Free Homeschooling Resources and Lesson Plans for All Ages

How can I homeschool for free? Where can I get free or low cost lesson plans? How can I get free homeschool supplies? These are questions many parents found themselves asking when COVID-19 flipped their children’s education upside down. Homeschooling your children can be an incredibly challenging but deeply rewarding journey, regardless of whether you started during the pandemic or not. Here at CouponFollow, we admire the grit and resourcefulness of homeschooling educators, so we want to do everything we can to help make it a more manageable schooling option. We have created a massive collection of free homeschooling resources, including free lesson plans, free printable worksheets, free homeschool activities, and much more.

What Resources Do I Need for Homeschooling?

To get started, here are some excellent general homeschooling resources to explore that can help you provide a free, high-quality education that has been given a gold star by homeschooling experts:

• OER Commons — OER Commons is a public digital library of tens of thousands of free educational resources that has been built through contributions from educators around the globe. Every possible topic and every kind of educational material is covered; you can find free lesson plans on anything from why flamingos are pink to human anatomy and physiology.
• How to Homeschool for Free by ThoughtCo. — This is a fantastic launch pad to reputable, comprehensive homeschooling resources that are available online for no cost, such as Khan Academy, Ambleside Online, Scholastic Learn at Home, and Smithsonian Learning Lab.
• 18 Helpful Resources for Parents Homeschooling Their Children by Prodigy — The freedom of teaching from home can be both wonderful and overwhelming. This resource guides parents through the fundamentals of homeschooling to establish a solid foundation. It also lists well-established websites that are embraced by the homeschooling community.
• 30 Frugal or Free Homeschooling Resources by Our Small Hours — Experienced homeschool educator Allison shares her favorite resources that have enabled her to deliver top-notch education to her children without breaking the bank.
• One Million Free Printable Worksheets for Kids — Find a vast collection of free printable activities for all ages, including toddler, preschool, kindergarten, junior high, and beyond. There are also countless free activities to explore on every topic imaginable — it is truly a smorgasbord of fun!
• 37 Amazing Sources for Free Teacher Resources by We Are Teachers — This is a wonderful roundup of free education websites, such as Amazon Ignite, Arts Edge, Code.org, and more.
• Free Online Virtual Schools by Homeschool.com — You can find free virtual schools in practically every state on this list. With virtual schools, the state and certified teachers are responsible for providing the required instruction to students. Parents are considered to be learning coaches who can help children work through assignments when needed.
• The Homeschool Philosophies Quiz — The Home School Legal Defense Association has provided a quiz to help you discover what homeschool styles and homeschool methods align with your beliefs and your children’s needs.
• Fun Kids Digital Radio and Online — Fun Kids provides a joyful, eclectic mix of educational podcasts, live radio, games and quizzes, and free printable coloring sheets. This would be a great site to allow kids to explore and listen on a rainy day.
• Sesame Street — Many of us grew up learning at home thanks to our beloved friends on Sesame Street. Students can enjoy preschool educational games that teach about rhymes, letters, counting, animals, and more on this site.
• PBSKids.org — Take advantage of free educational games with a diverse and captivating cast of characters — you can find Spanish games, measurement games, reading games, social studies games, vocabulary games, and even games you can play together!
• Time for Kids — Time for Kids provides current news reading for students ages K-6. Children can learn about the world in real time while developing crucial reading and vocabulary skills.
• 4-H at Home Hands-on Activities for Kids — Since 4-H is a network of youth organizations with a mission to enable youth to reach their fullest potential, of course their website is bursting with free homeschooling resources! You can find free educational activities for every grade and every topic with ease thanks to the intuitive layout of the site.
• New York Times — The Learning Network — This teaching treasure trove provides both free activities for students and free resources for teachers that are in line with current events. Students can take vocab quizzes, absorb daily lessons, and respond to writing prompts.
• Smithsonian Learning Lab — The Smithsonian Learning Lab provides millions of digital distance learning resources gathered from the Smithsonian’s research centers, museums, libraries, archives, and more. You can access collections of lessons and activities that have been pre-packaged by Smithsonian museum educators and classroom teachers.
• Crayola Free Coloring Pages — Coloring is fun for students of all ages, including grownups! You can find free printable coloring pages on topics such as celebrations, animals, science, and social studies.

