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How I Use YouTube Playlists in our Homeschool

Friday night I cracked open my laptop and my teacher’s manual for the next school year. With my feet propped up, I started planning. I know…so nerdy of me to plan on a Friday night. However, I was setting up my YouTube playlists and I was just so excited to get started! When I shared on my personal Facebook page what I had done on my Friday night, I got several questions about YouTube playlists and how I use them in our Homeschool. Instead of typing the same thing over and over, I thought I’d share it here on the blog. Chances are, someone else will find this helpful, too!

Why Use YouTube Playlists?

YouTube is so much more than goofy people doing goofy things. While there is plenty of that available on YouTube, there is also a large group of really great videos just begging to be used in the classroom!

  • Using a playlist keeps out some of the junk. Seriously. I tried to search for a video with my son and I was disappointed at some of the results that popped up. I NEVER watch videos with the kids without previewing them first. A playlist is an easy way to bookmark good videos.
  • YouTube videos are a great way to give young children a visual frame of reference for a variety of topics. If they’ve never seen a team of sled dogs racing across the snow, there’s a video available at your fingertips. In educational terms, we call this building schema. It’s a quick and easy way to introduce them to things visually.
  • YouTube videos are a way to take a field trip….virtually! We can’t hop onto a plane and visit all the places we are learning about, but we can find video and go there in our minds.
  • Technology is just plain fun. Kids love it and it captures their attention. Enough said.

How to make a YouTube Playlist for Homeschool or your classroom. Perfect for unit studies!

 

How to Make a YouTube Playlist:

It’s super simple! A blog post about using YouTube wouldn’t be complete without an actual YouTube video, so I made one for you to walk you through the steps and help you build your own!

As always, if you have any questions, let me know in the comments!

Tell me: Have you ever made a YouTube playlist?

{ 8 comments… add one }

  • Leesa Dykstra May 27, 2014, 9:39 am

    Thank you for posting this! This is our first year homeschooling and I wouldn’t have thought about using YouTube. What a great idea. I’ve been searching for ways to put variety in our learning.

    I found this pinned on Pinterest this morning and cannot wait to dive into your blog ore today!

    • Sara McClure June 3, 2014, 5:56 pm

      Yay! You are so welcome! Good luck with your first year of homeschooling!

  • Aleshia May 28, 2014, 12:26 pm

    Wonderful idea! I have gone on YouTube many times, but haven’t dived too far into how to customize it. And to think I can use it so easily in our homeschooling! Thank you so much!!

  • Kate Williams May 28, 2014, 3:41 pm

    You know I never even thought of using youtube for educating the kids, oops! Great idea, thanks for linking with Tuesday Tutorials #pintorials

  • Laura May 28, 2014, 4:01 pm

    Thank you for this! I have seen playlists referred to, but have never done one. Didn’t know how.
    We just finished up Adventures with my son – loved it!! I noticed on your playlist some of the same videos we found as we searched for individual things this year. :) I only wish I had had access to your playlist all year. Looks like you found sooo many great links!!
    This post was very helpful to me and I am excited to search for and save all kinds of goodies for next year. Now I’ll be ready instead of having to stop and search/preview as we go.

    • Sara McClure June 3, 2014, 5:55 pm

      So glad this post helped you, Laura! Go ahead and make a great ECC playlist for next year and come back and share with me! ;)

  • Sherryl @ SimplySherryl June 2, 2014, 4:57 pm

    Thanks for linking up with us at Good Tips Tuesday! Your post was selected as a feature post for this week! Congrats!

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