Supplementing With YouTube

As homeschooling parents we often wonder if our children are missing out on anything academically. We question whether we are doing enough. Are there gaps in the curriculum we are using? Are we missing something? Most of the time the answer is no. We worry too much. We are too hard on ourselves. That said, we still won’t sleep until we know that we know our kids are learning everything they should be. For me, what has put me at ease, was creating a “playlist” for my kids using YouTube videos.

What I do is look ahead at the week and see what they will be learning. If I feel they need an extra push that a video could help with, I include it. Or, if there is something I want them to memorize such as the American Presidents, I will include a related video. The videos are generally short although sometimes for the older kids I will include longer documentaries (previewed by me ahead of time). I usually work on these playlists on Sunday evenings and it doesn’t take too long since some of the kids will be learning the same concepts throughout the week so they will be watching some of the same videos. Below is a two day sample from three of my children. If you are looking for a way to ease your mind, this has worked wonderfully for our family! You can include as much or as little as you want for each of your children and it helps to break up their day as well.

Grade 3

Monday

Watch video and count to 50 in Spanish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaZj4NVFFtI

Online Flashcards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuDf1kzm0kw (# Correct____)

Watch States/Capitals Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt2mYPwXyAc

Watch Science Plankton Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDNsSRhf5Qk

Story Time- Read Aloud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w5xlwEV9eQ

Tuesday

Watch video and count to 50 in Spanish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaZj4NVFFtI

Online Flashcards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuDf1kzm0kw (# Correct____)

Watch States/Capitals Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt2mYPwXyAc

Watch Another Science Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ohDG7RqQ9I