Child learning programs

Top 15 Learning Programs for Kids 2023: Free Education

Those in education will tell you that sooner is always better than later when it comes to education. If your children or students struggle with learning due to the COVID pandemic or if they need extra stimulation after school, there’s never been a better time to add some online learning programs to their curriculum. This list of online learning programs for kids will look at examples for very young children to high school students, so wherever your kids are, they can benefit from some of these expert-recommended online resources.

Discover some of the best learning programs for kids

Most of these are either free or they have free options. Most have paid options that open up new resources or even live instruction by a teacher. Try not to get overwhelmed by these learning platforms, and be sure to try out any program before committing to it. Follow your kids’ interests and any of these choices will work well for them.

Elementary school learning programs

Younger kids thrive with encouragement and fun. Play should be a major part of any young child’s education, as what they perceive as “fun” early in life will be easier to reinforce later. Programs should be colorful, enticing, and immersive so kids aren’t even focused on the idea of being in school, but rather that learning is a part of having a good time.

1. Beginner Coding Program

Scratch is an excellent place for kids who love coding to begin because it uses a LEGO-like drag-and-drop interface to help kids learn coding logic. Using Scratch, one of the best platforms for kids to learn computer science, Create & Learn's award-winning live online classes offer students a chance to build their own games, animations, and other programs with the help of a professional coding teacher. The courses are suitable for different ages, but this is a great one for younger kids. There's even a free intro lesson, to this course, designed by experts from Google, Stanford, and MIT.

Grades: 2-5

2. Scholastic Learn at Home

If your child is 10 years old or younger and loves reading, the Scholastic Learn at Home program offers a lot of awesome fun activities for kids to learn. They have activity books and workbooks, reading guides for parents and students, and educational articles geared towards kids about engineering, genetics, animals, and so much more.

Grades: K - 5

3. National Geographic Kids

As a leader of wildlife, anthropological, and environmental photography and journalism, National Geographic offers tons of great resources for kids. There are great lesson plans, interactive websites, and tons of maps available to kids. They have a focus on the United States, but they feature great articles that reflect current events in science, history, and space travel. They also offer a monthly subscription to their magazine for a yearly fee.

Grades: K - 8

4. PBS Kids

Sesame Street. Arthur. Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. These names are some of the most respected in early childhood edu-tainment that have grown and evolved over the past half century through PBS media. The great resources on their website are perfect for kids who study at home or those looking for fun, educational boosts for their interests and hobbies.

Grades: K - 2

5. Sesame Street and Sesamo

For very young children aged 2 - 5, there’s few resources as great as Sesame Street or Sesamo (for Spanish and Portuguese speaking students). Learning about counting, shapes, and basic phonics with Elmo, Big Bird, and Oscar the Grouch is even more easy and fun with their online programming and educational resources.

Grades: K - 2

Middle school learning programs for kids

Middle school kids need greater challenges, but also fun and encouragement. They are ready for complex topics, but shouldn’t be pushed too far too fast. These websites and apps are all great for middle school students.

6. PBS Learning Media

PBS is not just for younger kids. They have tons of great resources for middle school kids as well. Learn about the history of science, world geography, and many other cool topics for kids. The videos have a great production value and they are all free.

Grades: 6 - 8

7. FunBrain

Funbrain is a great learning platform for kids, which allows them to explore math and science through reading and interactive content. As PCMag said in a review, “This site is better for engaging educational curiosity than it is for getting help with specific subject matter.” Some of the games are better than others, but it has content for kids from pre-K to middle school.

Grades: K - 8

8. DOGO News

A great place to start for kids interested in news and current events. These resources are focused on English language arts (ELA), but they also foster curiosity, critical thinking, and reflection about world events, presented in a kid-friendly way. The site is updated frequently, ensuring a steady stream of fresh videos for kids.

Grades: 6 - 12

9. Coding for Middle Schoolers

Designed to teach older kids how to code, this is an accelerated Scratch coding class that's beginner friendly and uses MIT’s Scratch programming language, in which kids code using colorful and easy to use blocks that take the guesswork out of coding. These live online classes taught by teachers in small groups can help kids design cool games and much more.

