Educational DVDs can be extremely wonderful in enriching the minds of young children. Once you get past having your kids watch cable kids shows, which can many times be quite valuable, getting some educational videos will go a long way in enhancing their learning skills with many topics.
Some of the most popular topics people think of when considering educational videos usually include letter recognition, numbers, colors and shapes and reading. But once you begin your video collection, you start to open up to many possibilities that will be useful for your child which include sign language videos, sight words recognition videos, cleanup time videos, potty training videosand cooperation videos ,to name a few.
My wife is a master at hunting and locating some of the best educational DVDs for our kids, though inevitably she did get a couple of duds and even some that have good value but our kids did not respond that well to them. Below are some examples of videos we’ve purchased and how our kids responded to them, along with some recommendations and some pros and cons with each.
Meet the Sight Words 1, 2 and 3 are a series of videos made by Preschool Prep Company, LLC. of Danville California. I’m choosing to explore and review this one first because this series of DVDs has had the most positive impact on our kids, and I’ve seen it unfold right before my eyes with powerful amazement.
The Signing Time DVD series is also an amazing resource of valuable information and a truly unique and wonderful learning experience for the kids. From the Two Little Hands studio in Midvale, Utah, Rachel Coleman offers an amazing set of sign language videos inspired by the challenges of triumphs of her deaf daughter Leah. These videos aim not only at children with hearing impairments but also to children experiencing a wide range of developmental challenges. And as we found, these educational videos also help children who may be a bit behind catch up very quickly with their speech development.
The So Smart! Baby's First Word Stories are our little girls' absolutely favorite Educational DVDs. She started watching them at 15 months and just adores the characters Iggy, Dee Dee, Edward and Larry as they introduce simple words to soothing music and bright yet delicate animated graphics. When she sees the So Smart! logo at the beginning, her face and smile light up, she does her little dance then giggles and wiggles before sitting down and watching the show.
These Leap Frog videos do an excellent job at introducing your little ones to phonics and phonemic awareness. While they start with a good foundation at the letter factory, these educational DVDs can get pretty complex and challenging as you get into word decoding at the Talking Words factory. One of the better features of this series of DVDs is that they are lower in cost than most educational videos, but are high in teachable content, making them a great value.
Meet the Numbers makes learning numbers real easy! And it's from the same makers of Meet the Sight Words which top my list of favorite educational videos!
Elmo's Potty Time is a great potty training video starring one of the favorite cast members of Sesame Street, Elmo! In this video, Elmo and friends offer a lighthearted approach to potty training with lots of songs, practical concepts, and an overall sense of encouragement and understanding.
Little Einsteins is an animated Disney series that introduces children ages 3 to 7 music and art appreciation such as paintings by Van Gogh and Monet as well as Baroque and Romantic classical music including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony while going on wild adventures through live action footage of wilderness and global landmarks.
Bear in the Big Blue House is a Jim Henson Company creation sold to the Walt Disney Company that introduces children ages 3 to 6 to social and academic skills including cooperation, cleanup time, working like a bear as well as colors and shapes.
Baby Einstein Videos are practically a staple in every parent's educational DVDs collection. A project of a stay-at-home mom and former teacher in a suburban home in Georgia, Baby Einstein has become the leading child focused multimedia company now owned by the Walt Disney Company.
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