Learning Resources
Looking for Learning Resources? Inspiration to keep going because your child with high learning potential will always keep going? Discover some of the resources available from Potential Plus UK and on the internet
Potential Plus UK Resources
Visit our Learning Activities blogs that are designed to stretch your child that little bit further. Do some tinkering, examine bodies, stoke up the science, be Oulipian, find out if you would survive on the moon or jump off from pumice rafts. We’ve got activities for all.
Keep up to date with courses on our Events page
Why not try some ideas from our It’s Alright to be Bright Information activity booklets?
Members can login to download other activity resources for FREE. These include our 50th Anniversary Challenge Booklet (Download £5, to non-members) and our Let’s Explore Activity Booklets (£3.60 to non-members) on subjects such as Creativity, Maths, Nature, Science, Art and Craft.
Books, Books and More Books – With reviews by members during the Summer Reading Challenge, these blogs are a great way to find some interesting fiction and non-fiction books.
Need a little quiet time for yourself? Got to make that phone call working from home but find something to keep the kids occupied? Our Santa’s Advent Adventures 2019 Calendar is still available on our website. In the first of these there are Plus Portals asking challenging questions and videos on interesting topics. In the second are 24 eclectic videos to find out more on such diverse subjects as coral reefs to self-solving rubik cubes to exploring other dimensions!
Wanting something to do as a family to cheer yourselves up? If you haven’t already tried it, then our Family Fortunes Quiz (originally held at our Big Family Weekend 2019) is now a popular online quiz – and with answers coming from Potential Plus UK members, this is a quiz you really don’t want to miss!
Other Resource Lists and Links
There are some brilliant education resource lists – one such has been made by members of Potential Plus UK and their fellow home educators and can be found at The Education Hub https://theeducationhub.github.io/
Mensa for Kids has some great lesson plans on their website aimed at children with high learning potential. Topics such as Storytelling, Genetics and Fibonacci are just some of those on offer.
Below are useful resource links arranged by subject area.
Adventure Travel Family
https://adventuretravelfamily.co.uk/2019/08/22/100-brilliant-homeschooling-resources-uk-many-are-free/ A links site to books, organising yourself, websites and apps mostly primary level See also their blog: Homeschooling During Coronavirus: 10 Tips for Making The Most Of It! https://adventuretravelfamily.co.uk/2020/03/13/homeschooling-during-coronavirus-10-tips-for-making-the-most-of-it/ and their facebook group Homeschooling During Coronavirus https://www.facebook.com/groups/2522941641143476/
AndNextComesL
https://www.andnextcomesl.com/p/play-ideas-for-kids.html
Hundreds of activity ideas for toddlers and Preschool by sensory play type, by the type of activity or skill you’re hoping to target or develop, by special interests or passions, and/or by season.
See also their Resources to Support Autistic and Neurodivergent Kids page https://www.andnextcomesl.com/p/resources.html with a social story about school being shut.
Learning Resources Workbooks and Activity Sheets
https://www.learningresources.co.uk/free-activity-sheets-for-kids
Covering Maths, Literacy, STEM, Coding, Languages (French, Spanish, German, Czech, Italian and Dutch), Early Years, Outdoor Activities, Educational Games, these workbooks and activity sheets are great for younger ages. You may find them too simplistic for your child’s age and need to choose an older age range.
Twinkl
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/go
A library of free and paid education resources
Education.com
https://www.education.com/resources/
A library of free resources including education worksheets and games.
Home Learning Links and Ideas
https://padlet.com/jodieworldrocks/homelearning2020
Links to paid and free resources
The Kid Should See This
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/
4,500 Videos curated for curious children on all subject areas
Open Culture
http://www.openculture.com/
Cultural and educational media on the web. Includes free online courses, MOOCs, films, lectures, ebooks, audio books, art and images.
OpenLearn
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-development/learning/free-courses-and-content-school-study
The Open University has put together this OpenLearn page which brings together all of their free courses and content for school study.
Top Marks
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/
A links site to educational resources early years to secondary
Techie Home School Mom
https://techiehomeschoolmom.com/online-courses-kids-udemy/ A website with a list of 50 Udemy online courses for children.
