There’s no question that homeschooling (well, any schooling) can sometimes be a drag for both parents and kids. No matter how fun and engaging you try to make the lessons, there are bound to be days (or maybe weeks?) when it just feels like boring old school. You know, the kind of schooling you picture happening in uniform, in old black and white movies.
There’s no doubt that homeschooling puts a lot of pressure on the homeschooling parent. After all, in almost all cases, you’re just one person. There’s only so much variety and engagement one person can bring to the table. That’s not a failing as a homeschool parent., it’s just the reality of homeschooling (or, any teaching for that matter). School doesn’t have to feel like entertainment…but what if it could? At least a little?
One option for adding some fun to your homeschool lessons, is 2cool4school.org. They provide an online, comprehensive and curated list of age-appropriate learning videos for every topic in their grade 1 through 8 curriculums. These aren’t videos created by a single company, instead they’re the “best of the best” of YouTube, each video selected to teach each and every topic, fully vetted by real humans.
Created by a Canadian husband and wife team in 2020, parents of two wonderful elementary school aged kids, 2cool4school was built to help parents keep their kids engaged while learning. After all, isn’t engagement one of the most important aspects of successful learning? The more engaged your kids are, the more they will retain. The more they enjoy the learning experience, the more they’ll want to keep learning. As homeschool parents, we want to build lifelong skills and a positive relationship with learning. We’re building the foundation for future learning. That’s the goal of the founders of 2cool4school.org. To build a foundation for modern, lifelong learning.
Let’s get into the details of this free platform. Each grade’s full curriculum aligns to the Ontario Curriculum and includes comprehensive coverage for Math, Science, English, Health and Social Studies, organized by grade, subject and topic. You can use the platform as a full teaching curriculum for grades 1 through 8 or you can cherry-pick which subject or topic you want to cover with your child. It’s not all or nothing, which is one of the nice things about the platform. Pick a topic or a series of topics and have your child watch some of the best learning material out there…for free. The platform only covers the presentation of the material, so as a homeschool teacher, you’ll still want to either discuss the material afterwards to check for comprehension, or pair the learning videos with worksheets (they’re looking at adding free worksheets to the platform in the future).
You might be thinking, why can’t I just find free learning videos on YouTube myself? Absolutely, you can. But if you want to save time (the 2cool4school team has spent dozens of hours scouring the web for great content) and have the reassurance that the video you choose is age appropriate AND aligns with the Common Core Standards, then 2cool4school is a great tool. The completely free version of the platform has ads and doesn’t include progress tracking. A paid monthly membership of $4.99 removes the ads, includes progress tracking and helps support the service for parents who can’t afford the membership fees. Check out www.2cool4school.org and add it to your homeschooling toolbox. If you like it, spread the word. Keep those kids engaged. Happy learning!
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