Grades: 5 - 9

10. Brainscape

Brainscape is a flashcard app that helps kids to study virtually any subject from Middle School and High School. Kids can get flashcards for Algebra, Biology, Chemistry, and Driver’s Ed. They have special flashcard decks for specific AP subjects as well as for standardized tests. It’s got some content for younger kids, but most of its flashcards are aimed at middle to high school students.

Grades: 6 - 12

Learning programs for high school kids

High school is a challenging time, especially for kids who are struggling and for those who dream big about colleges and careers. These websites offer both videos, quizzes, and live classes to help high school students learn better.

11. Python Programming

Have fun mastering this essential computer programming language. PPython is a high-level coding language used by companies such as Netflix and Google, and it is also used for web development, game development, building apps, machine learning, and so much more. This live online class covers not only the basics of Python coding for kids and teens, but also puts a strong focus on the elements of Python that are most relevant to Artificial Intelligence, including data structures and libraries.

Grades: 5-12

12. Game Programming with Unity

High schoolers love gaming. It’s one of the most popular things for older kids, and what better way to encourage an interest in coding and computer science than to help kids design their own games? This Unity Game design course features training in Unity, the development framework for popular games like Flappy Bird, Candy Crush, and Hollow Knight.

Grades: 6 - 12

13. Monterey Bay Aquarium Learn from Home

For high school students with an interest in biology, oceanography, and other Earth sciences, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has a great feature on their website called, Learn from Home, focused on bringing STEM education out of the museum and into the home. Recognizing that many kids moved to home schooling after the pandemic, this resource seeks to bring kids up to speed on the latest climate science.

Grades: 6 - 12

14. Khan Academy

Khan Academy has become famous over the past decade, for good reason: it’s one of the best platforms for kids to learn math, science, and other subjects. There are tons of free classes aimed at bringing kids up to speed with their grade in a comfortable tutoring environment that uses videos. But everything they produce is high quality, and they encourage kids to have a growth mindset, meaning that they can get better at anything they apply themselves to. They have content for kids of all ages, but much of their videos for older kids are great for tutoring.

Grades: K - 12

15. TED ED

TED talks have become one of the most popular ways for new information and academic research to get to the public, so it’s not surprising that they have great learning resources for middle and high school students as well. Explore the dark history of zombies, the science of climate change, and how candy is made. It’s fun and educational!

Grades: 6 - 12

Bonus. AP Computer Science in Java

For high school students who want to go the extra mile and pass the AP exam in Computer Science A, this course is a golden opportunity for learning the requirements for the exam and the study methods that will help each student achieve a high score of 4 or 5 on the AP exam. It is not an easy course, and students should already have some understanding of coding and computer science, but with that, advanced students will find great learning opportunities with the help of a live, professional educator.

Grades: 10 - 12

If you haven’t found something here, there are some great articles on the topic at Parents, PCMag,  and Parenting that can give you even more great options.

Try the best learning programs for kids

Whether looking for fun activities for a home-schooled third grader, or tutoring resources for an ambitious senior in high school, there’s something for everyone to learn online. Up next, explore free STEM at-home learning resources. If you are looking for live instruction from an expert, consider exploring some of the best free online classes for kids next.

Written by Bryan Gordon, a Create & Learn instructor. After ten years of working as an English teacher, Bryan began studying Math and Computer Science over the past few years. Aside from writing and teaching, he likes cooking, gardening, playing guitar, and hanging out with his cats, Baguette and Wally.

13 Best Online Education Programs for Kids

We all want the best for our children—in both school and life. We at CodaKid understand this, and that is why we scoured the web for the best online educational programs for kids.

Given the incredible advancement in technology and the exponential growth of the web, online educational games for kids are abundant and relatively easy to find. There is a wealth of online opportunities available for your kids to develop their skills if you just know where to look. 

What is the best part of online educational programs for kids? They can be done from the safety of your home!

From completely free resources to free-to-try internet academies, here are 13 of the best online educational programs for kids:

Table of Contents

CodaKid — Online Coding for Kids 

Rounding out this list of best online educational programs for kids is our own platform, CodaKid: an online resource full of award-winning online coding courses targeted specifically for young learners aged 8 and up.

