Documentaries for kids who know history

[Tracy]

Is there such a thing?  I picked up a documentary from the library about Revolutionary War heroes.  It was made for children and sounded like it would right up ds8's alley.  The first thing he said was that they forgot Casimir Pulaski.  Then he told me not to get any more in the series, because those videos were for public school kids who don't know any history. 

 

I don't have time to preview the adult documentaries.  And when I have done so, I learned that previewing them is absolutely necessary.  

[katilac]

No, I don't think your going to find documentaries aimed at children that go to the depth of mentioning Casimir Pulaski. Even for documentaries aimed at adults, those with a broad title such as "Heroes of Such-and-such" are generally going to provide more of an overview, with more detailed ones likely having mature content. 

 

Common Sense Media does have some documentaries rated, as does IMDB. 

 

Other than that, detailed nature and geography videos tend to be more kid-friendly, as long as your kid doesn't mind seeing adorable critters eaten. 

 

 

[mommymonster]

With my history loving son, I've tried to go broader instead of deeper. There's no way he's going to learn more about the Civil War from a kid's DVD, but he will learn something if I can find a documentary about the ancient library of Ashurbanipal. 

 

 

Another thing you can do is to have him critique the documentaries he watches and record the critique -- have him act a commentator or a movie critic. Make sure he uses facts to support his reasoning. If he thinks Casimir Pulaski should have been included in he documentary, why? Who else would he have cut (because documentaries can only be so long)? Have him evaluate *why* the documentary included who they did. What agenda is the documentary promoting? Often you can learn as much from what is excluded from a documentary as what is included. 

 

 

We spend a lot of time on PBS's website -- their documentaries and shows are consistently OK with me (you may have different thoughts). I do try to keep the more modern things off his radar (basically, the WW2 things -- he's not ready to process that level of destruction with the photographic and movie images available. 

 

In any case, best of luck finding resources. It can be an insane challenge.

 

Edited: I can't type well, apparently.

Edited July 17, 2016 by mommymonster

[Tracy]

Another thing you can do is to have him critique the documentaries he watches and record the critique -- have him act a commentator or a movie critic. Make sure he uses facts to support his reasoning. If he thinks Casimir Pulaski should have been included in he documentary, why? Who else would he have cut (because documentaries can only be so long)? Have him evaluate *why* the documentary included who they did. What agenda is the documentary promoting? Often you can learn as much from what is excluded from a documentary as what is included. 

 

I love these ideas.  Thanks!