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Online Resources

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this.
Well, including this, I suppose.”
- Douglas Adams

We know that accessing resources can be difficult.

Below you can find resources to online e-books, audio books, and other time-enhancers. Besides our CloudLibrary and Biblio+, all of the following resources are Free and can be used without a library card.

 

For any questions, you may call us at 618-476-1887 (please leave a message and we will get back with you) or email us at millstadtlib@gmail.com

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Cloud Library - This will lead you to our page on our regular e-book services and how to use them.

Biblio+ - This will lead to our informational page on Biblio+, a free streaming service for movies and TV -- check it out! 

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Below are ALWAYS free platforms of e-books and more.

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Education Resources 

Free Adult Online Courses

https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/here-are-380-ivy-league-courses-you-can-take-online-right-now-for-free-9b3ffcbd7b8c/

 

Reading Resources for Children by Scholastic

https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

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Learn Coding

https://www.w3schools.com/​ 

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Coding for Kids

Scratch - block-based computer programming

 

Below are more resources helpfully compiled by member libraries!

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Coping in Difficult Times

About COVID-19

Posted Tuesday, 3/17 How to talk to your kids about Coronavirus with Daniel Tiger

Managing COVID-19 anxiety

Just for Kids: a comic exploring the new coronavirus

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Care Resources

Economic relief

Illinois Department of Unemployment Security 

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Activities

Collections

150+ Enrichment Activities for Children while Parents Are Working Remotely

Read, Wonder, and Learn: Favorite authors and illustrators share resources for learning anywhere (like a compendium of virtual author visits!)

150 Free Resources for Teaching Remotely compiled by a high school librarian

Remote Learning Support for Librarians

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Digital Escape Rooms 

Hogwarts Escape Room created by Sydney Krawiec, Youth Services Librarian at Peters Township Public Library in McMurray, PA

Escape from Wonderland created by Erin Honeycutt, Children's Librarian at Moultrie-Colquitt County Library System in Moultrie, Georgia

Dog Man Digital Escape Room created by a School Library Media Coordinator

Escape the Fairy Tale: Part 1 created by Marissa Lieberman, Children's Librarian at the East Orange Public Library, NJ

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Museum Tours and Livestreams

Google Arts & Culture virtual tours

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Boston Children’s Museum

Great Wall of China

The Louvre 

Tour Mars 

Monterey Bay Aquarium - Live cams of the exhibits and of the ocean in real time. 

San Diego Zoo live cams

Smithsonian Zoo live cams

Cincinnati Zoo “Home Safari” animal visits every day at 3 p.m. on Facebook

Baltimore National Aquarium

San Francisco Exploratorium

The Benaki in Athens, Greece

National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, Mexico

The Tokyo National Museum

National Museum of Scotland

 

View (and Transcribe!) archival documents

Newberry Library’s handwritten archives

Smithsonian Digital Volunteers Transcription Center

 

Educational Videos and Livestreaming lessons

Books and Authors

List of children’s book authors with Facebook Live/YouTube events 

Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems

Actors reading picture books-storytime online 

https://www.clickclackbooks.com/printable-activities.html Worksheets and activities based on Click Clack Moo series of books

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Other

Ken Burns in the classroom - videos and printable support materials/discussion questions for Burns' documentaries; Baseball currently streaming for free

An Educator’s Guide to “Stamped: Antiracism and You” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Math in Music series with Dr. Eugenia Cheng on WFMT

Mystery Science Mystery Science at home experiments free with an account. 

NASA image and video library

Cooking through your stash of food 

How to manage your food storage by a Registered Dietitian 

 

On-Screen Tutorials for Off-Screen Activities

Arts and crafts

Art lessons with No Corner Suns (a local Westmont art teacher!)

Artsonia After School Art Club - mainly uses materials you already have!

Draw Every Day with JJK by Lunchlady and Hey, Kiddo author Jarret J Krosoczka

Wild Orchid art lessons

 

Other

Free kids’ cooking lessons at noon CST by $5 Dinner via FB Live; will be reposted on YouTube

PBS Kids Daily newsletter

Supercharged School free lessons with hands-on/paper work and experiments (ages 7-14)

Grow your own potatoes from potatoes you already have in your pantry.

