WHPS Online Resources
Elementary Schools
Updated Resources for Exploration
Updated May 19, 2020
This page can be translated into many languages; you can find your home language in the black box to the right of this message.
We invite you and your family to explore the wide range of optional online resources in the following areas:
- Arts
- Early Childhood
- General Resources to Support Child Development and Curiosity
- Literacy (Audiobooks, Reading and Writing)
- Physical Education/Health
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
Arts
Why Visual Arts Matter Article from the National Arts Education Association
Artists, Illustrators, Authors and Publishers share their craft in a variety of online forums (Author and illustrator Mo Willems shared this link)
Crayola Resources, tips and techniques can be found on the website's At-Home Learning Hub, including 52 Weeks of Creative Ideas -Parent Handout
CPTV Music learning videos, with filters for age level
https://cptv.pbslearningmedia.org/subjects/the-arts/music/
Daily Drawing Webcast Jarret J. Krosoczka, author of the Lunch Lady graphic novel series, Krosoczka hosts a daily drawing webcast on YouTube at 2 PM EDT. You can also find videos on his website. His book, Hey Kiddo, is a National Book Award Finalist.
Lincoln Center at Home http://lincolncenter.org/lincoln-center-at-home
Keep the performing arts up front and center with access to free evening and lunchtime concerts, live dance workshops (hip hop, ballet, choreography), and arts workshops in a variety of genres such as sculpture and puppetry.
Lunch Doodles (all ages) Author and illustrator Mo Willems recently invited children and families into his studio for a three week, 15 episode "run" of Lunch Doodle with Mo Willems. All 15 episodes and their downloadable activities are archived. Grab some paper and pencils, pens, or crayons and join Mo to explore creating while he chats about his characters, Pigeon, Piggie, Elephant.
Mindful Poetry Moments (older students and teens)
https://www.thewell.world/mindful-music/mindful-poetry-moments
Recordings of poets reading their work, accompanied by mindful prompts and meaning-making questions. You can also access a free ArtWave Mindful Music Moments Community Playlist through the site.
Musical Activities (Minnesota Public Radio)
Music Lab This one is really cool. Go ahead, click it.
https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/
Music Learning Games Actual music content
Music Making Beepbox Music-Making On Your Home Computer Support your child's music learning using this free online platform. No special equipment is needed to use this online tool for sketching and sharing instrumental melodies.
New Victory Theatre Activities posted each day, with videos and instruction.
https://newvictory.org/new-victory-arts-break-percussion-week/
Online Sketch Tool http://pencilmadness.com/app With this free online sketching and drawing tool, students can use a dashboard of options to create numerous layered effects.
Early Childhood (and beyond) Resources
Story Blocks (https://www.storyblocks.org/) features a collection of 30-60 second videos of rhymes, chants and songs and finger plays in multiple languages, including ASL, appropriate for early childhood and designed as models for parents, caregivers, and library staff.
Storyline Online (https://www.storylineonline.net/
Listen to books being read-aloud and view colorful picture book pages. Closed captioning available.
Vroom! Families of infants and toddlers to children age 5+ can sign up for https://www.vroom.org/. This is an app that provides daily ideas to build brains. It’s free and easy to use.
General Resources to Support Child Development and Curiosity
360 Cities 360 Cities This collection of 360° videos and images provides kids with opportunity to see stunning panoramas across the globe.
Creosity Space Challenges (K-5)
https://www.creosityspace.com/weeklyinnovationchallenge.html
Offers free lessons and a weekly innovation challenge for children to design/build prototypes and share their videos, drawings or presentations (e.g., April 6-10 Challenge: "Invent something to make a chore you don't like doing better or more fun").
How Stuff Works (K-12) https://www.howstuffworks.com/
When your child wants to know why the sky is blue, how a tornado forms, or the answer to any number of questions, this site can help. Articles break down subjects like autos, culture, entertainment, science, money, and technology. Activities include games, quizzes, and videos
IXL (PreK-5 and beyond) https://www.ixl.com/ IXL offers lessons in science, social studies, and many other subjects across all grades levels. Students are encouraged to visit the site, select a grade level, and investigate activities and related lessons.
Kid Citizen (K-5) https://www.kidcitizen.net Provides 8 interactive "episodes" to engage in age appropriate historical inquiry.
Library of Congress: Engage! https://loc.gov/engage On this page you'll find ways to engage with authors you love and ways to connect to the Library's resources from anywhere in the world.
National Geographic Kids (PreK-8) https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
Watch animal cameras, learn interesting tidbits about animals, see and share photos of nature, learn about different countries and try science experiments on Kids.NationalGeographic.com. There is also a "Little Kids" section for the younger explorers in your home.
National Parks Virtual Field Trips (Grades 3-5+)
Google Arts and Culture National Parks
Google Earth National Parks of the United States
These two websites allow students to take a virtual field trip to many of the National Parks in the United States.
Online Zoos (PreK-5)
Virtual Tour of the National Aquarium
PBS Kids (PreK-5) https://pbskids.org/
Many of the educational shows on PBS have their own learning section through PBSKids.org. Activities include sing-a-long songs, sorting and counting games, and videos.
