Once Upon a Time…

is an absolute hit in Europe—made in France, very educational and our kids love them. They have watched a few episodes (less complicated ones) of Once Upon a Time…Life but really enjoyed the episodes of Once Upon a Time…the Explorers and are about to start with the Discoverers. I buy this DVD series in Prague in Czech. Click on the link and read more about them. (If your kids understand Spanish, scroll down and find links to the whole series below)

There is a glitch though. I spent several hours trying to find a channel (even paid) that would broadcast them in English but to no avail. I located the series Once Upon a Time …Life on Youtube but only scattered episodes or excerpts from the Discoverers or Explorers (find them here). I found a post about where to purchase these DVDs (below the video, the first comment). But unless you are willing to pay $130 on Amazon, I believe it is hard to find them in English in the US. I have emailed the company in France and they replied three weeks later that they are working on the availability in the US (who knows when that’s going to happen). However, there is a chance you have friends in England or France and someone can buy them for you there. If not, watch whatever is available online (scroll down for links).

If your kids are bilingual and can watch the series in Spanish, Czech, Slovak, German, etc., you can find a lot of the episodes on Youtube (in Czech also on ulozto.cz). Here is a short video about the series in English and the company’s website to see where to find the DVDs in different countries.

Once Upon a Time …Life in English free online

To add the whole playlist to your favorites, click the “plus” sign in the upper right corner above the list of episodes.
If you wish to choose just bits and pieces and not whole episodes (e.g. mouth and teeth), check out Playlist 1 or Playlist 2

Once Upon a Time…Planet Earth (so far one episode)

Once Upon a Time…the Discoverers (three extracts)

Once Upon a Time…the Explorers (one entire episode and some extracts)

Once Upon a Time…Man (two entire episodes and an extract)

For Spanish speakers, free online—just go to the right corner and add the whole playlist to your favorites/playlists by clicking the “plus” sign (where you see all the other videos in a list).

Érase una vez.. Los exploradores Serie Completa

Érase Una Vez Los Inventores Serie Completa

Erase Una Vez El Hombre

Érase Una Vez El Cuerpo Humano

Erase una vez las americas (I have never seen this one in Czech)

Érase Una Vez El Espacio  (I have never seen this one in Czech and have no idea about the educational value)

Click Playlist 1 and Playlist 2 for 6 episodes in Czech of the Discoverers.

Find 22 episodes in Czech of the Explorers on Youtube here.

You can also find a lot of Czech episodes from this French series on ulozto.cz