Netflix Summer School: our favorite educational kids' shows

Here in the San Fernando Valley part of LA, it's been in the nineties pretty much every day for a month. I am a big fan of shutting kids outside to play (A BIG fan. Seriously.) but the blazing heat of the afternoons can melt even MY mean mommy heart. After all, people didn't really live here before there was air conditioning.

My kids do a lot of reading and crafts (mostly thanks to Kiwi Crate) in the summertime, but they also get to watch TV in the summer. Because as much as I love an unplugged childhood, there really are some GREAT educational shows available. An hour or so of TV in the afternoon means my kids might just learn something while also not making a mess of the house. Hooray!



In case you also enjoy smart, tidy children, I figured I would share the list of Netflix shows from which my kids are allowed to choose for summer viewing. My kids range in age from one to thirteen, Lulu is a pretty bad TV watcher (so annoying). But (with the exception of one of these shows) the rest of the kids will pretty much all sit through any of them.

If you're logged into Netflix, clicking on the title should take you right to the show.



1. The Magic School Bus

This is a goofy show, and if you let your newly-teenaged science-minded son watch it with the little kids, he will not be able to help but point out the many, many plot holes in each episode.

But it's fun and informative and my little kids really remember facts and concepts from each episode.

Also available on DVD: The Magic School Bus: The Complete Series




2. Wild Kratts

When I did my first roundup of the kids' favorite shows on Netflix, you guys could NOT believe we had never seen Wild Kratts. So we gave it a try.

And I'm really glad we did. It's entertaining and original, and the relationship between the brothers is sweet, and they even use phrases like "was DESIGNED to" when talking about a particular creature. Yay!

I did have to ban the singing of the theme song in the house, though.

Also available on DVD: Wild Kratts: Wildest Animal Adventures




3. Bill Nye the Science Guy

I worry that parents these days hear the name Bill Nye and think that he's an atheist anti-Christian zealot. But that's not true. Mr. Nye considers himself an agnostic, and is well-known for his position that Biblical creationism is bad science and shouldn't be taught in schools. He participated in a 2014 debate with the Kentucky Creation Museum CEO Ken Ham, arguing against a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis. But that position is absolutely compatible with Catholic teaching on creationism. (I wrote a whole post on that topic here.)

So, anyway, all that to say . . . I grew up watching and loving Bill Nye the Science Guy and I could not be more excited that they just got season one on Netflix. I think the show holds up really well. My kids don't recognize the celebrity guests, but they probably wouldn't recognize current celebrity guests either.

Mr. Nye has a great way of explaining complex concepts in a way kids can understand and retain, and there's plenty of humor to go along with the science.

Also available on DVD: Bill Nye the Science Guy




4. Dear America

Remember when I told you there was one of these show that not ALL the kids are crazy about? Well, it's this one. But Betty loves it, and I do think if I could get the boys to sit through it, they would appreciate the personal glimpse into a specific moment in history that each episode gives the viewer. But. The stories are very girl-centric, and there are hints of romance, and the boys all bailed out without waiting to see how it turned out.

The series is based on the book series of the same name, and was made in 1999 and 2000. I've only watched a couple of episodes with Betty, but so far I really recommend it for girls who like American Girl-type engagement with history. The stories are pretty intense and feature tragic experiences for the main characters, but that's how history goes, right? No blood and guts, but just the intensity of the story lines may be too much for sensitive or younger kids.

Not available on DVD.





5. Modern Marvels

Some of the modern marvels are more, um, marvelous than others. There's an entire episode, for instance, on food trucks . . . which I'm not sure deserve the title. But still, my oldest's engineer brain loves learning about the inner working of just about anything. Even a food truck.

Also available on DVD: Modern Marvels: Top Ten (History Channel)

He also really enjoys the Nova Science series, which he recommended in this post:

The Very Best Shows on Netflix . . . according to my kids

And that's my honest opinion. But this is a sponsored post.




What are we missing out on? What are YOUR kids' favorite educational-ish shows?

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Read the rest here.