Internet Resources to Help Parents Support Their Child’s Learning At Home

Every parent wants their child to succeed in school and in life beyond. That is a fact. There are parents who don’t ‘feel’ competent enough to take on a more direct role in helping their child achieve academic success. During this pandemic, in particular, parents need to know where to look and find readily accessible resources to help them as they help their child learn from home.

Parents and caregivers of school children everywhere are still in an adjustment period where there has been a shift from teachers in the classroom to parents and caregivers at home. The physical learning environment is not the same. Physically present are parents who have an added responsibility to be more active in the teaching and learning process of their children-from home. Parents of school-aged children are not expected to teach core academic content from the school’s curriculum. Parents must know that their role is to actively support learning and to structure the home environment in ways conducive to learning, free from distractions. At the very least, parents are to try their best to create such an environment for learning.

Parental involvement is not novel. It was always a ‘thing’, even before this public health crisis. Expected levels and degrees of involvement at this time, however, are somewhat more advanced- more direct. In order to help parents meet these demands with success, many online educational resources are available to help them help their child.

Here are some of those online resources designed to help parents and teachers to help maintain students’  learning continuity, and reinforce and supplement instruction:

• Parent Portal and App                                                                                              The App gives parents a way to play their assessment games with their children. The data becomes available to their school, daycare or early learning program for continuing to monitor the student’s progress on a number of learning objectives.                                                                                                                                                                   VISIT RESOURCE
• Daily Family Activities                                                                                            Free educational standards-aligned activities that give families a way to keep kids busy at home.                                                                                                                                                                              VISIT RESOURCE
• Capti Voice                                                                                                                    Text-to speech reading platform that provides accommodations and assessment.                                                                                                                                                                                                      VISIT RESOURCE
• ParentVault.com                                                                                                          Free, fun-themed lesson plans daily that includes printable worksheets for math, reading, writing, STEM science experiments, DIY art projects and even music. They aggregate a huge list of free virtual classes from around the country.                                                                                                                                                                                          VISIT RESOURCE
• AllPlay Learn Deakin University                                                                        AllPlay Learn helps to create inclusive education environments for children and young people with developmental challenges and disabilities through practical online instruction, courses and resources for teachers, as well as information and resources for parents, children and the community.                                                                                                                                                                                                       VISIT RESOURCE
• ScreenBinge                                                                                                                 List of 250+ educational content to watch on Netflix.                                                                                                                             VISIT RESOURCE
• Clearing the Air: A ‘Be Vape Free’ Virtual Field Trip                                     Discovery Education and CVS Health Foundation are providing a free online virtual field trip for students and families to learn lifesaving facts about the vaping epidemic.                                                                                                                                                                             VISIT RESOURCE
• YourFreeCareerTest.com                                                                                       A student-friendly free career test that requires no  registration, email, or payment to access results. Results are printable and can be accessed via a unique code or link for future access.                                                                                                                                                          VISIT RESOURCE
• Take Us Higher Learning                                                                                         Study skills resources for middle school and high school students, as well as blog posts with tips and best practices for parents and adolescents. Online study skills courses and virtual study skills with live instructor. Course title  examples include: Improving Study Habits, Organization and Time Management, and Test-Taking Strategies.                                                                                                                                            VISIT RESOURCE
• Information From A Librarian                                                                              Resources for children, parents and teachers/educators.                                                                                                                         VISIT RESOURCE
• MathScore.com                                                                                                          Developed by MIT graduates, provides adaptive math practice for grades K-9. It is especially effective with helping students with math facts.                                                                                                      VISIT RESOURCE
• TalkingPoints                                                                                                              Enables family engagement and communication regardless of language. Toll allows teachers to communicate with families using the app in English, which then translates messages into 100+ languages. All parents need is a mobile device.                                                                                                                                                                                    VISIT RESOURCE 
• Quiziz                                                                                                                              Quiziz is a learning platform that uses gamified quizzes to help people learn or teach anything, on any device, in-person or remotely. Use in schools, homes and offices.                                                                                                                                                                                VISIT RESOURCE
• Springboard Collaborative                                                                                     Virtual/distance learning and family engagement resources, focused on Literacy for Pre-K through 4th grade students in English and Spanish.                                                                                                  VISIT RESOURCE   
• Mensa For Kids                                                                                                           Website with free resources for all.                                                                                                                                                                VISIT RESOURCE
• Parenting Through the Pandemic                                                                         This site was designed in response to school closings. The 8 Elements of Home-Based Learning environments are discussed as essential .                                                                                                         VISIT RESOURCE

It’s important to remember, parents, that you are not homeschooling your children in the traditional sense. The teachers in your child’s school are providing the instruction; you are managing a home-based learning environment and supporting your child’s learning within that environment. Structure your environment and set your children up for success.

Remember, learning should be a joyous endeavor. Look at the gleam in the eyes of babies and toddlers as they learn while playing. It is exciting for them. So show your excitement to them as they engage with you and the world, and as they learn new things every day, make it engaging.  Don’t forget that there are lots of ‘unofficial’ learning opportunities, teachable moments, and do take advantage of them all. Many of these moments can occur while engaging in good old fashioned family fun! Don’t worry; you’ve got this! Be safe!