All the home school resources parents need during the coronavirus pandemic

Let's get one thing out there in the open: the majority of you are not actually home schooling, nor are you expected to.
When the decision to home school a child is made, it traditionally takes thought, preparation, time, and often a collaboration between educational facilities, home tutors, and parents to create a comprehensive and thorough syllabus for a well-rounded education.
This is not the reality for most in light of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent emergency changes to the education system.
Parents and guardians have been thrust into the role of 'teacher' with no training, time, or warning. Unless you are a professional teacher turned home tutor, you are likely putting far too much pressure on your own shoulders -- and potentially while worrying about other issues including health, relatives, work, and money, too.
This is an unenviable position to be in.
I left the teaching profession years ago. Drawing upon my previous experience after seeing so many online messages from parents struggling to adapt to their new roles, sweating bullets trying to keep their children entertained for more than an hour or two, I'll say this: You're doing your best, and no reasonable teacher out there expects you to fill their shoes.
It's okay if they get bored. It's okay if you become frustrated. And believe it or not, if concentration is slipping, breaks do no harm. If you can stick to a schedule and routine, that's brilliant -- but if it doesn't always work out that way, don't sweat it. The spread of COVID-19 has created a difficult situation for everyone and wellbeing should be put before anything else.
Over 2020, and now 2021, the best part of a full year in school has been disrupted. Schools have opened and then have been forced to close again due to outbreaks and changes in regulation, teachers and parents have been moved from pillar to post with no notice, and exams have been canceled or based on estimated grades. Now the new year has come in, there doesn't seem to be an end to the situation for frazzled parents and educators alike.
It's not all doom-and-gloom. There are wonderful examples of parents sharing their home school fails; comical videos of parents begging teachers for their forgiveness now they have gained a new respect for the profession, and social media networks are being used to swap hundreds of ideas to keep the tiny humans now under house arrest entertained.
(Parents and guardians struggling to cope can check out advice from headteachers and education professionals here.)
To make life at least a little easier, we've compiled a comprehensive list of free online resources, separated by age groups and subjects. The free resources and links below are focused on schoolwork as well as subject interest and will be updated as we discover more.
Have anything to add? Let us know below.
English language, literature:
Suitable for a range of levels:
- BBC Bitesize: Primary | Secondary | Post-16 (UK GCSE)
- Puzzlemaker: generate your own crosswords
- World Book Day: everything from book extracts to lesson plans. Coloring for younger ones, cooking lessons, make-and-do plans, and more
- International children's library: free ebooks, a variety of languages and cultural stories
- Project Gutenberg: public domain ebooks
Pre-school, primary, younger learners:
- Kaligo: free handwriting app
- Learning resources: activity packs, lessons for young learners. Everything from ABCs to numbers and shapes
- Eduprintables: Thousands of printable worksheets. Ranging from nursery to third grade
- Storyline: Free children's books read aloud. Video content
- Edshed: young learner English lessons, sample packs available with a trial subscription (no credit card required)
- Teach your monster to read: free resources for teaching children how to read using games
- British Council: activities and resources for teaching children English
Secondary learners, up to 16-years-old:
- Grammar practice: free, digestible worksheets
- Quill.org: making students better writers at elementary, middle, and high school levels
- Audible: Audio stories, a variety of ages
Maths:
Suitable for a range of levels:
- BBC Bitesize: Primary | Secondary | Post-16 (UK GCSE)
- Khan Academy: various remote courses on maths, alongside science, IT, reading, life skills, and more.
