A Parent's Toolkit: 40 Online Resources for FREE Printables, Virtual Tours, Audio Storybooks & More

Dear parents, as the Movement Control Order (MCO) continues, you might find yourself out of ideas to do with your little ones. So, we’ve taken the liberty of gathering a few free resources you might want to look into (if you haven’t already) for ideas to fill up this time and use it as an opportunity to educate your kids, as well as have some fun together!

1. Virtual Tours

Since travelling is out of the picture for the foreseeable future, virtual tours are the next best thing. Not only can you immerse yourself into another culture and view the magnificent displays, it can also serve as a platform to learn with your kids – just pick a tour, pull up a few facts and learn as you explore. 

• The Louvre Museum: Explore the world’s largest art museum in Paris, France. Did you know, it was the Royale palace for French kings in the 16th and 17th century? 
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: Take a self-guided trip that goes room-by-room with tours of selected exhibits and areas within the museum.  
• National Women’s History Museum: Venture into a remarkable journey of research, collections, exhibit and contribution of women in the context of world history. 
• San Diego Zoo: Watch live feeds of the zoo’s beautiful animals including its adorable baboons, panda and koalas.  
• The Great Wall of China: Tour China’s greatest attraction and gaze at the gorgeous scenery from this over 2,000-year old structure. 
• Easter Island: Explore this breath-taking island and learn about its many statues. 
• Grand Canyon: Journey to the deepest canyon in the world with this super-cool 360 video. 
• Mars: Head to outer space and tour the actual surface of Mars!
• The White House: Enjoy a guided tour of one of the most prestigious world landmarks. 
• Central Park: Take a virtual walk in one of the most famous parks. 
• Red Square, Russia: Head to Moscow, Russia and tour the city square which separates the former royal citadel and current official residence of the President of Russia. 
• Buckingham Palace: Visit the Queen’s residence with tours that showcase areas from the drawing room to the throne room. 
• Vatican: The headquarters of the Roma Catholic Church, view the Vatican’s ancient roman sculptures. 
• British Museum: Dive into history with this interactive tour that allows you to explore different decades. 
• Van Gogh Museum: Marvel at his famous artworks and take a virtual tour of the museum in Amsterdam.
• Cincinnati Zoo USA: Meet the zoo animals through daily live videos and check out their past lives to see what their magnificent animals have been up to! 

2. Free printable worksheets

Worksheets are great learning tool for child development, especially in their earlier years. This can be a daily exercise and you can choose from varying subjects or activities to keep their brain juices flowing. 

• HP Print & Play: Select from fun mazes, book reviews, drawing, colouring and even, crafting templates. 
• Education.com: Choose from various printable worksheets including dot-to-dots, spelling and other lesson-based activities based on your child’s learning stages. 
• K5 Learning: Download worksheets for grammar lessons, vocabulary, flashcards and more. 
• Great Schools: With over 1,000 worksheets, select from a library of reading pictures and timetables, among other education materials. 
• Kidzone: Choose from worksheets that help your kids learn their letters, numbers, shapes and colours. 
• Worksheet Fun: Teach you kids math with various printable worksheets according to their learning level. 
• Jumpstart: You’ll find worksheets that cover various subjects including math and science. 
• Scholastic: Find adorable worksheets that your kids can colour and learn with here. 
• All Kids Network: Pick from worksheets that go according to seasons, as well as other materials. 
• Super Easy Storytelling: Let your kids’ imaginations go wild with creative writing and storytelling. There are various worksheets and lesson plans that focus on teaching your kids just that. 

3. E-learning

With school closures and the wonders of technology, e-learning has come forth as a saviour for parents – children can now have their classes fro the comfort of their own homes and according tot their own time. Here are a few websites you can get well-curated lessons for kids of all ages. 

• e-learningforkids.org: A great website for free childhood learning.
• Khan Academy: A non-profit organisation that offers free education for all ages with daily schedules on math, science, history and more.  
• gonoodle.com: Your kids will love this with fun movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts. 
• Brain POP: Covering various subjects including English, Art, Music and more, they host daily topics with challenges too. 
• Dreambox: Find lessons for various subjects with fun, interactive videos. 
• Teach Your Monster to Read: Get your kids acquainted with everything from letters and sounds to full sentences with their phonics programmes. 

4. Online Storybooks

Story time is a good way to instil values or teach your kids about morals, while diving into another magical world. You can encourage them to act out the stories and engage them with some questions at the end of every tale. 

• American Literature: Pick from a library of fairy-tales, fables, and nursery rhymes. 
• Freechildrenstories.com: Read original stories according to their ages, with rhyming or non-rhyming stories. 
• Kids World Fun: Read these entertaining English stories that can teach children about several things in life.
• Storynory: Enjoy the cutest free audio stories, including cultural-related tales! 
• Stories to Grow by: Choose audio books of classic tales including Snow White, Pocahontas, Robin Hood and more. 
• Light up Your Brain: This website offers downloadable mp3 and streamable content of original stories made just for children. 
• agendaweb: Enjoy short audio stories on fun tales that also promote educational learning. 
• magickeys: Listen to various stories including old classics reimagined. 

Well, we hope this list helps you out and keeps your household entertained!

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