Winner of a Parents’ Choice GOLD Award and a CODiE Finalist for Best Coding and Computational Thinking Solution, CodaKid is an online coding academy that teaches kids how to create games, apps, Minecraft mods, Roblox games, and Unity projects with real programming languages and professional tools. We have affordable monthly and yearly subscriptions for access to the courses. What’s more, you get access to a team of friendly teachers who can help your child during their coding journey, at their own pace.

As mentioned earlier, we believe coding has become a critical must-have skill for students in 2020. Tech industries are constantly expanding, and giving your kids the tools to succeed in those industries will open up incredible opportunities for them. By teaching kids real-life programming you are equipping them for the future. 

CodaKid’s online classes are all self-paced and include live support from engineers, giving your kids all the guidance and encouragement they could need. By making computer programming fun and engaging through game design, we hope for CodaKid students to develop real-world skills like tenacity, patience, problem-solving, and rationalization.

Find out why CodaKid is loved by so many kids and parents by starting a free trial today!

ABCMouse.com — Full Online Curriculum for Ages 2-8

Winner of the Mom’s Choice GOLD Award, Teachers’ Choice Award, and Parents’ Choice GOLD Award, ABCMouse is a “global education initiative” that aims to help kids start strong in their academic journey. They offer intuitive and interactive tools to strengthen the foundational education of young learners.

With over 850 lessons spread out over 10 levels, ABCMouse’s online curriculum is extensive, engaging, and highly educational. Initiated by Age of Learning, Inc., this subscription-based online educational program for kids uses videos, games, printables, songs, and other online interactive media to help early learners succeed in their school programs.

Kids can enjoy over 9,000 online activities from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

PBS Kids — 360-Degree Approach Towards Reaching Kids

Do your kids love the Wild Kratts? What about Arthur, Curious George, or Jet—from Ready Jet Go? Then they’re going to love learning via the PBS KIDS website. With hundreds of incredibly unique and colorful games featuring beloved characters from the PBS Kids channel, this platform teaches your child the fundamentals of critical thinking, imagination, and problem-solving in the most entertaining and enjoyable way possible.

PBS KIDS strives to make a positive impact on children using curriculum-based entertainment. Their 360-degree approach to imparting education makes full use of interactive, intuitive online media. By leveraging technology and characters that young learners are already familiar with, they hope to inspire in them a love for learning and a thirst for knowledge.

Kiz Phonics — Phonics Activities for Pre-K to 2nd Grade

Phonics is a method used to teach reading and writing by developing “phonemic awareness”—the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the sounds of a language. It’s meant to help learners master the sound of letters so that they can eventually master words.

Kiz Phonics makes use of this technique to teach young children—specifically, kids aged 3-8—how to identify the words they read by sounding them out; in other words, through phonics.

It’s important that children start learning how to read at home rather than in school. A safe, familiar environment is more conducive to learning, and building a strong foundation in literacy early on will give them a significant advantage in a classroom setting. Kiz Phonics, as an online educational program for kids, gives parents the tools they need to start strengthening that foundation as early as possible.

ReadWriteThink — Extensive Interactive Resources for Grades K-12

ReadWriteThink’s mission is to “provide educators, parents, and afterschool professionals” with high-quality tools, materials, and strategies for different academic courses. With lesson plans, student interactives, printables, and even mobile apps for language arts and literacy, ReadWriteThink is definitely a comprehensive resource platform worth visiting.

The different resources are tailored for educators, parents and afterschool professionals teaching grades K-12. They’re professionally designed, intensively tested, and—best of all—100% free.

Reading and writing can be incredibly difficult when they don’t automatically come naturally to a student, so the quality of the instruction and learning materials can make or break a child’s education.

#MetKids — The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for Kids

“Made for, with, and by kids,” MetKids is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website that is tailored specifically to introduce children to the colorful world of art and art history. With fun, creative media like behind-the-scenes videos, DIY projects that they can try at home, and even a fully interactive map of The Met, kids can discover love and appreciation for art.

The #MetKids blog offers fascinating art facts and art history tidbits written in a fun, engaging way. They also have a “the time machine” that lets kids explore different time periods, learning the culture, inventions, and innovations of that time in different locations.    

With this online platform, The Met hopes to encourage the inner artist in every child by inspiring an inclination for creativity and color.

For additional resources of creativity make sure to check out CodaKid game design courses by signing up for a free trial!

