Best Inspiring and Educational Documentaries to Watch with Kids (Perfect for Homeschooling or Cosy Family Evenings!)

Hey, guys! Today I’d like to share with you some excellent TV-based resources that are great for sharing with your children; that is, documentaries. Documentaries for kids can be great teaching tools; they are informative, entertaining, and can capture or spark an interest in a particular subject. We love using them as part of our homeschooling resources and we have many other blog posts on homeschooling and fun learning activities for children here.

There is an abundance of documentaries for children that are both fun and packed full of facts, and they cover topics from nature to economics and history to modern culture. Here are my top 10 inspiring and educational documentaries for kids.

Living on One Dollar

A great documentary for slightly older children about college students who try to live on just one dollar per day. While some of the story can be sad, it can teach children about real life experiences that can encourage them to help more in their communities. 

Living on One Dollar is part of Amazon Prime Documentaries. You can use my link to get a free 30 day trial of Prime to watch Living on One Dollar at no cost!

Chasing Ice

Chasing Ice is a great way to spark interest on the topic of global warming. The movie features a time-lapse of the glacier retreats that have happened over the years, captured by a National Geographic photographer. Creating and facilitating interest in global warming can help children think about the impact it has on communities as well as the small ways they can be more environmentally conscious. 

Chasing Ice is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Planet Earth

The Planet Earth documentaries from BBC allow you to experience the world from the viewpoint of animals. Children can see up close exactly how different animals survive and everything they encounter. There may be some sad and upsetting scenes due to the real life action that’s caught on camera, but it’s a great documentary that tells the story of animals and how they survive. We have the entire box set on DVD and our girls never get bored of it; you can get the whole set here or use Amazon Prime.

The Dream Is Now

Another documentary that is recommended for older children, The Dream is Now will help get kids interested in world affairs. The documentary illustrates how politics can affect lives and tells the story of immigration reform. There is an official documentary website and you can also find a full version of it on YouTube.

Wings of Life

Geared toward the younger audience, this documentary from Disney shows stunning and colourful footage of bats, birds, butterflies, and more. Kid can learn about how different insects and animals help with pollination. 

Wings of Life is available on Amazon Prime.

Just Eat It: A Food Waste Documentary

Got fussy eaters? This documentary focuses on how much perfectly edible food is tossed out and wasted each year in North America. This documentary will hopefully shine a light on just how much food we actually waste and how what we can do to help cut down on the waste. 

Just Eat It is available on Amazon Prime.

Rosa Parks: The First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement

This documentary of Rosa Parks provides fascinating insight and details about what life was like for Rosa Parks as she fought for civil rights. This documentary is a testament to her unwavering bravery in the face of injustice and cruelty, and how her refusal to give up her seat on the bus sparked a nationwide change that moved to end segregation.

Rosa Parks: The First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement is available on Amazon Prime.

The Statue of Liberty

A documentary that shows the history and architecture about the iconic Statue of Liberty. The documentary features interviews with well-known Americans and immigrants who discuss what liberty and freedom have meant to Americans. 

The Statue of Liberty documentary is available on Amazon Prime.

Continents of the World

This series is made up of 7 parts- one episode for each continent- and teaches children about the world’s culture, history, and geography. Each episode primary focuses on the physical geography of the continent but also goes into the geopolitics, history and nature of each area.

The Continents of the World documentary is available on Amazon Prime.

Cosmic Front

The Cosmic Front is a multi-part documentary that explores the nature and science behind dark matter, stars, black holes, asteroids, and other phenomena of the universe. There are currently 18 episodes that can be watched and each will spark a deep interest in children to learn more about space and what’s really happening up there. 

Cosmic Front documentary series is available on Amazon Prime.

I hope you enjoy watching these documentaries with your children; let me know which other documentaries for kids I should add to this list! If you’d like more tips and ideas for homeschooling or homeschooling resources, see my other home education blog posts. Thank you for reading!