Another surge, another lockdown, another period of time when kids are not allowed to go out of their homes. If you are a parent and have memorized the plot of “Bluey,” “Ballerina,” “We Can Be Heroes” and other shows for the nth time, please know that you are not alone.

YouTube is an alternative source of entertainment for children. Kids can spend hours watching unboxing videos and toy reviews. But you can also lead your child to channels where they’ll learn something new.

Make them groove

Children move naturally with music. They also tend to copy what they see on the screen. This is an opportunity to make your child exercise. You can search the keyword #Zumbakids along with your kids’ favorite song and you’ll likely find something they can easily copy.

There are also yoga videos available online. Our favorite is Cosmic Kids Yoga because they make use of storytelling as part of the movement. Each video has a theme making it more fun. For example, you get to go on an underwater adventure while doing different positions.

The moves are basic that kids can easily follow and parents with no yoga experience can join in, too.

Go, Science!

The Smithsonian Science Education Center investigates the Science subject through animation and storytelling. Each video lasts for 8-10 minutes which makes it an easy watch for children. The section called Good Thinking is dedicated for kids while Teacher Tip offers advice on how to teach Science to children in under two minutes.

Learn reading through sound

For preschool and kindergarten, learning how to read begins in knowing what sound a letter makes. Bounce Patrol’s “Alphabet” songs are a great supplement in teaching reading. Each video focuses on one letter and you can randomly choose two or three every week.

The songs are catchy and once your children gets used to it, they can easily adapt it to other letters, too.

Exploring the world

Children love to learn about the world around them. National Geographic Kids’ shows allow them to do just that. Some of the shows they can watch are “You Wanna Be a What?” which features cool career jobs like cosmic costumer, chipmunk recorder and dung detectives.

There is also “Explorer Academy” where professionals have 4- to 5-minute videos discussing their work. Another favorite is “Destination World” where facts about different places are discussed in under three minutes.