20 Educational Shows that Your Kids Will Love!
We don’t watch a lot of television during the school week, but when we do, it’s YouTube videos that can better explain topics we are discussing or educational shows.
Below is a list of our family’s 20 favorite educational shows that can be found across multiple streaming services and on dvd.
I would say most of these are geared towards upper elementary and younger because that’s where my kids are. 🙂 Some older kids might find a few of them interesting still, though! You never know!
Because we are a homeschooling family, I utilize these shows within that schedule, but these shows are, of course, great for families who don’t homeschool, too. And many of them are great for kids not even old enough for “official” schooling yet!
Note: When I list the streaming services where you can find show, it doesn’t always mean it’s included with your subscription (such as on Prime) and it’s availability on said service can change at any time. So I apologize if something is no longer available to watch when you’re reading this!
Also…If you didn’t know, you can add the PBS Kids Channel to your Amazon Prime account for $5.00 a month.
So without further ado and in no particular order…
#1 Number Blocks
This has been a great educational show for reinforcing basic number sense with younger kids or even older kids that just aren’t understanding. It covers counting numbers up to 100 and beyond, basic operations, odd and even numbers, and more! It’s full of colorful base ten block people singing a lot of catchy songs and your kids will learn so much and not even realize it. 🙂
Available on Netflix and YouTube
#2 Leapfrog
We’ve been using the Leapfrog DVDs since my oldest was probably 3…and she’s 9 now!
When I taught Kindergarten in a public school, my Kindergarten team would even recommend The Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory to parents of students who needed some more practice with letter sounds and word blending!
They are very well done and all three of my kiddos have enjoyed them. My younger two still like watching them!
There are shows for letters, word blending, learning to read, shapes, numbers, and more. I highly recommend any of these in your home whether you homeschool or not!
Available on Prime Video, DVD, or The Roku Channel
#3 Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
A sweet show based off one of my childhood favorites, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. Young ones love the stories of Daniel Tiger with his family and friends as he learns about his feelings and life lessons.
Available on PBS Kids, Prime Video, and DVD
#4 Mother Goose Club
We discovered this gem on Netflix when my middle daughter was around 18 months.
She loves music and LOVED this show. In no time at all she was singing along to lots of nursery rhymes! My youngest was a newborn at that time but ended up really enjoying this for quite some time as well after hearing the songs when her sister was watching. 🙂
Some of the songs feature real kids dressed up as different nursery rhyme characters and other songs use animations of them. I guarantee you’ll get tired of listening to this, but it’s a great show for little ears!
Available on Netflix, Prime Video, HappyKids, and DVD
#5 Danny Go
I know Blippi is a go-to for some families, but we found this show after signing up for a Yippee subscription last year.
It’s a similar concept with a man named Danny Go going around and introducing kids to different places and things such as camping, a trampoline park, slime, etc. with his two friends Pap Pap and Bear Head.
There’s some fun dance along songs that my girls enjoyed dancing to as well. Their favorite is probably Pumpkin Pie from the Thanksgiving episode! 🙂
Available on Yippee TV
#6 Curious George
From a book series that began in the 1940’s, Curious George has been around a long time!
We love all the predicaments George always gets himself into while learning about all kinds of different science topics from life cycles and beaver dams to rockets and magnets.
A classic children’s show in my opinion and enjoyed by our family still today.
Available on PBS Kids, Prime Video, Peacock, Hulu, and DVD
#7 Word World
Word World is a clever show that made it’s debut on PBS. It wasn’t on my radar until my oldest had already outgrown it, but I would still turn it on sometimes for my younger two.
The premise is a bunch of animals that have bodies made up of the letters in their name. For example, the dog’s body is made up of the letters D, O, and G. They also live in a world where most objects are also made up of letters.
I like this one because it gives a great visual for how to spell lots of words, plus the show does some word building as well!
Available on PBS Kids and Prime Video
#8 Super Why
Another good educational show from PBS is Super Why.
While all of my girls have watched this one, it’s my youngest that has enjoyed it the most. I don’t know what got her hooked, but when she was 2, this was one of her favorites!
If you’re not familiar with this one, the plot is about a boy named Whyatt Beanstalk and his friends that turn into “Super Readers” to go into a book to gather Super Letters to help them solve their Super Big Problem.
Honestly, it doesn’t make a lot of sense from the description (haha!) but it will once you see it.
This show touches on letters, words, spelling, and early reading.
Available on PBS Kids, Prime Video, and DVD
#9 Octonauts
I think we were late the game on this show, but we began watching it last year when we were going through our Gather Round Homeschool Oceans Unit.
It was a hit!
Based on the children’s books by Vicki Wong and Michael C. Murphy, this show brings to life the sea creatures living in the very Jacques Cousteau-ish Octopod.
The Octonauts teach kids about MANY sea creatures and their environments and always show a real life picture of the creature being discussed at the end of each episode.
I used this show to to further expand on the creatures we discussed on any given day and so we skipped around through the seasons. However, it would be a wonderful series to watch all the way though, too!
