H1 is very interested in science these days. Some of his favorite topics include human anatomy, sea life, and, oddly enough, sound. We’ve discovered a couple of really great series of kids’ science videos, and I thought I’d share them here.
Popular Mechanics for Kids
This series really makes science fun and exciting. There’s a lot of gross out science and amazing animal features. We’ve learned all about aquariums, sewers and water reclamation, garbage and landfills, killer animals . . . all kinds of exciting stuff! This is one that I enjoy watching with the kids because I learn something too. It even holds the attention of my 2-year-old.
The Way Things Work
This series is based on the classic book by David Macaulay and focuses primarily on physics. Islanders and mammoths on the mythical “Mammoth Island” seek to solve everyday problems and teach the principles of physics along the way. H1 will watch these 2-3 times in a row. I couldn’t find the videos on Amazon, but we’ve been getting them from the library. They’re short – about 13 minutes – and they cover topics such as light, sound, electricity, heat, pressure, etc. Designed to be used in 3-6 grade classrooms, each DVD comes with a teacher’s guide that provides a summary, a glossary, pre-viewing discussion questions, follow-up questions and activities, suggested internet resources and suggested print resources. Grab one of these and you can have a complete physics unit. Very cool.
We’ve checked out lots of videos form the library, but these have been the favorites so far. I’m sure there many other great resources out ht
