With public schools in Oregon now closed until further notice, parents are left wondering how they can ensure their children retain what they have already learned and continue to maintain grade level requirements. In an effort to provide resources for parents who want to help their children, we’ve compiled a large list of possibilities for you to consider. This is by no means comprehensive, but it does provide many free/low cost sites that will help students retain, maintain and gain during school closures.

Some of these sites typically require paid membership; however, because so many schools across the nation have closed, many are offering their service for free. Some give trial memberships, which may be canceled after the trial ends — but set an alert so you don’t forget.

Khan Academy: www.khanacademy.org. Parents/learners will need to create an account on the website, but it is free. Khan Academy offers coursework Pre-K-12 including college testing prep. Nearly every subject you can think of is offered. Khan Academy is a free service and they even lay out the day for you by grade level.

Scholastic: classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html. Focusing primarily on literacy, Scholastic offers lessons for ages Pre-K through grade 6+. Access to the learn at home information is free. This site is brought to you by the folks at Scholastic Books.

PBS LearningMedia: opb.pbslearningmedia.org. PBS offers free learning online through videos. They cover arts to social studies and most subjects in between. PBS offers educational programs for all ages throughout the year, not just during this school closure.

National Geographic: kids.nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic has a free website, just for kids. Children can have fun and learn at the same time. Games, videos, animal information and exploration all await children at NatGeo Kids.

Funbrain: www.funbrain.com. This free site has many ads, but also offers a large variety of games. Offering interactive reading and tasks, games, a math zone and playground children will have a big selection of items to play and learn. There are videos including one entitled “How To Deal With Annoying Siblings,” which has older children sending younger siblings on an unending hunt.

Breakout EDU: www.breakoutedu.com/funathome. Free games available for youth to play and learn. Site features a tutorial for parents and teachers regarding use of the games. Games are categorized by grade level.

Storyline Online: www.storylineonline.net. Stories read to children by actors (many recognizable) from the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild Foundation). The site offers a large selection of books for children, with activity sheets for teachers that could be adapted by parents.

CK-12: www.ck12.org/student. Free lessons for grades K-12 in social studies, science and math. Parents can learn more by joining an online webinar.

Starfall Education Foundation: www.starfall.com/h. This site offers several free learning games/videos. However, it is a subscription service costing $35 per family per year (the $35 is tax deductible). This site focuses on the primary grades, Pre-K to third grade.

ABCya: www.abcya.com. Free subscriptions are available, with some items not available. Paid options are $9.99 a month, $44.99 for six months, or $69.99 for a year-long subscription. Integrated with Common Core, this site offers learning games for students, grades Pre-K to 6+. Game categories include animal, car, cat, food and story games, each indicating the learning level.

Open Culture: www.openculture.com/free_k-12_educational_resources. Despite many ads on this free page, you’ll find a tremendous number of resources as well. Better than a set of encyclopedias, you can find information like famous people from a specific state or a physics comic book. Looking for a specific textbook? You might find it in their free textbook library. Don’t miss their link to free eBooks that can be loaded to Kindle, iPhone and iPads. This site links you to so many other sites it is impossible to list them all.

Highlights: www.highlightskids.com. Everything adults remember about Highlights for Children is here in the digital age. This site offers free learning through games, jokes, exploration, sharing and activities. The hidden pictures section of Highlights is a subscription service, with a free trial for 14 days, $2.50 a month (billed annually) after the trial.

AdaptedMind: www.adaptedmind.com. First month free, $9.95 a month after trial. AdaptedMind offers Common Core-aligned math and reading games to make learning fun. Children earn badges by accomplishing tasks.

The digital world offers so much, there is no reason for children to lose ground because they are not in a classroom. Once school is back in session, these sites could also be used to supplement classroom learning and for research. As always, it is wise for parents to view, use and know what is being presented. Some sites have advertising you may not appreciate, and a large number of sites require login information provided by the schools or school district, so contacting the district office or school may be needed to see if they currently subscribe or if they are planning to join during the closure.

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Pendleton home economist Virginia Justice and her husband have two college-aged daughters.