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Let’s be honest, homeschooling can be expensive. You have to buy books, curriculum, museum tickets, and even sometimes pay for portfolio reviews. Any free homeschool resources you can find, you’ll take.
And that’s why I’m here. I’ve rounded up the best free homeschool resources from apps and whatever the internet has to offer. Plus, I’ve categorized, labelled, and packaged them up for you.
Yes, all of the following resources are totally free. 100% zero money. No dollars, pesos, or bitcoins, either.
Of course, as much fun as it is to score free resources, you can spend HOURS hunting stuff down. If you’re ready to find all the curriculums, all in one place, be sure to check out the Secular Homeschool Curriculum Guide. We’ve got it all broken down by grade and subject, complete with reviews. But for now, onto the freebies!
Free Homeschool Resources Near You
Go to the library.
Like, get on a first-name basis with the children’s room librarian. (Ours is Miss Nicole.) If you can’t find a book or resource you want, librarians can hunt them down like nobody’s business. Most libraries are also connected to some kind of ‘interlibrary loan’ system, so you can borrow books from other libraries, too. Finally, libraries nowadays are connected to online ebook & audiobook resources like Libby, OverDrive and CloudLibrary, but you need to be a member to get access.
Book clubs
This might be something you first see advertised on the library’s bulletin board on your next visit. In fact, it might be hosted at the library. But there are lots of kids book clubs running all over the country. Some are connected to external organizations like 4H or a co-op, but still might be open to the public. Keep an eye out!
Local Nature Preserves
If you have any designated natural spaces nearby, like preserves, state or national parks, or sanctuaries, look for learning opportunities. Not only are they great spots to visit on your own for class time (hello, nature walk), but the group of people who run them often want to teach. You might find guided outings for bird watching, clean-ups, foraging, or animal tracking. Most of these locations also have brochures at visitor centers or trailheads, and have websites with information, too.
Home Depot Activities for Kids
Did you know your local Home Depot sponsors free kids DIY and STEAM project times? Check out their website and find your nearby store for a list of event times & activities. They also have a section with online guides & resources to projects.
Multi-subject resources
PBS Kids They’ve got videos, educational games, and now even a podcast for kids. And obviously, they’re all featuring your child’s favorite PBS kids show characters.
Khan Academy I don’t have to explain this one, do I? If you’ve been searching for free homeschool resources for longer than ten seconds, someone’s recommended this one to you. But it’s for a good reason; Khan Academy was my go-to resource as a classroom teacher because it goes at the kid’s pace and is so comprehensive. You might need to supervise your kid more with Khan than with, say, a youtube video though. Only because they might still get questions.
Education.com Printables, printables as far as the eye can see! They’ve got worksheets for every subject and grades preK-7.
Free Science Resources for Homeschoolers:
National Geographic for Kids (Youtube Channel) Animal videos, weird but true facts, and days in the life of real live scientists exploring our world today. What’s not to love?
SciShow Kids (Youtube Channel) This channel offers follow-along science experiments, explainer videos, and spotlights on important scientists.
SciShow (Youtube Channel) These guys upload a new episode EVERY DAY. Saturdays are question and answer formed, based on questions they get throughout the week. They also have a lengthy list of sources in the shownotes of every episode if you want to get more information
National Science Foundation– The NSF educator resource page has in-depth videos and associated worksheets for multiple grades and multiple subsections of science.
Free Language Arts Resources for Homeschoolers
Author Studies What little kid doesn’t like new books? This free, downloadable packet of printables is a great way to start doing author studies. You can also find more free, complete curriculum by searching “author study” and seeing nearly a dozen complete lesson plans on authors from Roald Dahl to Jan Brett.
Epic There’s two versions of this free homeschool resource: Epic Unlimited, which gives you access to 40,000 premium titles, audiobooks and more, and the basic version Epic Free. Epic free still has plenty of great books for kids!
Virtual Book Club for Kids Ok, this site is wicked cool. Not only do they have a dozen lists of good books for kids (esp the younger crowd), but they provide entire weekly lesson plans & activities to go along with each book of the week.
New York Public Library Tons of virtual events for kids, including read-alongs and poetry time.
Teach Your Monster to Read Would you like your child to start reading in a British accent? Because that just might happen if they use TYMTR for any length of time. (Note: only the computer version is free.)
ReadWorks This site comes with loads of reading passages & associated questions for grades k-12, plus English Language Learner content.
Free History/Social Studies Resources
Smithsonian Institution They’ve got games, virtual zoo & museum tours, and activities to help history come to life. They also have a selection of science and art resources here, too.
Crash Course Kids This is the youtube spin-off channel for the teen-focused Crash Course channel.
iCivics I used this website CONSTANTLY as a teacher. They’ve got tons of games and simulations that help kids understand how our government works and why we should care to participate in democracy.
Discovery Education Who wants virtual field trips? (You, duh.) Discover has plenty of science-based field trips, but one of their most recent was a behind-the-scenes look at President Biden’s Innaguration.
Classroom Law Project The Classroom Law Project is devoted to helping the youth of today to “become active, engaged, and informed participants in democratic society.” So they offer classroom resources, virtual courthouse tours, and even the blueprints to building your own Mock Trial team!
Related: 10 FREE Summer Programs for Kids for Fantastic FUN & Learning!
Free Math Resources
CoolMath and CoolMath4Kids Seriously? This thing is still around? Yup. The actual interface is kind of dated (esp on the original), but they’ve got plenty of math games for kids of all ages. CoolMath starts at pre-algebra levels, so if your kid is younger than 6th grade or so, head over to the 4Kids version!
STMath This one will definitely be free through June 2022, and after that they’ll still offer plenty of free printables, lessons, worksheets, & more.
Prodigy Prodigy has a series of games for your children to play, a parent dashboard where you can view how well your child is learning, and seriously cute illustrations. They’ll try to upsell you on the Premium Membership experience, but even they admit on their site the free version is still awesome & fully functional. This one can honestly be used as a complete curriculum.
Zearn This site is listed as being for teachers & students only, but there is an option during the sign-up process to select “homeschool.” That will get you access to all their math professional development (so YOU understand whatever the heck you’re trying to teach your kid!), lesson plans, games, and more.
Free homeschool resources (for parents)
The Homeschool Resource Room Advice Channel
Free Homeschool Planners to Create Your Custom Binder!
And finally, the Homeschool Resource Room newsletter! Subscribe for monthly emails where we share freebie resources specific to that time of year.
Don’t forget, if you want to cut out the thirty hours of pinterest scrolling you’re labelling “homeschool planning,” be sure to save yourself the hassle and get the Homeschool Curriculum Guide, now updated for 2021.
For more reading on this subject:
- Homeschool Workbooks: Easy & FREE Solution for Kids that Hate Worksheets
- Free Activities & Printables for Every Month of the Year
- FREE Typing Games for Kids: KidzType Review!
Hillary is a former teacher who went rogue and became a freelance writer. When not offering support and advice to homeschooling families, she tends to her own garden, family, and cat. You can connect with her on her website, homegrownhillary.com.