Munchkin and Bean: SmartKidz Media Review

SmartKidz Media is an online streaming program for children. The SmartKidz Media Library for Homeschoolers is perfect for families, even those who do not homeschool, as all the videos are kid-friendly and very educational. Curious children will love watching videos about their favorite animals! There are so many educational videos to choose from, not to mention countless activities, games, puzzles, study guides, and more!

The categories include: World of Discovery, Music and Fine Arts, Mighty Ebook Collection, Baby Signs Program, My Animal Family, Quick Find Study Guides, Learning Special Needs, Living Skills Program, Ready Set Sing, and the Fun Zone. And the topics include: animal kingdom, history, science, social studies, world cultures, the fine arts, sports, and health. The study guides also cover language studies and math. So basically, there are A LOT of materials.

My preschooler and kindergartner loved using SmartKidz Media to watch videos about all of their favorite animals. Usually we watch one or two videos in the morning while the kids eat breakfast. The videos are often short, which is why we might watch more than one.

They watched the videos together, but used the program by themselves for topics that they enjoyed, but their sibling didn't. For instance, Munchkin loves classical and jazz music, and likes listening to it while he plays. And while he did that, she would be in another room listening to ebooks while she played. There are so many ebooks to choose from! Bean is satisfied with listening, while Bean would prefer to sit and watch them.

You can watch the videos on any device, anytime, anywhere, so long as you have an internet connection. We use it on our phone, tablet/iPad, laptop and our tv (works on tv's linked to the internet). Members will have unlimited access to the entire media library. Parents can feel at ease letting their children watch the videos, because they are carefully chosen and are perfectly appropriate for children of all ages.

So whether you have a preschooler or a middle schooler, there are videos and instructional activities to promote learning and reading! We loved exploring the SmartKidz Media site. We mostly used the wildlife videos, music and ebooks. And my children were easily able to navigate the site on their own, since the categories are color coded and each video or lesson has a picture image to select.

The SmartKidz library is huge, but if I could choose a few subjects to add, it would be videos about vehicles (like how they are made and what they are used for), engineering or STEM, jobs, crafts (how-to videos, DIY projects for kids, nature crafts, etc.) and homemaking. I know many kids in our neighborhood who would love watching videos geared towards kid on how to crochet, cross stitch, sew and other hand crafts. There are plenty of how-to videos on YouTube, but they are usually aimed at adults and the instructions aren't always clear. And I think most kids would enjoy homemaking lessons, which is sadly not a class in most schools these days, but is usually taught in homeschools.