By Kristin Reiber Harris
Turtles in Ties
www.TurtlesInTies.com
1631 Belfield Place
Lynchburg, VA 24503
434-386-4919
I'm very conservative when it comes to image-based curriculum for my children. We are big into books. That being said, I was quite impressed with Bees Buzz & Lions Roar, a children's English and Spanish DVD. It contains 30 minutes of animated animal material: animal sounds, poems, an animal alphabet, and stories. Bonus features include two short pieces, one about a dog and one about peas in a pod, as well as a story about seasons.
The animation reminds me of cut paper collages. It is full of colorful, simple shapes. Younger children will enjoy the repetition of words, images, and concepts, and this repetition should aid them in catching on to the vocabulary.
The video is for two- to five-year-olds, and they would find it delightful. Children this age love animals. There are more than 50 different ones here, including some unusual ones such as a vole, sturgeon, lemur, newt, and pelican. I really like the text subtitles that accompany the stories as a help in learning to read. And the animated page-turns are a nice touch.
During the animal alphabet segment, the narrator sloppily pronounces the word "for" as "fer" ("A is 'fer' alligator"). I found this annoying and disappointing, especially in an educational language DVD. I think exposure to correct pronunciation is imperative for toddlers and preschoolers, who are still working on their talking skills. I also wish the graphics for the animal alphabet contained the more commonly seen lowercase letters instead of, or at least in addition to, the uppercase letters.
Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised by the mood and quality of the video. Many children's videos present a barrage of images in a short amount of time, but Bees Buzz & Lions Roar has an enjoyable and calm pace. The sound effects are mostly appropriate (a frog belches once), and the narration is clear and easy to understand.
If your young children are learning Spanish, or if your older ones are and you'd like to provide something to include the little ones in your studies, this would be an excellent DVD to add your collection.
Product review by Kathy Gelzer, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, April 2007
|
|
|
|
