The bits that don’t fit neatly in a box. Some learning is woven through daily life. These links cover life skills, personal development and practical knowledge that sit across many areas. These resources are outside our main categories, but they matter just as much.
Check out our Courses & Lessons page too.
Misc
- RefSeek is a web search engine for students and researchers that aims to make academic information easily accessible to everyone. RefSeek searches more than five billion documents, including web pages, books, encyclopedias, journals, and newspapers.
- WorldCat is a global catalogue of library materials. You can search for books, music, videos, articles and much more at libraries near you.
- SpringerLink is a comprehensive online collection of scientific, technological and medical journals, books and reference works.
- Free games, videos, and facts: National Geographic for Kids
- Free resources and lessons linked to movies: Into Film
- Games and free activities teaching money sense: Money Sense
- Financial literacy and money related life skills: MoneyTime Kids
- Money management and life skills - big page of resource links: Young Enterprise
- Free money teaching tools: Money Heroes
- Lots of free resources and activity ideas (linked to lovely badges you can buy): Pawprint Family
- Free Star Wars activities: Star Wars
- Free dog-themed resources: Dogs Trust
- UK Parliament resources: Learning.Parliament UK
- Harry Potter-themed classes: Hogwarts is Here & Hogwarts Online
- Reviews of educational apps and websites: Educational App Store
- Free educational games, books, comics, and videos: Funbrain
- Smart, kid-friendly free videos: TKSST
- Philosophy / debate / D&D zoom classes: P4HE
- Lots of very good educational animated videos: Ted-Ed
- A variety of productivity and self-improvement topics: LifeHack - YouTube
- Free cultural and educational media site: Open Culture
- Game Academy - site that analyses your gaming play style, then recommends career paths, telling you transferable skills. Free and paid-for content.
- Learn to touch type for free: Typing Club
- KS1-KS3 activities from the Wildlife Trust: tree tools for schools
- Downloadable teaching resources from Forestry England: Forest Learning Resources
- Nature-based activities: RSPB Helping Nature
- Educational science and geography KS2 resources and activities at the WWT (Wetlands Wildlife Trust)
- Educational gardening resources and activities from the RHS: School Gardening
- How to earn Blue Peter badges: CBBC Blue Peter
- Free teaching resources: Eden Project - schools
- Lesson plans for using with Minecraft: Minecraft Education
- 3D model editor, ideal for creating or editing Minecraft entities: Blockbench
- Free historical food cooking videos: Tasting History
- Strew is a home education app where parents can document their child's activities, and track educational progress. Free, but the subscription version adds more content and the ability to share and print a report.
- Home Education Tracker record home educating activities and events, to assist with tracking your child's progress.
Coding
- Learn to code for free: Hour of Code
- Free coding: Scratch
- Free, short learn coding game: Erase All Kittens
- Learn to code Minecraft & Roblox (paid subscription): Code Kingdoms
- Free learn to code site: bytes n bits
- Older children & adults, free basic plan: Codecademy
- Fun coding for beginners ages 6+: Coding Park
Exercise
- Kids exercise free games: Go Noodle
- Free Joe Wicks exercise videos: Joe Wicks Kids Workouts
- Free PE lessons with Joe Wicks: PE with Joe
- Free yoga and mindfulness videos for younger kids: Cosmic Kids Yoga
Alternative or cross curriculum / topic based learning
- Nature based year long curriculum: ENWC (Exploring Nature With Children)
- Free activity packs that complement the ENWC topics: Magic Homeschool Bus
- Printable resources inspired by nature, the seasons, and the rhythms of the year. Perfect for nature study, covering topics like moon phases, and the wheel of the year + some freebies: Dartmoor Kin
- Nature based curriculum resources: Kindle the Spark
- Topic based learning packs: TopicTeach
- More topic based learning: Fun Learning Resources
- Interest based all-ages downloadable workbooks: Chatty Zebra Curriculum
- Open-ended learning packs: Harbor and Sprout
- Downloadable lapbooks and projects: Freebies | Practical Pages
Music
- Learn how to read music course: Read the Dots
- 'Kids love Classics' - wonderful online classical music appreciation classes with Harriet Rose
- Primary-aged music lessons on Zoom: Will Savage Music
- Explore the world of classical music: BBC Ten Pieces
- There are lots of amazing links and lesson plans on the BBC Ten Pieces website.
- Affordable sheet music and lessons: Making Music Fun
- Online music lessons: My Music Workshop
- The History of Music with Naomi and Ludwig: BBC Teach
- I've heard high praise for this piano teaching app: Simply Piano