 

Physical Activity

GoNoodle physical activity videos

Yoga With Adriene - linked a search of “kids yoga” in her channel-though all her videos are useful

 

Screen-Free Activities

Engineering Activity Bingo with supplies that you have on hand

Finish the comic and blank comic book panel printables

30 Days of LEGO Play calendar

Little Free Library map

MyKidList collection of activities and strategies

National Park Junior Ranger books you can request by mail (temporarily suspended. If it doesn't work now try again another day.)

Print & Play tabletop games by Manuel Corriea (for older kids and adults)

Raddish Kids cooking camp kits

 

Podcasts

For Kids

Book Club for Kids

But Why? A Podcast for Curious Kids

Brains On 

Kids Ask Authors

BedtimeFM    -   relaxing podcasts

 

For Adults 

Overheard at National Geographic

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BOARD GAME INFORMATION

Boardgame Geek - All things board games

PNP Arcade - Print & Play games

Sj Games - Features a free guide to GURPS (Generic Universal Role Playing System). 

Looney Labs.com  - Print and play games, online materials, and how-to videos

The Gamecrafter     -  Make, print on demand (this one does cost money), or sell your design for a board game

Piecepack wiki

Icehouse games wiki

Magic: the Gathering official site

Risus: The Anything RPG   -  A free PDF of the rules for a pencil-and-paper TTRPG (table top RPG). 

               Risus Website      - Its website, with news posts and expansions for the game. 

 

 

List of resources being added to by librarians and teachers 

https://www.amazingeducationalresources.com/ 

 

Another site that is compiling a lot of great author and illustrator videos

https://www.katemessner.com/read-wonder-and-learn-favorite-authors-illustrators-share-resources-for-learning-anywhere-spring-2020/

 

Regional Office of Education #13

What great information from ROE 12! Thanks for sharing!

ROE 12 - Monte Newlin, Regional Superintendent of Schools

March 16 at 8:24 PM ·

Let's keep those kids learning! Whether you are a parent or grandparent, educator, or any other combination, below is a list of things to do with children!

✅This Canadian site FarmFood 360 offers 11 Virtual Tours of farms from minks, pigs, and cows, to apples and eggs. https://www.farmfood360.ca/

✅Indoor Activities for busy toddlers

https://busytoddler.com/2020/03/indoor-activities/…

✅Play games and learn all about animals

https://switchzoo.com/

✅Play with fave show characters and learn too https://pbskids.org/

✅Math and Reading games https://www.funbrain.com/

✅Phonics skills https://www.starfall.com/h/

✅ Read, play games, and hang out with Dr. Seuss https://www.seussville.com/

✅300,000+ FREE printable worksheets from toddlers to teens https://www.123homeschool4me.com/home-school-free-printabl…/

✅Geography and animals

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

✅Math practice from counting to algebra and geometry http://www.mathscore.com/

✅Crafts, activities, mazes, dot to dot, etc, https://www.allkidsnetwork.com/

✅Math and reading games https://www.abcya.com/

✅Math and language games https://www.arcademics.com/

✅Fun games, recipes, crafts, activities https://www.highlightskids.com/

✅ClickSchooling brings you daily recommendations by email for entertaining websites that help your kids learn. https://clickschooling.com/

✅Math as a fun part of your daily family routine http://bedtimemath.org/

✅Online history classes for all ages preteen through adults https://school.bighistoryproject.com/bhplive

✅Biology https://www.biologysimulations.com/

✅ Elem Math through 6th grade https://boddlelearning.com/

✅Test Prep for SAT, ACT, etc. https://www.bwseducationconsulting.com/handouts.php

✅Geometry https://www.canfigureit.com/

✅Resources for Spanish practice https://www.difusion.com/campus/

✅Chinese learning activities https://chalkacademy.com/

✅Music is for everyone https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Experiments

✅Science, Math, Social Studies https://www.ck12.org/student/

✅Grammar practice for middle grades https://www.classroomcereal.com/

✅Daily free science or cooking experiment to do at home.http://www.clubscikidzmd.com/blog/

✅Chemistry https://www.playmadagames.com/

✅Reading passages for grades 3-12, with reading comprehension and discussion questions. https://www.commonlit.org/

✅Vocabulary, grammar, listening activities and games in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Korean, and Latin. https://conjuguemos.com/

