A first list of places to learn.
149 apps and sites for children, checked 12 Nov 2026.
Reading and writing 23
Khan Academy Kids
A playful, guided app for early reading, maths and social skills, with stories and drawing as well as practice.
Starfall
A long-running phonics and early-years site with games, songs and books. The public pages cover a core letter-sound path; a paid membership opens the rest.
Duolingo ABC
Short, wordless-to-words lessons that teach letter sounds and early reading on a phone or tablet.
Teach Your Monster
A phonics game in which children teach a monster to read. The organisation also makes number and writing games under the same name.
Storyline Online
Actors read children's picture books aloud, with the book on screen. Run by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
Free to watch
CommonLit
A large library of stories, poems and non-fiction for lessons, with questions and teacher guides attached to each text.
ReadWorks
A nonprofit library of reading passages and question sets, written for classroom use and organised by grade and topic.
ReadTheory
Adaptive reading-comprehension practice that adjusts the next passage to how a student just did.
Free reading practice
Newsela
News and non-fiction rewritten at several reading levels, used widely in schools. Most of the library sits behind a school or family plan.
Epic
A children's digital library of books, audiobooks and short videos. School hours are often free for teachers; families pay for unlimited home use.
Oxford Owl
Free e-books and expert advice from Oxford University Press, including the familiar Biff, Chip and Kipper readers.
Book Dash
Openly licensed picture books, written and illustrated in a day, that anyone can read or print.
Free to read and print
African Storybook
Open picture books in many African languages, with English and other translations, meant to be read on screen or printed.
Free to read
Unite for Literacy
Short picture books narrated in English and in many other languages, pictured with real photographs.
Free to read
Highlights Kids
Puzzles, hidden pictures, stories and simple science from the Highlights magazine, on a website children can browse.
Time for Kids
News written for children, with editions at different reading levels. Some stories are open; the full magazine is a school subscription.
Storynory
A long-running collection of original and traditional stories to listen to, with the text on the page.
Free to listen
Open Library
An Internet Archive project that lends digitised books, including a large children's shelf, with a free account.
Free to borrow
Project Gutenberg
Public-domain books to download or read in the browser, including a long list of children's classics.
Free to download
Poetry Foundation Education
Poems, lesson ideas and recordings chosen for classrooms and for reading with children.
Free to read
Global Storybooks
Open storybooks in dozens of languages, built from the African Storybook collection and related projects.
Free to read
Libby
The public-library app for borrowing e-books and audiobooks with a library card, including plenty of children's titles.
Free with a library card
ABCmouse
A large, paid early-learning path (from Age of Learning) covering letters, numbers and more, aimed at children up to about six. A trial is usually offered; the full library is a subscription.
Maths 24
Khan Academy
Free courses and practice from early maths through school and exam prep, with videos and mastery challenges. Science, computing and humanities sit here too.
Zearn
A nonprofit maths programme used in many schools, with on-screen lessons and practice. Families can also use it at home.
Prodigy Math
A fantasy game in which answering maths questions powers the battles. The game itself is free; a paid membership adds reports and extra items.
Bedtime Math
A daily maths story with questions at three difficulty levels, meant to be done together at the end of the day, plus a free app.
Free daily problems
Math Playground
Games, word problems and logic puzzles sorted by topic, widely used for short practice sessions.
XtraMath
A short daily programme for maths facts (addition through division), used at school and at home.
Desmos
A free graphing calculator and a library of classroom activities for algebra, geometry and statistics.
Free graphing calculator
GeoGebra
Interactive geometry, algebra and graphing tools, plus a large set of ready-made classroom activities.
Free to use
NRICH
Rich maths problems and articles from the University of Cambridge, for classrooms and for children who like a puzzle that doesn't give up at once.
Free problems
Youcubed
Tasks, films and advice from Stanford's Youcubed, aimed at building a more open, less fearful way of learning maths.
Free tasks
Mathigon
Interactive maths courses and tools (including Polypad) that treat courses like a tour rather than a worksheet.
Beast Academy
A comic-book maths curriculum from Art of Problem Solving, in print and online, for children who want a harder than usual path.
Art of Problem Solving
Textbooks, an online school and a large community for students who want challenge well beyond a standard textbook.
ST Math
A visual, puzzle-based maths programme from MIND Education, used mainly through schools, in which ideas are shown before they are named.
SplashLearn
Games and practice for maths and reading, with a free starting tier and a paid family plan for the full library.
