Recommendations for educational DVDs ages 6-7

[ActuallyAnAunty]

Long story short, my niece spends a lot of time being plonked in front of a TV with a Disney DVD (or worse, Mermaids on Netflix) and she is suffering at school because she is not being read to/being encouraged to read/do maths etc. enough at home.

I wonder if anyone can recommend some good educational DVDs for a 6 year old (she will be 7 in November)?


Of course I know that the fundamental problem is with the parenting, but I'm not asking for advice on how to encourage a family member to better her parenting skills. I spend as much time as I can helping my niece out with her reading/writing/maths skills and she is willing an eager to learn but heartbreakingly she just doesn't get the support and encouragement she needs at home and there is only so much those outside of her immediate family can do.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[SomeSunnySunday]

My slightly younger DS likes Horrible Histories, and some adult programmes on subject that he is interested in (nature, space).

Would her parents sign her up to online reading / maths programmes? We have done a few, they were useful at times when I couldn't put in as much effort as I'd like (e.g. new baby). Reading Eggs was good (although it's a while since we've used it), as is Mathletics. There must be others, too.

[diamondage]

Yes, The Magic School Bus DVDs. The downside is the American accents but that's it, they are IMO good fun and educational too.

DD's 6 and whilst watching one of the recent thunderstorms asked me if rain can ever go upwards and then immediately proceeded to tell me that it couldn't unless there was an up-draught. I naturally asked her how she knew about up-draughts & she said she remembered it from an episode of MSB.

Obviously up-draughts don't necessarily sound like much fun but the DVDs are full of quite silly humour and gentle relationships between the teacher and her class, whilst also being packed full of facts. The magic school bus allows the characters to go on amazing adventures (e.g. into the human body and off to outer space) and for the amount of hours of playing time is quite good value.

Just checked and it looks like there are episodes on YouTube too - if she's got access via a computer you can check those first to see what she thinks of the series (it's very well established in America).

[diamondage]

Apologies, I meant to say at the beginning of my post that these are science based rather than maths or reading - but still beat a sole diet of Disney etc.!

[Picklemom]

You could always try a better kind of Disney DVD--I'm thinking of the documentary film on flamingos they made called Crimson Wing. It's gorgeous, and appeals to all ages.

And of course there are so many other amazing nature documentaries out there to choose from, such as the Life series.

[ActuallyAnAunty]

Thanks for the info!

I actually have previously got her the Magic Bus box set, which she really enjoyed... enough to dig out the old books we had from when we were kids. I am of the opinion that all kids are natural scientists so that actually is the easiest way to get them to digest some maths/English without even realising!

Will look into the online courses, they sound like a good option for a kid already obsessed with screens.
She also has a Samsung tablet, though it seems difficult to find good reading/writing/maths apps on those compared to an iPad.

I guess I was thinking something along the lines of those numerous programmes on CBBC where they write in the air and spell things out, but for older children.

Have just ordered her the Crimson Wing DVD from Amazon (despite reviews saying there were a lot of dead baby flamingos...), she's keen on nature and animals so should love that!

[fuzzpig]

We really enjoyed Frozen Planet, there's various series like that available.