Distance Learning & Home Schooling Resources For Parents
Parenting and supporting your child's education during a pandemic crisis is challenging. We're here to help with some of the most trusted, entertaining (and completely free) educational resources available anywhere.
EARLY CHILDHOOD: Pre-K & Kindergarten
"PARENTALOGIC" - A new digital series from PBS NOVA focuses on the science behind parenting. Being a parent is possibly the most important job you can have. It’s also one of the most difficult—from tantrums to fevers to sleepless nights, raising happy, healthy children and staying sane throughout the process can sometimes feel impossible.
Co-hosted by Dr. Alok Patel, pediatrician and on-camera medical news expert, and Bethany Van Delft, comedian and mother of two, the episodes address common parenting conundrums with humor and honesty. Packed with useful health and science research, the series is a great resource for science fans and expecting and current parents everywhere.
CPTV Kids
CPTV broadcasts 11 1/2 hours of high-quality, trusted PBS Kids programs every Monday through Friday, as well as from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Saturdays and 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Sundays. See the full CPTV Kids broadcast schedule here.
CPTV PBS Kids 24/7 on the Web and on Your Mobile Device
We bring you round-the-clock streaming live TV and interactive games online and on your mobile devices with the Connecticut Public Mobile App. Download it at Apple App Store or on Google Play.
PBS Kids Ready-to-Learn
PBS Kids Ready-to-Learn offers hands-on-activities, apps and videos that families can use with their children to support literacy development and explore science in their everyday lives. All children are born scientists because they are naturally curious. The resources will help families nurture this curiosity by encouraging children to explore, notice, investigate, make predictions and ask questions to help them learn about their world. Some of the resources are designed for use in the home and some can be used in a community-based setting where families gather to explore together.
Ruff Ruffman Family Activities
The Cat in the Hat Family Activities
Ready Jet Go! Family Activities
Play and Learn Science This bilingual (English/Spanish) app is designed as an on-the-go tool for families and their kids ages 3-5 to explore science concepts together as they go about their everyday lives. Notes to families provide ideas for how they can engage with their kids to help them build science inquiry skills, to encourage them to explore, investigate, ask questions and make observations and predictions — just like scientists do.
Science Crafts for Kids Some fun at-home science activities based on your favorite PBS Kids properties. Each unit includes a short video showing the activity in action, along with a detailed PDF that includes a list of household materials needed, step-by-step instructions and background information on the activity to help you along the way.
What's Good Videos A new, six-part video series designed for parents where inspiration and information meet the power of science. Each episode ventures to a new location to meet people from various backgrounds – dancers, poets, musicians, artists, athletes, chefs, conservationists and scientists – and connects their knowledge and talents to a simple, real-world lesson in the area of science.
Games PBS Kids digital games help teach science and literacy-informational text skills through high-quality, educational interactives created for students ages 2-8. They are based off popular series such as The Ruff Ruffman Show, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! and Ready Jet Go!.
PBS Kids Apps Gives kids and parents access to thousands of free videos, including full episodes and clips from top PBS Kids series.
PBS Kids Parents Newsletter Is your child’s school closed due to coronavirus concerns? PBS Kids’ new weekday newsletter offers activities and tips you can use to help kids play and learn at home.
Sesame Workshop "Caring for Each Other" Initiative
Your friends on Sesame Street are here to support you during the COVID-19 health crisis, as families everywhere are creating a "for now normal." Children thrive with structure in their lives, and they learn best through play—even in everyday moments. This website is filled with content you can use all day long to spark playful learning, offer children comfort, and focus a bit on yourself, too. After all, it's important that we take care of ourselves, so that we can best care for our families.
EARLY ELEMENTARY: 1st - 3rd Grade
Find elementary resources and lessons. Inspire your kids with videos, games and activities aligned to state and national standards. Includes "Meet the Helpers," "Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum" and "Science Crafts for Kids," among many other engaging, multimedia resources.
America's Test Kitchen Young Chefs' Club
Explore the world of food and cooking with fun activities, recipes and quizzes from America's Test Kitchen.
LATE ELEMENTARY: 4th - 5th Grade
PBS Digital Studios A network of short-form video series that offers fresh and insightful content through the familiar lens of PBS. New episodes are offered weekly on YouTube, Facebook Watch and PBS.org. Series include "Crash Course," "It's OK To Be Smart," "The Art Assignment," "Physics Girl," "Two Cents," "Braincraft," "Soundfield" and many more.
The Great American Read The Great American Read is an eight-part series that explores and celebrates the power of reading, told through the lens of America’s 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a national survey).
- Elementary school titles including Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, Charlotte's Web, The Giver, and The Little Prince
MIDDLE GRADES - HIGH SCHOOL: 6th - 12th Grades
Thinkalong Using trusted source materials from PBS, NPR and local public media stations, Thinkalong is a free, interactive program created by Connecticut Public that helps middle school students think critically about current topics in the media, develop informed opinions, and practice respectful, civil discourse.
The Great American Read The Great American Read is an eight-part series that explores and celebrates the power of reading, told through the lens of America’s 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a national survey).
- Middle school titles including Ghost, The Outsiders, Little Women, To Kill a Mockingburd, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Call of the Wild, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and more.
- High school titles including 1984, And Then There Were none, Another Country, Beloved, Bless Me, Ultima, The Book Thief, Catch 22, The Great Gatsby, The Handmaid's Tale, 100 Years of Solitude, Ready Player 1, Things Fall Apart and more.
PBS Black Culture Connection presents a guide to the films, stories and voices across public television centered around Black history and culture.
The PBS Great Performances Collection Great Performances presents a showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts.
The Election Collection Voting and elections are an essential part of democracy. Keep up with with election news, study the history and process of presidential elections, explore voting rights and engage in classroom debates with these videos, activities and lesson plans. Use the interactive Electoral Decoder to explore electoral college results from previous elections, and predict the outcome of the upcoming election. Resources will continue to be added to this collection through the 2020 presidential election.
Ken Burns in the Classroom Ken Burns and his collaborators have been creating historical documentary films for more than 40 years. Known for a signature style that brings primary source documents, images and archival video footage to life on screen, these films present the opportunity to pose thought-provoking questions for students, and introduce new ideas, perspectives and primary sources.
Rick Steves Classroom Europe This travel program addresses global culture and issues. Short video clips cover a vast range of topics: You’ll take a tour of the ancient Roman Forum; learn why people in Barcelona speak Catalan; ponder why pilgrims trek 30 days across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela; see how and why Switzerland designed its major bridges and tunnels so they could be destroyed at the push of a button; and visit a vibrant market in the south of France.
COLLEGE & CAREER
American Graduate - Getting to Work:
• Making the Future See short video stories of up-and-coming young manufacturing talent across Connecticut.
• Getting to Work In Connecticut, there are extensive opportunities available to 18-25 year-olds for middle-skill, springboard jobs in industries that are specifically of high demand throughout the state.