Not all learning takes place inside the classroom and while school's out, parents have to get creative in order to help kids avoid the summer slide. Here are five great podcasts that'll help you do just that. Presented by entertaining voices and suited for kids 12 years and below, these podcasts cover almost every topic imaginable, from news to cooking to advice.
With music and a bit of humour, this podcast introduces historical stories and facts that are less well-known, with a quiz at the end for listeners to test their newly acquired knowledge. Learn about 19th century women who entered the male-dominated STEM field, hear tales of America’s Statue of Liberty, and be quizzed on the inventor of potato chips. Contributed by LearningLeader’s Maikhanh Nguyen.
This is a podcast truly made for kids by kids, where the sky is the limit. Each episode answers a question that’s been submitted by children across the world. Past questions have included ‘Are there underground
cities?’, ‘Who invented the president?’, and ‘Why do people have different religions?’ There are even episodes that address parents, such as suggestions for how to chat with their child about violence that occurs on the news. Contributed by LearningLeader’s Maikhanh Nguyen.
What could be better for improving debate and critical thinking skills than a podcast about ethical dilemmas? Each episode of Short and Curly poses a scenario for kids to mull over, from the classic thought experiment about the train driver who must make a choice about life and death, to considerations about voting rights
(or lack thereof) for children. Listeners will also laugh out loud with a few of the sillier discussions such as the existence of cute pugs. Other episodes inevitably make listeners go sombre as they tackle unpleasant issues like the 1950s scientific experiments on humans or answer the difficult, ‘Is it ever okay to fight back against a bully?’ Contributed by LearningLeader’s Maikhanh Nguyen.
This new fairy tale-style podcast adapts Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo’s global best- selling illustrated book of the same name into podcast. Each episode runs about 15 to 20 minutes and tells of the inspiring story of a real world extraordinary women, read by equally as extraordinary women.
This show plays indie music for indie kids that won't make you feel like you're in your own personal hell. Spare this Rock is kind of like NPR’s ‘All Songs Considered’ but includes kid-appropriate tunes, complete with commentary and special requests.
