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Free elementary resources can help out a lot when homeschooling during these years. Homeschooling at the elementary level is a lot of fun. There is no limit to what you can allow your student to explore. You know your child best and what he likes to do. Add that into any curriculum you choose and you may just have a blast. Here you will only find resources that are free for you to use in your homeschooling journey.
This is a list of Resources I have looked at or used for the elementary curriculum. Some sites have full courses and even have work divided up into days of the year. There are full curriculum sites and others that you may just want to use to supplement a program you are already planning on using. Some of these sites have curricula for even the Kindergarten level. You may find yourself using one site for several different grade levels. This makes it so much easier on you. Remember to always do what is best for your family. No one knows better than you what that requires.
The resources on this page are divided up by category. Hopefully, this helps you to find the resources you need easily. If you are using a free resource or come across one that you think should be included, please send me the name and link through the comments below.
Free Elementary Full Curriculum Sites
These sites offer you the option of creating or going with their full curriculum. Some have courses to cover all the core subjects and even a few electives- all on one site. I would encourage you to check out a few as another site might have a better science or language art program than another. Don’t feel like you only have to use one site because they offer all the core subjects you need to cover for the year.
1. Ambleside Online
This free curriculum is based on the Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. The site provides resources starting in K. The courses are all online. They provide resources for history, literature, poetry, geography, and science. However, you will need to add in math and any foreign language your student chooses to study. They do provide links to math programs for you to check out and pick what is best for your family.
2. An Old-Fashioned Education
The curriculum is organized by grade level and subject. You can search the site by one or the other. This site offers resources from starting in K This site has lesson plans, online resources, recommendations for additional curriculum options, and more. It is Christian-based. If you want only secular, you will want to look at the material ahead of time to decide if this resource is the best for your family.
3. Discovery K12
This is a secular online curriculum. The curriculum starts in K. It is an online Secular Homeschool material adding STEM with 7 Standard Courses: Language Arts, Reading/Literature, Math, Science, History/Social Studies, Visual/Performing Arts, and Physical Education.
4. Easy Peasy
This is the elementary and middle school level of Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool. This is Christian based but you can make it more secular by not including the Bible curriculum. It is a full curriculum and all online. They do offer offline courses for math, reading, and language arts as well as workbooks and printables in case you do not want to print off the worksheets. You pick a level and it automatically put the student in courses at that level but you can change a level of one course or more without affecting the others. They have the subjects broken down into 180 days and students can just follow what they have listed for that number of school days or change it and do more than one lesson a day, equaling five lessons a week per course.
5. Khan Academy
This is another all-in-one. You can use their courses as a full curriculum or supplement another curriculum. You can search by grade or subject. It has material covering K-12. There are lessons covering computer science to the arts. It offers a free curriculum that has a variety of uses.
6. Mater Amabilis
Mater Amabilis is a Catholic curriculum. It covers lessons from K-12. It uses the Charlotte Mason approach. The free school curriculum includes almost everything except math. It has links to books to read which are mostly free as they are in the public domain. I would consider this site as a large lesson plan. It has levels in European and U.S. based. This makes it easier to know which level you need to be looking at depending on the student’s age and grade status.
7. Starfall
This site is for pre-k to third grade. It started out as a free site to teach children to read. They have added more subjects. They still have a free version. If you want to open it up fully and get all their resources, it is $35 for a year for the household.
8. Teaching With God’s Heart for the World
This is almost a full-year curriculum. It is based on world missions. This curriculum includes 160 day-by-day teaching plans, missionary highlights, motivational mission stories, crafts, songs, prayer projects, and hundreds of ways to incorporate a passion for the lost into nearly every subject (including Bible Study, Family Devotions, Reading, Writing, Geography, History, Art, Science, and even highlights for Math). You will still probably want to add in more specialized math for your student. This is a two-volume set. You can get all of it broken down into separate pdfs. You also have the option of buying printed versions from them on their website.
Free Elementary Art Lessons/ Appreciation
These sites either have actual art lessons for your student or information about artists and the different mediums. This allows the student to not only get access to some hands-on artwork but also to study artists that have come before him. Learning about previous artists and what they did helps the student to be inspired and learn how to create more art on his own.
9. Art Appreciation Curriculum
This site covers art appreciation for kids (although can be used for any age). Famous paintings are featured as part of the art appreciation lessons. This would be a good site to use if homeschooling multiple grades. It provides a great free art appreciation foundation.
10. Free Online Art Classes
On this site, you can find free art classes. There are art lessons in a variety of mediums. Students can study one medium and then after getting a little experience move on and study another medium. Students also have the option of studying one medium in-depth. There are a few stories for kids and even on the homeschooling page, she explains why art needs to be in schools and taught to homeschoolers. She includes some links she thinks might be useful.
