Many public schools have videos, movie reels and DVDs devoted to educational topics that teachers are free to use as desired. Obviously, homeschoolers do not always have such resources available. However, there are several ways to enrich your children’s learning experiences with educational movies and videos, without having to purchase each one for yourself.

The Local Library

While most libraries are not able to get videos through Inter-Library Loan (ILL), they often have a nice selection of educational films and documentaries on anything from aeronautics to sports to ballet. If your library allows inter-library loan for videos, or allows videos to be brought in for ILL for educators, your options open up even further!

Online Educational Videos

There are lots of video clips available online on YouTube and teacher resource sites, but search carefully to weed out the junk. Be very specific about what you need. Don’t type in “science.” Type in “Water Cycle Video” instead. One of the benefits of Lesson Pathways is that the searching for video clips has been done for you.

Using Video Rentals for Educational Purposes

Many homeschoolers study a particular theme or subject at a time, and the judicious use of videos can really help foster learning in a more visual way for children who have varied learning styles. Since we live in a town with very little to offer in the way of video rental places, Netflix has been a blessing.

Some people like the convenience of mail-in video rentals and other people enjoy avoiding late fees. The rates are usually very reasonable, and if you use the program a lot like we do, you get your money’s worth out of it. The key, however, is to plan just a little ahead.

My kids love the animal documentaries, science shows and educational programs. I’ll search about a week in advance to see what videos are available related to next week’s planned unit study. That way, my videos arrive in time for my kids to use them. At any given time, we have two or three videos in the house–one that’s being returned, one of this week’s topic and one just coming in a couple days before the next unit begins. By rotating the videos you have like this, you’ll always have something ready to go for your kids on one of those rainy days that just requires a nice, quiet, but still educational, activity.

Angela England lives in rural Oklahoma with her husband and soon to be four children, where she works as a professional blogger in addition to homeschooling, doing childbirth work and massage therapy. England is the founder of The Untrained Housewife – a social site for homemakers, mothers and homeschoolers to exchange back-to-the-basic tips and tricks.