The Artful Parent
https://artfulparent.com/
Art activities for preschool and primary
#Colour Our Collections
http://library.nyam.org/colorourcollections/
Libraries, archives, and other cultural institutions around the world share free colouring sheets and books based on materials in their collections
Google Arts and Culture
https://artsandculture.google.com/
Virtual visiting of arts and cultural sites around the world
The Imagination Tree
https://theimaginationtree.com/
Arts and crafts for preschool and primary with a handy stay-at-home survival guide https://theimaginationtree.com/stay-at-home-survival-guide/
Origami Spirit
https://www.origamispirit.com/videos/
Videos With Instructions to Make Origami
Red Ted Art
https://www.redtedart.com/
Arts and crafts for preschool and primary
British Council
https://www.britishcouncil.org/school-resources/find
Resources for teaching English language learning as a foreign language and for native speakers
Oxford Owl for Home
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/
Primary School Reading Resources
Storyline Online
https://www.storylineonline.net/
Videos of American actors reading children’s books
Big History Project
https://www.bighistoryproject.com/home
History since the Big Bang. A free, multi-disciplinary approach that emphasizes skill development for secondary level
Classics Shorts with Mary Beard
https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/classics-shorts-with-mary-beard
Join Mary Beard, Malorie Blackman, Alex Horne, Rosie Jones, Rachel Weisz and the University of Cambridge as they explore modern day themes with a classical spin, discovering how important and relevant the Classics still are today.
Geography Games
https://world-geography-games.com/
Interactive Geography games
Duolingo
https://www.duolingo.com/
Free language learning website
International Linguistics Olympiad
https://www.ioling.org/
Browse challenges and problems from the annual International Linguistics Olympiad which forms part of thirteen International Science Olympiads for secondary school students.
iDEA Awards – Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award
https://idea.org.uk/
Free mini courses in coding, e-safety, colours and other digital, enterprise and employability skills online
InnerDrive
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/education-resources/
Posters and infographics
New York Times The Learning Network
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/learning/students-can-respond-to-daily-writing-prompts-inspired-by-the-new-york-times-at-home-for-free.html
Prompts inspired by the New York Times articles to help students develop their argument skills, and share experiences and observations from their own lives. (Own account: Ages 13+ Younger people need to share a parent account)
Children’s BBC
- Blue Peter Badges
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/joinin/about-blue-peter-badges
Earn a Blue Peter badge or enter an online competition - Cbeebies Radio
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio - Cbeebies TV on iplayer
https://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/cbeebies - CBBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc
Games, puzzles, Blue Peter, Newsround
CBC Kids (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
https://www.cbc.ca/kids/
Pixar in a Box
https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/pixar
Free online courses by Pixar
Oxplore
https://oxplore.org/
An engaging digitial resource from the University of Oxford which employs big questions tackle complex ideas across a wide range of subjects and reflect the kind of critical thinking students undertake at university.
Jigsaw Explorer
https://www.jigsawexplorer.com/
Play ready-made online jigsaws or create your own
BBC Learning
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/coursesearch/
Sadly this site is no longer updated and areas like BBC iwonder are no longer available, however it does still have multiple curriculum links and https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/learn
BrainPop
https://www.brainpop.com/
Activities in various subject areas for primary and secondary. Offering free access if school is closed
Brillder
https://brillder.com/
Paid Resource: Interactive learning units across a range of academic subjects, from GCSE level upwards. The topics are designed to challenge you to think on your feet rather than to test what you know.
Busy Toddler
https://busytoddler.com/category/activities/
Crash Course
https://thecrashcourse.com/
Video courses on various curriculum subjects aimed at secondary
DK Find Out
https://www.dkfindout.com/uk/
Activities and quizzes from preschool to primary
E-Learning for Kids
https://en.e-learningforkids.org/
Free education games and information for preschool and primary
Futurelearn
https://www.futurelearn.com/
Hundreds of free courses from universities, (only pay if you require certification) (Accounts are for ages 14+ younger children can access via a parent account).
National Geographic Kids
https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/
Activities and quizzes for preschool to primary age.
Openlearn
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/
Free taster courses from the Open University. Courses run from adult beginner to advanced level.