11. The Artchive
The student can find resources here that not only cover the art but also the artists who created the art. This is more of an appreciation of art but also gives a little more background to the medium the artist chose to use.
Free Elementary History/ Social Studies
History and social studies can be found everywhere. You may even want to check with your local library. They have many historical novels and biographies of famous people. These people were leaders or changed history in some way. A living history education may just make history come alive for your elementary student. These sites help you to know what you might want to cover for history or social studies. Use this as a guide.
12. Printable Maps
This site has a collection of 13 sets of maps that can be printed for student use. These can be done as part of a regular geography course or they could be used alongside a history course to understand the areas affected by each major event in history. Use these maps in the best way you see fit for your family.
13. American Heritage Education Foundation
This site provides you with free PDFs. It includes lesson plans and even a study guide to help you teach American History. It is called An Adventure in Liberty and is a great way to teach American history to your elementary students.
14. American History
This is another American History resource. This curriculum covers US History from the Native Americans to the New Millennium. The course has 60 chapters. It is covered in-depth and could easily be a stand-alone history course.
15. Ancient Civilizations
This 11-chapter curriculum covers the study of Ancient Civilizations from Ancient Egypt to Africa and beyond. This site is great if your student is interested in the Ancient time period. This course helps us to understand where we came from and how we have evolved.
16. Ancient Egypt
This site provides some great resources for free. This includes a curriculum for Ancient Egypt. It can take some work to find all the items you may need. I recommend using this as a supplement.
17. Big History Project:
This site is free but does require you to register. Since you are probably not working at a school, you can register with just your zip code. It is a social studies curriculum. Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing are emphasized throughout learning about history and through a variety of topics.
18. Geography of the United States
This site teaches students the states of the United States. They are broken down by region to make it easier for students to learn and memorize. This is a great resource to add to your geography curriculum.
19. Geography for Primary Grades
This free geography curriculum is part of Project Gutenberg. It is broken down into 45 lessons. They cover subjects such as; wind, sun, flowers, rivers, seasons maps, and many more.
20. Globalmania
This site focuses on geography. World Geography can be covered in 7 months or less. The recommended grade level is grade 3 through high school. It is downloadable in two pdfs. This features Masterbooks’ popular ebook titled GLOBALMANIA: Master World Geography in 7 Months or Less.
21. History for Kids
This is a great resource for elementary students. It has a variety of topics throughout history. The best part is that it is geared toward kids. They have videos, games, and worksheets. For those who are into documentation, it also has articles, worksheets, and a quiz in each section.
Free Elementary Resources for Foreign Language
These foreign language sites are mostly for supplements to other programs. There is one that has different levels and exposes students to a world and culture in that language. I do not want to leave these out as I think they would still be beneficial. If you know of other free sites, please let me know in the comments and I will add them to this list.
22. Duolingo
Duolingo is a great site to use as a supplement to another language program. It has the basics. They have now added some sentence formation, etc. However, a student would not get enough hours or enough material covered to be considered a one-credit course for the high-school level.
23. German to Go
German to Go is for an intermediate level of German. This is basically the same website that has the lower level but has more advanced levels for the student to complete. It is done by the same company and in the same format as the Learn German course.
24. Learn German
Learn German is the lower level of German. This site provides the basics of the language. The student can then move on to the German to Go to get a more advanced study of the German language.
Free Elementary Math Curriculum
Math can be hard to figure out. Most programs require a placement test to even get an idea of where your student should start. Each program covers concepts at different levels. One program may have the order of operations in second grade and another may not even address it until fourth grade. Please keep that in mind when working with this free math curriculum.
25. AAA Math
This site can be used for your middle schooler to have interactive lessons. The site actually goes down to level K. Students have unlimited practice in a wide range of math concepts. This site also features lesson plans, activities, quizzes, and more!
26. HomeschoolMath.net (Grades K-2)
This site offers free math resources for K-2. The site is broken down by weeks.
27. HomeschoolMath.net (Grades 3-5)
This part of the site is designed for math in grades 3-5. Again, this is a free site for students to use. The site is broken down by weeks.
28. Illuminations
You can set the grade level. This site has at least 50-Interactive Mathematics & 700-Lesson Plans for your use. Games and activities are available for your students’ engagement. This site actually covers grades K and above. So you can easily have siblings working on this site just like the older kids. This is a win-win.
29. Math.com
This site provides some resources on basic concepts at different math levels. It says that more will be coming soon. They do have some games your students can play that require math concepts.
Free Elementary Resources in the Public Domain: Includes Many Books/ Textbooks
Books that are in the public domain can be used and found anywhere online. These public domain books can be great for read-alouds for the whole family or just a read-aloud for one child. For some, the child may be ready to read on his own. It all depends on the interests of the child and if the book is available at his skill level. These links are just some of the sites I have found that have books from the public domain. To find/ see if a book is available, try searching for it. I would search for it on at least two sites especially if it is a classic book since many of those are now in the public domain. Not all the sites have the same books as it takes a lot of work getting the books up on their sites for users.
