TOS CREW Review- BrainFood Learning

BrainFood Learning was started by the parents of two kids looking for QUALITY videos that would entertain as well as educate.  hmmmm, been there done that!  Looking, that is, not producing!  By making The Fascinating World of series..., they have accomplished that goal on their own.  Created for all ages, these videos fit the bill with engaging, real footage of animals in their natural habitats to interesting facts and reviews at the end that will test your knowledge.



Our family had the privilege of reviewing The Fascinating World of Mammals, retailing at $14.00.  This 52 minute video highlights 10 mammals- Beavers, Kangaroos, Bats, Dolphins, Lions, Bears, Chimpanzees, Elephants, Giraffes, and Moose.  As it seems with all of the products we review, this one came at the most perfect time!  Yes, when we moved into town it was the first piece of mail waiting for us and my 6 year old son could not have been more excited.  Needless to say, it was movie time.

When you pop the movie in you can choose to watch it all at once, go straight to a specific chapter or go straight to the review.  I love having that option because while so far we have watched it straight through, many times, I plan on using the individual chapters this coming year with our science study.  This year just happens to be the year we are studying mammals so I will go straight to the animal specific chapters to match the animals with the days we learn about them in science.  I love when you can tie in educational videos with school!

Another highlight of the videos is that with each animal a new word is introduced and defined, such as herbivore, hibernation, and bipeds.  Other maybe less familiar words are explained when used as well, which is beneficial to younger students especially.

Anyways... yes, we have watched the video several, OK, lots of times.  The photography is top quality and quite entertaining.  It begins with a brief overview of what mammals are and then talks about the 10 they chose to highlight, with beavers being our favorite.  Don't ask why...we just think they are cute.  Plus, one can do a great character lesson based off the hard work of a beaver!  ;)

Did you know that a beaver mates for life and can live to be 20 years old?

Or that black bears are not all black? 

Or that a kangaroos use their mother's pouch until they are about 8 months old, but only live about 6-8 years?

All new to me!

Once you have watched all ten animals, you can use the review section to see how much you and your child have learned.  While CJ did not want to do those sections each time, he did enjoy them the first time around and we will certainly revisit them again when we do specific animal study.  There are five parts to the review:

Animal Flash Cards- Shows a picture of each of the featured 10 animals and repeats their names 2 times.

Review the Mammals- Multiple choice matching the animal picture with the correct name

Features of Mammals- Review of what makes mammals special or different from other animals (Hair, Lungs, Vertebrates, Milk producing, and Warm blooded)

Review of Mammal facts- Multiple choice of general mammal facts.

Review the big words- Multiple choice of the words highlighted in the chapters.

BrainFood Learning has also recently added free lessons plans for each of the videos that includes suggested activities, quizzes and even writing ideas.  The mammals one includes a matching activity with colored pictures you can copy for your child.

Our final word- BUY IT!  Or all of them!  These videos are done very well, are entertaining, educational and worth every penny!  If you have animal lovers in your family, they are sure to enjoy this series!  

Other CREW members had the opportunity to review the insects and birds DVDs!  You can read those reviews by clicking on the banner below!