Home Education

Specialist help and support for parents and children who are choosing education outside the school system. Including finding tutors and teaching for specialist subjects, advice for teaching a range of subjects through topics, and help with sitting exams.

This page contains many resources for those needing to educate or just occupy their children while schools are closed in the pandemic!

What's on this page:

Free Resources and Activity Ideas

The BBC are starting educational programming from Monday 11th Jan 2021: CBBC will be covering primary school subjects from 9am-12noon each weekday, while BBC 2 will offer 2 hours per day of programmes related to secondary school subjects.

The new government-organised Oak National Academy is up and running. 40 state school teachers are creating 180 lessons per week, covering all subjects, and school years R-10. Although it's named like a Tesco own-brand faux supplier, it looks like a good set of resources. Your child's school may already be planning to direct you how to use some of them, they do require good bandwidth, and they have complex interfaces so the littlest pupils will need help and support to access them. But what an endeavour to get this up and running so quick, given the normally glacial speed of government IT projects!. Do check it out.

Well-practiced at providing a full range of content for all ages and subjects, BBC Bitesize has put together daily packs of three new lessons. With videos and plenty of interactive content, they really know and cater for their audience.

Timetables and schedules

  • EYFSHome aim to be a one-stop-shop for activities (timetable and everything for a balanced day!) and a community for those with 3-5 year olds at home

Art & craft

  • Downloadable van Gogh colouring sheets produced by Sarah Wimperis, the only UK artists to paint frames for Loving Vincent, plus paper people to cut out and clothe.
  • The Tate offer games, videos, quizzes and loads of art activities you can do at home (some messy!).
  • Free frog colouring book/treasure hunt. Colour in the life of the Southern Bell Frog of New South Wales. Beautiful illustrations, Australian so obviously the seasons are the other way around and the wildlife less familiar to English eyes. Really good for observation.
  • Maths Craft NZ have excellent craft activities on their site, with genuine mathematical benefit. Origami, braiding, optical illusion colouring sheets, etc.
  • Fun and doable craft activities. This site is really a sort of Australian version of Hobbycraft but their blog has some nice suggestions for arty activities at home.
  • At least 50 fun activities for early primary (though some look quite fun for adults too...) including salt dough dino bones, nice mix of stuff, lots of physical activites. From ABC Home Learning
  • Flower Meadow colouring page from the resident designer at Holywell Press

Music

  • Oxford legend Nick Cope has been singing songs live on his facebook page twice a week, Monday and Thursday afternoons. Message him in advance with requests.
  • Mike Likes Science songs about coding, famous black scientists, the history of the universe, etc.
  • OCM have a series of workshops, Home Made Music, designed to help primary school aged kids and their parents explore and have fun with sound.
  • For young classical music fans, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra have recently released a series of videos, OP At Home, alongside scores and worksheets.

Maths

  • Maths Craft NZ have excellent craft activities on their site, with genuine mathematical benefit. Origami, braiding, optical illusion colouring sheets, etc.
  • White Rose Maths home learning packs, from Early Years to Y8. New sets each week during Covid crisis.
  • NRICH maths is the maths teachers' resource site, but friendly and accessible to parents and children too. Problem solving and puzzle-based, all free, run by Cambridge Uni, with special sections for things to do from home and help for parents.
  • Maths resources from Third Space Learning, usually coaching children outside school eg for SATs. Currently offering free resources and advice about home learning.
  • List of games and apps that teach interesting maths from the blog of Danny, an Oxford parent and math-o-phile.
  • Topmarks has maths games with pleasing graphics very suitable for tablet (or interactive whiteboard). Good for maths, excellent motivation for kids, good to do independently. Some other subjects, but maths is really their thing.

