With the pandemic and the school bus driver shortage in Minnesota, I’ve found myself picking up my kids from school each afternoon. At their current public Montessori school we have a bit of a drive to get back home. In an effort to ward off the afternoon chaos, a high protein snack and a podcast are necessities! Without these things we get fighting, touching each other, and all out hangries.
I recently asked on Instagram for some podcast recommendations for kids and have added some new ones to our rotation that we already enjoyed. It's been so nice having a variety of different options that appeal to most of my kids. While all 5 kids are with me in the car, the podcasts really only appeal to Gus (5-years-old) and up. Teddy (at 2.5) doesn't seem to care what's playing and is happy just watching the world out the window.
*Just a note I'm not linking these since they are available in so many places, so check your favorite podcast apps to find them there. We personally listen either on apple podcasts or on amazon music (via an echo)*
Favorite Kids Podcasts
Here are 10 podcasts that we have been rotating through with my kids (in no particular order):
1. Wow in the World: This is by far my kids’ favorite. Science concepts are explored through silly antics of a recurring characters. Bonus, it has a ton of episodes to binge. Downsides, it can get repetitive as an adult listening.
2. Who, When, Wow: Another excellence choice that my kids love and is my personal favorite. This one is a biography based history show. Through story telling important people are featured. I love that these are often women or BIPOC people who have not received enough attention for their accomplishments in traditional history lessons. Downside, it’s newer so not that many episodes.
3. Circle Round: This is a super engaging story telling podcast. The stories are myths, fables, and legions from around the world. This one is particularly popular with Gus and Nora. It has a ton of episodes, but many stories are fantasy based.
4. Smash Boom Best: This is a competition style show between two topics. My kids are hit or miss on this one depending on what is being talked about. It appeals most to Henry (almost 11) more than Nora and Gus. Pros are that it has a wide range of topics so it isn't as limited in subject matter.
5. Flip and Mozi's Guide on How to Be an Earthling: This is a show about animals as told by musical aliens. This seems more like a television show but in podcast format, with music and recurring characters. All three kids really find this engaging, funny, and interesting. Downsides is that I personally don't love listening to this one, and it's new so there's not a large library of episodes.
6. NASA's Curious Universe: This is a in-depth look at a variety of space related topics and current space events. Nora and Henry both love this podcast, but it isn't super appealing to Gus. This is also one that adults can listen and learn from which is always nice.
7. But Why: This is another podcast that appeals to my older kids but not as much to Gus. This one answers questions asked by kids on a variety of topics by brining in experts to talk about the answers. Upsides are that there are a ton of episodes and the subject matter varies a lot. I enjoy some of these depending on the topic as well!
8. Brains On: This science podcast rotates hosts and topics. I think my kids like that there are kids featured and lots of facts presented. There's also a huge library of episodes so they can binge this show too. Again, this is a bit less appealing to Gus than the bigger kids.
The final two in our rotation are Catholic/religious specific podcasts, so may only appeal to some families.
9. Saints Alive: This podcast focuses on one saint for one or two episodes in a storytelling approach. My kids really love these episodes and how the information is presented. The downside is this is a newer podcast and episodes only come out monthly, so they have listened to the whole series at this point and are eagerly awaiting more.
10. The Bible in a Year: Every day there's a new bible reading and brief explanation of the topic with Fr. Mike. This is really appealing to me as an adult, but also to Henry and Nora (7-years). Gus isn't really able to follow these most of the time and some of the topics can be a little heavy for younger children. We don't listen to every episode but enjoy these from time to time.
There were tons of other suggestions on my Instagram for other podcasts for kids some of the other popular choices included:
- History Storytime
- The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
- Story Pirates
- Molly of Denali
- Little Stories for Tiny People
- Who Smarted
- Julie's Library
I'm looking forward to checking more of these out over time! Do you or your kids have any favorite podcasts?
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