Gymathtics DVD

The founder of the Exploromania  company began with a vision to “help children learn through fun interactive experiences.”  Her award winning  Exploracise products are designed to create products that “synthesize education and a healthy lifestyle, beginning with a passion for math education.”  We received the Exporacise Gymathtics  DVD ($24.99) to review. This DVD covers geometry (types of triangles, obtuse and acute angles, etc.), counting and skip counting, and patterns, all included within a fitness workout for children.

First, I want to say that I think this is a great idea. I am a big multi-tasker myself, so I am all for exposing kids to math facts or concepts while exercising. Emily does like this DVD. She has watched and exercised with it several times already and I think it will be a good way for her to burn off some energy on rainy or cold days.  As an adult, I wasn’t thrilled with it. It seemed rather amateurish to me. Even Emily thought the repeated “Give your buddy a high five” commands after every segment were a bit silly. I think this might be a turn-off to many older children.

I would prefer that the workout be more strenuous and the math a bit more challenging. For example, the counting included counting by ones, tens, and hundreds and skip counting by 2’s and 5’s. I think the counting by ones would be too simple for any child who was old enough to use the DVD and I would have liked to see skip counting by 3’s, 4’s and so on.  Overall, I like the concept, but think it could have been implemented better.  We will continue use it, but it probably wouldn’t be something that I would purchase. Exploromania does have a new DVD, Gymathtics 2.0, not yet released, that claims to more intense—both in math and in workout intensity. It might be a better option for our family.  For more reviews, check out the TOS CREW site.

 I received this item free for review purposes .