Science/STEM

  • Crash Course science videos on youtube. Nice animations, upper primary, vast range of topics, has ads.
  • Science Channel on youtube. Very showy - explosions, glue, giant water pistols, how food is made.
  • All the Rough Science series. Desert island science - challenges to create equipment and do experiments in a friendly pseudo-survival situation. This was a fab BBC/Open University show, now (possibly pirated) but only available on Mr Owl's Science youtube channel.
  • Science Show for young primary age. The presenter and her animatronic mouse share lots of STEM in 5 min bites.
  • Free School youtube. Short videos on everything from states of matter to the US constitution. Mostly science but also geography, and the lives of the Bronte sistsers.
  • The Brain Scoop youtube. Fun science-ish stuff from Emily, Chief Curiosity Correspondent of Chicago's natural history museum. Everything from full dissection of a skunk, to why King Tut had a flat head.
  • Mike Likes Science songs about coding, famous black scientists, the history of the universe, etc.
  • Science Max youtube takes science experiments and makes them much, much bigger!
  • Oxford's History of Science Museum offers a virtual tour, short films about specific exhibits, and the website for the museum's latest exhibition, Alice in Typhoidland, breaks down a tricky topic through games and activities.
  • Skype a Scientist - sign up to be matched with a scientist, organise a time slot over email, and then chat with a real life scientist. Be sure to prepare some really hard questions.

Natural World / Geography

  • Virtual field trips from Discovery Education
  • Carefully compiled list of virtual field trips for kids including US landmarks, zoos, outer space and 7 wonders of the world
  • National Geographic kids games. Memory games and quizzes. Faintly educational but quite fun.
  • National Geographic youtube channel. Strands include Weird But True and Exploration Barbie, giving a slight feeling they think children need to be tricked into learning.
  • GEOFocus youtube. 5 - 10 min videos on different countries, from a Canadian who LOVES Geography.
  • Kids Learning Tube. Animated songs, mostly geography, planets, some science.
  • Free frog colouring book/treasure hunt. Colour in the life of the Southern Bell Frog of New South Wales. Beautiful illustrations, Australian so obviously the seasons are the other way around and the wildlife less familiar to English eyes. Really good for observation.
  • Wide-ranging list of Zoo Cams - enjoy many of your favourite animals pottering about (or, if you're lucky, mating in spring).
  • Very soothing Turtlecam footage - watch from a camera atop a turtle's shell as it pootles around off the coast of the Bahamas for 3 hours!
  • Learn just how deep the ocean is (and how many weird things live in it) as you scroll down, and down, and down, and down...
  • Oxford Tree Trails' beautifully illustrated printable maps of Oxford's parks, showing flora and fauna to look out for while you wander. Helps convince your children a walk really is as good as a playground.
  • Ben Fogle tells you about his adventures daily on his instagram, 4pm, weekdays.

Books, storytelling, literacy, phonics

  • New for 2021, Oxfordshire Libraries are offering a free Click and Collect service, where the librarians select books based on your/ your child's tastes and make them available to collect from one of 14 libraries in the county: Abingdon; Banbury; Bicester; Botley; Cowley; Didcot; Headington; Henley; Kidlington; Summertown; Thame; Wantage; Witney and the central Oxfordshire County library.
  • African School have launched a mobile library service. You can request short stories, poetry, plays, novels and essays on the history and figures of Africa, African America, and the Caribbean, and the books will be cycled to your location and either left on the doorstep or posted through the letterbox. It's a free service, but donations are welcome for the enlargement of the library. Books can be requested by email, and more information is available on the African School website.
  • Oxford Poetry Library has put together an activity pack designed for 7-14 year olds, with activities based on the beautiful The Lost Words book by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris.
  • Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature have digitised a whole bunch of vintage children's books.
  • A slightly random selection including healthy easter food, spotting fake news, and phonics from Discovery Education
  • Look and Read on youtube. Possibly only for nostalgic adults, but if you wish your children could learn to read with BBC kids dramas check out the many uploads of old Look and Read series, including Geordie Race, Dark Towers and Badger Girl and of course The Magic E song.
  • Audible's free stories for kids. Audible have said as long as schools are closed, children can listen to stories free online, without having to sign up for an account.
  • Booktrust book related activities - learn to illustrate, hear stories read aloud including How To Train Your Dragon read by Cressida Cowell herself.
  • Picture of how letters should be formed, from Nelson Handwriting (practice with chalk outside, in flour or sand, or on each other's backs with a finger).
  • Free ebook library from Oxford Owl, including titles from Oxford Reading Tree (the Biff, Chip and Kipper series)
  • Jolly Phonics inventors have a nice resource section with lots of worksheets. (Elsewhere on their site, see explanations for how phonics works, how the different sounds should be modelled etc.)
  • Culture Whisper's list of author livestreams - and there are a lot of them!

