We looked at the best educational YouTube channels available for children and evaluated each according to engagement, content, quality, and appeal. Most of these channels cater to middle school and younger kids, but some have content suitable for high school students, as well. If you’re looking for fun, interactive, and enriching material to enhance your children’s screen time, here are our picks for the 21 best educational YouTube channels for kids. Kids Learning Tube currently has more than 140 videos in its library and more than 163,000 subscribers. Select the Playlists tab to find groups of curated videos according to categories such as Earth Science, Famous Inventors, Motivational Songs for Kids, and much more. With praise from parents and teachers alike, Kids Learning Tube is a must-stop channel and an amazing resource for families. Along with videos that address a single topic, the TED-Ed playlists group videos according to subjects, such as Love and Superhero Science. TED-Ed also has multi-episode series, such as There’s a Poem for That and Think Like a Coder. While most preteens will love this channel, many of the videos are appropriate for younger kids, as well. Learning playlists for older students include a series of videos in partnership with Arizona State University to teach both the subtle and specific elements of being a good writer. Artificial intelligence, navigating digital information, and engineering are a few topics students can dive into with this excellent learning resource. Free School’s excellent, engaging videos are geared toward children in grades three through six, but both older and younger kids can find content that appeals to them. Whether you homeschool or not, Homeschool Pop videos are an excellent and entertaining resource. These videos are great for kids from kindergarten to about fourth grade, but younger kids with keen curiosity will love these too.
Netflix Jr. is a great channel for kids from Pre-K to second grade. Some of these videos might also appeal to third and fourth graders. While there are some videos dedicated to younger kids, Khan Academy is best for middle school and high school students. Investigate oceans, the desert, and outer space with the Explorer Academy series, or join Barbie’s adventures as she encourages imagination, expression, and discovery through play. National Geographic Kids is best for kindergarten through fifth-grade students, though some older and younger kids will also enjoy many of these videos.
This YouTube channel houses a host of shows, including Making Math Fun with Danica McKellar and Women We Love. Other subjects include composting, voting, getting involved in your community, and much more. While this channel is a must for elementary and middle-school girls, boys will also get a lot out of this material.
Host Joe Hanson is engaging and entertaining and never condescending as he breaks down complicated information into easily digestible chunks. Videos tackle the food chain, engineering, success, weather, and many more subjects. No new videos have been added to this site in a while, but the information there is still valuable. These videos are best for children in kindergarten through fourth grade. This channel is best suited for kids who are in third through sixth grade, but younger kids will also enjoy some of the simpler videos.
These videos are geared to preteens and older students, but anyone who likes a catchy beat will learn from and enjoy this material. Mr. DeMaio’s educational YouTube channel is best for second through fifth-grade students. Mathantics is best for kids starting at about fourth grade and continuing through middle school. Video topics include time, addition, subtraction, division, counting, and much more. These videos are geared toward kids in kindergarten through sixth grade. The channel explores some topics your child won’t see anywhere else, such as people in recovery sharing how they got sober, what incarcerated women in prison are like, and the experiences of suicide survivors. All the content is delivered in a mature, joyful, and positive way. This channel is appropriate for third grade and up, but parents should monitor content to make sure they and their children are comfortable with it.
Parent and teacher material make this channel a valuable resource.