Seneca
https://www.senecalearning.com/ A homework and revision platform for KS2 to A level. A mixture of free and paid content.
Ted Ed
https://ed.ted.com/
video-based lessons and talks on all types of subjects
The Kids Should See This
https://thekidshouldseethis.com
Kid-Friendly curated content videos on all types of subjects
What Do We Do All Day?
https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/indoor-activities-for-kids/
Indoor activities and projects for kids
BBC Ten Pieces
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ten-pieces
BBC website with
Algodoo
http://www.algodoo.com/
Design, construct and explore the world of physics
Blockly
https://blockly.games/
Learn how to program a computer with fun games
Brilliant.org
https://brilliant.org/daily-problems/
Courses about seeing maths and science concepts visually and interacting with them. Includes free daily problems and challenges
Code.Org
https://code.org/athome
Learning to code with fun games
Crash Course Kids
https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcoursekids
YouTube Channel on science subjects for primary-secondary age
Crest Awards
https://library.crestawards.org/ Primary science awards – the resource challenge booklets are available to download and try.
The Deep Sea
https://neal.fun/deep-sea/
Travel to the bottom of the sea
Engineering.com
https://www.engineering.com/GamesPuzzles/tabid/82/Default.aspx
Games and puzzle challenges
Excel-Easy.com
https://www.excel-easy.com/
Free beginners tutorial for Excel
Exploratorium Learning Toolbox
https://www.exploratorium.edu/learn
https://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/activities
https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks
Science videos and activities from the American hands-on science museum
Khan Academy
https://www.khanacademy.org/
United States video lessons on most curriculum subjects – with a strength in maths and computing. All ages. Examples of potential timetabling using Khan Academy for different age groups during the Coronavirus pandemic https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZhOdEPAWjUQpqDkVAlJrFwxxZ9Sa6zGOq0CNRms6Z7DZNq-tQWS3OhuVCUbh_-P-WmksHAzbsrk9d/pub
Little Inventors
https://www.littleinventors.org/
Daily inventing challenges for ages 4-12
Live Science.com
https://www.livescience.com/
Science stories from the internet and science magazines
#momentsofmaths
https://momentofmaths.roots2grow.org/
A website dedicated to “finding and keeping moments of maths each week” – includes a weekly challenge
Mystery Science
https://mysteryscience.com/
Primary school science lessons – Paid course but free package of lessons for school closure https://mysteryscience.com/school-closure-planning
NASA Kids’ Club
https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub/index.html
Lots of brilliant activities to explore on topics such as humans in space, the solar system and space tech.
Neuroscience for Kids
https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/questions.html
Questions and answers about the brain and nervous system
Perimeter Institute
https://insidetheperimeter.ca/video/young-minds/
Physics resources, activities, podcasts and videos
Royal Society of Chemistry
https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table
Interactive periodic table
Scratch
https://scratch.mit.edu/
Create stories, games and animation using simple block programming
#SummerMathsPuzzles
https://www.newton.ac.uk/outreach/archive/summer-maths-puzzles/
Maths based puzzles from the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences
3 Weeks of Maker Stations
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T4CZCt8hJqYLVT5ZVYpR7SgHLWDWaaUO/view
PDF booklet of maker station ideas
Tinkercad
https://www.tinkercad.com/
App for 3D design, electronics, and coding
Tynker Coding for Kids
https://www.tynker.com/
Play and learn coding, Minecraft mods etc. This is offering free access to premium courses while schools are closed
Wow Science
https://wowscience.co.uk/
Primary Science Activities
Access Mars
https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/
Explore the surface of Mars with the Curiosity Rover
British Museum
https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/
Virtual tour of the British Museum
Google Arts and Culture
https://artsandculture.google.com/
Virtual visiting of arts and cultural sites around the world
Google Earth
https://www.google.co.uk/intl/en_uk/earth/
Visit the earth courtesy of Google – then try out the latest experimental version at:
https://earth.google.com/web/
The San Diego Zoo
https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/
Videos, activities and games
Yellowstone National Park
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/virtualtours.htm also see National Park Service Virtual Tours for virtual tours of all the USA National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/search/?affiliate=nps&query=virtual+tour