Range of subjects (primary)

  • Stonewall have created education packs including core subjects based around the idea of family, including unusual families of all shapes and sizes. Nice cartoons, easy-read and SEND options, and a whole lot of things based around Frida Kahlo.
  • Khan Academy app and website offer printable resources for a variety of early years subjects
  • Links to LOADS of resources mostly primary (and some for babies & toddlers from Rolling Hoop. Some more educational, some just keeping busy, some to get active.
  • Oxford Owl (from Oxford University Press) loads of resources used by teachers, and a home learning section too, all primary years, mainly maths and literacy

Early Years

  • Science Show for young primary age. The presenter and her animatronic mouse share lots of STEM in 5 min bites.
  • Links to LOADS of resources mostly primary (and some for babies & toddlers from Rolling Hoop. Some more educational, some just keeping busy, some to get active.
  • Topmarks has maths games with pleasing graphics very suitable for tablet (or interactive whiteboard). Good for maths, excellent motivation for kids, good to do independently. Some other subjects, but maths is really their thing.
  • Picture of how letters should be formed, from Nelson Handwriting (practice with chalk outside, in flour or sand, or on each other's backs with a finger).
  • Free ebook library from Oxford Owl, including titles from Oxford Reading Tree (the Biff, Chip and Kipper series)
  • Jolly Phonics inventors have a nice resource section with lots of worksheets. (Elsewhere on their site, see explanations for how phonics works, how the different sounds should be modelled etc.)
  • EYFSHome aim to be a one-stop-shop for activities (timetable and everything for a balanced day!) and a community for those with 3-5 year olds at home

IT and Coding

  • Learn to code by playing free games on Tynker
  • Geek Gurl Diaries. Brit Carrie Ann seeks to encourage everyone, but especially girls, in the worlds of IT, coding, and science. Loads of videos promoting the creative side of tech.
  • Mike Likes Science songs about coding, famous black scientists, the history of the universe, etc.

Exercise and being active

  • Oxford Tree Trails' beautifully illustrated printable maps of Oxford's parks, showing flora and fauna to look out for while you wander. Helps convince your children a walk really is as good as a playground.
  • Daily Adventure Fitness classes run online by Project PT.
  • Movement and mindfulness videos from GoNoodle.
  • Cosmic Kids Yoga teaches kid-friendly yoga and mindfulness, with Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz, Star Wars etc. themed sessions
  • At least 50 fun activities for early primary (though some look quite fun for adults too...) including salt dough dino bones, nice mix of stuff, lots of physical activites. From ABC Home Learning
  • Joe Wickes PE sessions have already become legendary, but in case you haven't found them yet, they're daily at 9am, and you can rewatch all previous episodes on his youtube channel.

Secondary age

  • All the Rough Science series. Desert island science - challenges to create equipment and do experiments in a friendly pseudo-survival situation. This was a fab BBC/Open University show, now (possibly pirated) but only available on Mr Owl's Science youtube channel.
  • SciShow youtube channel. Bigger sister to SciShow Kids, this makes very up to date topics bitesize.
  • The Brain Scoop youtube. Fun science-ish stuff from Emily, Chief Curiosity Correspondent of Chicago's natural history museum. Everything from full dissection of a skunk, to why King Tut had a flat head.
  • Vihart youtube. Maths, music and doodling, for bigger kids.
  • Geek Gurl Diaries. Brit Carrie Ann seeks to encourage everyone, but especially girls, in the worlds of IT, coding, and science. Loads of videos promoting the creative side of tech.
  • Soul Pancake youtube looks at life problems for teens like long-distance dating, busts myths about suicide, or discusses being Muslim in the US.
  • Oxford's History of Science Museum offers a virtual tour, short films about specific exhibits, and the website for the museum's latest exhibition, Alice in Typhoidland, breaks down a tricky topic through games and activities.
  • White Rose Maths home learning packs, from Early Years to Y8. New sets each week during Covid crisis.