Free Homeschooling Resources for Math

Homeschooling math can be a challenging endeavor, but fortunately, there are a wealth of free and readily available math homeschooling resources around the web. We have gathered free math homeschooling worksheets, free math games, free math tests and quizzes, and much more to help simplify and complement your math homeschooling journey:

• Real Not Complex — Free Resources to Study Mathematics: This is a curated list of free math resources from around the Web, including free math textbooks, videos, lecture notes, and more.

Math Lesson Plans

• Lesson Plans by Teacher.org — Explore printable and downloadable math lesson plans for every school grade provided by real teachers working across the United States. It’s a well-organized resource, so you can find the appropriate grade and topic with ease.
• Math and ELA Lesson Plan Resources by Lumos Learning — These lesson plans include sample questions, videos, educational apps, PowerPoint presentations, worksheets, and more.

Math Worksheets

• Free Math Worksheets by Math-Drills — An extensive collection of more than 58,000 free math worksheets covers a broad range of topics, including number sense, pre-algebra, geometry, money concepts, and measurements.
• Worksheets by Math Games — You can find 29 preschool math worksheets, 66 kindergarten math worksheets, 157 grade 7 math worksheets, and tons more here.
• Search Printable Math Worksheets by Education.com — Education.com offers a fantastic collection of math worksheets, math games, math guided lessons, and math lesson plans for ages preschool to 8th grade.
• Free Math Worksheets by Khan Academy — Here are more than 100,000 free practice questions that Khan Academy describes as “more instantaneous, more interactive, and more fun!” All ages and topics are covered, from early math to linear algebra.
• Math Worksheets by MathIsFun.com — This site has math worksheets on addition, decimals, algebra, and more. You can also find a math dictionary, simple math puzzles, and math games.
• Free Math Webquests From Teachers Pay Teachers — Math worksheets, webquests, and other hands-on activities developed by teachers can be found on this site, which features a rating system so you can select high-quality resources that have been vetted by other educators.
• Dad’s Worksheets — This is an absolutely massive collection of free math worksheets, calculators, printables, tools, and games. The site has served millions of teachers, tutors, and parents since 2008.
• Common Core Sheets — On this site is a massive collection of free printable math worksheets that cover every topic imaginable, all aligned with Common Core standards.

Math Quizzes

• Mathematics Quizzes by Mathopolis.com — Mathopolis offers quizzes for grades 2 through 8 as well as high school geometry, high school statistics, algebra, and university-level math.
• Interactive Math Quizzes for Children — Interactive math quizzes here are arranged according to grade levels, from preschool to 8th grade. This collection offers opportunities for teacher-assisted self-practice.

Math Games and Math Puzzles

• Get Started Learning With MathGames! — This is a wonderful collection of fun, creative, and cute math games that are sure to keep children engaged. Try Cat Wars, Candy Stacker, or Math vs. Monsters.
• Adventures in Math — Real-World Math and Money Activities for K-8 by We Are Teachers — Adventures in Math is a free educational program meant to help teach math skills and financial responsibility. You will find interactive games, lessons by grade level, flashcards, and at-home activities for grades K-8 here.
• 20 Best Math Puzzles to Engage and Challenge Your Students by Prodigy — Math puzzles are one of the best tried-and-true ways to encourage student engagement. They are an excellent tool for inspiring students to tackle problems that may have seemed too intimidating without gamification. This collection includes brain teasers such as math crossword puzzles, logic puzzles, and math riddles.
• 30 Math Puzzles (With Answers) to Test Your Smarts by Reader’s Digest — This collection comes from Reader Digest’s “Mind Stretchers” books and is suitable for students of all ages, including adults who are seeking fun, whimsical ways to polish their math skills or keep their brains healthy and happy.
• Maths Puzzles by Transum.org — This site has 277 math puzzles with a wide range of difficulty levels and styles, and your students can earn trophies for each one they solve, which can help keep them entertained and eager for more.

