Customer Reviews

Awesome Whales For Kids DVD

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was doing a homeschool coop unit on whales and this DVD really added a lot to our study. We wanted to take a trip and actually go whale watching. However, limited time and finances dictated otherwise. But, had we taken the actual trip we still wouldn't have been guaranteed a sighting like you are with this DVD. It was fun watching the whales interact with the folks on the boats. Plus, there were many different encounters that added a lot to our knowlege of what kind of whale behaviour can be expected.

Humorously, at the end of the program there are these whale sounds. So, if you leave your DVD player on longer than the recording, it continually plays whale sounds! This has caught me off guard on more than one occasion wondering what on earth that noise was...it's actually nice to listen to for a few minutes but it does repeat over and over again so you'll eventually tire of it.

I hate to ever give a negative review but just wanted to point out a few things for anyone buying this video. My review isn't horrible but I bought this for my 4 year old son who is crazy about whales & knows alot about them. And although the video definitely shows some amazing footage of whales which I can't deny I felt it was a bit boring. The video is basically like being on a whale watching trip which is great however it's an entire video of listening to people in the background (who are actually on the whale watch trip) ohhhing & ahhhing over every whale jump, etc. And its cut clips from many trips. It got a bit annoying after a while. And the video footage itself seemed very amateur like something I would have taped myself on a whale watch trip. I thought there would be some narration involved which could have made it educational. After having the video on for a half hour or more I couldn't tell if it had restarted or not because the whole thing is the same type of footage. My son did like it but did get bored after a while & stopped watching. I felt this video wasn't any comparison to the shows he normally watches on whales that are educational.

I think its a good DVD for a very young child that is starting to like whales & just wants to watch them jump, etc. because the footage is good & not scary or anything (although the voices of all the random people in the background can get annoying to any parent listening). If your child is a little bit older & you want them to learn something about the whales I would suggest a different video.

We bought this DVD about 18 months ago after our toddler had fallen in love with whale books and a whales and dolphins screen saver. My wife and I loved it from the very first time we watched it and our son continues to request it again and again and again, these 18 months later. There is excellent footage taken off the coast of New England by a whale watching company, mostly of lobtailing, breaching, flipper slapping, spy hopping and any other whale activity you can think of. Some of the most awesome footage is of humpbacks feeding with huge open jaws right next to the boat. Highly recommended.

Kids under 6 aren't really into the National geographic version of Whales and no kid wants to watch the horrific and unfortunate things that are happening to whales. This is a wonderful way to introduce whales to younger children and my nephew just loved it.