All-in-one free reading program |
| Big History Project | Journey through nearly 14 billion years of history in this self-guided, six-hour version of Big History. |
| Printables, Worksheets & Colouring Pages | |
**Canadian printables are very hard to find** | |
| Deep Space Sparkle | Art activities. There are some freebies, you can also purchase art packages. |
Literacy printables | |
| Math Drills | Free math worksheets |
| 🍁 Daily & Seasonal Weather Changes | Learn about daily and seasonal changes (including the seasons, weather, day vs. night, and the importance of the sun). |
| Disney characters | Great selection of Disney colouring pages |
| Unicorn Colouring Sheets | |
| Earth Day - Colouring Sheet | Earth Day - Reduce |
| Earth Day - Colouring Sheet | Earth Day - Reuse |
| Earth Day - Colouring Sheet | Earth Day - Recycle |
| Superheros - Colouring Sheets | Ninja Turtles, Batman, Spiderman and more! |
| Trolls - Colouring Sheets | Poppy, Harper and Biggie |
| Dora the Explorer - Colouring Sheets | Colouring sheets and activity sheets |
| Tot Schooling | Themed printables |
| Planes & Balloons | Preschool and Kindergarten worksheets and colouring pages. |
| Crafts & DYI | |
There are many more crafts and DIY ideas on our website. Just search "Craft" or "DIY" in the search bar and the top of this page. | |
| DIY Clear Slime | Using just three ingredients |
| DIY Pinecone Flowers | Kids collecting pinecones? Here's an easy craft to use them |
| Recycled Magazine Butterflies | May be made with materials you likely already have on hand |
| Gingerbread playdough | Easy to make, and smells delicious! |
| Fizzy Dinosaur Eggs | STEM learning at home |
| DIY Chalk Paint | A mess-free alternative! |
Perfect for Father's or Mother's Day | |
| Four DIY Musical Instruments | Easy instruments for kids to make |
| DIY Stick Horse | Easy to make, but most of the supplies can be recycled from your own home |
| DIY Mud Kitchen | For when spring FINALLY arrives. |
| DIY Marble Run | Repurpose those empty cardboard boxes into a fun Marble Run activity. |
| Caterpillar Craft | This quick and easy craft project is a delightful way for you and your child to celebrate spring. |
| Recycled Birdfeeder | This easy-to-make bird feeder is made entirely with recycled cartons and materials you already have around the house. |
| Bubble Wrap Art | Bubble wrap painting is super fun and easy |
| Fork Flower Craft | Create an easy floral work of art! |
| Dancing Ribbons | As seen at many Mac Kid events around town! |
| Warming Tray Crayon Art | The warmth from tray melts Crayons, creating vibrant art |
| Marker Watercolour Art | Upcycle those dried out markers |
Macaroni Kid Chestermere is a free weekly newsletter and website focused on fun family events and information in the Chestermere, Langdon and surrounding areas. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, book and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more. Our event calendar is available 24/7, so anytime you think, "What should we do today?", we want it to be your go-to resource. Know of an upcoming event I've missed?
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