Free Homeschooling Resources for English

There are so many wonderful ways to teach language arts at home. Not only does it broaden a student’s ability to comprehend and appreciate the world around them, but it also can strengthen the bond between parent and child. Here is a list of free language arts resources for students of all ages:

• 56 Free Language Arts Resources for Homeschoolers by Our Small Hours
• My Favorite Homeschool Language Arts Resources by The Homeschool Mom
• Celebrate a Book — This site makes reading fun and interactive with book lists for kids and teens, online book clubs, book reviews, and more.
• CommonLit.org — CommonLit is a nonprofit education technology organization with the goal to provide all students with the “reading, writing, communication, and problem-solving skills they need to be successful in college and beyond.” There are more than 2,000 high-quality free reading passages available for grades 3-12 that are complemented with lessons and assessment tools. There are even units by grade on thought-provoking topics such as “In or Out: Our Struggle to Belong” and “Free Speech and Social Media.”
• Library of Congress — The Library of Congress offers extensive free classroom materials as well as professional development to help educators make the most of the vast collection.

English Lesson Plans

• English Lesson Plans by JumpStart — Find well-crafted and free English lesson plans, activities, and worksheets for grades 1 through 5.
• Lesson Plans From the Connecticut State Department of Education — This is a substantial assortment of trustworthy lesson plans for grades K-12.
• Classroom Resources and Lesson Plans From Read Write Think — You’ll find hundreds of standards-based lesson plans here that have been developed and reviewed by educators and embrace current research on the best instructional practices.

Language Arts Worksheets

• Free ELA: English Language Arts Printable Worksheets for K-12 Classroom Teachers and Students — Here, you’ll find cause-and-effect worksheets, character development worksheets, poetry writing worksheets, vocabulary lists for grades 7-12, grammar and punctuation resources, and more. StudentHandouts.com provides a wealth of free educational materials for kindergarten to high school on a vast range of topics.
• Search Printable Vocabulary Worksheets by Education.com — These vocabulary worksheets incorporate games, puzzles, vocab cards, reading comprehension challenges, diagrams, and illustrations.
• English Worksheets for Teachers and Learners — Here’s a vast collection of free English language worksheets, printable grammar worksheets and exercises, vocabulary worksheets, and more. It’s an ideal resource for both ESL education and homeschooling English.

Language Arts Quizzes

• Vocabulary Quizzes From Bergen Community College — This site has a variety of vocabulary lists and vocabulary quizzes geared toward early learners.
• Test Your Word Knowledge — Students can take this word knowledge test provided by the Victoria University of Wellington to help their educators determine areas of strength or weakness and prepare a suitable vocabulary lesson plan.

Language Arts Games and Puzzles

• Word Games — Spelling and Language Arts Games Online by RoomRecess.com — This site has a delightful assortment of word games and puzzles, such as Grammar Gladiator, Word Ninja, and Beach Jeep. Each one comes with a video lesson, quiz, and worksheet.
• Reading and Writing Online Games by Education.com — Find an incredible variety of games, printable reading and writing worksheets, guided lessons, lesson plans, and more here.
• Fun English Games by the British Council — In addition to games, you can find short stories, songs, and poems to listen to, grammar chants, flashcards, worksheets, and writing prompts here. Each learning opportunity has a comment section where children can interact and learn.
• Wordle by The New York Times — Wordle is a fun word puzzle for all ages. A new Wordle is available each day, making it a wonderful daily free homeschool English activity.

