day 280: educational dvd’s

One of the things that I have utilized more and more for my children in the past five years or so is educational dvd’s. I used to be extremely strict about kids “watching” things during the day. And I still am when it comes to entertainment videos. We have always taught our children that the day is for work and learning; and evenings (if our work is finished and we have time) can be used for relaxation. However, I have been using a huge library system in a nearby city (Fort Wayne, Indiana) and have been loving all of the educational videos they have.


I use them in different ways—assign two per week for Jakie for school; assign the boys to watch one any day that I am going to be gone much; let them choose to watch one during the day if their work is finished; etc.


I will share some that we have enjoyed below:




Elementary or younger kids—I have three favorites here, though there are many others such as Reading Rainbow, historical animated ones, etc.:




1. Magic Schoolbus—these are pure genius, in my opinion (as are the books). Kids are entertained while learning a ton. They are recommended for ages four to eight, but it is rare for my eleven year old to be watching one that one of us “olders” doesn’t stop to watch a bit too! Check them out at http://store.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchEndecaCmd?storeId=10052&searchTerm=magic+school+bus+dvd&catalogId=10051



2. Answers in Genesis creation science dvds for kids—I have reviewed Answers in Genesis materials earlier this year, but in addition to their outstanding books, they have awesome children’s dvds and lectures for older students. (What child doesn’t love to learn about dinosaurs??) I have reviewed these earlier this year as well. This is my number one educational video choice for three to ten year olds—Bible, history, etc. Extremely well done. I especially recommend the “Children’s DVD Pack.” http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicStore/catalog/57-Years-Old,188.aspxNEST



3. NEST videos--see older post about this:






Middlers and older:


1. Answers in Genesis lectures and dvd’s—Your older kids will love Ken Ham’s accent—but it’s the content that you will be thrilled that they are getting. Answers in Genesis dvds can help you counteract all of the “evolution” teaching and references that abound. All dvds for this age: http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicStore/catalog/1214-Years-Old,190.aspx Ken Ham lectures: http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicStore/product/Answers-with-Ken-Ham-12-part-DVD-series,4722,229.aspx





2. Drive Through History--- Extremely interesting way to learn more about US history! http://www.drivethruhistory.com/





3. Modern Marvels—the boys have recently gotten hooked on these programs (which I think are on television as well). Our library has a lot of these, and since they are educational, they are available for the same length of time as a book, so we always have several on our shelves for the boys to choose from when they want to watch something educational. http://shop.history.com/?v=history_show_modern-marvels