Documentaries to Supplement Homeschool Learning
We know screen time is way up, for kids and adults. And while screen-free time is important, there are ways to use the available technology to provoke conversation and introduce our kids to a world they may not otherwise experience. Here’s a list of kid-friendly documentaries to use in your homeschool that both entertain and educate. There’s 36 on the list, plus 20 bonus picks if you want a substitution.
The list is divided into categories to make it easy for you to either dive into a subject area for several weeks, or switch things up regularly. You’ll find a printable list of all 36 documentaries at the end of this post.
Each title is linked to a short trailer to give you a feel for the film. Some of these are on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, or Kanopy. Others you may need to check out from your local library system. Use your library!
Why You Should Watch Documentaries with Your Kids
It’s a big world out there, and most of us will experience just a tiny slice of it. Books are a wonderful way to journey back in time or visit faraway places through your imagination, but the ability of a visual medium to speak to kids about the world is unmatched.
Documentaries can spark interest in something your kids would otherwise never be exposed to. They can educate your kids about different cultures or the natural world. And they provide an opening to begin conversations about topics that need to be talked about. Tweens and teens naturally want to gain more independence in their thinking, and with that comes a reluctance to accept advice from parents. Watching a documentary about the dangers of too much screen time or the necessity of eating healthy, whole foods can introduce opportunities for discussion on a more neutral ground.
Bonus Tips for Homeschoolers
Documentaries are a great way to supplement something you’re studying, or as a general educational resource. I chose 36 films to correspond with the typical 36-week school year. Pick a day of the week for your documentary viewing and make it a weekly event throughout your homeschool year. You’ll find some discussion questions at the end of this post that may be useful for engaging in conversation with your kids after viewing a film. You could also choose a question to use as a short writing assignment.
So, here we go. My list of documentaries you can watch as a family for a year of inspiration, education, and conversation.
Documentaries about People with a Passion
1 // Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable
Story of surfer Bethany Hamilton, who survived a shark attack at age 13 and came back to competitive surfing.
2 // Imba Means Sing
The story of three Ugandan children who tour the world with the African Children’s Choir.
3 // Underwater Dreams
Four high school boys from Arizona, sons of undocumented immigrants, build an underwater robot and compete against prestigious university teams in a NASA-sponsored robotics contest.
4 // If You Build It
A designer and architect invest their time and talent in a low-income school in North Carolina, hoping to inspire a class of high-school students to build a project to benefit their community.
A city-dwelling couple embark on an adventure to build an organic farm.
Documentaries about Interesting Places
6 // LEGO House: Home of the Brick
Part museum, part playground, the LEGO House in Denmark offers a delightful experience for LEGO lovers.
7 // Kedi
Experience Istanbul, Turkey through the eyes of a cat.
8 // The Eagle Huntress
This film follows a 13-year-old girl in Mongolia as she seeks to become the first female eagle hunter to compete in the eagle festival.
9 // Honeyland
The life of a wild beekeeper in remote Macedonia and her interactions with new neighbors.
10 // Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
A journey into the remote Siberian wilderness of the Taiga, accessible only by boat or helicopter
Documentaries to Provoke Conversation
11 // On the Way to School
This documentary follows four groups of children who face myriad challenges as they seek education in the hopes of a better life.
12 // Fed Up
This film focuses on the causes of obesity in the United States, and specifically the role of sugar and processed foods in our kids’ diets.
13 // I Am Eleven
An exploration of the lives and thoughts of eleven-year-olds around the world.
14 // Living on One Dollar
Four friends set out on an experiment to live as over a billion people experience daily: living on one dollar a day.
15 // Runner
The story of a South Sudan war survivor attempting to run in the Olympics.
16 // A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story
The journey of Lizzie Velasquez to become a motivational speaker and anti-bullying spokesperson.
17 // Blindsight
An expedition that brings six blind Tibetan teenagers to climb Everest, led by a blind mountain climber who has already scaled seven peaks.
18 // Ladies First
The inspirational story of a girl born into extreme poverty in India who went in search of food and ended up the number one ranked archer in the world.
19 // Paper Clips
Middle school students in Tennessee collect six millions paper clips in an attempt to understand the scale of the Holocaust.
20 // Happy
A journey around the world in search of what makes people happy.
21 // Screenagers
Explores the impact of screen time on kids.
22 // Waterschool
Six girls living along major rivers around the world learn about water and the importance of education and water conservation.
Documentaries about the Arts
23 // Most Valuable Players
Documentary about high school musical theater and the Freddy Awards given for outstanding high school theater production in one Pennsylvania town.
