New eResources for Children and Teens at Home

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to progress, many publishers, networks and cultural organizations have released material online to continue to provide learning, entertainment and inspiration to the public while they self-isolate or self-quarantine. Our children’s librarian Mr. Oz has compiled some of the best resources for children and teens, divided into those that are open access and those that require a library card. (All of the resources are free.) We will continue to add to this list and if you have suggestions, please email ocotochang@wlsmail.org. If you need help looking up your library card number or don’t know your password (usually the last four digits of your phone .number,) email pelhamlibrary@wlsmail.org.

Stay safe and stay home!

Freely Available

Americas Test Kitchen Kids YouTube Channel—Videos of kids teaching kids how to cook various dishes like sheet pan pizzas.

AudioBookCloud—Free audiobooks, many by middle grade authors such as Dan Gutman, Eleanor Estes and classics such as P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins as well as nonfiction.

Authorfy Creative—Downloadable books with activity packs to boost reading and writing for ages 5 to 13.

Britannica Elementary—Interactive learning about people, places and things for elementary school kids.

Britannica Middle—Interactive learning for middle school students with emphasis on social studies.

Britannica High School —Interactive learning for grades 9-12 with an emphasis on history.

Cincinnati Zoo Home Safari—Every day at 3 pm.

Day by Day — Daily early literacy activities for preschoolers and early elementary school kids. Could be used as an ELA session.

Explore Live Cams —Mesmerizing worldwide live cams of animals and the natural world, featuring African watering holes, sheep barns and puppy whelping rooms.

Guggenheim Museum—Visit from home. All ages but great for teen artists.

Harry Potter At Home. All things Hogwarts.

History for Kids—Articles and quizzes divided by region of the world.

Hour of Code—A free one hour coding tutorial for all ages in all languages.

Jbrary —Online storytime resources for Pre-K.

KidLit TV —Read outloud videos for elementary school children.

Lakeshore Learning—Downloadable lesson plans and worksheets for elementary school students.

Love for the Elderly—Children write cards to send to the elderly.

Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems—A doodling master class with children’s book author Mo Willems brought to you by the Kennedy Center. Every day at 1 pm.

Museum Collections on Google—More than 60 museum collections online.

Museum of Modern Art—Virtual tours through MOMA.

Music by Zev—Facebook Live music show for pre-schoolers by Pelhamite Zev Haber every morning 9:30 am.

Mystery Science—Remote learning mini-lessons for elementary school kids.

New York State Department of Education Continuity of Learning Resources—A new website from the State Education Department dedicated to remote learning

Ology—Science website from the American Museum of Natural History.

PHET Simulations. Interaction science simulations.

Quizizz—Free educational quizzes for grades k through 12.

Sesame Street Workshop —Games, videos and 110 new free eBooks released from Sesame Street for kids at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scholastic’s Learn from Home—Scholastic has given free access to its learning from home portal.

Scratch—Free programming games from the MIT Media Lab for ages 9-16.

Scratch Jr.—Free coding program for ages 5-7.

Teen Book Cloud—Free ebooks including graphic novels.

Weekly Shonen Jump—Free weekly manga chapters for teens.

Resources Requiring a Library Card

ABC Mouse —Educational games, songs, puzzles and video for ages 2 to 8. 

Comics Plus—Collection geared towards older elementary and middle grade readers.

Freegal – A downloadable music service that the Westchester Library System subscribes to. All you need to access the service is your Westchester Library card. Patrons now receive five weekly downloads and three hours of music streaming per day.

hoopla  – A digital media service with half a million titles, from six different formats: Movies, TV, Music Albums, eAudiobooks, eBooks, and Comics/Graphic novels. Note: When registering for a Hoopla account, enter Westchester Library System as your home library. If you receive a message about an invalid or expired library card when attempting to check a title out, please go into Settings, then Library Settings, re-enter your PIN and save your settings.

Kanopy Kids– Kanopy Kids highlights films and TV series that help children develop empathy, mindfulness, and self-esteem through entertaining and educational videos. Kanopy has partnered with Common Sense Media^™to provide developmentally appropriate age rating for videos on Kanopy Kids.

OverDrive for Teens and Kids—eBooks and audiobooks for Pelham Patrons available to download.

NoveList K-8 Plus— Specifically targeting grades K-8, NoveList K-8 Plus provides reader-focused features such as reading recommendations, series information, book reviews, book jackets, and more.

TumbleBooks – An online collection of animated, talking picture books, reading comprehension quizzes, educational games and teacher resources for libraries.

Tutor.com—Now with expanded hours to reach a live tutor.

Biblioteca TumbleBooks – Son libros animados, con ilustraciones que hablan, para enseñar a losniños los placeres de la lectura en un formato que les encantará.