Free Homeschooling Resources for Social Studies

Social studies and geography education is vital because it helps students understand the world that they are part of, the history that brought us to the present day, and the people around the globe who create a magnificent mosaic of humanity. Here is a list of free social studies resources and free geography resources to help open up the world to your students:

Social Studies Lesson Plans

• Learning for Justice — Learning for Justice is a project launched by the Southern Poverty Law Center dedicated to advancing human rights. It provides free educational resources such as articles, guides, lessons, webinars, frameworks, films, and more. The Learning Plan Builder can help you develop free social studies lesson plans that explore topics such as race and ethnicity, religion, immigration, gender and sexual identity, politics, building community, and peace. You can even download or print gorgeous free posters that relay powerful messages aligned with the lessons.
• Library of Congress Lesson Plans — The Library of Congress provides around 100 free lesson plans on topics such as “Baseball, Race Relations, and Jackie Robinson” and “The Civil War Through a Child's Eye.”
• Social Studies Lesson Plans From PBS Learning Media — Find 698 lesson plans on topics such as civics and government, economics, geography, U.S. history, and world history.
• 13 Unexpected and Fun Geography Lessons to Enhance Your Curriculum — Published by National Geographic GeoBee (an annual geography contest), these lessons can help you travel around the world with your students gathering knowledge right from home.
• Curriculum Resources for PK-12 by Eastern Michigan University — This is an excellent, expansive launching point to free educational resources such as social studies lesson plans, social studies e-books, and more.

Social Studies Worksheets

• Search Printable Social Studies Worksheets — You’re sure to find the perfect free social studies worksheet among the 1,934 that Education.com offers! They are categorized into topics so that you can find U.S. history worksheets, economics worksheets, and geography worksheets with ease.
• Educator Resources by FacingHistory.org — This site has a wide range of flexible, engaging educational materials on every facet of history. You can find anything from printable social studies handouts to entire free social studies units. For some resources, you may need to create a free account.

Social Studies Quizzes

• Interactive Social Studies Quizzes From WHRO Public Media — More than 100 free social studies quizzes for grades 2-12 are provided here. Many of them are actual standardized social studies tests and quizzes from across the United States.
• American History Quiz From PBS — Challenge a student’s awareness of American history trivia with this quiz offered by A Capitol Fourth, an annual radio Independence Day celebration.

Social Studies Games and Puzzles

• Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government — Games — Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government is a site provided by the Government Publishing Office, which has received the Association for Library Service to Children “A Great Website for Kids” distinction.
• Civic Education Quizzes From iCivics — Justice Sandra Day O’Connor founded iCivics in 2009 to “ensure that all Americans have the knowledge and will to participate in our unique experiment in self-government.” It provides high-quality, nonpartisan free resources to more than 9 million students each year. It counts Harvard and other esteemed universities among its partners!
• Social Studies Games From PBS Kids — Students can travel the world, learn about culture and history, and develop storytelling and interview skills through these games.

Geography Lesson Plans

• Lesson Plans and Study Resources From National Geographic — National Geographic provides immersive, thought-provoking geography lesson plans with breathtaking images that can encourage children to appreciate the world we live in.
• PBS LearningMedia Geography Lesson Plans — Not only will you find 179 lesson plans curated by various esteemed education providers here, but PBS also provides videos, fun interactive lessons, and more.

Geography Worksheets

• Geography Worksheets by the United States Census Bureau — This site has data-driven worksheets and activities with corresponding teachers’ guides that are organized with convenient grade-range tabs.
• Geography Worksheets by JumpStart — Free, printable geography worksheets on topics such as country locations, states, capitals, and more can be found here.
• Geography Worksheets and Activities From Osher Map Library — The Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education is associated with the University of Southern Maine, making it a reliable resource for educating children about maps, locations, and how history relates to them.
• Free Geography Printables by Seterra — Each set of free printable learning aids here includes a labeled version of a map to help with memorization as well as blank maps and answer sheets that are perfect for quizzes and homework.

Geography Games

• Guess the Place — Students from grades 3-12+ can play this guessing game that uses questions and maps to identify a city, state, country, or physical feature on any continent.
• Educational Games by Osher Map Library — Explore nine free geography games that you can download and print. Even building the game together can be a fun problem-solving challenge for your students.

