Growing Up Wild-Review

What family wouldn't like to kick their homeschool adventure up a notch by living in the jungle? (ok there may be a few of you out there that might not like that) If given the opportunity that is something I would love to do for a short time.  A jungle environment would be rich in learning opportunities and cultural experiences!

Through the Old Schoolhouse Review crew we were able to meet a family that did just that! This family created the 5 volume Growing Up Wild educational DVD's that allows you to experience some of what the Wild family did while living in Papua, Indonesia. The videos show the whole process including all the prep work they had to do before going overseas.

What was the motive for this family to go so far away from their home in the United States to set up another home in Papua? They went to help the people there with basic medical care and more importantly to share their love of God. Also they went there to give them a written language so that they could read the Bible. They taught the native people of Papua and in return learned even more from them! 

The first video in the series included three sections: Home Sweet Hut, Supply Trip, and Sun and Water. It was fascinating to see how they built a round house and all of the furniture to go inside it. The planning to get all of the food supplies they would need for their stay, plus actually bringing it over by plane took an amazing amount of planning. They did have some modern furnishings like a refrigerator, sink, television, etc. Which brings up the the third section as their power was all solar and they piped the water down from the top of the mountain! 

We were also able to watch volume 4 which included three sections: Amazing World Around Us, Adventures in Culture, and Tribal Calling. Each section is about 15 minutes long. This showed them exploring nature and some of the creatures of the jungle, learning about the people and the culture of Papua, and learning about God's purposes. At the end of each section there are different activities suggested to go along with learning about the country and culture of Papua.

Our whole family watched the videos and I can honestly say we all loved them! My son in particular came up with dozens of questions about their life there, which could be a good motivator for us to learn more about this remote country. I also now know what country we will be presenting for Geography Club this year! Oh, and the solar energy section from the first voume really interested my husband as he and the kids are about to start working on a solar food dehydrator and a supplemental heater for our basement.  I'm sure we will be adding some of the other videos to our collection. Also, I forgot to mention there is also a teachers activity guide video that goes along with each video. 

I noticed they also have a Jungle Journal blog that I haven't checked out yet, but I know my daughter would love to keep up with.

The price for each video is 18.99 (plus shipping and tax) which I find a little high (at least for our budget) but I do think the information and activities make it worth that price.

Be sure and check out what the other crew members thought about the Growing Up Wild video series!

Disclaimer- As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received these DVD's in exchange for my honest review of the product. All opinions expressed are my own.