I am a member of the Netflix Stream Team and as such I am compensated with free Netflix and other promotional items. Opinions are my own and I write a post or two about Netflix every month.

I watch a lot of Netflix. I am a fan of so many shows. There is Longmire (which returns for the final season on November 17th), Stranger Things (which starts it’s Second Season October 27th), Voltron: Legendary Defender, The Ranch, House of Cards and so much more. Now, sometimes I am watching and only half engaged because I am watching while doing something else. But those other times when I am fully engaged I want to learn more about what I am seeing. For instance, some historical fiction shows that I have watched on Netflix include Hell on Wheels and Marco Polo. If I am watching these shows and have a question about something like who actually built the Union Pacific Railroad I could google that information and educate myself. I would not have thought about finding out that information if I hadn’t been watching Hell on Wheels. What I learned from my Google search was that the Colm Meaney character, Thomas Durant, was a real person and that the Anson Mount character of Cullen Bohannon, a confederate soldier was a made up guy based, loosely, on John Stephen “Jack” Casement a Union army general. I didn’t know that information before and because of the show I was watching I went to find the info out for myself.

Even more interesting is the life of Marco Polo. This 13th century explorer spent two decades in the court of Kublai Khan. There are so many myths and legends about Marco Polo that it makes for great television. Separating fact from fiction does require a fair bit of reading, but when the source material itself is full of exaggerations than it is tougher still to find the truth. So, finding the truth is a good challenge for any Netflix show enthusiast.

We can also use Netflix as a way in which to engage the kids to find out more things for themselves. Andrew is a fan of Justin Time Go and that show is filled with great information about historical figures. There is no way that a show could delve into more than a brief touch upon the lives of so many people. That brief touch can serve as a touch-point for parents and kids to go on their own adventure in learning.

this past month a beloved show from the 90’s was reimagined on Netflix. the Magic Schoolbus Rides Again with Miss Frizzle and her class of engaged and inquisitive kids. And so there is a whole thing called Watch Netflix, Ask Google.

As Parents we need to encourage our kids to be inquisitive and to ask questions. And when we cannot answer those questions maybe we get a little outside help and everyone gets a little smarter. I know that when we watch cartoons I am constantly consulting Google and IMDb to find out who plays certain characters. Did you know that Jeff Bridges plays the role of The Author in Netflix’s The Little Prince? That was a movie that we enjoyed as a family.

now, you may not have had the privilige of growing up in the 80’s and you didn’t get to experience all the sweet 80’s things that go on in Stranger Things. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t still go and search on things like dungeons and Dragons, Arcades and Atari. You can learn all about that by Googling that information. You can also go and rewatch Season 1 of stranger Things before the even creepier Season 2 arrives.

I heard that the scare factor may be going up with Season 2. This season they are adding Sean Astin to the cast, I don’t know for how long or what will happen to him but he was in one of the movies that inspired the look and feel of Stranger Things, The Goonies. Look that up, that would be an education into awesome all in and of itself. Here is the Trailer for Season 2 of Stranger Things.

There is even a Stranger Things video game that you can get on iOS and Android.

That’s about ll I got for you this month… except. How would you like to win 3 months of Netflix for you and a friend? I’m going to do a contest on Instagram and you will have to follow me there at http://www.instagram.com/benspark to see my special post. Respond to the post with the name of a friend that you think should get a free 3 month subscription to Netflix and the two of you might just win!