Product Review: The Animated Hero Classics

Nest Family Entertainment offers a series titled, "The Animated Hero Classics" which are packaged as a DVD & resource/activity book combo. This product review specifically applies to the animated story of George Washington. A preview of the 30-minute video is available at the Nest Family website.

I chose to introduce George Washington to my children the other day, since today is President's Day and George Washington's birthday is on February 22nd. My young kids had many questions about what a president was, what they do, why we don't have a king... wonderful questions. Being the proud American that I am, I especially enjoyed answering the latter one.

The George Washington DVD and activity book that are part of "The Animated Hero Classics" gave my kids the opportunity to see how our nation was formed, or at least catch a glimpse of our struggles for independence and our victory as a new nation. My youngest (only 5) wasn't all that captivated by the video, but my 6 year old son, was all over it. My assumption here... my 5 year old is still too young to understand much of what she was seeing.... or she's just too wrapped up in being a princess to concern herself with war. Still, she enjoyed the coloring pages found in the accompanying activity book.

What I liked about this package:

Age Appropriateness- The activity book is designed such that you can teach at three age levels, making homeschooling a variety of grade levels all the easier. This is a huge perk, whether you're teaching the various levels all at once, or considering that in the coming years when you're ready to reintroduce the video, you'll already have the worksheets to supplement the lesson. The individual levels are designated using symbols, indicating easy, intermediate, and advanced. There are pages appropriate for both my kindergartner and first grader. More for the first grader, but there are a handful of pages they're both enjoying.

I would say this book is probably best suited for 1st-5th grades. You could easily make the 48 page book last several years, as you use only the pages suited to your child's age level each year.

Vastness of Curriculum- The creators of this series have actually incorporated art, character development, geography, math, music, science, spelling, problem solving and culture into the history lessons. Not only will your kids learn about our first president, but they'll give their left and right brain a workout during the lesson! Impressive!

Added DVD Features-
Optional subtitles in both English and Spanish, Story Summaries, premium access to their fun-filled Kid's Zone website, and a 3- level adventure quiz.

My Rating-
My overall impression of this package is excellent. I would recommend the series to anyone looking to introduce their children to George Washington, a true American Hero.

Nest Learning offers over 10,000 educational products for homeschooling families.