- Maths and games for kids
Pre-school, primary, younger learners:
- Mathsfactor with Carol Vorderman: ages 4 - 12, subscription
- Maths dictionary for kids: activities, printables
- Learning resources: activity packs, lessons for young learners. Numbers, shapes, basic counting and subtraction
- Bedtime math: learning through fun, activities, free classroom kits and games
- Cool math games
- Eduprintables: different math grade activities
Secondary learners, up to 16-years-old:
- Get revising: study help. Over 380,000 resources
- Revision maths: GCSE/A-level papers, maths for teenagers resources
- HippoCampus: thousands of STEM explainers and videos
- Mathigon: a comprehensive website exploring mathematical topics
- Prodigy: free mathematics practice, games
- Math chase: free online games
Science:
Suitable for a range of levels:
- BBC Bitesize: Primary | Secondary | Post-16 (UK GCSE)
- Khan Academy: various remote courses
- Mystery Doug: A weekly video answering a science question to your inbox
- Elements: the periodic table in words and images
Pre-school, primary, younger learners:
- Learning resources: activity packs, lessons for young learners
- Smithsonian: resources and games ranging in STEM
- Stories from space: audio and video
- Coloring Nature: free coloring printables
- SciShow Kids: YouTube videos on science topics
Secondary learners, up to 16-years-old:
- Cyber physics: Notes on a variety of physics topics
- The Great Exhibition at Home: Royal Academy of Engineering, remote weekly engineering challenges for students
- NASA at home: virtual tours, videos, and apps
- Discovery Mindblown: videos on interesting science topics
- Siemens: interactive engineering games | also: DIY fun experiments
Physical Education:
Suitable for a range of levels:
- PE with Joe: Workouts for kids and parents alike on YouTube
- Yoga for Kids: YouTube (see also for parents: Yoga with Adrienne)
- GoNoodle: activities to burn energy for kids
Languages:
Suitable for a range of levels:
- BBC Bitesize: Primary | Secondary | Post-16 (UK GCSE)
- Duolingo: free option available
- Babbel: Student language courses, $14.99 per month
- Lingvist: Seven languages available
Secondary learners, up to 16-years-old:
- Coffee Break Spanish: podcast
- Rosetta Stone: Free for 3 months for students
- JPF: Japanese language audio resources
- Learn French in five days: YouTube video collection
- Spanish 101 for beginners: YouTube video collection
- Learn German with Anja: YouTube video collection
- Thamatho - Learn Italian for beginners: YouTube video collection
- Japanesepod101: YouTube lessons for learning basic Japanese
Geography:
Suitable for a range of levels:
- BBC Bitesize: Primary | Secondary | Post-16 (UK GCSE)
- Africam: tours, live safari cams
- Google Earth
- World Atlas
- GEOgraphy Focus: YouTube
Pre-school, primary, younger learners:
- Wildlife aid: activity sheets (registration required)
- National Geographic Kids, National Geographic Explorer podcasts live
- Rainforest alliance: activities for kids
Secondary learners, up to 16-years-old:
Music:
Suitable for a range of levels:
- BBC Bitesize: Primary | Secondary | Post-16 (UK GCSE)
- Musicaltheory.net
- BBC world music archive
- Free music flashcards
Pre-school, primary, younger learners:
- Play the recorder: a free course
- Early years: songs and rhymes
Secondary learners, up to 16-years-old:
- Chrome music lab: interactive activities and experiments
- Jazz: Limited free jazz lessons and materials
- Yousician: thousands of songs and exercises, free trial
- Musicards: learning how to read music flashcards
Art & Design, drama:
Suitable for a range of levels:
- BBC Bitesize: Primary | Secondary | Post-16 (UK GCSE)
- Tate Kids
- The Artful parent
- Getty: free ebooks with a focus on art, art history, and creative subjects
Pre-school, primary, younger learners:
- Instagram.com/curiositysprouts
- Activity village: free activity packs, art resources, worksheets
- Crayola: creative activities and arty activities
- Art for Kids Hub: YouTube
- Krototak: activities and art guides
Secondary learners, up to 16-years-old:
- Google Arts and Culture: a range of topics and subjects, videos, virtual exhibitions
- Artrageous with Nate
- Doodles Academy: free art courses
History
- Revision notes: topics ranging from ancient history to the Vietnam war.
- Natural History Museum resources
- 60 Second Histories: free trial
- TripSavvy: Tours around child museums
- Historic Royal Palaces: virtual tours, video guides, stories
- National Archives: Middle, high school American history resources
Information Technology (IT):
Suitable for a range of levels:
- BBC Bitesize: Primary | Secondary | Post-16 (UK GCSE)
- Khan Academy: various remote courses
- Typing Club: learn how to touch type for free
- Code.org: free IT and coding courses
Pre-school, primary, younger learners:
- Code Spark: three months free with code "schoolclosed"
Secondary learners, up to 16-years-old:
- Roblox | Roblox Studio: learn to code for free
- CodingOverload: free computer science activities
Other valuable resources / sources of entertainment:
- Toddlers: instagram.com/teaching2and3yearolds
- Edhelper: free daily puzzle books
- Toy Theater: free interactive, educational games for younger learners
- Skillshare: thousands of free online classes on a range of topics
- Teaching ideas: lesson bank -- young learners up to middle school
- Free printable worksheets: a range of subjects and ages
- Crash course: Short videos on a variety of topics (YouTube)
- Dad, how do I?: YouTube how-to videos on daily tasks and jobs
- YouVisit: Virtual reality, 360-degree tours around the world
- Pinterest: children's craft ideas
- Virtual field trips
- Zoo cameras: Panda cam, San Diego Zoo (apes and more)
- Audible: free and paid audiobooks
- TripSavvy: virtual trips around the world