Free Educational Websites for kids!

For years now I have been compiling a folder of websites for my children to learn and explore on.  I believe that having an early start and lots of resources gives kids the best chance at succeeding as they journey through school, but I also believe we have to protect them as they learn so I am careful of the websites I let my kids visit.  I am sharing the sites that I have been introduced to  by teachers, other parents, kids and internet searches over the years in hopes that I can help others find these great sites too!  They are all great resources for parents, teachers and kids alike... so browse, bookmark and enjoy some learning fun on me!

3 new links added! Recent adds are: Ducksters, courtesy of Cameron M, Kiddle and Kid's Health! (updated 3/23/17)

ABC Ya - this website focuses on Pre-K to Grade 5 with games for learning Letters, Numbers, Holidays, Strategy and Skills.  There are tons of games to choose from without having to visit any of the sites advertising on the sides of the page!

BBC - History for kids - This website is chock full of history from ancient History to British history, the history of Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, world history and Hands on History too!

Cool Math - While I do have mixed feelings about this website there are some games that I find very educational, but there are enough strategy games that I think my son loses focus on the games that teach him the basics like adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions, etc. Nor is this site organized by grade level so it is hard to decide which games would best suit each child.

Discovery Kids - This is a great site for kids to discover all about sharks, dinos, science, animals, earth and space!

Ducksters Education Site - This site was recommended by a family friend in middle school.  It is almost like a digital encyclopedia with it's vast array of articles about Biography, Geography, History, Science.  Some sections have an audio version that can be listened to and each article I looked at had a 10 question quiz to test comprehension. There are sections for Fun & Games too with jokes, information on sports and games.  Though there are a few classic arcade games, most of the games I saw were educational and fun!

Farmer's Almanac for kids - This is a great site for kids in 2nd-3rd grade and up.  There is so much to explore about the calendar, weather, history, the sky and so much more!  This is definitely not a site to miss!

Funbrain - is a site that is great for Elementary age children with a focus on Math and Reading!  This site even allows users to write down passwords that allow them to return to a "save point" of sorts and keep their progress without having to have a username and password!

Highlights - This is a great site with awesome games, great short stories and poems, plus craft projects too!  Younger readers can listen to the stories and poems while older kids can enjoy reading them!

Kiddle - A Google powered search engine that is safe for kids.  They can search for sites, images, news and videos and they have done their best to provide kid safe results.  If the kids search for naughty and inappropriate things or words it tells them "Oooops... try again!" (I tried a few to see and the filters worked for all of them)

Kids Astronomy - This is a great scientific site for young kids and older kids alike though it seems to be aimed at older Elementary school kids in maybe 3rd to 5th grade.  It is packed full of information on the solar system and different missions to space!

Kids Biology - This site covers human and animal biology subjects! I would assume that this is a 3rd grade or higher curriculum since my son hasn't learned about this in school yet, but it has a ton of great information complete with pictures.

Kids Dinos - Another great Science website for kids.  This site covers dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, Dinogames and Paleontology!

Kids Geography - This site covers basic geography great for Elementary students...again this site seems to cover 3rd grade to 5th grade subject matter.

Kids Geology - This site only has one game at the moment, but it is a neat rock identifying game that would be neat for a rock lover.

Kid's Health - This site has everything health related a kid could want or need to know.  There are movies, quizes and articles covering everything from puberty to staying healthy with exercise and cooking info!  There is a daily "Brain Buzz" with a health related tidbit of trivia, a What's Hot?, a "Spotlight" section, and a "Big Questions" tile to choose from on the homepage along with topics on a sidebar to inspire healthy thinking and understand how our bodies work!

Kids History - This site has 5 games that cover world history and features an online World History Textbook!

Kids Numbers - This site covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, telling time, mixed skills, geometry and algebra.

Kids Memory - For those of you that want to exercise your child's brain with some memory games this is the site for you!

Kids Spell - This is an awesome spelling site for 1st graders to 12th graders with 982 pre-made lessons/ spelling lists.  Plus you can create your own spelling list based on the words your child is learning in school!

Miamiopia - I haven't tried this one yet, but it is a totally Free Virtual World for kids where they earn coins for completing activities that they can use in the store to buy prizes.

National Geographic Kids - Another great site for kids younger and older featuring videos, games, animal facts, photo sharing, and you can create an account for your child that will allow them to earn badges!

Nick Jr and Disney Jr. - are both great sites for Pre-K and some Kindergarten students.  Though I have had to keep an eye on my children to make sure they are actually playing the educational games and not just watching the TV shows.  Though I can see some educational value in the shows at practical application of those lessons is very important!

PBS Kids- This site features the great PBS characters with games and videos. Plus there is a "Parents" button that will take you to parenting tips and party ideas!

Scholastic family Playground (ages3-7) and Scholastic "The Stacks" (ages 8-12) - These sites are divided into two different age groups.  The site for younger kids has characters for that age group, reading activities, games, etc.  The site for older kids allows them to learn about books and authors, new releases including book previews and there are some games there too! Plus, they sponsor a National virtual Summer Reading program that gives virtual prizes and entries for giveaways too! It's an awesome way for schools to compete for the most Summer Reading!

Sesame Street - For everything Sesame Street this is the place to go!  There are games, videos, art and Muppets to help foster early education in children.

Seussville - This site offers a place for kids to read, play games and hang out with Dr. Seuss and his friends!

Starfall - is currently a reading based website for Pre-K to Kindergarten learners, it looks like they will also be adding Kindergarten Math as well!

Storyline Online - This is another site recommended by my son's 3rd grade teacher.  Have some of your favorite stories read to you by movie stars!

Switcheroo Zoo - This was recommended by my sons 3rd grade teacher.  It's a great site to watch, listen and play games all about amazing animals!

The Kidz Page - Has a great selection of online learning games as well as printables all for free!  Plus they have a fun room, puzzles, coloring and over 2,000 clip-art pictures free to download!

Time for Kids - This website is a great resource for older kids to be able to keep up with current events on their own!  They even feature stories written by kids as young as 9 years old!

Please let me know in the comments below if I have missed one of your favorite FREE learning sites for kids so I can check it out and add it to the list if I like it!

**Disclaimer** I am not affiliated with any of the above mentioned sites and I do not benefit in any way from the traffic I create by sharing them with you.  I have visited each of these sites personally, but I have not looked at every link on every page so please exercise normal parental caution with these sites as you would any other.