✅35,000 pages of online content on the cultures and countries of the world. https://www.countryreports.org/

✅K-5th Science lessons https://mysteryscience.com/

✅Tons of free classes from leading universities and companies https://www.coursera.org/

✅Free printable K-8 Reading and Math activity packs (available in English and Spanish) https://www.curriculumassociates.com/supporting-students-aw…

✅A wide range of math content from middle school through AP Calculus. https://deltamath.com/overview

✅3 Free Weeks of Maker Stations to keep your children creating at home! Each challenge includes simple instructions using materials around the house, QR code video resources, and a student recording sheet. bit.ly/freemakerstations

✅Online homeschool platform & curriculum for Pre-K to 12th grade. All main subjects are covered, plus extra curriculum courses. http://discoveryk12.com/dk12/

✅Printable board games, activities and more for phonics and reading all using evidence-based methods. Can be customized to any student's needs including creating flashcards for other subjects. https://dogonalogbooks.com/printables/

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✅Higher level math series... online video series with detailed solutions to more than a thousand publicly-released College Board SAT Math, Subject Test Math Level 1, and Subject Test Math Level 2 problems.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbQoCpvYRYRkRRvsObOPHaA…

✅Foreign languages https://www.duolingo.com/

✅Resources for AP students including live reviews, live trivia, and study guides! https://app.fiveable.me/

✅7,000 free videos in 13 subject areas https://hippocampus.org/

✅Carmen Sandiego videos, stories, and lessons for all subject areas https://www.carmensandiego.com/resources/

✅Math Videos with lessons, real life uses of math, famous actors https://www.hmhco.com/math-at-work

✅Entertaining & educational videos for all levels and subjects

https://www.izzit.org/index.php

✅Online education program for toddler through high school... https://www.khanacademy.org/

✅Free Printables for PreK-2nd Grade https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/…/Lite…/Price-Range/Free

✅Free printables library with activities for children 0-6 https://www.littlesparkcompany.com/printables-library.1

✅Resources for AP students https://marcolearning.com/

✅Enter your math problem or search term, press the button, and they show you the step-by-step work and answer instantly. 2nd grade through college. https://www.mathcelebrity.com/online-math-tutor.php

✅Elem Math games, logic puzzles and educational resources https://www.mathplayground.com/

✅Poetry and music https://www.thewell.world/mindful-mu…/mindful-poetry-moments

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✅3D printing projects and Coding projects, involving math and other K-12 subjects https://www.instructables.com/…/EdgertonCent…/instructables/

✅Introductory and intermediate music theory lessons, exercises, ear trainers, and calculators. https://www.musictheory.net/

✅Scads of free resources, games, learning resources, and lesson plans for teaching personal finance https://www.ngpf.org/

✅Improve your typing skills while competing in fast-paced races with up to 5 typers from around the world. https://www.nitrotype.com/

✅Illustrated recipes designed to help kids age 2-12 cook with their grown-ups. Recipes encourage culinary skills, literacy, math, and science. https://www.nomsterchef.com/nomster-recipe-library

✅Online curriculum that builds better writers. https://www.noredink.com/

✅80+ do at home science activities https://elementalscience.com/…/n…/80-free-science-activities

✅Daily lessons and educational activities that kids can do on their own https://www.superchargedschool.com/

✅Adaptive curriculum in Math and ELA for Grades K-8

https://www.scootpad.com/

✅Quick & easy at home projects curated for kids 2 and up

https://www.kiwico.com/kids-at-home

✅Teaches students how to write a paragraph through interactive online tutorial http://www.paragraphpunch.com/

✅PreK-12 digital media service with more than 30,000 learning materials https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/

✅Science and math labs and simulations https://phet.colorado.edu/

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✅For students to practice and master whatever they are learning. https://quizlet.com/

✅ReadWorks is an online resource of reading passages and lesson plans for students of all levels K-12. https://www.readworks.org/

✅Music Based Spanish Learning https://rockalingua.com/

✅Science simulations, scientist profiles, and other digital resources for middle school science and high school biology

https://sepuplhs.org/

✅The Shurley English program for grades K-8 provides a clear, logical, and concrete approach to language arts. https://www.shurley.com/