IXL
A large practice site covering maths and other school subjects, sold mainly as a subscription to families and schools.
Coolmath4Kids
Lessons and games for primary maths, from the same people as Coolmath. The site carries advertising.
Arcademics
Fast, multiplayer practice games for maths facts and a few language skills, often used as a classroom warm-up.
Illustrative Mathematics
A full, openly available maths curriculum and task library used by many schools, with problem-based lessons.
Toy Theater
Simple on-screen manipulatives and short games for early maths, art and literacy, useful on an interactive board or a tablet.
Free to use
Maths Is Fun
Plain, illustrated explanations of maths ideas, from fractions to early calculus, with practice questions on many pages.
Free to read
Estimation 180
A bank of estimation challenges, each a photograph and a question, designed for a short daily classroom routine.
Free tasks
Open Middle
Problems with a closed end and an open middle: many ways to reach a right answer, sorted by grade and standard.
Free problems
Which One Doesn't Belong
Sets of four pictures or numbers in which any one can be the odd one out, if you can say why. Built for talk, not for a single right answer.
Free prompts
Science and nature 18
NASA Space Place
NASA's site of games, crafts and plain-language articles about space and Earth, written for children and the adults helping them.
Free to use
NASA Kids' Club
Short games and pictures from NASA for younger children, with a light introduction to missions and spacecraft.
Free to use
NASA Kids, Earth
NASA Science's children's pages about Earth and climate, which now gather what used to live on Climate Kids.
Free to use
National Geographic Kids
Animals, places and science stories, quizzes and videos in National Geographic's children's edition.
Mystery Science
Ready-to-teach science lessons built around a question, with video and a hands-on activity. Schools and families can open some lessons without a paid plan.
Generation Genius
Classroom science and maths videos with lesson plans, sold mainly as a school or family subscription, with some episodes open as samples.
PhET Interactive Simulations
Free, research-based simulations of science and maths ideas, from the University of Colorado Boulder, that you can run in a browser.
Free simulations
Exploratorium
The San Francisco museum's online experiments, videos and articles, including things you can try with what is already in the house.
Exploratorium Science Snacks
A catalogue of short, well-explained hands-on experiments, each with a list of ordinary materials.
Free activities
The Kid Should See This
A carefully chosen feed of short, wonder-first videos about science, art, nature and how things are made.
Science Museum
The London Science Museum's website, with stories from the collection and things to try at home or in a classroom.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Live webcams, animal guides and classroom resources from the aquarium, including a look at the kelp forest and penguins.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers
The zoo's children's site, with animal stories, games and videos. It used to live at kids.sandiegozoo.org.
Journey North
A citizen-science project that tracks migrations and seasons, with classroom investigations children can join.
Free to join
Zooniverse
Real research projects that anyone can help with, from spotting animals in camera traps to classifying galaxies. Some are designed with schools in mind.
Free to take part
NOAA Education
The U.S. weather and ocean agency's education pages: classroom resources, data and explanations of climate, oceans and forecasts.
Free resources
National Park Service, kids
Games, Junior Ranger ideas and park stories from the U.S. National Park Service.
Free to use
EPA, students
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's pages for students and teachers, on air, water, waste and the living world.
Free resources
Coding and computing 23
Code.org
A nonprofit that runs full computer-science courses from the first years of school upward, plus the Hour of Code / Hour of AI puzzles.
Free courses
Scratch
MIT's visual programming language and community, where children snap blocks together to make games, stories and animations, then share them.
Free to use
ScratchJr
A younger sibling of Scratch for early readers: picture blocks on a tablet, used to make characters move and tell short stories.
Free app
Tinkercad
A browser tool from Autodesk for 3D design, basic circuits and block coding, widely used in schools and clubs.
Swift Playgrounds
Apple's app for learning Swift by steering characters through puzzles, then writing real code, on iPad or Mac.
CS Unplugged
Computer science taught with cards, string and pencil, not a screen, from the University of Canterbury.
Free activities
Blockly Games
A small set of puzzle games from Google that introduce block programming, ending with a simple JavaScript step.
Free to play
micro:bit
A pocket-sized board and a set of lessons for learning to code physical things: lights, buttons, radio and sensors.
MakeCode Arcade
Microsoft MakeCode's browser editor for making retro-style games with blocks or JavaScript, then playing them on the web or a device.
Free to use
Raspberry Pi projects
Step-by-step projects from the Raspberry Pi Foundation, for the Pi, for the web, and for other kits, written for beginners upwards.
