Welcome to Homeschool-Curriculum.org’s “Best Summer Learning Resources” Guide for 2019!
We searched through hundreds of educational products to bring you the must-try resources for the summer. They’re the kind of products that are going to make your summer reading goals easier to achieve. That will alleviate your worries about summer learning loss. That will inspire creativity. That will have your kids asking for just one more quick lesson.
Every product on the list, we’ve either tested, tried, played ourselves or had recommended by other homeschoolers. We’re not just pulling whatever comes up first in Google. Our goal was to come up with fun, engaging and educational (emphasis on the educational) resources that you might not have already heard of, but that you should definitely know about.
Whether you’re officially homeschooling through the summer or you just want to have your kids to doing something educational over the break, you’ll want to check out our Best Summer Learning Resource picks!
Browse the entire guide or select one of the categories below.
To group products by age, click here.
7 Generation Games
Grade Level: PreK-2, 3-5, 6-8, High School
From bilingual VR apps that teach counting to games set in immersive 3D worlds that teach fractions and multiplication, 7 Generation Games keep kids engaged. The company makes educational video games and interactive apps designed to teach math in context, while incorporating elements of social studies and language arts. Math challenges are presented within the games’ storyline, and wrong answers lead to in-game modules that explain how to solve the problems.
The 7 Generation Games website includes an extensive collection of free educational resources. For kids interested in creating video games, check out their just launched Game Design Curriculum for Grades 5-12.
Andamio Games
Grade Level: High School
Andamio Games is bringing life sciences content to life. These educational apps make teaching these more advanced science topics easier and more engaging. iNeuron app teaches neuroscience through combining scaffolded lessons and game-based learning. Cell Energy tackles photosynthesis, cell respiration and the carbon cycle within virtual biology labs where players learn through experiments and interactive activities. Both games start with the fundamentals and build from there while reinforcing the concepts taught within the game. There are options for single player learning as well as group activities that you can do with your student or great for homeschool coops.
CodeMonkey Studios
Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8
CodeMonkey is a leading, fun and intuitive curriculum for kids to learn coding. Through game-based and project-based courses, students as young as 7 use text-based programming to solve puzzles and build their own games and apps. CodeMonkey does not require prior coding experience to teach and is designed for school, extracurricular and home-use.
In addition to computational thinking and programming skills, CodeMonkey fosters the development of executive functioning skills, such as problem solving, planning and mathematical thinking. Through CodeMonkey, students become equipped with the tools and confidence they need to then go on to learn more programming languages, build websites, games, apps and more. License options include a homeschool package.
Eagle Eye Citizen
Grade Level: 6-8, High School
Become a historical detective solving challenges using analyzing digitized primary sources from the Library of Congress in this interactive game to learn about civics in the United States.
Correctly complete a challenge to learn more by unlocking information on topics from suffrage to civil rights to citizenship. After you’ve mastered a couple (or a couple dozen!) challenges, there’s even a tool that lets you create your own! The game is a great way to engage students in research and history.
FirstWords by Learning Touch
Grade Level: PreK-2
FirstWords is a series of apps that reinforce letters while teaching basic spelling and sight word recognition. Children match letters to their corresponding place in a word – with each letter spoken aloud – to create words that come alive with animation. A free lite version of the app is available to try with expansion apps options that contain hundreds of words. With the pro versions, you can create your own lists. There are also Spanish, German and Japanese FirstWords apps because there’s no better time to start learning a second language.
Sheppard Software
Grade Level: PreK-2, 3-5, 6-8, High School
Featuring dozens of free interactive educational activities, games and more for preschool through high school, Sheppard Software is a site you’ll want to bookmark. Geography. Vocabulary. Chemistry. Math. Colors. Letters. Animals. With a wide variety of content spanning K12, the site is almost certain to have an activity to supplement the topics you’re covering in your curriculum.
Art Class Curator
Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8, High School
Trying to figure out how to pull together the perfect arts curriculum? The Art Class Curator has you covered. Topics include everything from integrating art and math to how to analyze photography to an entire year’s worth of art appreciation all mapped out, this site is a great go-to. Get free worksheets, affordable ready-to-go lesson plans, recommended reading and more from the Art Class Curator.
Eyeball It!®
Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8
Eyeball It!® is a real studio art program for kids 7-12 years old. For kids to do at home with a parent, or in group settings. Month-long projects cover painting, drawing, sculpture, collage and clay.
Individualized, scalable, available by Internet, guidable by any adult, completely free of any fees. Unique in its field.
The KinderArt Club
Grade Level: Pre-K, 3-5
An affordable monthly art lesson membership for adults who teach art to children ages 5 – 11 years. The KinderArt Club gives you the tools you need for creativity, fun and success.
Created by art teachers with a firsthand understanding of being a homeschool parent, the KinderArt Club features activities which are designed to work with a range of ages (from 5 to 11 years). So, even if you are teaching more than one child – at home or in a co-op – you don’t need to plan multiple activities.
MoxieBox Art
Grade Level: Pre K-2, 3-5, 6-8
MoxieBox Art is a family run business dedicated to nurturing creativity in all children! Moxie Box has created a great affordable summer art subscription program for students grades K-8th. Each MoxieBox art box contains a detailed lesson plan and all materials necessary for any student to successfully create a masterpiece you will be proud to display in your home for all to see! MoxieBox art box levels are currently created for K-2nd, 3rd-5th and 6th-8th grades. The monthly lesson plan for each level is on the same general subject but varies in complexity depending on the desired challenge. Each MoxieBox is created for one student.
