Free Día de los Muertos Digital Classroom

In three short weeks, people all across the Americas and beyond will be celebrating Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Teachers have begun to search for resources, and families who are now homeschooling are looking for materials, too. 

So I'm delighted to share this Day of the Dead virtual classroom. 

You may remember me sharing a similar resource last month for Hispanic Heritage Month. This new digital site has been created by the same team of educators.

Created by a remarkable group of educators, you can find:

• information about the culture surrounding the holiday,
• explanations of the symbolism found in the items of the ofrenda,
• descriptions on how the holiday is celebrated in 12 countries, 
• tutorials for crafts, 
• read aloud books, 
• music online, 
• and more.

Once again, most of the YouTube videos may be watched safely without having access to inappropriate content.  

If you're looking for free resources to celebrate Day of the Dead, this should probably be at the top of your list!

And if you are wondering...yes, you can share it with everyone.

Enjoy!

Free Typing Lessons & Games Online

Another unexpected result of the distance and online learning has appeared! There have been a lot of parents asking about typing lessons for their kids. For many, typing isn't taught in schools (and I bet those schools are now re-evaluating that!). So parents are looking for online programs. And it's a bonus if those programs are FREE!

So I started looking at some of the suggestions that many veteran homeschoolers have been sharing. Here is a short list of awesome online typing programs. I've noted if the language can be changed for Spanish and English instruction.

Online Typing Programs

• Ratatype.com - Free/multiple languages
• Typing Club - Free/multiple languages 
• Typing.com - Free/multiple languages
• LearnTyping.org - Free/English only

Typing games for younger students:

• ABCYA - lots of fun typing games here! I think they are in English only?
• Typing.com also has a section of games for young students.
• Typing Fingers
• TypeTastic! - a variety of games for K - 12

Image © Can Stock Photo - zurijeta

(Mostly) Free Online Learning Programs

Suddenly, everyone is going to be homeschooling. Total freakout happening all over the place. Haha. But seriously, most of the families I've talked with say they'll be going to online teaching/learning. Teachers have to figure out how to teach remotely and kids will be having to learn the same way. It's great for the schools that have a plan in place.

For those of you who don't have schools setting up online teaching, this post is for you. Today, I'm going to share those (mostly) free programs available online to keep your kids learning. I've divided them up by first cross-curricular programs, then by subject.

First, I want to share this daily sample schedule that Quirky Momma shared on their Facebook page. It's awesome. I believe I used something similar whenever I first started homeschooling and needed some sort of structure for our days. I can't believe we have drifted away from it. Use this as your base and adjust it as needed. I'm going to!

Now, here are the great programs that are available to you online.

Cross-curricular

• Scholastic Learn at Home - FREE (PreK & K, 1st & 2nd, 3-5th, and 6th+) This is really an awesome resource! I love it. 
• Khan Academy - FREE (all grades) My favorite part about Khan is that you can scroll to the bottom of each page and find links to all the subjects they offer.
• PBS Learning Media - FREE (all grades) Tons of videos and lesson plans
• TED-Ed videos - FREE video playlist
• ABCMouse - Free 30-Day Trial then $$ (AGES 2-8) offers lots of learning opportunities.
• ***Ivy League MOOCs - FREE (I'm going to say 11th grade through college) This is the one I'm most excited about: A list of free online courses from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale.
• Education.com $3.50-6/month depending on subscription (PreK-5th) Lots of printables available through this one. But not free.
• BrainPop Free version has limited materials/access. Subscriptions are pretty pricey. Free total access only through school. (Middle school) Also available in French and Spanish. It has great content, but can be expensive.

Science

• The Science Penguin - FREE Resource Library for K-8th
• Khan Academy Science & Engineering FREE (7th+)
• DiscoveryEducation - A little pricey, but a great program for a complete curriculum.
• Kesler Science Out-of-School Bundle - FREE  - This is an awesome science program. I have supplemented my General Science class with a lot of his downloads available on TpT.

Math

• Khan Academy  FREE (All grades)
• Illuminations FREE (middle school)
• PBS Learning Media FREE (K-8th)

Reading

• International Children's Library FREE (In multiple languages)
• ABCya FREE (w/premium subscription option)
• PBS Kids.org FREE - lots of great reading games featuring popular PBS KIDS characters.
• National Geographic Young Explorers FREE (K-1)
• Starfall (PreK - 3rd) **Pricey** Would have been my first recommendation before it became a pricey subscription-based site.

History

• Big History Project - FREE (7th - 12th) this remarkable resource is by 
• ActiveHistory.co.uk - FREE Amazing resources for history teachers by the British educator Russell Tarr including interactive simulations, quizzes, games that can easily be used for online learning.

Music

• Chrome Music Lab - FREE
• Khan Academy - FREE
• Metropolitan Opera Will Stream Operas for Free :: Click the link to see the schedule for this week! (Psst! Carmen is on tomorrow night!)
• The Digital Concert Hall from the Philharmonie Germany - FREE
• Seattle Symphony Concert Streaming - FREE
• Busy Moms do Piano :: FREE month of remote piano lessons!

Art

• Art for Tweens & Teens: Inky Art School :: free videos from Johanna Basford 
• Art for Kids Hub :: free videos for drawing for younger children
• Draw Every Day with children's book illustrator, Jarrett J. Krosoczka :: Every weekday at 2pm ET for at least the next few weeks, he'll host free webcasts for you and your kiddos. If you can't watch live, each art lesson will be archived. Get your kids creating, drawing, using their imagination.
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