Below is a list of free resources available digitally (online or through an app).
DATABASES
Digital Maine Library has free, reliable online resources for educators and young learners from kindergarten through college. Easily find age-appropriate search engines (aka databases) for kids by choosing “Elementary” or “Middle School” under the Audience menu. You will find primary source documents, encyclopedia articles, book suggestions, and more from:
- Ancestry Library Edition
- Ben’s Guide to US Government for Kids
- In Context – Elementary
- Maine Secretary of State Kids’ Page
- National Geographic Kids
- NoveList K-8 Plus
- World Book Early World of Learning
- World Book Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos
- World Book Kids
BOOKS & STORIES
Everyone
Big List of Virtual Author Activities – assembled by WeAreTeachers, this list will bring Story Time into your home with read-alouds and activities from your favorite authors for all ages.
International Children’s Digital Library – a collection of stories from around the world that can be read online.
Storyline Online – free videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.
Pre-K
Jbrary – Story time songs and fingerplays to teach your babies and toddlers from two of our favorite librarians.
K-3
Circle Round – a podcast that adapts carefully-selected folktales from around the world into sound- and music-rich radio plays for kids ages 4 to 10.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Kitchen Table Classroom – free mini art classes and step-by-step craft tutorials in written and video format for kids, along with art lesson resources for parents.
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems – 15 free drawing lessons from favorite children’s book author Mo Willems.
EDUCATION +
Chewonki @Home – nature-based remote learning with lesson plans, projects, videos, and more.
Community of Learning – core curriculum programs live streamed Tuesdays – Fridays at 1 p.m. for students in grades K-6.
Girls Who Code at Home – computer science educational activities available for download free of charge, to anyone who wants to access them.
NASA Kids’ Club – activities from NASA for kids including NASA STEM @ Home.
PBS LearningMedia – free standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more.
TEDEd@Home – high-quality, interactive, video-based lessons on a daily basis, for free from the creators of TedTalks.
Wonderopolis – free educational site with fun, interactive STEM and literacy-building topics for kids from the National Center for Families Learning.