Available on Netflix, Prime Video, and DVD
#10 The Berenstain Bears
This one is a no-brainer for me. I loved these books as a child myself, so reading them to my kids and occasionally watching the shows is an easy choice for me. 🙂
Even if you’re not familiar with the Berenstain Bears, know that a moral or safety lesson is learned during the course of each episode. It’s a wholesome, family-centered show that is sometimes hard to come by today!
Available on Prime Video and DVD
#11 The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That
Now perhaps some of you didn’t know about the Berenstain Bear but surely we all know The Cat in the Hat! 😉
This educational show covers tons of science topics from nature to space to weather and lots of things in between! We often watch this show to go along with a certain topic we are covering that day or week in our homeschool.
Available on Netflix, Prime Video (the movie length ones), The Roku Channel and DVD
#12 The Magic School Bus
If you’re a 90’s kid like myself, then this show is likely a flashback to your elementary school days! The original wacky Miss Frizzle and her school bus are still alive and well for your little ones to enjoy as well.
This show is another example of one I use in our homeschool to go along with topics we are learning about. Even though there is a newer Magic School Bus with much better animation (see #13!), we still watch this one sometimes because it covers different topics than the new one!
Available on Netflix, Prime Video, and DVD
#13 The Magic School Bus Rides Again
Same great show but with new topics and much better animation!
Available on Netflix, Prime Video, and DVD
#14 Ready Jet Go
Out of all of the shows on this list, Ready Jet Go is probably the one we have watched this least. That has nothing to do with how much we liked it, though! It was one that we discovered during the Space Unit we did last year and didn’t watch it anymore after we ended that.
However, if you are learning about space or have young children interested in all things space and rockets, then this is a cute little show that not only entertains, but also educates a little along the way. 🙂
Available on PBS Kids and Prime Video
#15 Angelina Ballerina
You may be asking why I’ve included Angelina Ballerina in a list of educational shows….well, because it is!
Based on the best-selling children’s books first published in 1983 (does it make anyone else feel old that this was nearly 40 years ago?!), the quality of animation has really been stepped up and music lessons are incorporated into every episode!
Your kiddos will learn about tempo, dynamics, instruments, classical music and more. They even have a live-action segment where they show real dancers and musicians sharing their skills.
Available on Netflix and Prime Video
#16 Xavier Riddle and The Secret Museum
I like this show as a way to introduce my kids to historical figures in a very basic way. It’s another show that I will use to supplement who or what we are learning about in our lessons.
Xavier Riddle and The Secret Museum is based on the children’s book series by Brad Meltzer named Ordinary People Change the World. In this show, a boy named Xavier Riddle and his friends travel back in time to meet historical figures from the past depicted as children.
It’s really quite interesting!
Available on PBS Kids and Prime Video
#17 Super Book
Superbook is another show that we only came across this past year with our Yippee subscription.
We love how it brings old and new testament stories alive through animation. In each episode, you follow middle school student Chris Quantum and his best friends (one being a robot) as they learn lessons from the Bible when they travel back in time.
Available on Yippee TV and Prime Video
#18 Wild Kratts
This is one of the best educational shows out there, in my opinion!
Wild Kratts is entertaining, funny, and uses both real life and animation to teach kids (and adults!) about animals and their habitats from all over the world!
My girls love this show an we’ve watched many episodes as we’ve gone through our continent studies. It really helps them retain what they’ve learned about certain animals and habitats when they watch a Wild Kratts episode that further teaches them on that topic!
Available on PBS Kids, Prime Video, and DVD
#19 The Deep
Oh The Deep.
This is one of those shows that we almost never watched because I knew nothing about it, but decided to give it a try during our Oceans Unit Study….and boy are we glad we did!
The Deep has become one of our favorites and we’ve watched every episode! It’s one of those shows that has a plot and needs to be watched in order, so keep that in mind. I also think it’s one that older kids could get into as well! Honestly, this was one of those rare kid shows that I actually thoroughly enjoyed watching with them!
Currently there are three seasons with rumors of a fourth coming out in 2022…we’ll just be over here waiting for that. 🙂
Available on Netflix and Prime Video
#20 Liberty’s Kids
Last, but certainly not least, is Liberty’s Kids.
This has become another absolute favorite in our home! We are a history-loving family and recognize how important it is for our children to know and understand. We just began watching it this school year to go along with the American History curriculum we are studying.
The series begins with The Boston Tea Party and follows Benjamin Franklin and four fictional characters that work at his printing press throughout the American Revolution until it ends with the Constitutional Convention.
Liberty’s Kids was originally broadcast on PBS Kids in the early 2000’s but it harder to find on streaming services now. We were watching it on Yippee, but their license for it apparently expired (that’s what they told me anyway) so we ended up buying it on dvd.
Available on DVD.
I hope this is helpful to you whether you’re a fellow homeschooling family or just looking for some new shows for your kiddos!
Make sure to check out my top 5 number books for young children before you go, too!