Free projects
MIT App Inventor
A block-based tool for making Android (and some iOS) apps in a browser, used in many school and club projects.
Free to use
Code Club
A worldwide network of free coding clubs for 9- to 13-year-olds, with project guides that anyone can follow at home too.
Free projects
Hour of AI
The current home of what used to be the Hour of Code: one-hour activities that introduce computing and, now, AI ideas. Still run with Code.org.
Free one-hour activities
Teachable Machine
A browser tool from Google that lets you train a simple image, sound or pose model with a webcam or microphone, then export it.
Free to use
Be Internet Awesome
Google's Interland game and curriculum about staying safer, kinder and more sceptical online.
Free game and lessons
Khan Academy Computing
Khan Academy's computing courses, including introductory programming, web pages and a look at how computers work.
Tynker
A commercial coding platform with block and text courses, Minecraft and Roblox projects, and a paid path beyond the free starter activities.
CodeCombat
A game in which the character moves when you write real code (Python or JavaScript). A free tier covers early levels; the campaign is paid.
Lightbot
A puzzle game about procedures, loops and conditionals, with a one-hour version and a paid full game.
Kodable
A sequence of coding games and lessons aimed at primary schools, with a free start and a classroom subscription.
Hopscotch
A visual coding app for iPad in which children build games and animations and can browse what others have made.
Bootstrap
A curriculum that teaches algebra through programming (and data science, in later modules), aimed at school classrooms.
Free curriculum
LEGO Education
Official lessons and software for LEGO education kits (including SPIKE and robotics), used in clubs and classrooms.
Arts and music 9
Chrome Music Lab
A set of tiny, joyful experiments for playing with sound, rhythm and melody in a browser, from Google.
Free to play
Incredibox
A beat-boxing mixer that lets you build a groove by dressing a choir of characters. Some versions are free on the web; the full app is paid.
Tate Kids
Games, things to make, and a look at art from the Tate collections, written for children.
Free to use
Google Arts & Culture
High-resolution tours of museums, artworks and historic sites, with experiments and stories that work well on a sofa as well as in class.
Free to use
Hoffman Academy
A structured piano course on video, with a large free lesson path and a paid premium plan for more songs and support.
Yousician
A paid app that listens as you play guitar, piano, bass, ukulele or sing, and coaches you through songs and exercises.
flowkey
A piano-learning app that follows what you play and teaches songs step by step. A few songs are free; the library is a subscription.
Carnegie Hall Education
Listen-and-learn resources, classroom activities and digital music labs from Carnegie Hall.
Make Beliefs Comix
A simple comic-strip maker in the browser, used in classrooms for writing, language learning and just telling a joke in four panels.
Free to use
Languages 2
Duolingo
Short, game-like lessons in many languages. The core course is free with ads; Super removes ads and adds extras. Fine for older children who will stick to a streak.
Lingokids
Games, shows and songs for young children, in English and other languages. A free starter path sits alongside a paid playplus plan.
History and the world 12
BBC Bitesize
The BBC's free study site for UK schools, covering almost every subject from early primary through GCSEs and Nationals, with short explainers and activities.
Free to use
CBBC Newsround
A daily news service written and presented for children, from the BBC, including the week's harder stories handled with care.
Free to watch
Ducksters
Plain, textbook-like pages on history, geography, science and biographies, often used as a first stop for a homework question.
Google Earth
A globe you can fly around, with Voyager guided tours of cities, nature and history. Works in a browser or as an app.
Free to use
Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government
A clear, official introduction to how the U.S. government works, written in three age bands: 4–8, 9–13 and 14+.
Free to use
Mission US
Free historical role-playing games in which you take a character through a moment in U.S. history, made for classrooms and for home.
Free games
U.S. National Archives, education
Primary sources, lesson plans and document-analysis sheets from the U.S. National Archives.
Free resources
Statistics in Schools
Classroom activities from the U.S. Census Bureau that use real population data, for maths, geography and social studies.
Free activities
National Geographic Education
Lesson ideas, maps and encyclopedic explainers for teachers and families, from National Geographic.
ABC Behind the News
An Australian news programme and site for school-age children, explaining the week's events in short, clear films.
Free to watch
CBC Kids News
News written for Canadian children, with videos and articles on current events.
Free to watch
DOGO News
Current events, science and sports articles written for children, with quizzes and a classroom mode.
Shows and video 8
PBS KIDS
Games, videos and activities starring the public-television children's programmes, with a free website and apps.
