I don't know any kids that don't enjoy watching videos online. Mine love it! If the same video were available at the library, mine would still prefer watching it on a laptop or tablet. SmartKidz Media is creating an educational video library (and other educational tools) online and we were able to review it with the Schoolhouse Review Crew. We were given a one year subscription to their SmartKidz Media Library for Homeschoolers for the review, and my kids were thrilled!
SmartKidz Media has a Family Media section that includes educational (and fun) videos, as well as music collections. They also have a Reading and Learning Center that is continually growing. My 9 year old daughter enjoyed the puzzles in the Fun Zone, which we were able to get working on our wii system. The Baby Signs section has videos on baby signs, as well as potty training. We're beyond the baby signs stage, but the potty training videos are definitely helpful! You can also find e-books and Kidz Karaoke videos in the Reading and Learning Center. This screenshot shows you the different categories in both sections of their website.
We spent most of our review period enjoying the Family Media: World of Discovery videos. The screenshot below shows some of the many categories in the drop-down menu, though they wouldn't all fit on the screen. There are more videos and content in the works, as well. Some new items were added during our review period, and there are more to come.
My younger children enjoyed watching Nature's Soap Operas, which adds funny dialogue to video clips of animals. My elementary kids enjoyed watching Unusual Cultures with me, and learning about different people groups around the globe. I was looking forward to enjoying more of the history videos after they were added, but we began to have internet problems. Being "scrolled back" for maxing out our satellite download limits is worse in summer months, when more people are home using the internet than it is during the school year. We can usually watch videos when we're scrolled back in other months, but we can't right now. Needless to say, we're looking forward to enjoying more of SmartKidz Media's online videos once the internet improves again.
Every SmartKidz Media video that we watched was well-made and entertaining. My kids enjoyed having unlimited access to the videos, since we usually limit their television viewing to certain channels which don't have much variation in content. If your family has smart phones, you can access SmartKidz Media on the go. Our family is reliant on wi-fi for the kids to be able to view the videos on their tablets or my laptop. This is one of those times when I wish we lived in town with better internet options, because I'd love to be able to more fully utilize our SmartKidz Media membership.
If you normally preview the documentaries that your children watch, you will probably still want to do that with SmartKidz Media. Although we never viewed anything objectionable, each family has their own standards and I can't say I've screened every single video for content. We didn't preview them, but we watched them together and had no problems at all. I consider it to be a child-safe website for my family.
SmartKidz Media has a 14-day free trial - so why not sign up and check out the content and quality for yourself? (I love free trials!) If you like it, you can purchase a membership for $10 per month, or save money and pay $99 for one full year's access. You can also follow SmartKidz Media on facebook and twitter.
Stop by the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog to find more SmartKidz Media reviews.
April E.
