Calliope84 Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I'm just wondering if any of you have used courses from "The Great Courses" with younger kids (grade school.) DH and I just discovered these and really really want to get some. :D I'm wondering around what age DD will be able / ready to watch the DVDs, too. If she won't be ready for this sort of thing until middle school, I will hold off on the science DVDs and buy ones that are a bit more timeless, like the art or history ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minuway Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I haven't tried them - though I love looking through their catalog! I am using some of the courses from the MIT Opencourseware site (FREE!) http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) I'm just wondering if any of you have used courses from "The Great Courses" with younger kids (grade school.) DH and I just discovered these and really really want to get some. :D I'm wondering around what age DD will be able / ready to watch the DVDs, too. If she won't be ready for this sort of thing until middle school, I will hold off on the science DVDs and buy ones that are a bit more timeless, like the art or history ones. I own so many of their courses, I can't even name them all. :tongue_smilie: We really enjoy them, however, I think it would be only the unusual grade school age child that would enjoy them. They are college lectures. W/the exception of the high school level American history lectures (which my kids detest w/the exception of maybe my 3rd/4th grade age kids, but even w/them it's iffy), I think the presentation would not actively engage them. In the high school history lectures, the teacher dresses up in costumes and is very theatrical in his presentation. My older kids find it patronizing and demeaning. My younger kids tolerate it, but I don't necessarily think they enjoy it. (I have only ever had one of my younger kids listen to just a few of them.) I think documentaries are more engaging for the younger kids vs. the lecture approach. HTH Edited August 31, 2011 by 8FillTheHeart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 ... I think it would be only the unusual grade school age child that would enjoy them. They are college lectures. W/the exception of the high school level American history lectures HTH :iagree: Linwood Thompson's American and World History courses would be good for the younger set. The rest are intended for a college audience so they are lectures: a professor talking with some slides. And they don't edit their lectures for appropriateness for young audiences. Adult topics (within the content area, of course) are handled as if the audience is adult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onaclairadeluna Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 My son has been listening to TC lectures since the third grade. I think he started with Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. We'd listen to them in the evening after my daughter had gone to sleep and would watch 3-4 lectures a night. Often falling asleep on my bed (both of us...DH worked nights). The next day I couldn't for the life of me remember where we were in the video. DS remembered so much about the videos that he could tell me whether or not we had seen that bit by watching only seconds of the video. I was pretty impressed. He loved Einsteins Physic's and the Quantum Revolution and Joy of thinking. He also really loved the History of Asia Minor with Kenneth Harl. He's been a fan ever since. I think the most accessible is the Ancient Egypt lectures. My daughter is less riveted by them (she is only in second grade though so who knows). She watched along when DS watched "The Universe" and really liked it. She is mostly ignoring "Rome and the Barbarians" though she sometimes sits down to have a listen. My son is a very strong auditory learner. 8fill is right they are not generally geared towards little ones. The video is just a guy lecturing. Still, it was a blessing that I found these for my little guy. He's really bright and dyslexic and was a fantastic fit for him. Just recently I had an epiphany. My son is in the 8th grade and still getting the hand of outlining and narrations. He asked to watch a lecture and I said "OK can you write a one level outline" and he did. I said "great job" he said "if this is a great job I'll do this every day" OK. This could be a good thing.:) I would not recommend doing this in the beginning though. It is really wonderful to just enjoy and learn and maybe discuss the lectures. Still I am so excited that my son is so eager to do outlines and narrations about these lectures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onaclairadeluna Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 And they don't edit their lectures for appropriateness for young audiences. Adult topics (within the content area, of course) are handled as if the audience is adult. Yes, there is that. The good thing about starting at a really young age is that adult material went completely over his head at first. I learned to preview. Some of the music lectures (while very enjoyable) are not kid friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Our library has copies of a number of the DVD's. I definitely agree that the presentation wouldn't interest most younger gifted kids even if they could grasp the content discussed. My DD who was poring over adult astronomy books in 2nd was totally bored by the Astronomy DVD we borrowed. I found it a great tool for my own self-education, but I'm thinking jr. high would be a better age for the DVD's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calliope84 Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 Can you recommend some favorites? There are so many on sale right now. Do you think buying sets on sale is likely to be cheaper for us in the long run? We really love watching documentaries on Netflix, but they leave a lot to be desired. All you get is an hour of information usually and they typically cover very broad topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onaclairadeluna Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 . Do you think buying sets on sale is likely to be cheaper for us in the long run? The best way to save money is to check your library first. They rotate the sales so they will come up for sale again (you just might have to wait a year or two). I usually buy them used on ebay if I can. Once you watch one, you want to watch them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minuway Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 If you are interested in them, buy them for yourselves and you can always keep them around for later. I should have mentioned that I use the MIT opencourse site for myself mainly - though my oldest will watch some with me (she's seriously tv deprived). They are college level courses, but a gifted child who is very interested in the material I think could follow at least some of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 My younger children have been in the room when my husband, my oldest, or I have been watching them. They generally wander back out of the room, as even the high school level courses don't hold their interest (several that we have don't hold my oldest's interest yet, and half of his coursework is college-level this year). I certainly wouldn't put in any kind of investment expecting an elementary-aged child to watch them, but if you have a nearby library, you could check some out to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 My younger son (age 9) has enjoyed them off and on over the years. He will frequently sit with his older brother and me while we watch them. I'm going to try the high school American history ones with him only because I have them on the shelf (I don't particularly like the lecturer myself, but I think my son might). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 We've listened to audio CDs in the car. I wanted to listen and my kids were a captive audience. They clearly were listening and did learn something, but didn't follow everything. I'd try one from the library first. I'd also pre-listen if you're picky about what your children are exposed to because some lectures will touch on the R-rated aspects of literature or history. The Linwood Thomas videos are fine for upper grammar kids. I think actual teenagers would find the costumes weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 The Linwood Thomas videos are fine for upper grammar kids. I think actual teenagers would find the costumes weird. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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