Free homeschool resources abound, but so do ways to acquire paid resources for free. Check out your local Buy Nothing group, library, and thrift stores (okay, thrift stores don’t usually have anything for free, but they’re usually cheap). Talk to other homeschoolers in your area. Most try several curricula and resources before settling on something they actually use. Many curricula are reusable, too. While some people resell their resources they no longer use, others are just happy to give them a new home.
Educational YouTube Channels
General Information and Niche Topics
- Crash Course is a family favorite. They offer several different courses across social studies, sciences, literature, and more. Each video is about 10 minutes so they’re easy to stay engaged with, but they’re fast-paced, too. There’s even a Crash Course Kids channel for younger ones!
- National Geographic is great for learning about our planet.
- For short, interesting, fact-filled videos, check out BE AMAZED.
- PBS’s Be Smart has deep answers to simple questions.
- OverSimplified is just what it sounds like: oversimplified explanations for a wide variety of topics.
- Peekaboo Kidz explores a wide variety of topics, geared toward younger kids.
- For nursery rhymes, letters, and other preschool learning, check out Skyvibe.
- Teaching reading and phonics? Logic of English is a great curriculum, but even better, their YouTube channel is free and full of great information!
- Learning about numbers with your little one? Check out Numberblocks!
- To learn about death, check out Caitlin Doughty’s very interesting channel, Ask a Mortician.
- FYUTCH combines music and social justice.
Social Studies
- Geography Now! is a great way to introduce your kids to other countries. Videos are short, fast, and chock-full of information!
- Knowable World is a great history channel for homeschoolers.
- For animated maps and data visualizations, take a look at Cottereau.
- Want to learn the history that most don’t teach? You need Horrible Histories!
- Liberty’s Kids explores the American Revolution from the perspective of a couple of teenagers.
- For videos on making historic blades, check out Lava Blades.
Science Videos
- Science in a Snap is a great channel for exploring science!
- Amoeba Sisters explores science.
- Everyday Science
- Visit Science Mom for science demonstrations.
- For more science, explore SciShow, SciShow Kids, SciShow Psych, SciShow Space, and SciShow Tangents.
- SmarterEveryDay also explores science.
- Free robotics classes at Kids Explore Robotics.
- To explore health and science, take a look at Nucleus Medical Media.
- Octonauts is a fun kids’ cartoon exploring the ocean.
- To explore chemistry, check out chemistNATE.
- Periodic Videos is another chemistry channel.
Educational Websites
- The New York Public Library Digital Collections has over a million items from photos and maps to books, periodicals, and correspondence. Be sure to check out what your local library offers, too!
- The Museum of Science in Boston has a curriculum collection called EiE that is focused on computer science. Many museums, national and state parks, and historic sites have educational materials, too, so be sure to check out your favorites.
- Learning For Justice has a collection of resources called “Teaching Hard History” for K-5 students. It is definitely worth checking out when you teach your kids about slavery.
- Do your kids love science? Check out Science Fair Central for project ideas, steps, presentation tips, and more.
- Amaze is, well, amazing for teaching sex ed. They even have a section for younger students called Amaze Junior!
- Lark in the Morning has a Free Music Library that would be a perfect supplement to your other music appreciation studies.
- Are you concerned about including indigenous peoples in your studies without appropriation? American Indians in Children’s Literature has lists of books recommended by indigenous people.
- What about free audiobooks? Check out LibreVox on Internet Archive (and then also go over and check out what movies are available for free)!
- Open Culture has 1700 free online courses in dozens of different subjects as well as audiobooks, movies, podcasts, and so much more!
- The Zinn Ed Project focuses on teaching the history that is often forgotten; that of women, the poor, people of color, LGBTQ+, and children. Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States was the first history book I ever enjoyed as a kid and now there are many more options!
- Ducksters is a website with social studies and science resources for kids, as well as some fun extras.
- The Surly Housewife has a list of books to read, organized by the state they’re set in. We have found some new favorites from this list!
- Spelling Training has online games and practice for spelling for 1st-4th graders (or anyone spelling at those levels).
- Check your local (and not-so-local) zoos for webcams of their animals.
- Learning Languages? Maximum Classics has Latin and Greek language resources, some of which are free.
- Word Reference is very helpful if you are learning a second language. They have French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, and several that I don’t know. See if they have the language you’re working on!
Curricula
- My favorite free curriculum is Khan Academy. It’s online, secular, free, and has a lot more than just math! My family has used their philosophy, US History, grammar, sciences, and of course, math. Not everyone likes Khan Academy, but it’s a great first start to figuring out what works for your kids.
- Big History Project has several options. My family has tried and enjoyed their short (6-hour) world history course and it was great. I think my kids were about 8 and 9 when we went through it as a family, but most of their courses are designed for high schoolers.
- The Good and the Beautiful (TGTB) is Christian so my family hasn’t used it, but it does have some free options. There is some controversy over it being created by a Mormon, but it’s apparently not reflected in the curriculum itself (again, I haven’t seen it, so can’t speak of it personally).
- Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool is also Christian but free. Again, I haven’t used it or even looked at it, but lots of people use and love it.
Worksheets
- Teachers Pay Teachers has tons of free worksheets across ages, subjects, and topics. In order to post any paid resources, you first have to post at least one free resource. When you search, you can filter for free resources.
- Twinkl is usually a paid website, but has free days. You can take a look at their worksheets, favorite what you want, and download them on their next free day.
- Worksheet Works has tons of free worksheets and you can create custom ones, too! We enjoyed using it for tracing practice when we had a printer.
- Speaking of custom worksheets, if you have time, the free Canva subscription has a lot of functionality and you can create exactly what your kids need. Even better, you can then sell your creations somewhere like Teachers Pay Teachers to earn a little money!
- K-5 Learning has lots of math and ELA options for younger students. We used their spelling worksheets when my kids started spelling.
- Handwriting Practice has math and phonics worksheets in addition to handwriting.
Games
- Check out all these free printable games! Don’t forget that video games are educational, too (and there are tons of free ones).
- Most curricula and creators of resources will have some freebies available. Don’t be shy about using free trials and samples!
- Finally, if you have a high schooler, be sure to check out these resources for high schoolers for even more free options.
At the end of the day, homeschooling can cost as much or as little as you want or need it to. Yes, there are some amazing resources that are quite expensive, but there are also good resources that are free or very low-cost. If you’re willing to spend the time and be creative, you can homeschool for free!