As great as it would be to go completely carless, that’s not my life. We tend to be in the car for 15- to 20-minute chunks every day and listening to the same old soundtracks gets, well … old. Fortunately, there are lots of wonderful podcasts for kids available on all the various streaming services. Several have come out recently that are favorites in my car pool.
I try to create opportunities to learn new things on our drives while not making the kids feel like they’re in school already. I also want them to have openings to talk about social issues they might be having or to hear stories that discuss social situations they might have throughout their days. As such, I’ve researched and tried to encourage a diverse range of podcast options that showcase not only good stories but messaging I try to promote in my house. I also want to enjoy my time in the car, because it is a lot of time, and I do enjoy these podcasts with the kids.
Here is a roundup of some podcasts to listen to with your late preschool and early elementary-aged kids in the car.
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'Flip and Mozi’s Guide to How To Be an Earthling'
Animal facts and aliens, oh my!
These singing aliens crash landed near Earth and take day trips down to our planet to interview “Earthlings” (animals) about their habitats, diets, communities, and families. My kids love the characters, songs, and voice acting in these standalone episodes.
We learn unusual animal facts that are gross enough to keep my kids entertained on boring commutes. They also learn a bit about the regions where these animals live, so there’s a bonus geography lesson as well.
'Who, When, Wow!'
This is history they probably won’t learn in school.
We already loved the host of this one, Rebecca Sheir, from Circle Round, a folklore podcast that’s been out a few years, so this newer one was a fresh style with a familiar voice. It is a narrative-driven history show about marginalized historical figures that didn’t usually make the front pages of history.
My entire carpool has found new heroes in this diverse mix of baseball players, architects, civil rights leaders, and others. They also love the theme song.
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'Little Stories Everywhere'
This podcast offers lots of options for every type of listener.
Some of these episodes are standalones and some of them are two, three, or four parts. We’ve enjoyed all of them and the genres vary from realistic to sci-fi to fantasy. It’s easy to string the ones that connect together for a road trip or spread them out over a week of driving. Or you can pick just one if the summary sounds good. In our car pool, we like the ones with robots.
'The Two Princes'
Discover a magical adventure not for the faint of heart.
This one is my personal favorite and has a few seasons with a star-studded cast. Each season tells an ongoing story, so you do need to listen to it in order, unlike the others on the list.
Keep in mind that the adventure tale can be a bit spooky and exciting if you have sensitive travelers in your car, but mine were all in for the tale of two princes from enemy kingdoms who meet in a dangerous forest to try to break their kingdoms’ curse and figure out how to bring everyone together.
'Girl Tales'
This podcast features feminist takes on classic stories.
The song that plays at the end of each episode shares, “Being a princess, ain't about the dresses,” and that’s true for these feminist twists on classic stories. Your car of feminists, be they female or not, may or may not get the allusions to literature, folklore, and mythology that these stories are based on, but the stories are well-told and have lovely, inclusive messages. The episodes are standalone but sometimes connect, which is fun if you become long-time fans of the show.
