Discussion-Starter Movies to Watch with Your Kids NOW
I don’t know about you. But I am seeing some really thoughtful, fun and sweet craft ideas to do with your kids. If you know me, I am ALL about that. I would so love to do that. I am so THAT mom. The artsy fartsy one that intimidates some of you with my fearlessness in giving my children lots of freedom with paint and glitter.
We love making celery roses and water coloring. We constantly have beads, paint, markers and stickers everywhere always. It’s a little much. My friends who are afraid of glitter do not come in to my house. They just can’t handle it.
But with everything going on right now in my life, I’m totally happy un-schooling. Giving my kids white space to grieve and decompress after losing daddy is much needed and warmly welcomed. So. We’ll watch some thoughtful movies, play in the dirt, keep praying, and call it good.
The following movies are truly timely as they remind us that even in these unprecedented times, history still repeats itself. And there are still people out there who do the right thing. These are great discussion starters with your kids about how the children’s characters in the movie might have felt when facing difficult times in history. They all highlight the power of generosity and self-sacrifice, and I just love that.
1.) Kit Kitredge An American Girl classic that even adults like me just LOVE. Kit’s beautiful family during the depression era reminds us to care for others around us.
2.) Samantha Incredible story about the power of friendship through hardship. And I love the underlying message of the spirit of adoption. I hear of many people across the globe welcoming in international travelers and college students and others who have no where to turn. This one will bless you and encourage you and your family to think bigger. It’ll be a great discussion starter for how to live our lives right now in the face of this global trial.
3.) Little Women Set in the thick of the Civil War, the message is clear: there is no greater love than to lay your life down for your friends. I had never seen this movie or read the book until this January. Ohhhhh. The ministry of tears is very real. Yes, it’s intense at times but even though I’m extremely picky about what I let my kids see (like they don’t even want to watch Bubble Guppies, because it’s scary. So Disney is like out of the question.) this was only real life intense. And our real life is intense. So I was fine even letting my 5 year old watch this one. Just so true and beautiful.
And just because we LOVE THIS SHOW:
Netflix Original “Inbestigators” is THE BEST THING EVER. Clever. Thoughtful. Expressive little Australian kid detectives. It’s just a smart show that makes us laugh SO HARD. Everyone who trusts me on it gets hooked. Mom, dad, kids, everyone.
Gonna give you a bonus for the adults…
Blast from the Past It’s surreal! This may not be a perfectly clean movie, but even just the first ten minutes about the bunkers during the Cold War and the check list… I think the historical component of movies like this are just good for healthy perspective.
The timing of the movie was pretty amazing too. It came out in 1999, right before the Y2K scare.
(Honest answer… I have not personally seen this in a VERY long time. Like pre-kids, pre-marriage. Pre-coronavirus. I started the first 30 minutes, but can’t seem to find time to myself to just watch a whole real movie. So… I can tell you I love the first 30 minutes so far and can’t really vouch for the rest of it! Watch the rest at your own risk! Ha!)
Alright friends. That’s my list!
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We ALL want to hear what you are watching and why! Good movie recs are like gold.
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