Here are my recommended math websites for kids to use directly. See also “Recommended Resources” for websites for teachers and homeschool parents to use.
Comprehensive Instructional Sites for Elementary
The math websites for kids in this section require students to have accounts set up by a teacher or parent.
Zearn
Zearn is the site I use most often for comprehensive instruction. It is a non profit so all of its digital lessons are completely free. The lessons are aligned with Eureka/Engage NY, but you don’t need to use those curriculums to benefit from them. The lessons are extremely well done and many include printable practice sheets (that the digital teacher walks the student through). The teachers are engaging, most lessons use interactive virtual manipulatives, and there is a wide variety of activities. Students receive immediate feedback on every answer and the program moves to intervention when needed.
I have personally used Zearn with 1st-5th grade students. The school where I teach part time intervention uses Zearn as their core curriculum and their students are very successful. Average students can easily use the program independently.One 3rd grade student I tutor had fairly extreme special needs and using Zearn at a lower grade level was very helpful to him. I would only not recommend this one for highly gifted students- I have tried that at a couple of different ages and even setting them above grade level it was too repetitive and got boring.
Freckle
I have used Freckle and while I put it under this section it is actually good only for practice, not actual instruction. It gives pretests and then continuously adapts to each student’s individual skills, so each student is getting the appropriate challenge, whether they’re working at, above, or below grade level. It has a free version that has worked fine for my purposes even for use with a full class. Students choose a character and earn coins to customize it, which they really enjoy. My upper elementary students love Freckle and would even do it at home. For younger students I wasn’t nearly as happy and prefer other sites.
Dreambox
Dreambox is an online learning program for grades K-8 focusing on number sense and conceptual learning. The program adapts to the individual child, providing interactive instruction and assessment. It has both intervention and enrichment resources. Free demo games are available, and teachers/parents can sign up for a monthly or annual subscription. I have used the free demo games and students enjoyed them well enough, but I didn’t love it enough to pay for it
Happy Numbers
Happy Numbers is for grades preK through 5. It uses many virtual manipulatives to help students move from concrete to abstract thinking.
ST Math
ST Math is different than the other sites as it is a visual program that doesn’t use words. It can be especially helpful for ELL students, dyslexic students, or students with learning disabilities, but all students can benefit from it. ST Math games include more than 35,000 puzzles with interactive representations of math topics that align to all state standards. It’s a great supplement (60-90 minutes a week suggested) to build number sense. A free demo version is available. ST Math’s full version is currently free to all Texans- visit stmath.com/texas to sign up!
Instruction and Practice for Middle School
Bytelearn
Bytelearn is a digital teaching assistant for math that helps students step by step in solving math problems, providing help and feedback the way a teacher would. Teachers can create practice assignments and get targeted insights to their students’ knowledge gaps and misconceptions.
Math Apps
Scratch Jr
Coding app where young children (ages 5-7) can program their own interactive stories and games
Minicoders
offers logic games in Roblox for ages 7-12. There are video tutorials, virtual assistant and games where kids learn coding skills while they play. A free trial is available and then plans start at $4.99 a month.
Infinut Math K-2
This app teaches all kindergarten-2nd grade math skills using virtual manipulatives and animated step by step feedback. Parents can download the application and try the first three lessons for free. The full 30 lessons are available with a yearly subscription.
Math Seeds
From the same makers as Reading Eggs, Mathseeds combines highly structured lessons for grades preK- 2 with fun motivational elements such as customized avatars, treehouses (with items added as rewards,) pets (a new one hatches at the end of each lesson,) etc.
Motion Math Zoom
Motion Math Zoom is meant for children to master the concept of place value, the foundation for all math. The app is designed to meet 1st-6th grade standards. There are 24 levels which build up to including decimals and negative numbers. It uses an interactive number line and the pinch gesture on iDevices to allow kids to navigate animals of different sizes that represent numbers (from dinosaurs in the thousands to amoebas in the thousandths.)
Math Fact Practice
Xtra Math
A free web program or app for mastering basic math facts. My own experience is that it works for rote memorization but kids don’t like it and it doesn’t build strategies.
Math Fact Lab
I LOVE this one! If your child needs any practice with any of their facts, this gives them not only that practice but it is strategy based and provides visuals! It’s teacher created, totally free and I have been recommending it everywhere. Check it out!
