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Badomero Schoulund
Even if you follow a structured homeschool curriculum with your kids, it can be nice to break up the monotony of computer and book work with educational shows and documentaries found on streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ or Curiosity Stream.
Bill Nye Saves the World is an entertaining and informative science-based talk show hosted by the beloved scientist, Bill Nye. With a blend of humor, experiments, and expert guests, the show tackles various topics like climate change, technology, and health, aiming to educate and inspire audiences to make informed decisions for the betterment of our planet.
This docuseries is great for kids who want a better understanding of the human body and how it works. This show combines leading science with personal stories to make learning about the body more interesting.
If your kids are tired of reading history books, an easy way to get them more interested in the history of our world is by allowing them to watch some history shows on Netflix. Here are some inspiring titles to try.
Through upbeat songs, kids learn the basics of rights and citizenship in the United States. Features music by Janelle Monae, H.E.R., Adam Lambert, Brandi Carlile and more. Very fast paced and information packed.
This docuseries brings the most important events of World War II to life in vivid color. Learn about the leading figures and decisive turning points of WWII through gripping historical footage and expert commentary.
This documentary is based on the real life friendship between Anne Frank and Hannah Gosler. Learn what life what like for the friends between Nazi-occupied Amsterdam through their reunion at a concentration camp.
Trivia Quest combines fun and learning, engaging kids with interactive trivia questions across various subjects. The show encourages critical thinking and expands knowledge, making it an educational and entertaining choice for families.
Ask the StoryBots is a great show for younger kids that always have lots of questions about everything. Why do we have to brush our teeth? Why do we have nighttime? Kids burning questions answered by cute creatures.
For the more visual learners among us, movies and documentaries make fantastic resources for making history fun. My kids and I love the Drive Through History documentary series. Being able to learn history while laughing hysterically is win-win.
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
We also have the chance to live in a rich ancient roman region, with museum, archeological places to visit, Roman gladiators and soldiers historical events. Some of the museums organize hands on activities which are always fun to do.
I must admit there is less and less activities proposed for the teenagers ! Homeschoolers here in France is not as popular as in the USA !
I also use all the tips you gave in your post ! Thanks for all your ideas.
Tania
Chosen for: American History
Chosen because: Easy to implement, Christian perspective
Benefits: The lessons are prepared, are literature rich, and easy to add on to an already full schedule
Why do we love it? I really love how much literature this adds to our week (and it helps me keep diligent with my library borrowing habits.) The Homeschool Legacy unit studies are written and intended as a complete curriculum in and of themselves, but we use it as an American History supplement. The extra geography, art, etc, that we get out of it is just a sweet bonus. (To learn more about how we use it with our existing curriculum, you can check out my review.)
Chosen for: Geography
Chosen because: Easy to reference, edit, and print maps for History lessons
Benefits: Contains World, American and Biblical maps as well as Maps organized by lesson for The Mystery of History.
Why do we love it? Aside from the very large resource of maps in one little software program (which is enough to love right there,) the two things I love most about WonderMaps are that I can pull up the Mystery of History Table of Contents and go straight to the map I need (instead of copying the map out of the back of the History book,) and that I can edit the maps before printing them. (Yes, I have a post about WonderMaps, too!)
Chosen for: Historical Literature
Chosen because: Ease of containing and reading books
Benefits: Works great with Heritage History, not to mention appropriate history-related Kindle freebies
Why do we love it? Well, first because we like our tv. We watch a lot of movies. But one of the biggest reason I love Netflix is because of the large amount of educational content. Sure, you have to weed out some less than great documentaries but we have found a lot of good ones, too. Documentaries can give you a visual of far away places and people.
I also want to mention that we have a lot of great Usborne books that are History or Geography related. We have several atlases and historical encyclopedias. Having a good collection of reference materials is also good when you want to do further research on a particular subject you have covered in a History lesson. I sort of have an addiction to reference materials. =)
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Wow! Thank you for some fantastic History curriculum ideas. Although I am a traditional text book kind of homeschooling mom, I love to find terrific supplementary material. You have given me such great links here. Thank you. I am really excited about Heritage History and the Wonder Maps.
Do you worry about the ding that homeschooling can make in your household budget? Or that there will inevitably be things that knock you off your carefully planned homeschool schedule? Have you thought of homeschooling with Netflix?
One way to stretch your homeschool dollars is to utilize resources that you already have. Netflix has 81.1 million subscribers(1) in the US and Canada, so there is a good chance you already have an account.
Did you know you can use Netflix genre codes to bypass the algorithm and search feature? Codes that may be of interest to homeschool families are at the bottom of the post. Simply click the links. You can also add a genre code number to the end of this URL: www.netflix.com/browse/genre/. When looking at program information, the genre is listed on the right side. Click the genre to see more content in that area.
To add a writing component to your homeschool film festival, 3 Moms Blog has created beautiful free printables for film reviews and tracking educational programming for early elementary, middle school, and high school. You can download your free printables here.
Here are 35 selections to get you started homeschooling with Netflix. These can spark interest, deepen learning, or fill in as pinch hitters on sick days. Ratings are included, but please make your own determination as to which selections are appropriate for your preschooler vs. a high school student. Many are perfect for the whole family and make a nice addition to any homeschool curriculum or unschooling effort. Netflix regularly changes its content, so check back for updates.
8. World War II in Color (TV-MA disturbing images, gore, smoking, suicide, violence) 10 Episodes. Learn about WWII in depth with this British documentary showcasing major figures and events.
26. Our Great National Parks (TV-PG, fear) 2022, Limited Series of 5 Episodes. These inspiring nature and ecology documentaries feature President Barack Obama. Some episodes include some food chain scenes, though not extremely graphic.
Would Netflix have this type of thing or is there something else? We did sign up for what seems to be a modified version of United Streaming on our computer through our local PBS station, and while it has some good shows like Liberty's Kids, etc., most of them seem to be geared toward "classroom viewing" and aren't really engaging. My kids would love History Channel and so on, but we don't want to get full cable for it, plus we'd like to avoid the commercials. (Materialistic commercials in general drive us crazy, plus my dc saw a commercial for a documentary type thing about aliens and didn't sleep for a week!!!:tongue_smilie:)
Under Documentary you will find many history channel and Discovery channel selections. I suggest you try a trial version of netflix, so you can get an idea. Many are available on Netflix's InstantWatch (streaming to pc or tv).
I googled it and it looks great! Would you say a 9yr old would like it, or is it over their heads? (She likes the Rick Steves series on PBS, but it's a little slow and she sometimes walks away. This sounds like it might be a better pace than that.)
My kids are watching a NOVA DVD about the Wright Brothers right now. We also just got one about Henry Ford, and one about Faberge eggs. Last week, we watched one on the History of Islam (PBS), the Transcontinental Railroad (American Experience), and Island of Nim. Next week, I have (in my Netflix queue) one about Anastasia, one about Stalin, and Sister Act (we need something fun sometimes, right?).
Well, some time ago, someone posted the following list of chronologically listed films, here on the boards. (I'm sorry, but I don't remember who it was!) I usually start here. Then, Netflix will recommend other movies that are similar, or I'll remember something I've seen and go looking for it. I try to rent one just-for-fun movie for every two documentaries I get. We have also spent time watching favorite old TV series that dh and I liked. I get films for other subjects as well, like Art, or geography, or cultures.
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