✅Sight reading and sight singing practice exercises. https://www.sightreadingfactory.com/

✅Music practice transformed https://www.smartmusic.com/

✅Spellingcity has a free account available. 

https://www.spellingcity.com/

✅Kid-friendly workouts — choose from Strength for Kids, Agility for Kids, Flexibility and Balance for Kids, Warm-Up for Kids, Cooldown for Kids, Stand Up and Move for Kids, OR create your own custom kid workout. https://app.sworkit.com/collections/kids-workouts

✅A collection of hundreds of free K-12 STEM resources, from standalone models and simulations to short activities and week long sequences of curriculum materials. https://learn.concord.org/

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✅Course sets (Levels 1–5) that combine and thoroughly cover phonics, reading, writing, spelling, literature, grammar, punctuation, art, and geography—all in one easy-to-use, beautiful course. https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/

✅At home OT, PT, and ST resources designed to build skills in children through movement and play. https://www.theottoolbox.com/

✅Science projects that can be completed with or without Internet access https://sciencespot.net/Pages/classhome.html

✅Keyboarding practice https://www.typingclub.com/ or https://www.typing.com/

✅Short videos and readings that answer various burning questions for students. There are vocabulary challenges and comprehension questions. http://wonderopolis.org/

✅Math practice https://xtramath.org/#/home/index

✅K-5 curriculum that builds deep understanding and a love of learning math for all students https://www.zearn.org/

✅Spelling 1-4 grade https://www.spellingtraining.com/

✅2,500+ online courses from top institutions https://www.edx.org/

✅22 languages to learn https://www.memrise.com/

✅Learn to code https://www.codecademy.com/

✅Miscellaneous games for all subjects k-8 https://www.funbrain.com/

✅PreK - 5 games for all subjects https://www.turtlediary.com/

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✅Online digital coloring pages https://www.thecolor.com/

✅Every course you could possibly want to homeschool preschool - 8 https://allinonehomeschool.com/

✅Every course you could possibly want to homeschool for high school https://allinonehighschool.com/

✅Phonics worksheets for kids https://www.funfonix.com/

✅Free stories online ages 3-12 https://www.freechildrenstories.com/

✅Learn all about earthquakes https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/

✅Learn all about the periodic table https://www.chemicool.com/

✅Farmer's almanac for kids... Date, weather, moon phase, etc. https://www.almanac.com/kids

✅Guide to gardening for kids https://web.extension.illinois.edu/firstgarden/

✅Space science for kiddos https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub/index.html

✅NGAkids interactives offer an entertaining and informative introduction to art and art history. https://www.nga.gov/education/kids.html

✅Environmental news and stories  https://www.youngzine.org/

✅Randomly generates 8,286,052,608 story starters

https://thestorystarter.com/

✅Immerse yourself in cryptography https://www.cryptoclub.org/

✅Math games galore https://gridclub.com/

✅Tons of science experiments that you can do at home

https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/

✅An interactive way to learn history

https://www.mission-us.org/

✅Just explore, have fun, and learn some science along the way. https://thehappyscientist.com/

✅Interactive games based on the book series

https://www.magictreehouse.com/

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✅Learn all about cells https://www.cellsalive.com/

✅All sorts of learning here if you dig in https://www.google.com/earth/

✅Texas UT Tech Boot Camps Blog that holds many resources for children to get into coding https://techbootcamps.utexas.edu/blog/coding-tools-for-kids/

✅A wonderful, endlessly detailed way to get kids engaged in the world of art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/metkids/

✅Tests kids’ geography skills. Using images from Google’s Street View, it plops players down in the middle of the street and asks them to figure out where they are. https://www.geoguessr.com/

✅Allows students to type in any city, state, or country to view an archive of historical photographs and other documents. It’s a unique way to help them learn about history.

http://www.whatwasthere.com//

✅Short videos about numbers that help kids explore complex math topics and make math more fun. https://www.numberphile.com/

✅A human visualization platform that allows students to explore the human body in really cool ways. https://human.biodigital.com/login?returnUrl=/dashboard

✅Helps kids learn to appreciate the arts by providing them with the opportunity to play games, conduct investigations, and explore different forms of art. https://artsology.com/

✅Lets kids play instruments online. Instruments include the guitar, piano, pan flute, drums, and bongos. https://www.virtualmusicalinstruments.com/