PBS Learning (PreK-5) PBS Learning Free standards-aligned videos, interactives, projects, lesson plans, and more.
Smithsonian (K-12)
Learning Lab Smithsonian, Learning Hub, Games and Activity Pages
Digital educational games and resources from Smithsonian museums, research centers, libraries, and archives, including content geared specifically toward students and teachers.
West Hartford Library offers downloadable books, audio books, magazines, comics, films, and music for all ages. Anyone in your family can sign up to get a library card here !
Mrs. Claudine Lavoie, WHPS Library-Media Specialist at Braeburn School, shares in these two videos how you can get your West Hartford Public Library card virtually: Getting a library card and How to use the library catalog). For more information, visit West Hartford Library or call 860-561-6990.
World Book (PreK-8) World Book Online An easy-to-use guide to entertain kids and supplement classroom instruction at home. It includes games & activities, science projects and WebQuests.
Literacy Resources (Audiobooks, Reading and Writing)
Audible (PreK and up) https://stories.audible.com/start-listen Instantly stream a large collection of stories, including titles across six different languages. All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone, or tablet.
Duolingo Set up a free account at https://www.duolingo.com/ to learn a new language.
Read-Alouds https://www.weareteachers.com/virtual-author-activities/ Links to read-alouds and activities by children's authors.
Scholastic (K-5) Scholastic Learn At Home Resources Free access to ebooks
More From Scholastic (PreK-6) Scholastic Learn At Home Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing. Every day includes four separate learning experiences, each built around a meaningful story or video.
Requirement: Before you get started, you must first set up your free account for Book Flix and Watch & Learn Library.
username: Learning20 | password: Clifford
Starfall (PreK-2) Starfall Starfall’s emphasis on phonemic awareness, systematic sequential phonics, and common sight words in conjunction with audiovisual interactivity has proven effective in teaching emergent readers. Starfall activities are research-based and align with Individual and Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics.
StoryJumper https://www.storyjumper.com/special-help-for-schools-affected-by-coronavirus Through June 30, students can create and publish their own online books at no cost
Video Read Alouds (PreK-2) Video Read Alouds Free video read alouds of current, high-quality picture books.
Physical Education/Health Resources
Go Noodle https://www.gonoodle.com/ Free movement and mindfulness video activities created by child development experts and watched by over 14 million kids every month.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) Resources
Coding and Computer Science Code.org is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation in underrepresented groups. https://studio.code.org/courses
CT Science Center Blog Full of fun ideas to do at home, including experiments, movies, and virtual field trips
Greg Tang Math Games https://gregtangmath.com/games Created by math educator, Greg Tang, the https://gregtangmath.com/ website has been free since 2013. Games for all grade levels and free math challenges posted during every school vacation. The site currently has a spring break math challenge and puzzle packs posted at https://gregtangmath.com/challenges.
Khan Academy (K-12) Khan Academy Created by experts, Khan Academy’s library of trusted, standards-aligned practice and lessons covers math K-12 through early college, grammar, science, history, AP®, SAT®, and more. It’s all free for learners.. Students practice at their own pace, first filling in gaps in their understanding and then accelerating their learning.
Lego Challenge (30-day "calendar")
Math Playground (K-5) Mathplayground.com “Play with Numbers and Give Your Brain a Workout” is the motto of Math Playground. Find games to play related to logic, number skills practice, geometry, algebra, probability, fractions and more. There are also math word problems and video instructions to help students remember how to solve them.
Mystery Science (K-5) Mystery Science: Parent Sign-up for Mini-Lessons
This website, designed for teachers, has been offered to families at no-cost during this time of school closures (requires a parent/guardian email to sign-up). Includes short videos on engaging topics along with optional activities using simple supplies families may already have at home (Examples of topics to explore include: What is a rainbow? Can animals laugh?)
* NEW* Doug is doing live session on Tuesdays @ 1 PM ET. Families who vote on his three weekly questions in advance will hear the answers live during these sessions.
National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM Activity Guide Activities designed for at-home exploration across a range of ages and grade levels; this guide incorporates innovating learning from 30 years of PK-12 STEM programming.
Origo (PreK-6) Origo Weekly, digital content plans for home use. Weekly plans contain activities for each day, along with digitally accessible or downloadable resources, designed for delivery by a caregiver. Resources complement the mathematical concepts and skills children are learning at their grade level.
Scratch Coding (Grades 3- 5) Scratch With Scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games, animations—and share your creations with others in the online community.
Scratch Jr. Coding (K-2) Scratch jr. ScratchJr is a visual programming language designed to introduce coding skills to children ages 5–7. By creating projects in ScratchJr, young children can learn to think creatively and reason systematically, despite not being able to read.
WHPS Curriculum Website Resources
Grade K-5 Literacy Resources
Grade K-5 Math Resources
Grade K-5 Writing Resources
Additional WHPS & Community Resources
Pupil Services Resources
Additional resources from the Pupil Services Department