Free games and videos
Sesame Street
Games, videos and printables from Sesame Workshop, aimed at preschool children and the grown-ups with them.
TED-Ed
Short, animated lessons on almost any curiosity, with questions and, often, a chance to go deeper. Free to watch.
Free to watch
Cosmic Kids Yoga
Story-led yoga and mindfulness sessions for children, with a YouTube library and a paid app for the full catalogue.
GoNoodle
Short movement, breathing and focus videos used as classroom brain breaks, with a free set and a paid family or school plan.
CBeebies
The BBC's channel and site for preschool children, with programmes, games and songs, free to use in the UK and, for many titles, beyond.
Free to watch
BrainPOP
Animated curriculum videos and quizzes used in many schools. A school or family subscription opens the library.
BrainPOP Jr
The same idea as BrainPOP, written and drawn for younger primary children.
Typing and study skills 15
Typing.com
A full typing course with lessons, tests and games. A free path is there; schools can pay for a classroom dashboard.
TypingClub
A popular, lesson-by-lesson typing tutor that you can start without an account. The title on the site calls the basic course free.
Free typing course
Nitro Type
A racing game that uses typing as the throttle, useful once a child already knows the keyboard a little.
Freerice
Multiple-choice questions (vocabulary, maths and more) where each right answer contributes rice through the World Food Programme.
Free to play
Kahoot
A quiz platform used in classrooms and at home. Anyone can play; making and hosting more quizzes sits on a free or paid plan.
Wordwall
A maker of interactive classroom games and printables. Teachers can play a set number of activities for free; more is a subscription.
Blooket
A quiz site that wraps questions in several different games. Popular in classrooms; a paid plan adds more modes and limits.
Quill
Free, sentence-level writing practice (grammar, combining sentences, proofs) from a nonprofit, designed for classrooms.
Free practice
NoRedInk
Adaptive grammar and writing practice used in schools, with a free starter set and a paid curriculum.
Vocabulary.com
A dictionary plus adaptive vocabulary practice, usable for free with limits, and as a school or family subscription.
Book Creator
A tool for making digital books with text, audio, video and drawings, used widely in primary classrooms. A free plan lets you make a few books.
Seesaw
A classroom portfolio and activity platform in which children post work for their teacher and family. Schools usually provide the account.
Canva for Education
Canva's free education plan, which gives verified teachers and their students the paid design tools for classroom work.
ABCya
A large set of educational games for primary children, covering maths, reading and typing. The site has a free, ad-supported layer and a paid membership.
Funbrain
Games, comics and a few books for primary-age children, including the online home of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid excerpts. The site carries advertising.
For parents and teachers 15
Common Sense Media
Independent reviews of films, apps, games and books, with age guidance written for parents and a separate education arm for schools.
Free reviews
Common Sense Education
Reviews of classroom tools, and a digital-citizenship curriculum, from the same organisation as Common Sense Media.
Free reviews and lessons
Vroom
Tiny, practical tips that turn everyday moments with babies and young children into brain-building back-and-forth. The site calls the tips free.
Free tips
PBS LearningMedia
A large, free-to-use library of classroom videos and lessons drawn from public-television programmes, for many subjects and ages.
Free lessons
PBS KIDS for Parents
Advice, activities and programme guides for the grown-ups sitting with PBS KIDS, organised by age and by topic.
OER Commons
A public library of open educational resources: lessons, textbooks and activities that teachers can use and adapt.
Free to use
CK-12
Free, adaptable digital textbooks and practice (FlexBooks) for maths and science, used by teachers and by students working on their own.
Free textbooks
ReadWriteThink
Lesson plans, printouts and interactive writing tools from the National Council of Teachers of English, free to use.
Free lessons
BBC Teach
Classroom videos and support from the BBC, organised for teachers in UK schools and useful to families following a similar curriculum.
Free videos
Colorín Colorado
A bilingual site of advice and strategies for families and teachers of children learning English.
Free advice
Understood
Plain, careful guidance for families of children who learn or think differently, including ADHD and dyslexia.
Free guidance
NAEYC
The U.S. early-childhood association's articles and position statements, useful when you want more than a tip sheet.
Edutopia
Articles and short films about classroom practice, from the George Lucas Educational Foundation, aimed at teachers and school leaders.
Free to read
ZERO TO THREE
Research-based advice on babies and toddlers, for parents and for the people who work with them.
Outschool
A marketplace of live online classes for children, covering a very wide range of subjects. Teachers set their own prices; the site's own title states ages 3–18.
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New resources, checked
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