Homeschooling with Doctor Who

Because Wednesday is May the 4th be with you day I thought it would be fun to not only focus on Star Wars but on all things geek this week. My main fandom above all others would have to be Doctor Who. I am sure you didn’t pick up on that from all my Doctor Who inspired printables. I thought it would be fun to talk about some tips for homeschooling with Doctor Who.

Doctor Homeschool Ideas

Let’s talk History

Because of the nature of the show, it’s easy to pull lessons on History from the show. In fact, there is a homeschool mom who put together a history curriculum based on the show. It would be easy to use the show as a tie-in for a Vincent Van Gogh unit study and do a follow up viewing to see what creative license was taken. You could also focus on the London Blitz, Pompeii, and many other time periods based on episodes that are prevalent in Doctor Who.

Let’s talk Literature

With cameos by people like Shakespeare it would not be difficult to do a study on Shakespeare’s life and writing before viewing the episode. There are many references to popular literature in Doctor Who. Charles Dickens also makes a great cameo. Take some time and look at the different people from literature and their works.

Fanfics

Do you want to get your homeschooler writing? Why not suggest they take one of the episodes and do a fanfic about it? Maybe they can write their own episode or write an extension to one they felt needed more. You could even encourage your child to rewrite an ending they weren’t pleased with. A fun assignment might be to see if they can repair the worst episode ever. In case you wondered, Love and Monsters fills that title for me!

What about Science? 

How much of the stuff they do is really possible in the show? Spend some time with your kids discussing the Science of Doctor Who. My friend over at Dr. Geek’s Lab even has a few Science of Doctor Who episodes you should check out. Challenge your child to watch each episode and ask, “could that be possible?” “What would it take for it to be possible?”

Math

Ok, I know the word Math is akin to a visit from the Master but you might as well have fun with it. I have many Math printables inspired by Doctor Who including Flash Cards and worksheets. Who says you can’t change a word problem’s characters for a Doctor Who character? I know that it would be a lot more fun to figure out how many plates of fish fingers and custard Eleven ate than how many boxes of candy some kid ate. (Unless they were eating Jelly Babies!)

Art

Are you working on different art concepts with your kids? Why not work on a unit about Van Gogh after you finish crying over the episode? You could also have a lot of fun with making the T.A.R.D.I.S. using the art styles of different artists. How would Van Gogh make the T.A.R.D.I.S.? What about Picasso? Would Renoir do it differently? If you do this, find me on Facebook. I would love to see what you come up with.

Home Economics

Ok, let’s talk cosplay! How much time of your homeschool day could be spent working on learning the correct way to sew your costume in order to be the perfect Rory the Roman Soldier? What about the detailed work it will take if you want to be one of the Sisters of Plentitude? Don’t just buy a Sonic Screwdriver, make one. If sewing isn’t your thing, what about trying to make the perfect souffle in honor of the souffle girl or finding a way to serve fish fingers and custard that will taste good? The options are endless.

How do you use Doctor Who in your homeschool? Leave me a comment or find me on social media.