TOS Crew Review: Gymathtics

Last month I received the Gymathtics DVD by Exploramania to review for the TOS Crew. I wasn't sure how this would go over, but the DVD has won many awards. Basically, it's an exercise video that teaches kids how to do an exercise routine while reviewing math concepts.

Making parallel lines with their arms

• The warm up/stretch portions talks about shapes and lines.
• The cardio portion practice counting.
• The aerobics section talks about patterns.
• The cool down reviews wellness concepts.

The DVD is 30 minutes long and it costs $24.99. Its target audience is 2nd to 5th grade.

While, I thought it was a bit goofy, I will tell you that my youngest three kids LOVED it. They liked making shapes with their bodies and doing the workout. In fact, my youngest boys have asked for it daily since we debuted it. One favorite is the counting calisthenics. It's fun to hear them skip counting while they run in place.

While the concept is clever, I'm not sure this is how I'd choose for my kids to have screen time. It's fun to see the math as they get some healthy movement, but at the same time it seems to me that we can have fun with math in other ways and do some more interesting things to get ourselves moving.

However, if you need to get your kids moving, then this DVD series is a great idea. It's not at all hardcore, but it's fun and I worked out with the kids the first time anyway. I7 even thought I could skip the YMCA 6am morning treadmill routine I have and replace it with Gymathtics. I don't know about that, but it was fun to move together.