Fun science experiments you can try at home? Quirky quizzes? Homework help resources?

The National Geographic Kids’ website has something to satisfy even the most curious of little minds! Your children can browse stunning photos of nature at its most beautiful or watch videos of baby animals in their natural habitat. They can also discover in-depth stories of different people, places, and cultures through interactive media and fun games.

Although the website is more of a colorful, multimedia resource and lacks a specific, structured curriculum, National Geographic Kids still deserves to be called one of the best online educational programs for kids. Perfect for kids as young as 3 and as old as 14, it utilizes technology and leverages the very best of interactive media to bring users a learning experience they aren’t likely to forget.

Little Pim — Online Language Learning Subscription for Kids

With over 25 awards and international press coverage to its name, Little Pim is one of the best online educational programs for kids to learn a language. It’s known as the “most comprehensive foreign language program for kids” and offers a whopping 12 foreign languages to choose from!

Think your child is too young to learn a new language? Think again.

According to the Little Pim website, the best time to learn a language is under the age of six. At this age, children are open and receptive to learning new things.

Mastering a language as foreign and complex as French, Chinese, or Italian can be made fun and enjoyable with Little Pim’s Entertainment Immersion Method®. This patented technique engages learners by appealing to a child’s natural inclination—and love—for play. It encourages recognition through repetition. The more your child interacts with their professionally-prepared activities and mediums, the more they learn and absorb.

Being multi-lingual can open so many doors for your children, granting them access to incredible opportunities. By inspiring love and mastery for different languages early on, Little Pim makes it possible for students to broaden their horizons.

SumDog — Personalized Maths & Spelling Practice that Students Love

For students from kindergarten to eighth grade, SumDog is a cutting-edge site that offers interactive content and intuitive media to help kids with math and spelling. Tailored to engage learners from a wide age range through multi-player games and free, easy-to-use online tools, Sumdog is proven to accelerate academic progress.

SumDog’s personalization feature is where this online program truly shines. Their platforms utilize an adaptive learning engine to help guide different students’ learning pace and discover their individual strengths and weaknesses.

SumDog can be used at home and at school, affording students the help they need at both common critical places for educational growth.

SplashLearn — The Complete K-5 Math Learning Program Built for Your Child

Also known as SplashMath, SplashLearn is an online platform specifically geared towards younger students in grades K-5 who need additional help with math. It aims to boost students’ performance through fun, interactive methods like online games, math apps, printables, and even digital classrooms. Their mission is to “boost confidence” and “increase scores” to help young learners get ahead.

SplashLearn offers what they call personalized learning paths to help students catch up, enrich their learning, or just practice and improve their current skills.

With mastery in over 350 math skills available, SplashLearn is incredibly comprehensive and covers most of the bases. By using fun interactive games, rewards and experiences, children will feel more motivated than ever to practice and master their mathematical skills.

Khan Academy — Providing Free World-Class Education for Anyone, Anywhere

Yet another personalized online resource for a myriad of subjects, Khan Academy is a powerful educational program that provides free tools for students to learn anything, anywhere.

Utilizing intuitive technology and professional feedback, Khan Academy has created videos, global classrooms, and other interactive online content for a wide variety of subjects. Learn anything from basic math to AP calculus, science, and engineering to economics and finance. They offer a computing course that teaches coding for kids—a valuable skill that any student can benefit from—and even in-depth test prep for SAT, LSAT, GMAT, and more.

Through their partnership with institutions like NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, MIT, and The California Academy of Sciences, Khan Academy also offers specialized content for students and teachers that you won’t find elsewhere.

Coolmath — Making Math Enjoyable

Whether your kid loves math, hates math, or just needs help passing their math class, Coolmath is a website worth checking out. With math games and step-by-step lesson guides for pre-algebra, algebra, and pre-calculus, Coolmath is one of those online educational programs for kids that caters more to casual, at-your-own-pace learning than strict, curriculum-bound study.

Founded in 1997 by a certified math teacher, the goal of this website is to make math fun and enjoyable for kids of all ages. The games on this site are an enjoyable mix of math fundamentals and good old problem solving, meant to give users a mental workout. It doesn’t teach coding for kids, but it definitely encourages logical thinking!