30. Classics Internet Archive
This site is done by MIT. It provides a lot of classical literature. They are all now in the public domain. You do not have to worry about paying for them as there is no longer a copyright on them. They are free for anyone to use. This is only one site. If you are not fond of a translation, etc, try one of the other sites that have books in the public domain.
31. Internet Archive
Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more. Sign up for a Virtual Library Card. This will give you access to the works on their site, which does include more than just the books in the public domain. That is why you need to sign up for one of their virtual library cards.
32. Many Books
This site has a wide range of books for Free (Public Domain) including Classics and other Genres. This is definitely a site to look for classic books or any book that might be in the public domain before going and purchasing a copy of the book. This is a great resource.
33. OLL
According to the website, “The OLL collects the best, most interesting, and hardest-to-find works from the history of the discussion of liberty.” If you are looking for anything that could be history-related, you will want to check this site out. It has some great resources.
34. Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free eBooks (Such as Classic Books). This online collection is huge. If you have not found what you were looking for on other sites with public domain books, this is the one you want to search. They are constantly adding work to their collection. They are even looking for more volunteers so they can get more work up for people to use.
35. The Avalon Project
Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy.
Free Elementary Curriculum for Science
Science is one of the subjects that can either be boring or a ton of fun. I vote for fun. I love the interactive sites and hands-on science. Some of these sites allow students to have an interactive/ hands-on experience on the computer when it comes to science.
36. Chem4Kids
This provides some basic chemistry knowledge and terminology for your middle schooler. There are also a few quizzes under each category. Each quiz has 10 questions to be answered. This includes general chemistry, matter, atoms, elements, the periodic table, reactions, and biochemistry.
37. Life Science
Life Science is designed for the elementary grades. It has both the student text and the parent resources. There are different options of downloading to your computer. Choose the best one for you.
38. PhET Interactive Simulations
Interactive Simulations for Science and some Math
39. K-6 Science
This site has six topics in science that can be downloaded. Each contains resources for the student and the parent.
40. TeachEngineering
Free STEM Curriculum. It contains over 700 activities and lessons for your use.
Free Elementary Typing
In today’s world, students need to be proficient in typing. It is never too early to start the process of learning how to type. The first is to learn the keyboard and the second is to increase in speed. Eventually, the goal is to be a touch typist. This section currently features mostly free typing sites with both lessons and games.
41. Free Typing Game
Your students can learn how to type with this interactive tutor. It has approximately 30 lessons and teaches two letters at a time. This can be a fun way to learn how to type.
42. Typing Games- Under Typtastic
This site has several typing games to practice keyboard knowledge in a fun way. They will be honing their typing skills and will not even realize it. They will just think they are playing games (yes they will see it says something about typing, but once they start playing, they have a tendency to forget it is a lesson).
43. Typtastic!
Upper Elementary through High School Typing. Learn the Keyboard and Number Pad.
44. Typing Lessons
Typing Lessons- Free Program- For Keyboarding/ Can Play Games to practice more./ This is a free interactive typing tutor program that features 30 online lessons.
Free Elementary General Resources
There are sites out there to provide you with various resources. They contain everything from learning to study, practice studying, or doing research through documents. Use these resources to help your upper elementary student start to obtain the skills he needs to succeed.
45. DocsTEACH
The online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives.
46. Quizlet
Flashcards to Study/ Create or use Some Already Made (double check for accuracy first).
47. Teach With Movies
Learn a Variety of Subjects through the Movies. Curriculum Free on Website.
48. AAASpell
This site allows parents to create an account and form word lists that students can practice using. This site is free whether or not accounts are made for parents or students. It can be used without an account but you will need an account to track results. There are both spelling and vocabulary lists. You must be signed in to be able to edit the lists.
49. cK-12
This site provides resources starting in K. The areas it covers are science, math, and social studies. This is a great site to use as a supplement to other resources or other programs.
50. Computer Science: Code.org
Computer Science Discoveries covers topics such as problem-solving, programming, physical computing, user-centered design, and data while inspiring students as they build their own websites, apps, games, and physical computing devices. This course is designed for grades 6-10 and is an introductory course. It would be okay for an advanced upper elementary student who really wanted to design their own games.
51. Daily Grammar
You young student can study grammar and learn the parts of speech on this site for free. There are 440 lessons. They do have an ebook and a workbook available for purchase if you prefer. However, the lessons are all provided for free under their archive section.
52. English Grammar
It has a collection of video lessons that cover the parts of speech. This includes nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, and interjections. There are even games on this website to help students grasp the different parts of speech.
