Maths and Reading YouTube Channels for Kids
Three channels that make numbers and letters land — Numberblocks, maths songs, and actors reading picture books aloud.
Numbers and letters do not have to start at a desk. Met first through a song or a story, they go down much easier. Three channels worth having.
The three
- Numberblocks and Alphablocks (preschool · official site) — The series where numbers are blocks and letters are characters. Counting, adding and phonics become something you can watch happen. It lands especially well with preschoolers.
This link goes to the official site rather than a YouTube channel — the makers do not publish a channel address, so this is the accurate place to start.
- Numberock (primary school · free) — Times tables and place value set to music. The kind a child hums for a week and then simply knows.
The spelling trips people up: the brand is one word, Numberock.
- Storyline Online (preschool–primary · free, nothing sold) — Actors read picture books aloud — names you know, Meryl Streep among them. Each book credits its reader.
It is run by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, so there is nothing to buy. Good at bedtime.
FAQ
Are these channels free?
Every channel here is free to watch on YouTube. It is YouTube, so ads run. A few of them also sell an app or a membership separately, which is a different thing from the channel — where that applies, it is noted with the channel.
What ages are they for?
It is noted with each channel. Fewer channels state an age than you would expect — where the makers do not say, this guide says so. Watching a few minutes together is still the most accurate way to decide.