20 Parent-Approved Educational YouTube Channels for Kids
With many families homeschooling or taking part in some element of remote learning, more families than ever are taking advantage of educational YouTube channels for kids. For parents and guardians who are conscious of screen time, our list of 20 parent-approved educational YouTube channels for kids below offer opportunities for kids to learn a multitude of subject matters in an entertaining and engaging way—all while keeping screen time to a minimum.
More: 40 Educational Shows for Kids You Can Stream Now
Utilizing educational YouTube channels can help learning at home in various ways. It can be a launching point for further exploration of a subject at home. It can answer questions in succinct and interesting ways that you don’t feel necessarily qualified to answer. It can be a video that the family watches together so that they can have a related discussion about it afterward. It can also simply fill learning time with quality content when parents and caregivers need to attend to other things.
The Best Educational YouTube Channels for Kids
Here is our list of 20 parent-approved educational YouTube channels for kids:
1. Sesame Street
Best for Toddlers through Kindergarteners
Sesame Street has been around since 1969 covering everything from the alphabet to numbers to life lessons.
Check it out here.
2. Smithsonian Channel
Best for 3rd Grade and Up
Everyone in the family can find answers to questions and satisfy curiosity here.
Check it out here.
3. Life Hacks
Best for 4th Grade and Up
Older kids will be fascinated by all of the things they can learn to do as well as by watching amazing experiments.
Check it out here.
4. TED-Ed
Best for 4th Grade and Up
These are carefully curated, animated educational videos that answer questions of all kinds. It’s a wonderful extension of the famous TED Talk vehicle.
Check it out here.
5. Crash Course Kids
Best for Grades 4-8
This channel offers a very engaging way to learn about science topics which range from engineering to earth science to life science to space science.
Check it out here.
6. Free School
Best for Kindergarten and Up
Free School offers everything from ABC poem videos to detailed explanations of animal life and U.S. history.
Check it out here.
7. Yoga for Kids by Cosmic Kids Yoga
Best for Grades Pre-K through 6th
These videos are perfect for movement breaks and mindfulness moments.
Check it out here.
8. Nerdy Nummies
All Ages with Adult Supervision
Learn how to bake treats themed with your favorite characters and shows.
Check it out here.
9. Mystery Doug
Best for Grades 1-8
Get all your questions answered ranging from how cell phones work to who invented candy.
Check it out here.
10. Hoffman Academy Piano Lessons
All Ages
Easy to follow piano lessons and opportunities to learn famous songs -- even with no experience.
Check it out here.
11. Smart Girls
Best for Grades 1-8
Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls channel is an awesome resource for covering topics like STEAM, manners, info about amazing women, and more.
Check it out here.
12. Go Noodle
Best for Preschool through 4th Grade
This is another excellent choice for movement breaks with fun dance moves and physical education fun.
Check it out here.
13. Storyline Online
Best for Kindergarten through 4th Grade
Famous people read wonderful children’s books on this educational channel.
Check it out here.
14. Mathantics
Best for Grades 3-8
All kinds of math topics are made to be accessible on this channel.
Check it out here.
15. NatGeo Kids
Best for Grades 1-6
Not only does this channel offer National Geographic topics at their best for kids, but they also have read-aloud videos for the entire Explorer Academy book series which is a favorite for 4th-6th graders.
Check it out here.
16. Alphablocks
Best for Pre-K and Kindergarten
Animated letters come alive to teach reading skills in a fun way.
Check it out here.
17. Kids Learning Tube
Best for Kindergarten through 6th
There are so many topics to explore here: the solar system, geography, anatomy, animal songs, and more.
Check it out here.
18. Khan Academy
Best for Middle School and High School
Though Khan Academy is best known for its math lessons, it also covers subjects such as science, the humanities, economics and finance, test prep, and computing.
Check it out here.
19. The Brain Scoop
Best for 4th through 8th Grades
This channel is run by the Field Museum of Chicago. Some children may want adult help with this channel as topics go into great detail on everything from skunk dissection to why King Tut had a flat head.
Check it out here.
20. SoulPancake
Best for 3rd grade and up
This channel is all about the universality of the human experience and inspiration to positively change the world.
Check it out here.
Looking for ways to keep the kids busy and learning during social distancing? Sign up for the Prepared Parent, a daily newsletter filled with everything to help moms and dads in their roles as teacher-parents.
Want more educational YouTube channels that parents can safely approve of? Check out our list of The 25 More of the Best Educational YouTube Channels for Kids!