General advice about Homeschooling during the coronavirus outbreak

With widespread school closures, many parents may be wondering how to support their children's learning at home for an unspecified length of time. Some schools are supplying work online or via email, and supporting children with phone or even video calls. But we've looked at what other resources are out there to help.

Oxford-based tutorial service Education Hotel has put up an excellent blog post about how parents might set their children work in a number of subjects, through a topic, in this case dinosaurs. Jemma Smith, who founded Education Hotel, has neatly suggested activities that don't rely on parents having all the answers, but set children off on a path of learning to explore a topic, incidentally practising maths, literacy and a number of other skills. The activities work for a range of ages, including non-readers.

If you want some expert help, Education Hotel also offer tutoring online. For details of them and other tutors, some of whom will meet up on skype or similar platforms, see our Tutorial Colleges and Tutors listings. Or you can ask for (or offer) specific tutoring on our Tuition ads page.

It's important to remember parents can't be expected to become teachers overnight, and that families facing uncertainty and anxiety about the world shouldn't be stressed about thinking they must switch straight to a full homeschooling timetable. Parenting expert Sarah Ockwell-Smith published an excellent newsletter on how to tackle this, and emphasising cutting yourself some slack!

Other resources have been made free while schools are closed. And many more from the list further down offer cheaper subscriptions currently.

Homeschooling in normal circumstances

Home Education is definitely on the rise. Some people question whether schools have the right priorities, some are travelling, other families find home education suits a child's personality better. Parents of SEND children are increasingly finding they turn to home education in desperation, as budget cuts mean there aren't suitable places in special education. If you have chosen this route, or are considering it, here are some resources and support groups you might find useful.

Official Advice on Home Education

Oxford County Council's page about home education is nuanced and non-judgmental. It doesn't seek to dissuade you, but lets you know what your duties are if you take on responsibility for your child's education, and what it can (and can't) do to support you.

Curriculum and Subject Support

A Home School College sounds like something of a contradiction in terms, but Wolsey Hall has been supporting home education since 1894, with curricula and tutoring from afar for ages 7-18, and advice about how to sit exams.

For an excellent example of topic-based learning see Education Hotel's blog post. Through the topic of dinosaurs, they suggest a number of different projects and activities, which set children off on a path of exploration, learning skills and facts almost incidentally.

And for more tutors who can help with specific subject areas, in person or online, see Daily Info's listings for Tutorial Colleges and Tutors, and Tuition ads by individuals (where you can offer or seek Tuiton).

As ever the internet is a wealth of well, everything. Subscription sites provide endless content for children to work through or for parents to pick and choose from. These include:

Support Groups

A variety of groups exist on Facebook to share knowledge among parents and children from families who home educate. Parenting and teaching can both be lonely activities, and friendly support is vital. Meet-ups take place both for social reasons, and also to enhance learning, for instance at South Oxford Adventure Playground, or Oxford Natural History Museum.

Families new to Home Education should start in this group. It's intended to be useful for around the first 6 weeks and help you access other networks.
This group is the main one for Oxfordshire home educators.
This one is a closed group, so you must be local, be home educating and be endorsed by an existing member in order to join
And this group is specifically about exams (and alternatives). It has a wider geographical base.

Kangaroo Playgroup is a group all about attachment parenting, and contains some info about home educating particularly for smaller children, sometimes just to delay their start to formal education.

© Daily Information 2024. Printed from https://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/tuition/home-education

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