77 Best Educational YouTube Playlists for Learning at Home
There has never been a better time to explore the entertaining world of educational videos. You can find great channels on every subject imaginable on YouTube, for free. Education does not have to look like textbooks and worksheets all day long. Sometimes your kids need a break. But they are also curious. Video’s can be a fun and easy way to keep them busy and learning or a good alternative to the next boring assignment. Inject some fun, interest, and excitement into your child’s learning day, without any extra work on your part with these great channels.
Playlists are organized by subject. Within each category you will find resources for preK first, continuing in age level, listing high schooler level courses last. You can use the Table of Contents to click directly on the subject you want watch. Then just scroll to a playlist for the correct age level. You will find suggested grade levels in the description below each video along with any other information you migh need to know about the playlist that are not obvious from the video thumbnail. You can click right on the video links to get started. I am linking directly to relevant playlists. You can see the next several videos in the playlist by hitting the pause button. Thumbnails of the next episodes will appear at the bottom of the screen. There is a short description of each playlist below the embedded video link.
Table of Contents
Literature
Stories are priceless. Spending time listening to, watching, and reading stories is one of the best ways for your kids to spend their time. Not only will they become well versed in literary classics, but they will be able to expand their world. Stories are also excellent for developing emotional well-being.
Popular picture books for 2-5 year olds, read aloud.
This is a 20 minute video in which several great books for preK are read aloud.
Short retellings of classic fairy tales for kids.
Storyline Online is a channel created by SAG-AFTRA, your kids can listen to picture books read by famous actors and actresses.
A collection of children’s classic picture books read aloud. Great from Prek through elementary.
A few more fairy tales.
Here is a playlist of stories starring animals.
List of classic stories for kids in upper elementary or middle school. These are longer chapter books, read audiobook style. (No need to watch the video, a great choice for listening while coloring or solving a puzzle.)
High school literature 1, you can continue on with 4 more similar courses, but start here.
This is an awesome course, but best saved for high schoolers, because of some of the questionable content present in many myths. However, the show handles it delicately, yet honestly. If you have a younger child watch a few episodes to see if you think it is appropriate first.
Poetry studies for high school students.
Reading
First step, level 1 videos, playlist includes 6 videos ranging from 2 minutes to 25 minutes long. If your kids want to watch these over and over and over again, let them. Repetition is part of learning once they know everything presented they will get bored and ask for something new.
Next step, level 2 alphablocks videos. Another 6 videos, ranging from 7 - 20 minutes in length. Again, repeat as requested by your child. Learning is not a race to get to the end. It is a process to relish and enjoy.
Letter teams, step 3 includes 7 video’s between 4 and 35 minutes in length.
Letter blends, level 4 consists of 8 videos, several are only 1 minutes in length, while one is an entire 55 minutes. Don’t worry if your kid gets bored and you need to pause the long one. Once they zone out, they aren’t absorbing anything. Boredom and learning are like oil and water. Let them go play. Then come back later when they are ready for more.
Long vowels, level 5, 10 videos between 4 minutes and an hour.
This playlist focuses on rhymes. Understanding rhymes is very important for begining readers. There are 12 videos here between 7 and 23 minutes in length.
If your child can’t get enough of Alphablocks, there are many more great playlists on their channel.
This 50 minute video takes kids through the alphabet with the Starfall video for each letter. I highly reccomend signing up for Starfall (it is free). Your child can play on a computer or you can download an app. They have activities for grades preK-3rd.
A series of phonics songs for little ones.
Writing
This playlist guides children in how to form each letter of the alphabet. There is a separate video for each letter and then a video for writing numbers. Learning how to form letters takes a lot of fine motor skills and repetition. First, just focus on letting your child form the lines and shapes correctly. Let them draw imaginary letters in the air, draw them in a tray of sand or shaving cream on the sidewalk with chalk, or on a personal-sized whiteboard. Only move to paper after your child has had lots of practice with the motions. Once on paper they have to practice sizing and proportion which requires another level of skill.
Easy to digest, short grammar videos for middle school or high school.
A few more great grammar guides.
Give your high school student the nuts and bolts of good essay writing with this video series.
Math
Numbers songs for grades PreK through 1st.
Vi Hart is a channel my kids love to watch over and over again. She is a mathematician who also loves are and cooking. Great for elementary through high school. Videos are between 2 and 15 minutes. This is a great resource for getting kids inspired and curious about math.
Fascinating video about a variety of intriguing math concepts. These videos cover complex math concepts. Great for the mathematician in your family, but also fun for everyone else. I reccomend for high school, but some upper elementary students will enjoy these also.
These finance video are a great way to educate high shool students so they can make smart financial decisions in the future. Each video is just a few minutes long and the Schmoop channel does a great job with explaining complicated concepts in ways that students can easily understand.
