MARSHmedia (A review)

Before my daughter (who is now almost 16) was going through her girl changes *puberty* I had found some great resources for girls, and I was very comfortable in that area. I have had a hard time finding something that would make this subject interesting and more comfortable for my 2 older boys who are both heading into this stage in the next few years. Since they are boys, and often don't want to hear what I have to say about things that are important, like hygiene, I was excited to have a little help with these great videos from MarshMedia. They have many videos to choose from including healthy habits, and puberty. This area can be tricky with concern for too much sex education that might be included that doesn't fit with our beliefs, but I didn't find that with the videos we watched. Note: we didn't get to ALL the videos, but I was comfortable with what we did see, and they don't claim to be "sex education" anywhere. They are just informative and factual videos about different aspects of health and growing up.

We received online access to all their videos for this review, and until 12/31/17 they are offering a Homeschool Special with unlimited access to all 59 of their videos for $50. These videos were used primarily in public schools, but they are offering these for a more reasonable cost to the homeschooling community.

The very first video we watched was "you're not a little kid anymore." This one was geared more towards the 3-5 grade range, but I was able to let my 6 year-old watch it too, and he enjoyed it. This one focuses on the basics, showering/bathing, care of teeth, hair or nails, and wearing clean clothes. This was perfect for my boys because, well sometimes, being home all the time the boys don't often think this is important even though I tell them everyday to change their clothes! They were convinced, and I've seen much improvement in their own attitudes toward their own "smell" and taking care of it. We also discovered that they need deodorant. I can't smell, so I didn't realize it, but they needed deodorant. The movie talked about deodorant and when to start using it, and they smelled their pits, and realized they stink! They love this new ability to smell good. Granted they are still trying to remember to put it on everyday, but it has been a great eye opener for them.

There are many video topics to choose from in the puberty section as well. There are specifics for boys and girls, and prepuberty ones too like "just around the corner." All the videos are presented with real kids showing everyday activities that the kids can relate to. Each video also has a fun upbeat song to help the kids remember the important stuff. A theme song, or chant, something fun to keep them engaged. My boys thought the songs were a little cheesy, but nothing unbearable.

As homeschoolers I love that we can watch these with our children, and they can lead to the questions, and talks that we need to be having with them. They are a great jumping off point to get those conversations started. All my kids love videos so this was a great way to engage my boys in this subject, and it's not coming just from me! I love the very fact based, "this is how our bodies work", way these videos work.

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