Math Game Websites
Starfall
My all-time favorite for kindergarten-3rd grade students. It is the only site I currently pay for a membership for my younger math tutoring students, as I find it well worth it. It has several free games, though, with no account required.
Digital Math Games
My favorite for 3rd-6th grade. Created by teacher/homeschool mom Math Geek Mama, this site has over 200 games for 3rd-6th grade (and she will continue adding until every standard has a game!) There is a small charge for this site (which keeps it ad free) but teachers can use one log in for their entire class. Sample games as well as a free trial of the whole site are available.
Legends of Learning
Math and science games for grades K-8. Free student account is required. Students may play in freeplay mode or a teacher/parent assigned playlist. My experience is students enjoy it at first but get tired of it quickly, and it doesn’t advance them in math as much as I had hoped.
PBS Kids Math Games
Many games featuring popular PBS characters (Arthur, Peg and Cat, Elmo, etc) for younger elementary students. These are of surprisingly high quality. I especially love the Odd Squad games. Down the Tubes is a favorite of mine and really challenges spatial reasoning skills! Pienado is challenging in a fun way even for me as an adult. Free and no account required.
Math Playground
Many choices of free games for grades 1-6; some are better than others. These won’t generally lead to a deep understanding of math, but many are a great way to increase speed and fluency with facts or to develop logic skills. There is a thinking blocks section as well which includes instructional videos on modeling and solving problems. No account is required for play.
Multiplication Games
All multiplication games as well as tables for practice. Free and no account required.
Prodigy
I actually have mixed feelings about Prodigy but many kids/teachers love it so am going to include the link. I do use it with tutoring students on occasion. You can play on the website or an app. The game is set in a fantasy role-playing universe where students customize anime-style avatars. They travel around different worlds and battle other characters by correctly solving math problems. Prodigy can be good for practicing/reviewing skills in a format many kids find engaging and fun. Teacher/parent accounts show student data and give you the ability to select which skills questions cover. However, kids are easily able to spend more time wandering around the worlds than actually doing math. Also, while the basic site is free, paid memberships are promoted *heavily* directly to the kids during game play, which is one of the things I don’t like about it.
Greg Tang Math
Online games for kids. This site also has parent/teacher resources including a word problem generator, free downloadable games and activities, and information on his books and speaking engagements
Math Cats
Creative, open ended math explorations for kids. This site has puzzles, magic squares, riddles, games, an elapsed time calculator, examples of mathematical art, ideas for crafts to make, and even a guide to starting your own math club, all with a cat theme!
Math Videos
PBS Math Club
Humorous videos for upper elementary and middle school math topics. Their videos use math in real word contexts (for example teaching distributive property with friendship bracelets, and negative numbers with “thumbs down” on youtube).
Brainpop
Brainpop Jr
These sites require a membership for a lot of the content (all subject areas not just math) but is one I use frequently for tutoring elementary and middle school students. There are short videos, multiple choice quizzes, activities and printouts, and games that are very engaging and educational. Brainpop Jr is for K-3.
Math Antics
Math Antics has 5-12 minute video math lessons for kids to watch on various topics, infusing humor into math. I find these straightforward and very helpful to most students.
Number Rocks
Number Rocks is all math songs for kids.
Jack Hartmann Kids Music
Lots of great math songs for younger kids with an exercise component- I love to use these when kids need some movement! Examples will be counting to 100 while doing different exercises in sets of 10.
Resources and Virtual Manipulatives
A Maths Dictionary for Kids
Animated interactive math dictionary and printable charts
Toy Theater
Toy Theater offers free and easy to use virtual manipulatives for young students including geoboards, pattern blocks, tangrams, abacus, fraction strips, base ten blocks, number charts, clocks. play money and so much more.
Mathigon Polypad
I recently discovered this amazing resource as one of my most gifted 5th grade students uses it often in his free time at home. While Mathigon has wonderful interactive lessons for 6th grade and up, the Polypad can be used by much younger students. The polypad has colorful easy to use virtual tiles including polygons, polyominoes, tangrams, Penrose tiles, pentagon tilings, fractals and 3D solids that students can use to make and save their own designs. It has other virtual manipulatives including number tiles, fraction bars, and fraction circles. It has playing cards, dot cards, dominoes, coins and spinners. And that is only the tip of the iceberg of what the polypad has to offer. I will soon write a whole post about Mathigon, but for now trust me and check it out!
Do you have other favorite math websites for kids? Please leave links in the comments!