About.com Rating



MPAA Rating: G
Genre: Infant/Toddler Developmental
Runtime: approx. 40 minutes
Age Range: 6 months to 4 years

"Braincandy" Overview

In Braincandy, created by parents Sam Reich-Dagnen and Johnny Dagnen, children explore the five senses in a hands-on and fun way. The DVD also features puppets - a brain, hand, mouth, ear, nose, and eyes - which demonstrate the functions of the sensory organs they depict.

The DVD is divided into segments, one for each of the five senses, and the idea of learning by doing is central. Children in the video explore things such as the way cotton balls feel or the sweetness of honey on their tongues, as they actively portray the magic of touching, tasting, seeing, hearing, and smelling. The creators of “Braincandy” envision that the video will encourage children to “engage their five senses to explore, experiment and discover new things about their world – and themselves.”

Guide Review of "Braincandy"

“Braincandy” is part of a new, and hopefully growing, trend in educational videos to move away from concrete facts and figures and focus on creative exploratory learning through play. Instead of bombarding babies and young children with 1-2-3’s and A-B-C’s, “Braincandy” portrays children using their five senses to explore the world around them. The DVD provides an excellent introduction to the five senses and sensory organs, but more importantly, it shows kids that learning can be exciting and fun.

“Braincandy” is not interactive in the sense that viewing children are asked to answer questions or participate directly in the show; however, the children and puppets in the video are engaging and fun. Ideally, after watching the show, children will want to use their senses to similarly experiment with the world around them. In this way, "Braincandy" supports the natural wonder that all kids have within, and the curriculum encourages open-ended, scientific learning.

The DVD does not offer any special features, and the production is not as high-budget as some of the big name competitors. These are not things that will matter to kids, though; they will love watching it, and their senses will be delighted.

Ideas for Expanding upon the Curriculum of "Braincandy"

• Help your kids explore the feel, taste, sight, smell, and sounds of things shown in the video as well as anything else you can think of. Use the words for sensing (see, smell, feel, touch, taste) frequently, and teach your kids about how the sensory organs help us learn about the world.
  
• Play sensory games with your kids. For example, blindfold them and make them use their senses to guess what object you put in their hands. Or, you could have them guess the object by smelling or tasting it.
  

*Check out the additional Briancandy DVDs which explore the five senses in detail. Each DVD provides a wonderfully fun and colorful sensory adventure for kids as they learn to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the world around them.