53. Funbrain:
This site can be researched based on grade level. Its focus is up to grade 8. It offers games, reading (comics and books), and videos. Its goal is to develop skills in math, reading, problem-solving, and literacy. You do not need an account just go to the site and play.
54. Guest Hollow’s Science of Seasons Curriculum
This site continues to grow and now has material from the young grades to some high school curricula. It is a cross-curriculum with info each week on Bible, Art, Language Arts, and more. It all depends on what the theme is for that week.
55. Homeschool Buyer Co-Op
Free Resources for a Variety of Topics/ Includes Virtual Field Trips.
56. Magic School Bus Unit Study
Magic School Bus Unit Study is on the Eclectic Homeschool website. It is a great way for you to know how to go through all the videos of the Magic School Bus and create a full study around it. I remember doing this with my son when he was in the younger grades. We watched all the videos hundreds of times, did experiments, and read more about the topic. This is a guide for you to use if you feel more comfortable creating the unit study on your own. This site does provide other unit studies if you want to go through them and see if any fit with what you are studying.
57. MobyMax for Learning Gaps
This site is designed to help students catch up and fill in gaps that may have occurred due to closures, etc. However, it is still a great resource for homeschoolers. Beware, this is based on Common Core. I know many homeschoolers do not teach Common Core and many private schools do not either. It looks like this may no longer be free but $4.99 per student license. However, I felt that it was still a resource some would want and chose to include it on this list.
58. Music-Based Unit Studies & More
There are unit studies for Peter and the Wolf, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and many more. Plus, you can add history, science, geography, art, music, math, and language arts with these music-based unit studies.
59. Newsela
This site uses news articles to help teach science, social studies, and language arts. You can create an account and assign what you want your student to do. You can even set the reading level (the student is not able to change this). The reading level starts at grade 3 and goes to grade 12.
60. OER Commons
This site provides you as the Educator with Educational resources/plans.
61. Read Theory
This site provides personalized reading comprehension activities. This site has activities from K-12 if needed. You can use this site to teach critical thinking, vocabulary, reading, writing, and more with this interactive website. It features short paragraphs with multiple-choice answers.
62. Smithsonian Learning Lab:
On this site, you can create an account and there is information on various things. You can choose from topics already put together or put together a packet for your student to complete yourself. The website states, “Understand history, art, culture, and the sciences through enquiry and analysis.” The site offers images, texts, videos, audio recordings, and learning activities featuring its collection of more than 1 million artifacts.
63. Study.com
Not sure about the Cost as the cheapest price found online is roughly $60. I chose to include it because I know many families who use this resource for a lot of their curricula. They use it for a full curriculum or to supplement unit studies or another program their student is completing.
64. Varsity Tutors
Large Group Classes are Free (Changes all the time). Upgrade to Standard Class 20-30 Students which is free with membership., Small Classes are under 10 Students and You Pay an Hour Rate (Hours per Class Vary.). They recently went up on their memberships and now it is $300 per month for the six-month plan. Your student can take as many classes as they want that say free with membership. They do offer 1:1 tutoring, summer camps online and many more features. Some are free and others they now charge for.
During the height of the Pandemic, almost everything except their 1:1 tutoring services was free. I still find that they are a great resource. I had to include it for your knowledge- and especially since they do still offer large classes for free along with a study dashboard. They offer some great free classes, such as their star classes. Warning: This is a site you are going to want to check often using the search feature as classes change frequently.
65. Virtual Field Trips
There are many virtual trips you can take from your home. There were more when traditional schools were shut down but there are some that still remain. Search to see if one of the places you wanted to go or animals you wanted to see has access to a webcam and provides virtual tours. The list I made for my family was huge and we had a blast watching animals and getting to see paintings from museums all over the world. I encourage you to expose your family to these experiences. Some are free and other sites charge a fee and give you unlimited access etc. A great article on this can be found on the Thought Co website.
Overview and Free Elementary Local Resources
Do not forget about your local resources. The biggest one is your local and state libraries. Consider asking for museum or zoo memberships as presents. (Contact museums, etc as many offer homeschoolers free admission either all the time or on certain days). Then you have resources such as Free Streaming Services and YouTube where instructors record a variety of topics and place them online. Recently, I found one that followed a full math book and provided a lecture on every chapter in the book. It was a lifesaver.
Quality NOT Busy Work
You want to make sure you are providing the best possible education for each individual student. Don’t just use a website because it is free. Make sure that the site has something to offer that is a benefit to that student.
Other Posts You May Like:
- Gifted and Talented: Links to Inform and Empower
- Free Resources for Middle School Curriculum
- Free Resources for High School Curriculum
Do You Know of Other Resources?
As of the published date, these are the resources I have at this time. I have either already used them or plan to use them in the coming year. If you know of other resources you feel would help other homeschool families, please send me their names and website info through the comments.
