Cozy Up Your Homeschool with 30+ Winter Shows

You make the cocoa. The youngest kiddo grabs the blankets; the oldest turns on Netflix or PBS. Sketchpads & puzzles are strewn about.

Yep, it’s that time of the year.

When it’s cold outside & school is done, it’s couch time.

If not for my boys, I’m not sure I would have ever found the love of shows in our homeschool.  I love to watch them, but retention? HA. It’s in one ear, out the other. Ditto for my daughter. My boys, though, absorb it all, make the connections, and keep it. (They get that from their dad!) Documentaries have helped to round out our school days and explore side topics that we would never have dug into otherwise.

Grab my list so your hot chocolate doesn’t go cold while you’re looking up titles.This list has been updated as of October 2024. 

But first…a few notes

• If you can set up multiple profiles, do it. Our homeschool profile keeps lists organized — and Mama no longer has to sort through their shows to find her own.
• No, not all of these are high in ‘traditional’ educational value. But do they always need to be? Watching the determination of others, being in awe of this beautiful planet we inhabit, and fostering a sense of wonder are all educational in their own ways.

Winter Shows on Netflix

• Brainchild {Season 1: Germs}
• Hold Your Breath: The Ice Dive
• Night on Earth {Frozen Night}
• Our Planet {Frozen Worlds, episode 2}
• Race to the Summit
• You v. Wild {Season 1, episodes 3, 4}
• Penguin Town

On Amazon Prime

• Death Zone
• Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey {A famous, modern-day mountain climber}
• Everest: Beyond the Limit
• Go Fast, Go North {A boating race through British Columbia}
• Happy People: A Year in Taiga {Siberian wilderness}
• The Lake at the Bottom of the World
• Let it Snow!

• Mega Builders: Moving Mountains {tunneling through the Swiss Alps}
• Mega Builders: Ice Hotel {Sweeden}
• Mega Builders: The Arctic Ice Crusher
• Switzerland’s Amazing Train Rides {See the sights while you learn about the country.}
• Winter & Christmas in the National Parks

PBS Shows for Winter

Some shows may require the PBS Passport.

• The American St. Nick
• Christmas in Switzerland
• Christmas Celebrations Around the Globe
• Curious Northern Norway
• Friday Night Lights {Alpine skiing at night}
• The Great Polar Bear Feast
• How an Igloo Keeps you Warm
• Identical Snowflakes?

• Making Music with Snow & Glaciers
• Nature Cold Warriors: Wolves & Buffalo
• Nature Siberian Tiger Quest
• Santa’s Wild Home (Nature)
• Trekking Norway
• When the Zoo Has a Snow Day

Disney +

While Disney itself doesn’t create many documentary-style shows (outside of Disneynature), the Disney Plus service does include the National Geographic channel.

If you’re looking for Christmas shows & movies on Disney+, I have a BIG list for you right here.

• The Devil’s Climb
• Endurance (the story of Ernest Shackleton)
• Expedition Everest
• Hostile Planet: Arctic
• The Last Ice
• Life Below Zero
• Life Below Zero: First Alaskans

• Lost in the Arctic
• Kingdom of the White Wolf {of the high Arctic}
• Penguins by Disneynature
• Polar Bear by Disneynature
• Russia’s Wild Tiger

• Wild Nordic
• Wild Russia
• Gates of the Arctic National Parks (Alaska)

Other Winter Shows

• Christmas in Vietnam {A 1965 Special Report by CBS News}
• Rick Steves’ European Christmas (an annual must-watch for us)
• What Causes the Aurora Borealis?

Just for Fun

• Blown Away Christmas {Netflix}
• The Great British Baking Show: Holidays edition {Netflix, 5 seasons}
• Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas {Netflix}
• The Snowy Day {based on the famous Ezra Jack Keats book, Amazon}

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