Insect Lore
Grade Level: PreK-2
The perfect project for budding entomologists! Insect Lore kits include everything you need to build your own butterfly garden or ladybug kit – including the caterpillars and larvae. Observe the butterfly life cycle firsthand as you learn about the stages of metamorphosis from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. Did you know that ladybugs undergo metamorphosis as well? You can study the process up close with a ladybug kit. Kits can be purchased with the larvae/caterpillars included or with a voucher to redeem later. Products also includes a useful guide with activity journals, informational books and more available through the site.
Mand Labs
Grade Level: 6-8, High School
Mand Labs KIT-1: The All-in-One STEM Electronics Kit is your most comprehensive do-it-yourself (DIY) learning kit that takes you on a journey of 60 hands-on projects from fundamentals of electricity to advanced concepts of transistors in electronics and robotics. Everything is step-by-step.
No prior experience in electronics is required. As a beginner, you start with simple hands-on projects, learn to use a digital multimeter and grab the basic fundamentals of electricity, including charge, voltage, current, resistance, Ohm’s law and Kirchhoff laws.
As you advance, you start learning about new components, make more complex projects as you progress in terms of knowledge and skill levels. And get new DIY projects sent to you weekly as part of their Thursday project series!
SUMBLOX
Grade Level: Pre K-2, 3-5
Equal height—equal value. That’s our tagline. SumBlox are scaled numbers such that their heights represent numerical value. For example, a 2-block stacked on a 3-block will equal the height of a 5-block. With this simple feature, we are able to build a rich environment where the learning of math is as simple as playing with blocks. Playing and much more gaming is one of the most stimulating mediums for the mind. With SumBlox, we have built an ecosystem of games and activities that children can enjoy playing and in the process discover, learn, and fortify elementary skills in mathematics.
Raspberry Pi
Grade Level: Grade 6-8, High School
Wait, this is a computer? Yep, and the third-most popular selling brand in the world. This credit-card sized device might not be the first thing you think of when you picture a computer, but that’s what makes a Raspberry Pi such a fun tool. This single board computer can be used for everything from electronics projects to learning how to code to surfing the web. It’s a great way to get started with digital making with hundreds of project ideas available through the Raspberry Pi site and in-person Raspberry Jam events.
Squishy Circuits
Grade Level: 3-5
Squishy Circuits teaches about electronic circuits through play dough! Kits can be purchased through their site (or places like Amazon). You can even make your own with the recipe they provide. See firsthand how circuits work while being introduced to conductive and inductive principles as you draw power from a battery to activate an LED light using only play dough. You never expected learning about circuits to be like this – or to be this fun! The possibilities of what you can create an infinite, but the Squishy Circuits site and app have some great resources to get you started.
SunWind Solar
Grade Level: 6-8, High School
SunWind Solar invention kits are a great way to turn spending time in the summer sun into an educational activity. Learn about solar power by building devices that harness and run on solar energy with one of five individual kits that empower kids to create and customize. Complement your constructing with informative solar energy materials and a variety of solar lesson plan ideas available from SunWind online.
ASD Reading
Grade Level: Pre K-2
ASD Reading is a patented, research-based method for teaching students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other significant learning disabilities to read, write and comprehend at a 3rd grade level (Lexile 750). Current reading education relies on methods that often do not work for students on the spectrum with the result that the majority never gain the ability to read with fluency or understanding. However, the innovative content and methods of ASD Reading enable students to achieve success – even when they are non-verbal (i.e., non-speaking). Get a free 30-day trial when you sign up.
Reading IQ
Grade Level: Pre K-2, 3-5
Reading IQ, from the makers of ABC Mouse, brings the library into your house. With thousands of titles to choose from, Reading IQ’s content is curated by actual librarians and reading experts to provide books that will develop and encourage reading. The platform’s leveling feature helps to ensure that your child’s books are at an appropriate Lexile levels. The extensive – and growing – collection of book options includes picture books, early reader versions, chapter books, audio books, titles in Spanish and more. Parents can view detailed reports with insights into their children’s reading.
Reading Kingdom
Grade Level: Pre K-2
Reading Kingdom gives you the tools to turn kids into successful readers with its innovative online reading program! Reading Kingdom teaches students to read and write with comprehension at a 3rd grade level (Lexile 750). Reading Kingdom’s innovative techniques are extremely effective because they are based on a new “Phonics-PLUS” six skill model of reading instruction and do not rely solely on phonics-based decoding approach which is problematic because most words in English cannot be sounded out. Get a free 30-day trial when you sign up.
Reading Rewards
Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8
Looking for a better way to track summer reading? Look no further. Reading Rewards is a useful tool to log your young readers’ progress. You can track the book by title and enter the number of minutes (or use the in-app time to track them) and number of pages read. Kids earn “points” as they read that can be “cashed in” to unlock fun digital features like “joke of the day.” The app enables multiple readers which a great feature if you’re homeschooling more than one child.
StoryWorld
Grade Level: PreK-2
StoryWorld is a “learning-through-story language tool” that uses reading to teach a second language. Stories are available in English, Spanish and Mandarin. Children are presented with digital books at their Lexile level within the app that are narrated by native speakers. On every screen, kids can click on any words they don’t know for a translation. Though developed for preschoolers and early readers, the platform can be a valuable tool for any student learning a new language. StoryWorld offers home educator (with expanded activities and dashboard reporting) or basic membership options.
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