Statistics for high school.
Science
Great series of 30 minute documentaries designed to teach kids about our world.
These videos are 3 or 4 minutes, high quality on various science topis for early elementary. 100 videos should keep your kids busy and learning the basic concepts needed for a strong foundation in science.
Science max is an engaging fun show. This playlist has 130 videos, each about 10 minutes in length. A fun way for elementary kids to study science.
This playlist, Awesome Nature, covers all kinds and interesting details of nature in simple 5-minute videos. Great for any age.
Animals for kids playlist by Freeschool is full of fun facts and short videos that kids from PreK through elementary will enjoy.
Electricity and Magnetism explained for elementary school students.
Optics and Light explained for elementary students.
Kurzgesagt is a science channel that puts a lot of research into the concepts they present. It is geared towards adults, however, many of the topics they cover are suitable for children and my kids start loving these videos in late elementary school. This playlist is all about stars and space.
Mark Rober has a great series of science videos where he does a lot of crazy things. I think middle school students especially will enjoy his topics and antics.
Do you have a little engineer in your house? This series takes them on a journey through various designs and why the engineering behind them. Easy enough for elementary students to understand, but complex enough to be of interest for high school students considering engineering as a career choice.
These minute videos are packed with intricate physics concepts. I am placing this right in the because I think they are great for all ages. You just can’t get complex concepts explained any better than this.
Some basics of chemical elements for high schoolers.
Chemistry course for high school.
High school chemistry.
Physics for high school.
Physics for high school.
High School biology.
Biology for high school.
Anatomy & Physiology for high school. A good companion for the biology course.
Engineering for high school.
History
These 5 minute videos take kids on a journey to various places in history and introduces them to the people of history. Easy enough for young kids to understand, but detailed enough that older kids and even adults will probably learn something while watching.
Historic biographies for children, 5 minute videos.
Why not let your high schoolers study both science and history at the same time, from a new angle? This thought-provoking series might just ignite their love of both subjects.
AP US History course review for high school students. We love this host, Tom Richey. His videos are very informative and engaging.
European history for high schoolers (I use crash course for upper elementary and middle school also.)
These 5 minute videos go over the basics of archeology. A great playlist if you have a high school student who is intrigued by the subject or considering it as a career choice.
Geography
Geography songs for little ones learning the countries of the world.
Famous landmarks of the world for elementary kids.
This series covers every country of the world. Videos are around 10 minutes and content is geared towards high school level.
This series focuses on explaining the origin and symbolism of flags from countries around the world.
Music
Color songs for PreK.
This is an awesome list of Disney sing along songs for elementary kids. Older kids may have fun belting along with some of these as well. You could even use this list for a fun family karaoke night.
Learn music theory, begining videos for young children.
A collection of classic songs, great listening for any age. Great background music while your kids work a puzzle or try to finish that last math worksheet. Music is great medicine for bad moods.
Music theory for older kids. (Some understanding of basics is helpful.)
Music history videos.
Art
This collection of videos is one part art and two parts information learning. The video that teaches how to draw the structure of an atom goes into more details about the structure of the atom than many chemistry videos. This playlist includes science and history topics. Best for upper elementary through middle school.
Art History
Art history for kids covers several famous artists and some art forms, including animation.
Drawing
I love these step-by-step drawing tutorials for young children. The instructor focuses on using basic shapes and letters to simplify the process for children. There is also a young child drawing alongside the instructor.
For upper elementary kids through middle schoolers, this list of 22 videos is all inspired by Star Wars characters. Disney asked this channel to make these videos.
Also for upper elementary through middle school, this list of 38 tutorials is all about Pokeman.
All the drawing tutorials your animal lover needs! These get a little more detailed. I would reccomend for middle schoolers, or high schoolers who are new to drawing. (May be a good fit for some elementary kids who have advanced drawing skills for their age.
For the serious older artist. This is a massive playlist of drawing tutorials by Mark Crilley. Great for high schoolers who are thinking of going into any visual arts field.
Performing Arts
High school course, great for all those thespians who are stuck at home right now.
Fun and silly summaries of Shakespeare’s plays.
Philosopy
Philosophy for high school.
A great little series about European philosophers by Tom Richey, for high school students.
Economics
Understanding economics is crucial being an informed voter. This course does a good job explaining the basics while remaining politically neutral.
Health
A collection of videos for high school students covering various ascpects of health.
Thinking Skills
Get your kids thinking with these awesome riddles. Great for any age. Encourage them to try and solve them before watching the solution. The video will tell them when to pause and work on the solution. These are great for any age. You can even make it a family activity to try and solve them together before watching the solution.
