Move with Me

Almost every child loves getting DVD’s for Christmas and birthdays.  Given them DVD’s and get them up and moving with the Scooter and Me series from Move with Me.  Based on Brain Gym (TM), hatha yoga, and creative movement, this is a very creative series of exercise videos for children.

There are three sets of three DVD’s (also available individually), emphasizing “body,” “mind,” and “heart.”  To be honest, there is a little of wording here and there that I wish were different, but I have seen about half of these now, and I haven’t seen anything yet that I would take issue with.  (I just might prefer that they called a couple things something different.)

If you take the videos in order, you will start with the story of a little boy who receives a scooter as a gift.  The rest of the video – and the remaining videos – are all about his adventures with his scooter.  The children act out the various parts of the story, by placing themselves into a variety of yoga poses and through similar activities.  (We’re talking yoga poses here – there is no spirituality involved.  In fact, the poses aren’t necessarily even called by their traditional names, but used to play the part of the various animals, objects, and people in the stories.)

Along with the exercises, children are given tools for expressing and dealing with negative emotions, such as rubbing their foreheads, taking a long, slow breath, and saying, “Oh, no!”  They talk about the importance of habits like drinking plenty of water and eating fruits and vegetables.  I noticed some significant right-brain/left-brain integration, too.  (This is great for reading and similar development!)

All of this is done through fun and imaginative play.  The instructor is cheery, but not saccharine-sweet, so it’s pleasant to watch.  The children who are in the video with her are real, preschool- or young elementary-aged children.  You can see where some of them are pretty coordinated and others struggle a bit with the poses.  The setting looks like a preschool classroom.  It’s all very “cozy” and comfortably familiar.  (Even for those of us whose children don’t attend a traditional school – it’s a more familiar type of setting than a dance studio or gym.)

So far, my children have only sat on the couch and watched these.  (They’re weird about doing that the first time they view something.)  But given what I’ve seen of these, and past experience, I fully expect for Sophia to start requesting them.  (Even if she doesn’t, they’ll make great additions to our workboxes!)

$19.95-$108.95 (pricing is for 1 DVD, 3-DVD sets, or the 9-DVD set)

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Disclosure: I received several of the Scooter & Me videos to facilitate this review.  All opinions are my own.