Dive into Diversity DVD - A Review

$19.95
By Annie Crawley

This is the 3rd DVD in a series, including "What Makes a Fish, a Fish?" and "Who Lives in the Sea?"

This DVD series and the coordinating teacher's guide are wonderful for the preschool and kindergarten ages.

Check out a sample clip from the DVD.





Here is one more sample.  This one is from the DVD, Who Lives in the Sea.




Did you watch it?  Wasn't it just adorable?

Other educational books and DVDs are available on Ms. Crawley's website.
She also has a neat collection of inspirational cards and posters, in her Live Your Dreams Collection.

More about the "Dive into Your Imagination" Series (from the website): 

 About DVD 1:

What Makes A Fish, A Fish

What Makes A Fish, A Fish is the first DVD in the Dive Into Your Imagination series. This DVD teaches children about astounding fish from around the world. How do fish take a bath? Learn the truth about sharks. Play hide and seek on the reef. The underwater realm provides boundless opportunities for parents to learn and laugh with their children. An upbeat original score celebrates the ocean and brings it to life. The DVD has three audio tracks, English, Spanish and music only. Great as an entertaining teaching tool for the classroom too!

 About DVD 2:

Who Lives in the Sea?

The Award Winning “Who Lives In the Sea?” teaches children and their parents about animals living in the ocean. Why do dolphins move so fast? What kind of noise does a sea lion make? Did you know turtles walked with the dinosaurs? Meet whale sharks, octopus and blue-footed booby birds! After your kids watch this DVD, they will want to swim like a dolphin and laugh at the nudi, nudi, nudibranchs!

 About DVD 3:

Dive Into Diversity

"Dive Into Diversity” teaches children about all the variety of life under the sea and how animals rely upon one another for survival. Take a ride to a depth of 1500 feet in the deep sea with a submarine pilot! Find out what happens on the reef at NIGHT. Learn what eating ice cream and brushing your teeth have in common.

Why do crabs have claws? What can grow three feet in just one day?


 Transcripts of all 3 DVDs are available for purchase, for use in the classroom.  The transcripts are also included in the teacher's guide.


Educator Guides:
Annie Crawley and Michele Hoffman Trotter have also developed educator guides to go along with each of the DVDs.  "Who Lives in the Sea Educator Guides are available in two age-group versions. Each educator guide covers eight chapters with 6-7 activity stations per chapter aligned with common core and next generation standards."  These are great for the homeschool and for the classroom.

Our Thoughts:
I received this DVD and the coordinating Educator Guide to use with my 3-year-old daughter.  She loves animals and is fascinated with our own fish.  So it was just expected that she would enjoy this movie, Dive into Diversity.  


And enjoy it, she did.  Beautiful videography of beautiful ocean scenery and marine life.  It is enjoyable and educational.  This isn't just for the younger set.  The whole family will enjoy it.

I like the narration.  The music is low and soothing and the speaker's voice is pleasant.  This is important to me.  Because, in the past,  I have listened to other DVDs where I didn't  find the speaker's voice pleasant and it made it difficult for me to focus and listen.  The DVD has an option to turn off voice and only play music.  This could be perfect for wind-down time before naptime or bedtime.  Your little one could watch the delightful marine life swim around, while listening to the calming music. 


Ms. Crawley and Ms. Trotter must have spent hours and hours working on the coordinating educational guides.  These things are HUGE.  And they are available in 2 levels.  One for the PreK-K set and one for the early elementary ages.  I focused on the PreK, since it was for my 3 year old.


The guides are broken up by chapters, based on the DVD.  They include nice printable activities and coloring sheets.  They have lots of interactive group activity ideas, like acting out different kinds of fish - lots of make-believe ideas that preschoolers will enjoy.  The guides also include vocabulary lists for each chapter.  I, personally, thought the word lists seemed very advance for the age group.  But it could be useful in a homeschool family, where you might be doing a unit study to a variety of ages.  It also provides a list of recommended reading.  This is great for making the lesson into a unit study.  There is enough in here to spend days diving into each chapter.


If you believe in Creation, not evolution - you might notice a few instances that refer to or insinuate evolution, but they are few.  I also felt the guides had a little bit of a "Mother Earth" tone to it, but this wouldn't stop me from using the guides.  


The instructor guides are priced for use in the public school setting.  It would probably not be practical for too many homeschool families to purchase them at retail price.  But, for a limited time Ocean Annie has graciously offered to gift the guides to homeschoolers with the purchase of the DVD.  That's right!  For just the $19.95 price, you get not only the DVD but also the instructor guide that goes with it.  Just make sure to leave a note in the comments section when you place your order, stating that you are a homeschooler and you would like the free guides that were mentioned on the TOS Homeschool Crew reviews.  Also for a limited time, Ocean Annie is offering free shipping as well.  

Isn't that wonderful?  I think that is an amazing deal and if you are able to order it, I highly recommend that you do.  The DVD itself is worth the price and something that many children will enjoy watching again and again.  The guides are a bonus!  If your family enjoys the Discovery Channel or National Geographic documentaries, as mine do, then this DVD should be a hit.  Don't forget that there are 2 other DVDs in the series and the same sale applies to them as well.


I just want to add one more thought.  Annie Crawley, also known as Ocean Annie, has poured her heart into these products, as well as the other ones available on her site.  She also does motivational speaking.  Her message is two-fold.  First, she wants to share her love of the ocean with children.  She wants them to see the beauty that she sees and she wants them to realize just how vital it is that we take good care of it. 
"I want everyone to understand the importance of the ocean. It creates about 70% of the oxygen our planet needs for survival, " says Annie.  Second, she wants to encourage children to "dive into their imagination and create the future they want to live."  She shares her story of how she followed her heart and found her way to her dream job on her website.


Read more crew reviews here.


Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge to review, as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. The above is just my opinion. Please remember that opinions may, and do, vary.