Homeschool Resources

This page is the hub of our website for finding homeschool resources. We have posts on this site detailing homeschool science resources, geography resources and so on. Below we also give you some useful links to online learning resources, curriculum, supplies, and books. If you can’t find the resource or topic you need below, do come back. We’re working hard on building this content every day, no website is ever born fully complete.

What is a Homeschool Resource?

A homeschool resource is anything you use at home as part of your kids’ education. It is a “thing you use” in homeschooling and can be physical or virtual.

Everything your children do is education, they are learning every second of every day. Obviously some resources look more educational than others. We have all kinds of learning resources on this page.

We’ve homeschooled our kids from primary, to GCSE level. They’re now taking A levels at home. Obviously homeschool resources vary with the age of your kids.

Can Regular Games and Toys be Educational Resources?

Of course they can! All of the games kids or families play have learning built-in. Lego, simple card games, Uno, Monopoly, Top Trumps, Scrabble, Trivia games, they are all educational.

Kids can learn numbers, letters, and reading through playing games. I still say that Minecraft is where my younger son truly learned to read. His Minecraft Homeschool enrollment came later, he was already reading by then and Minecraft Homeschool classes added factual content to the construction game along with a social connection with kids all over the world.

As your kids get older computer games or online gaming also adds to their general knowledge and mental database. We’ve done a lot of learning through gaming with our older teen and one day I’ll create a post about it.

Where To Buy Homeschool Supplies?

You’re going to love this website! Are you looking for art and craft materials? How about kits and makes? Are you wondering where to buy science supplies? Of course, you’ll need some shelves and cupboards for your homeschool room. I’ll say no more, just send you along to this website website. It opens in a new tab because you’ll be browsing for a long time!

This company is US-based but they may be able to ship large orders internationally. Free US shipping on orders over $33.

Regular Home Items as Learning Tools

Do you have a kitchen and a garden? Is your cupboard filled with chemical reagents such as baking soda, vinegar, red cabbage, and turmeric?

If you do, you already have a laboratory at home. We have a post on kitchen science and much, much more to come. My background is in science, this is my subject and my passion.

Equipment at Home for Homeschooling

You will need, books, paper, pencils, art and craft materials, toys games, and time. Make homeschooling fun, always. Make it like play.

As kids get older things get a little more serious. Some homeschooled kids will be sitting exams, others will be taking alternate educational and career pathways but the learning gets far more in-depth over the years.

Some of the serious “equipment” for homeschooling we’ve used and enjoyed are:

• globes
• telescopes
• magnet sets
• microscopes
• chemistry sets ( know that just about every chemical reaction is on YouTube)
• circuits sets
• home replica dissection and anatomy kits
• a good camera to learn photography
• computers and a good wifi connection plus all the tech gear that goes with that.

Courses and Online Learning Programmes

There are so many courses and learning programmes online, it’s not funny. So many that you wonder why anyone ever goes to school. We’ve enjoyed free and paid courses for very young children and later from organisations such as the Open University and Khan Academy for older kids. Alongside the school topic courses we’ve enjoyed various free and paid interest related classes such as photography courses.

For older kids, try the free Open University courses here. My son dipped into these from about 12 years old. They’re not aimed at kids but there are some really good short courses available. We enjoyed environmental modules and meteorology.

Khan Academy, again, I feel is better for older kids. They do cover subjects such as maths in a year-by-year sort of way. They do have the content for young kids. The way the content is presented is rather adult though, but try it, you may like it. Khan Academy is free.

BBC Bitesize is another stunning free resource and one that became massively important to many non-homeschooled kids during school closures. My older kids’ teachers have used this often as part of their high school GCSE modules. It’s free and they have content for every age of child. This is perfect for homeschool kids sitting exams. My kids did this, eventually, through an online school.

Outschool is a fantastic homeschooling resource. We’ve used this for face-to-face Zoom classes on topics my kids are just interested in. My elder son loves Greek history and mythology for instance so we found him an expert in that field who was holding classes. You can book stand alone classes or short courses on just about any topic. This one is a homeschooler’s dream. Check out Outschool here. Using our link you should get a $20 credit to use on your first class.

On top of these there are paid homeschooling courses, you can pay basically for a year of online lessons and practice, usually not involving teachers or Zoom. These are much better for younger kids than trying to do traditional school online. They turn learning into play and my kids would actually ask to use these online tools. Take a look at Study Ladder, Reading Eggs, ABCmouse, (this link is to a special offer on their age 2-8 yrs product), and Brain Pop.

A new option from ABC Mouse is Adventure Academy. They have taken their existing program for very small children and made it fun for 8 to 13-year-olds We can offer you your first month on this platform free. AdventureAcademy.com – First Month Free – Click here!

Another interesting option is ABCMouse Reading IQ. Unlimited reading material for children from pre-readers (under 2-years-old) to independent readers (up to 12-years-old). These are very much the style of graded readers your child would be using in school. ReadingIQ.com – First Month Free.

Of course, using all of the above, is the best way to do it. Mix and match, some free, some subscriptions, find what works, add whatever else your kids enjoy. A patchwork education is the ultimate way to go.

The World, Your Local Environment and Travel

We can all learn so much by just exploring our local area. Beaches, forests, rivers, and streams are classrooms in themselves. Learn about the history of your town and why it is the way it is. Visit every local museum and gallery. Look out for tours, classes, and activities for kids and homeschoolers.

My favourite homeschooling quote is one by John Holt, “Children learn from anything and everything they see. They learn wherever they are, not just in special learning places.”. If you want kids to learn more, change up their environment.

When you’re done with your home town spread your wings. Travel is an incredible learning resource. Take your kids to learn at source, rather than from a book.

Movies, TV Shows and YouTube

You can learn anything on YouTube. I’ve used it myself to learn about photography, permaculture, and how to build websites. If you want to learn it, it’s usually there, for free.

Dedicated educational YouTube channels also exist, thousands of them.

Regular movies and TV shows can also be educational and legitimately written into your homeschool reporting (if you are required to do this). We’ve started putting a post together on educational movies and TV shows, with more to come.

Homeschool Resources by Age

If our post refers to homeschool resources for a particular age group or year level, we will say so. If not, assume general, multi-age resources. We have homeschooled from kindergarten to high school so we do cover all age groups on this site. We very much believe and know that learning is a life-long event.

Resources For Sport, Health, and PE

If you read our sample report for health and PE you’ll see how we dealt with this when our kids were younger.

Learn To Be a Homeschool Teacher

Homeschool facilitators aren’t teachers, they don’t need to be. Teacher is just an easy word to use in a title. We homeschooling parents more often than not, learn alongside our children. Part of your job, right now, is to learn how to become the best homeschooling parent, guide, or mentor you can be.

We’d recommend you do some research on the nature of homeschooling. The classic books below are a great place to start.

• Why I Love Homeschooling. 24 parents discuss their reasons for homeschooling, their joys and challenges.
• The Brave Learner. Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life.
• Dumbing Us Down. By John Taylor Gatto. The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling.
• Teach Your Own. The John Holt Book of Homeschooling.

How To Be a Homeschool Blogger

We can share useful tips on starting a homeschool blog and creating homeschool content to make money from your blog. We even have a handy checklist for new bloggers, right here!

Other Useful Online Resources and Websites

As we find more homeschool resources, we will add them. We try to stay on top of this page, obviously things change all the time. Please double check all information for yourself.

Thanks for being here. I started creating this post just a few hours ago. In coming weeks this and our website will grow. Stick around to find out which tools and homeschool resources we not-so-crazy homeschoolers use and need. For kids of any age.