Movies for Homeschooling

Here at Hess UnAcademy, we believe that homeschooling should be FUN! That’s why movies for homeschooling should be a regularly included part of the day.

Movies can do so much for homeschoolers! Movies can not only entertain, they can teach facts, relationships, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, positive and negative behavior, and so much more.

Whether you’re enjoying a movie as an official part of your homeschooling day or you’re using these homeschooling movies on days you need a break (or even Summer break!), let it be known that homeschooling with movies is a wonderful and perfectly acceptable way to go.

VidAngel: Your Key to Safe Streaming

Sometimes finding movies that are appropriate for your kids can be hard – especially if they span a wide range of ages. That’s why we love VidAngel, a service that allows you to link to your favorite streaming services and set content restrictions.

That means you can watch a movie without all the cursing, violence, etc. No need to worry about what your kids are hearing or seeing.

It’s great! And right now, our readers can click here to try free for 14 days! You can also learn more in our VidAngel review.

Free Movie vs Book Comparison Worksheets

One of the best ways to include movies in your homeschool is by having your kids do a write-up of the movie after watching it. This is particularly beneficial if there is an accompanying book that your kids can compare and contrast.

Today I am sharing a free educational resource with you! Grab your free movie vs book comparison worksheets and use them anytime you watch a movie in your homeschool. Print them off again and again and have your kids really think about the media they are exposed to, each and every time!

Grab your free movie vs book comparison worksheets now!

What Are Some Good Movies for Homeschoolers?

One of the best parts about homeschooling is the flexibility of choosing your own homeschool curriculum and learning the way that works best for you and your family. One of our family’s favorite ways to explore education is by learning with movies and other media.

We don’t watch movies every single day in our homeschool but they are definitely a regular part of our learning style. Movies can be surprisingly educational, especially if you are willing to get a little bit creative.

Here are just a few examples of how our family, and other homeschooling families, enjoy using movies in the homeschool. Feel free to use these examples in your daily learning, or as a family-friendly backyard movie night adventure!

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Educational Movies

An obvious way to use movies in your homeschool is to choose educational movies that are obviously about a person or a point in time that you want your kids to learn about. This could include scientific movies and studies, documentaries, or historical movies.

 

History movies for kids are a great way to sneak some fun historical lessons in, even if the historical event is not the main topic of the movie.

If you’re willing to look around, you’re sure to find some wonderful learning movies to utilize in your homeschool.

Educational movies and documentaries for homeschoolers can be found on many free and paid streaming services, including YouTube, Amazon, Disney Plus, Netflix, Curiosity Stream, and more. When using Netflix, you might want to try VidAngel for filtering out inappropriate content (VidAngel review here).

Movies with Morals

Just like educational movies can be used to teach kids about history, science, and so on, movies with morals can be used to teach kids good characters and principles.

Kids learn by example, entertainment, and play, and a good and moral movie is a good way to combine all of these elements.

You could use movies that teach your child religious values, or you could use movies that feature characters that emulate behaviors you want your kids to emulate.

For example, I enjoy showing my daughters movies with strong female leads, and I enjoy showing my sons movies with manly men who treat those in their lives well. Many people show their kids movies that teach their kids to be brave or honest or show their kids how to share and serve.

The sky’s the limit, as long as you are willing to thoroughly vet your chosen movie first. In fact, merely watching a fun movie with your family is a good way to instill family values in your kids and family values are some of the very best kind.

Movies with Books

Nowadays, there are quite literally thousands upon thousands of movies that were originally books. One great way to include movies in your homeschool is to combine the study of the book along with the movie.

You can do this be comparing and contrasting the two different versions, or by merely enjoying both versions and then discussing them.

Using movies with books is so easy because of all the available options. In fact, these days you’d be hard-pressed to find a movie that wasn’t inspired by a book in some way or another.

Holiday Movies

Enjoying the holidays in your homeschool may not seem entirely educational, but teaching your kids about their culture and the cultures of those around them is actually very good thing, and this is easily done with holiday movies.

You can do this with all kinds of holiday! From Halloween movies to Thanksgiving and Christmas movies, even movies revolving around Martin Luther King Jr. Day or even Valentine’s Day. You’d be surprised how easy it is to adjust these holiday classics and turn them into memorable movies for homeschooling.

Holiday movies teach kids cultural values and some even teach thie historical facts regarding that particular holiday. Never underestimate the value of holiday movies in your homeschool.

More Recommended Resources and Movies for Homeschoolers