Free Homeschooling Resources for Science

Homeschooling science can be so fun and rewarding, as many students are as naturally curious about Earth’s wonders and creatures as they are about outer space. Science homeschooling also lends itself to thrilling hands-on experiments that can help students discover and embrace all of their senses. Teaching science at home can also be a daunting task because there are so many topics to cover, from earth science and biology to astronomy and physics. We have collected free homeschooling resources for earth science, free resources for physical science, biology homeschool resources, and much more:

• National Museum of Natural History Teaching Resources — Can you imagine a more wonderful place to find science teaching resources than a famous museum? You can find resources here such as hands-on activities, posters and worksheets, subject guides, videos and webcasts, and do-it-yourself exhibits. Topics include earth science, life science, paleontology, and more.
• American Museum of Natural History “Ology” Science Website — You can find award-winning games, stories, hands-on activities, and videos that explore the diverse wonders of Earth here. Check out their short video for educators on how to use this site to teach science at home.
• Resources for Teaching Earth and Space Sciences — This site was created by professor of science education Norman Herr, Ph.D., to accompany his book The Sourcebook for Teaching Science. He covers biology, chemistry, physics, and geoscience.
• Teach the Earth by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers — An absolutely incredible collection of earth science teaching resources can be found here, including classroom activities, course descriptions and syllabi, and topical collections. Check out their Exemplary Teaching Activities collection, featuring activities that have been given high scores on 15 key elements by educators.
• The Geological Society Teaching Resources — You can find free printable posters here to decorate your home classroom, earth science activities and presentations, dinosaur activity sheets, and more.
• MicroMyEarth Your Portal for Earth Science — MicroMyEarth is the largest online resource portal for geosciences, run by Dr. Arthur “Turi” Adams, a carbonate isotope geoscientist. The range of free earth science resources here is breathtaking — you can find immersive educational experiences such as earth science virtual field trips, 3D scans of rocks and fossils, and free earth science labs and courses.
• Interactive Geology Project From the University of Colorado Boulder — A collection of educational videos on Colorado earth science and beyond can be found here.
• Teaching Resources From Earth Scope — Check out these educational animations, video lectures, presentations and handouts, activities, and tools for visualizing scientific data.
• NASA at Home — For Kids and Families — NASA has a stellar and ever-expanding collection of free astronomy resources, free STEM activities, and so much more. Get crafty and curious with NASA coloring books, interact with the Hubble Space Telescope, or explore NASA’s STEM resources for K-12 educators.
• Frank Potter’s Science Gems — This site has more than 14,000 science resources sorted by category and grade level. The site looks like an antique, but it has been regularly updated and expanded since 1994.

Science Lesson Plans

• The Geological Society Lesson Plans — Browse a collection of lesson plans that are fascinating and fun, such as how to make a classroom volcano and “The Chocolate Rock Cycle.”
• Lesson Plans by the American Museum of Natural History — You can find free lesson plans for all ages here as well as activities, games, videos, and more.
• Science Lesson Plans by the California Academy of Sciences — Plenty of free science lesson plans for all grades can be found here. Some highlights include “Flowers Seeking Pollinators” and “Carbon Cycle Role-Play.”
• Lesson Plans by Science Buddies — This site has 207 science lesson plans for homeschooling and beyond. You have to create a free account to read the full descriptions, but it’s worth it!

Science Worksheets and Science Activities

• Learning Space With NASA at Home — Children can learn how to build a cardboard rover or make a solar system directly from the ultimate science authority. The activities provided span all grades. Check out their standards-aligned lessons for educators, where you will discover a “universe” of free educational activities on science, technology, engineering, and math.
• 40 Fifth-Grade Science Projects That Will Blow Your Students’ Minds — Doing science projects at home is a tried-and-true way to help children comprehend complex science topics while having fun.
• Exploratorium Science Snacks — What are “Science Snacks”? They are “hands-on, teacher-tested activities that bring explorations of natural phenomena into the classroom and home.” They are meant to be inexpensive and easy to set up, making them perfect cheap homeschool science activities.
• The Farmer’s Almanac for Kids — Find 40+ free stories and science activities for kids on topics such as animals, gardening, and seasons.
• Science Worksheets From GreatSchools.org — This site has 267 free science worksheets for grades K-5. GreatSchools is a nonprofit organization that supports parents pursuing a quality education for their children.

