BrainPop makes Homeschooling Fun!

That Homeschool Family is a participant in a variety of programs including the Amazon Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Purchases made from links on this website may result in That Homeschool Family receiving a monetary payment at no extra cost to you. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.

This is a sponsored post. I have received complimentary access to this product and have been compensated for my time reviewing the product and producing this review. I have not been influenced in any way and my opinions on this product are my own.

When it comes to homeschooling online, it’s important that the homeschooling programs kids use are both informative and fun. If you ask me, BrainPOP definitely fits the bill!

BrainPOP and I go back…like way back. Even before I started homeschooling my kids, BrainPOP was always in the back of my mind as a resource to help my kids to either learn new information or to help reinforce lessons they were working on while enrolled in public school.

Why?

Well, before I had my kids, I was a special education teacher. When it came to requesting educational resources for my students, an online subscription to BrainPOP was always at the top of my list. Back then, both my students and I absolutely loved the way in which their short, animated videos presented various subject matters. Having a classroom subscription was a no-brainer. Even back then, I believed that “learning should be meaningful, memorable, and fun” and BrainPOP certainly helped in achieving that goal.

Now, I haven’t taught in a classroom for over 10 years, and BrainPOP has gone through some changes (haven’t we all?!), but…having had the opportunity to get to use BrainPOP with my own kids has certainly proven to be a positive homeschooling experience.

An Overview of BrainPop

Ok, so you can probably tell that I’m a fan of this online program, but, you might also be wondering “what the heck is BrainPOP and why is this lady reminiscing about what she did over 10 years ago?!” Keep reading to learn a little bit about the program that would be a fabulous addition to your homeschooling curriculum. As for the reminiscing…I’m a sentimental person, what can I say?

Plainly said, BrainPOP takes information that could often be challenging to explain and teach and presents it in a fun and engaging manner. They break the content up into a number of activities making differentiated instruction a breeze and the layout really encourages kids to take ownership of how they learn.

Not only does the BrainPOP Homeschool Combo program provide engaging and fun activities for the K-8 core content subjects of Science, Social Studies, English, and Math, but also lessons for Art, Music, Health, Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Engineering, and Technology.

Each BrainPOP lesson typically begins with an animated short featuring Tim (a human) and Moby (a robot). Tim and Moby usually start with some comical banter (I’m so serious – the videos even make me laugh) and then read a letter they have received from a student. In the letter, the student asks a question and Tim and Moby then answer the question through a series of events and examples. At the end of the video, kids can complete the lesson through a variety of activities like coding, making their own movie, making a map, completing a quiz, and more.

Why I Love BrainPOP

Not gonna lie, as a busy homeschooling and work-from-home parent, one of the reasons I love BrainPOP is because it makes my job easy. I’m not taking shortcuts or anything, but having the BrainPOP videos and activities available to supplement our homeschooling curriculum makes a world of difference when it comes to teaching my kids.

I love that the BrainPOP teacher dashboard is super user-friendly. I currently have each of my kids set up in their own “class” and can easily assign (and preview!) certain activities for them to complete. I can decide also whether each activity has a due date and even plan & schedule lessons for the future.

In addition to planning our typical day-to-day subjects, I also like that, when my kids log in to their BrainPOP account, they have the option to watch a video on the “topic of the day.” Those videos are often seasonal or holiday-specific and are a fun surprise for my boys.

Another reason I love BrainPOP? While we don’t have to keep track of standards covered and grades in New Jersey, I do appreciate the fact that they provide standards alignment for any BrainPOP topic…and not just for the United States! They also provide standards for Canada, England, Scotland, and Australia by both grade and subject. Pretty cool, right?

I totally appreciate that they go above and beyond to make lesson planning and effective activities as easy as possible for homeschooling parents.

Why my Kids Love BrainPOP

Let’s be real…my kids love watching tv and pretty much anything that has to do with a screen and BrainPOP is pretty much just that!

When I first introduced them to Tim and Moby, they absolutely loved Moby’s robotic sounds. My oldest son loves all things robotic and animatronic, so he was thrilled that one of his passions could now be included in his day-to-day homeschool activities. My youngest loves cartoons and anime, so he loved that not only was he allowed to watch a “cartoon” for part of his instruction, but that I encouraged him to dig around and watch even more when he was done his assignments.

“What?! Mom actually WANTS me to watch cartoons?!”

Yep. It really doesn’t take much to make these kids happy. They’re just like their mama!

They also love that they get to have a say in how their BrainPOP follow-up activities go. For example, when my son decided to make a video as a follow-up to his activity, he got to choose the direction of the video. He was provided with a selection of a few topics for the video, but also given the option of coming up with his own topic. Being able to make that choice made him feel like he was more in control of his homeschool lesson and really gave him a boost of confidence.

Give it a Try!

BrainPOP really does make learning fun. My kids have been looking forward to watching and completing their BrainPOP lessons each day and, if I had to take a wild guess…I’m willing to bet your kids would feel the same!

If you think the BrainPOP Homeschool Combo would be a great fit for your family, you can save up to 28% on an annual BrainPOP Homeschool subscription AND get 2 weeks for free. Sweet, right? You can click on the image below to learn more or tap on any of the BrainPOP links within this article…they’ll all take you to the same place.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to BrainPOP on Instagram or Facebook or just leave a message below and I’ll help you out.

Until next time, stay safe and enjoy quality time with your family,