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Young Minds: Numbers and Counting DVD Review by Kendra Fletcher

PO Box 1165
Seabrook, TX, 77586
1-877-628-4383
http://www.mathtutordvd.com/

MathTutorDVD has produced a lovely and engaging DVD for little people with the goal of teaching counting and numbers. Beautiful still photographs illustrate each number, as well as video of animals and other everyday objects.

Classical music accompanies the video and narrations, a welcome change here from loud and zippy DVDs aimed at the preschool crowd. During a harried and noisy period of our homeschooling day (eight children in our home--most moments are harried and noisy), I appreciate the calming effect classical music has on my little ones. Additionally, they become familiar with well-known pieces by composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Pachelbel, and Chopin.

A child capably narrates the DVD, and our family found the voice to be cheerful and very clear. A variety of animals and animal sounds, fruits/vegetables and their corresponding colors, machines that move (such as trucks, helicopters, and airplanes) along with the sounds they make, and everyday objects such as crayons and toys are highlighted and cheerfully described and counted.

An excellent litmus test for any children's DVD in our home is its popularity and broad appeal. Young Minds: Numbers and Counting DVD has both; our two-year-old asks daily to watch what he calls "the helicopter movie," and we often acquiesce. The older children are happy to hear this one over and over because we all find it a pleasant DVD. It keeps the attention of the eight-year-old as well as the one-year-old, and it does so without driving the rest of us crazy.

More importantly, however, Young Minds: Numbers and Counting DVD accomplishes what it sets out to do: it clearly instructs young children in the basics of number recognition and counting from one to ten. Additionally, as the young narrator often refers to the color of a subject or object, colors are easily learned through viewing.

Young Minds: Numbers and Counting DVD includes some nice extras, as well. Picture Puzzles, Connect the Dots, and Name That Animal are bonus features that will further engage your child in the process of learning to count.

I am hoping the publisher plans to produce more DVDs in the Young Minds series. Be sure to view the sample video on the mathtutordvd.com website, and if you like what you see, join me in campaigning for more quality Young Minds DVDs from MathTutorDVD.

Product review by Kendra Fletcher, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December 2009

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