Science Quizzes

• Quizzes About Nature by Conservation.org — Students can test their animal and nature knowledge while learning about how to be a responsible citizen of Earth.
• Science Quizzes by Science Kids — In addition to these free science quizzes, you can find experiments, games, projects, videos, and more.

Science Games and Puzzles

• National Geographic Kids Quizzes — Children can test their knowledge of animals, rocks and minerals, seasons, planets, and much more.
• Earth Sciences: Fact or Fiction? This is a fun and challenging earth science quiz from Britannica, a worldwide leader in education and knowledge.
• Math/Science Logic Games and Study Tools — Browse a collection of classic logic games curated by California State University as well as tools for creating your own puzzles, quizzes, and flashcards.
• Ducksters Earth Science Crossword Puzzle — There are also plenty of other math games, word games, and other types of puzzles to choose from here.
• Code a Mars Helicopter Video Game — The benefits of coding for kids are as vast as the Milky Way, so challenge your students with this incredible video game coding activity from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
• Science Games From PBS Kids — These free science games bring students on immersive scientific adventures such as diving with dinosaurs, exploring space with the Cat in the Hat, and cracking codes to get into secret headquarters.

Science Experiments

• Science 4 Fun Science Experiments — Kids love to learn by doing! This site provides instructions for hundreds of free science experiments on everything from animals to astronomy.
• The Wonders of Physics — Just for Kids — Instructions for 17 different free physics experiments that can be built and performed at home can be found here. Children can learn how to build a roller coaster, spin like an ice skater, or build a string telephone!
• 60 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have on Hand — If you are homeschooling on a budget, these at-home science experiments can spark amazement and understanding without breaking the bank. You can also (teach children financial responsibility) and resourcefulness if you involve them in constructing the experiments.
• Science Fun for Everyone — Science Experiments for Kids — Try these easy-to-follow science experiments you can do at home, such as creating a lava lamp with density and animating dry erase stick figures.

Celebration and Holiday Homeschooling Printables and Resources

• Real Life at Home — Printables, Activities, and Crafts for Kids — Angie is a mom with an elementary and special education background, and her site has plenty of fun holiday activities such as Valentine’s coloring pages.
• Crayola Free Coloring Pages — Seasons: You can find free coloring sheets for kids on world celebrations as well. This can be a great way to cultivate an appreciation for diversity and culture.

Educational Virtual Field Trips and Tours

Are there any free virtual tours? Absolutely! Educational virtual trips are a fantastic way to entertain, engage, and delight your students right at home. We have curated a collection of free virtual field trips for students to help broaden and enrich the scope of your lessons:

• 31 Amazing Educational Virtual Field Trips by We Are Teachers — Check out this roundup of free virtual field trips from Kimmie Fink, an experienced educator and curriculum consultant who was the 2009 Puget Sound Teacher of the Year. The trips range from zoos and farms to art museums and planetariums.
• Six Free Resources for Virtual Field Trips by Edutopia — This guide from curriculum and education technology consultant Monica Burns introduces six free virtual field trip resources as well as guided questions and prompts to spark dynamic discussions.
• Google Arts and Culture — Google Arts and Culture has partnered with more than 2,500 museums and galleries around the globe to offer virtual tours. Some iconic participants include New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum.
• Take a Virtual Visit to a National Park — A magnificent collection of National Park virtual tours and live webcams across the United States awaits, including Yellowstone National Park and the Statue of Liberty.
• Virtual Yosemite Tour — This breathtaking virtual tour of Yosemite National Park is a perfect complement for a geography lesson.
• San Diego Zoo Live Cameras — “Oooh” and “awww” over incredible animals at the San Diego Zoo as part of your homeschool science lessons.