Scratch — Imagine, Program, Share

As a kid-friendly coding program that encourages users to “create and share,” Scratch is an incredibly gentle introduction to coding for kids. Specifically geared towards children aged 6-12, Scratch aims to inspire children to think creatively and reason systematically by teaching them the basics of coding. They implement tools, techniques, and interactive content to help familiarize children with common programming languages in a fun and enjoyable way.

On the subject of coding, we personally feel it’s become less of an optional hobby and more of a critical, highly beneficial skill to have. Aside from the fact that the computer engineering industry is growing more and more each year, coding for kids instills in them universal skills like problem-solving, discipline, and creativity.

As a free educational programming website, Scratch is primarily used by kids. However, it can be used by anyone interested in learning how to code. They use an easy-to-use visual block interface that saves beginners from the grief and frustrations of writing out code. Rather than sweat the details, this easy-to-use interface helps them focus instead on the basics of game development, graphic design, and animation.

CodaKid’s award-winning Scratch program has 14 courses, 40 quests, and 90 challenges with mentors who are professional programmers that guide you every step of the way! Try it for free!

Conclusion

There you have it, the 13 Best Online Educational Programs for Kids:

• CodaKid
• ABCmouse.com
• PBS Kids
• Kiz Phonics
• ReadWriteThink
• MetKids
• National Geographic Kids
• Little Pim
• Sum Dog
• SplashLearn
• Khan Academy
• Cool Math
• Scratch

Be sure to try our award-winning courses today at no cost!

Do you know of other good online educational programs for kids? Comment below!

training programs for the development of first-graders

Types of programs for elementary school

Traditional and developmental systems of education are distinguished in pedagogy:

• Traditional. Training is built according to the scheme "we study - we fix - we check." This system is used both in the beginning and in subsequent classes.
• Developmental. Training is built according to the scheme "we study - we independently draw conclusions - we practice." As a rule, it is aimed exclusively at elementary grades and is not used in middle and high schools.

Each system has a variety of curricula. Consider the most popular.

Program L.V. Zankova

📌 Developmental curriculum for primary school

Fundamentals of the theory - works of L.S. Vygotsky. According to the program, one should not be afraid of mistakes - they learn from them. The schoolboy jumps above his head, but his own, and not someone else's. Disadvantages of the system: a fast pace of learning and a high level of difficulty is not suitable for every child.

D.B. system Elkonin - V.V. Davydova

📌 Developing curriculum for elementary grades

Daniil Elkonin and Vasily Davydov are Soviet scientists. According to their program, students in elementary school are not graded, it is assumed that students must independently assess the level of their knowledge.

Most of the parents in this program are afraid that due to the lack of grades, the level of knowledge will be low. Elkonin and Davydov assure that learning is more effective if the student is not demotivated by subjective scores. By the way, elementary Waldorf schools adhere to a similar methodology - children are not graded there either.

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“School of Russia”

📌 Traditional curriculum for elementary grades

“School of Russia” is the most popular curriculum. Complies with GEF and is used in most schools. The main goal is spiritual and moral development, which is formed in specially created conditions. The main vector is aimed at the adaptation of the child in the team.

Training under the program is aimed at adaptation in a team, accumulation of knowledge and skills for further training. But feedback from parents is not always positive. Many note that the world around us can be greatly reduced, and the four-year program is too long.

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"RITM"

📌 Traditional curriculum for elementary grades

"RITM" stands for development, individuality, creativity, thinking. The program combines the traditions of the national elementary school K.D. Ushinsky and the achievements of modern psychology and methodology. The features of this curriculum in the primary grades of the school are variability and an extensive information and educational environment. It is believed that every child should learn to think creatively and independently, as well as to reveal their individuality. The system consists of completed subject lines of textbooks, which are included in the federal list, except for the ABC and Literary Reading.

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Primary school of the XXI century (Vinogradova system)

Vinogradova is a doctor of pedagogical sciences and the creator of a training program for first grade children. The program is aimed at strong students. To pass it successfully, you need to come to the first class with a certain level of preparation. This program is based on the theory of L.S. Vygotsky, as well as the ideas of Elkonin and Davydov. UMK is included in the Federal list of textbooks recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science. It is believed that the goal of a teacher working on this teaching method is to teach a child to learn.