24 // Sky Ladder
Film that chronicles a Chinese artist whose explosive displays reach for the sky.
25 // Eames: The Architect and the Painter
Film about the life and work or husband and wife Charles and Ray Eames.
Documentaries about Science and History
26 // Apollo: Missions to the Moon
National Geographic’s recounting of all 12 manned missions from Project Apollo using archival footage, photographs, and audio.
27 // Woman in Motion
The story of the part Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols played in recruiting women and people of color for NASA.
28 // Science Fair
High school students from around the world attempt to win the international science fair.
29 // Dream Big: Engineering Our World
A journey to engineering masterpieces around the world.
30 // A Beautiful Planet
Astronauts on the International Space Station capture breathtaking view of earth from space.
Documentaries about Nature and Animals
31 // A Reindeer’s Journey
This film follows a newborn reindeer through his first year of life in the spectacular setting of Lapland.
32 // My Octopus Teacher
A diver develops an unusual friendship with an octopus over the course of a year of diving off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa.
33 // Deep Blue
An epic exploration of life in the oceans that make up two-thirds of our planet’s surface.
34 // Night on Earth
Technology reveals the hidden lives of creatures great and small during night on earth.
35 // Pick of the Litter
Cameras follow a litter of puppies for two years on their quest to become a guide dog for the blind.
36 // Elephant
An elephant herd travels hundreds of miles across the Kalahari desert on an epic journey.
Bonus Documentary Picks for Homeschoolers
Here are 20 bonus suggestions that are equally deserving of a viewing. If your family has seen some of the films listed above or truly aren’t interested in a specific documentary, these would be excellent substitutions.
Minimalism: A Documentary about the Important Things
Filmmakers discuss the benefits of living a minimalist lifestyle, and the futility of our frantic, materialistic consumption to buy happiness.
A documentary about three unique restaurants and the owners who make them great.
A film that examines corporate farming and the food industry in the United States.
Documentaries about Interesting People
A film about Japanese sushi master Jiro Ono and his lifelong quest for sushi perfection.
The life and legacy of Fred Rogers, in his quest to treat children with dignity and respect.
This documentary traces the life and career of legendary investor and businessman, Warren Buffett.
Inspiring story of the first all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World sailing race.
Documentary about a couple who competed on nationally televised game shows a record 28 times, winning enough money to pay off their debt and rebuild their lives.
An exploration of what’s behind the greatness of some of the world’s most renowned athletes.
Free solo climber prepares to climb the 3200-foot face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without a rope.
A behind-the-scenes look at some of the people who make magic happen at Disney.
Documentaries about Kids
A 14-year-old Dutch girl sets out to be the youngest person to ever sail around the world alone.
This film follows nine 11-21 year-olds as they prepare for and compete in the world title at the Irish Dancing Championships.
Students in several New York City elementary schools learn ballroom dancing and enter a competition.
Documentary that follows eight competitors at the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Documentaries about Nature
Emperor penguins march to the south pole in Antarctica.
Follows the adventures of three animal families in China: the panda, golden monkey, and snow leopard.
Short film following hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies on their migratory journey from Canada and the U.S. to a remote area in Mexico.
Disney Nature follows five young animals in different corners of the globe as they grow up and learn to navigate life in our big, wide world.
Follow a young bottlenose dolphins as he grows up near a coral reef.
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Documentary Discussion Questions for Homeschoolers
Engage your kids in conversation about what you’re watching. Ask them what they think about what they’ve seen. If you are using these as a specific learning tool for homeschooling, here are a few ways you may wish to use these questions.
- Choose a few questions that apply well to the film you watched and have a discussion. Let the discussion move naturally to additional areas as your kids wish.
- Pick a question or two that relates to the specific film you watched and use it as a writing assignment. Depending on age and ability, you may require just a few sentences, or a more in-depth exploration of several paragraphs.
- Give your kids the list of questions prior to viewing the film and have them read through the questions to provide a framework for watching thoughtfully. After you’ve watched the film, have them choose a question to discuss or write about.
- Did you identify with any of the characters? Who did you connect with and why?
- What specific facts or information presented stood out to you?
- Did this film introduce you to something you’d never seen before, or an idea you’d never thought of before? What was it?
- Do you think the filmmakers were trying to convince you of something? What? Were you convinced?
- Did this film leave you with any unanswered questions? Is there anything that you felt wasn’t fully explained?
- Would you recommend this film to a friend? Why or why not? What could be improved?
- How would you review this movie? Think about the content as well as the methods of presentation: music, cinematography, structure of scenes.
- Did this movie make you think differently about anything in the world, or in your own life?
Printable List of Kid-Friendly Documentaries
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