✅Crafts, activities, bulletin board designs, and finger plays for early education teachers and parents to use with kids.

http://www.preschoolexpress.com/

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✅A large selection of fun songs to help teach preschool and kindergarten students https://www.songsforteaching.com/preschoolkindergarten.htm

✅Resource section includes free flashcards, coloring pages, worksheets, and other resources for children, teachers, and parents. https://supersimple.com/

✅Life skills curriculum for students in grades K-12. Their resources include strategies for teaching social and emotional skills. https://www.overcomingobstacles.org/

✅No need to travel to one of the Smithsonian’s zoos or museums — this website brings your child everything from live video of the National Zoo to the Smithsonian Learning Lab right to their screen https://www.si.edu/kids

✅Cool Kid Facts gives your child access to educational videos, pictures, quizzes, downloadable worksheets, and infographics. They can use these to learn about geography, history, science, animals, and even the human body.

https://www.coolkidfacts.com/

✅This interactive website, hosted by the U.S. Government Publishing Office, allows your child to see the ins and outs of the U.S. government by taking a series of learning adventures with none other than Benjamin Franklin. https://bensguide.gpo.gov/

✅This NASA initiative covers a wide range of topics including weather, climate, atmosphere, water, energy, plants, and animals. https://climatekids.nasa.gov/

✅Ask Dr. Universe is a science-education project from Washington State University. Kids can send Dr. Universe any question they may have about history, geography, plants, animals, technology, engineering, math, culture, and more.

https://askdruniverse.wsu.edu/

✅Your child can play games, learn fun facts, and find out how to turn coin collecting into a hobby. https://www.usmint.gov/learn/kids

✅From rainbows to tornadoes and winter storms to tsunamis, meteorologist Crystal Wicker breaks down the fascinating world of weather. http://www.weatherwizkids.com/

✅Kids Think Design explores careers in fashion design, graphic design, interior design, book design, product design, film and theatre, architecture, animation, and environmental design. http://www.kidsthinkdesign.org/

✅This educational website hosted by the Smithsonian Museum takes a deep dive into ocean life. https://ocean.si.edu/

✅Brainscape offers over a million flashcard decks for every subject, entrance exam, and certification imaginable. https://www.brainscape.com/

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✅The Theta Music Trainer offers a series of online courses and games for ear training and music theory.

https://trainer.thetamusic.com/en

✅Banzai exposes students to real-world financial dilemmas to teach them the importance of smart money management. https://www.teachbanzai.com/

✅Innerbody explores the 11 bodily systems in depth. With interactive models and detailed explanations, this website will help them learn more about the internal mechanics of the amazing human body.https://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html

✅Alcumus is specifically designed to provide high-performing students with a challenging curriculum appropriate to their abilities https://artofproblemsolving.com/alcumus

✅Find and fix learning gaps https://www.mobymax.com/

✅Algebra games for kids https://www.dragonboxapp.com/

✅Fractions practice http://www.mathchimp.com/freddysfractions.php

✅Education for kids all topics https://www.ducksters.com

✅Math and logic problems for ages 5 and up to adult

https://www.aplusclick.org/

✅Science podcasts to listen to with your kids https://medium.com/…/19-great-science-podcasts-you-can-list…

✅Alaskan Wildlife cams http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=viewing.webcams

✅Coding with Star Wars https://code.org/starwars

✅Tons and tons and tons of games some learning some just fun https://www.crazygames.com/

✅Crafts, projects, science, recipes for young children https://www.funology.com/

✅Amphibian unit studies https://premeditatedleftovers.com/…/amphibians-unit-study-…/

✅Engineering challenges with things you have at home

https://thehomeschoolscientist.com/paper-structures-engine…/

✅Online photograph jigsaw puzzles You can set the pieces from 6-1000+ https://www.jigsawexplorer.com/

✅Toddler and preschool age ideas https://preschoolinspirations.com/

Great information on teeth and the digestive system https://www.clintondentist.com/teeth-and-the-digestive-system

Other Resources
The following resources are free help for any issues you or someone you  may need assistance for.
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ImmigrationHelp.org is a nonprofit that provides free immigration services for Work Permits, DACA, and Citizenship.
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