This isn’t a video site, but it has some fun stuff for the younger kids out there. Barbara Feldman’s Alphabet Coloring Pages offers 16 different styles of full-page letters to colour. A fun little diversion. I’m off to hand the Ornimental A to my son 
.
Link to the video: Her Morning Elegance – Oren Lavie
Oh my! What an absolutely stunning music video. Sheer brilliance in its execution. I loved this, if you couldn’t tell already. The whole video is stop-motion and visually portrays a… daydream/dream for want of a better word. The creativity that put this together is, well, if I had the money, I’d so hire everyone involved, just to keep them on staff to cater to my whims .
Possible concerns: Overall, it’s a really cute, sweet video, but there may be a few things parents may want to consider. For those who are sensitive to the issue, the whole video shows a woman in her bed; she is fully clothed in pyjamas at all times. Several times, a man does join her, and there is a very sweet moment of cuddling – but there isn’t anything sexual about the video at all. Just wanted to point out that there is a woman in a bed, the covers come off, she is clothed, a man joins her, and she’s not wearing a wedding ring. Not an issue for me… but could be for some. There are two situations that might concern sensitive children: at one point she looks like she’s falling, and then she finds herself “underwater.” My step-son when he saw this asked “But she can still breathe, right?” – a testiment to how you get pulled in to the illusion. In the lyrics, there is a line that is repeated: “And she fights for her life” – admittedly, I was too taken by the video itself and didn’t know what the song said until I looked up the lyrics.
As always, remember this is a Youtube site. Since most of the videos seem to come from Youtube, I decided to make a Youtube page to point to how you can make the video full-screen.
At the end of the video, there is the normal rotation of suggested videos, but noticed that on this one in particular there was one with the title ‘Hey Everyone She S**t Her Pants!” which is also found down the right hand side under “Related Videos.”
Length: 3:36
Would I let my son watch? Already have.
Extra info: Oren Lavie has a Myspace page and has a blog post about the making of this video
Link to the video: Verdi Traviata
This is a very cute little video done in claymation. The scene is a table laid out with sweets and desserts for a wedding, and all the gooey fillings make their way to the Wedding Cake Palace, get past the huffy “queen” (she gets a hand full of goo to boot), then once the fillings make it up the cake, there is a nice finale as they add their own flair.
Possible concerns: Remember it’s a YouTube site, so heed the advice in the Light Painting post. Also, the main desserts are red, and when they shake hands with the king and queen, they get their jelly goodness all over, making the royalty messy. Since it’s red, it could be seen as blood, but other than the queen getting mad a the king for letting these colourful, messy guys through, there isn’t anything that would otherwise suggest violence in any way. Possible talking points: what desserts have fillings you’d like to see on a cake? How do you think they got the little creatures to move (i.e., how do you think the video was made)? What flavours do you think all the different colours were?
Length: 3:01
Would I let my son watch?: Yes!
Thanks to Cake Wrecks for the heads up.
Link to the video: Laughing Squid Stickers being made.
John Fischer over at Sticker Giant has put together a great video showing how his two-color stickers are made. This is great for any kid (or kid at heart) who has a curiosity about the things around them. Good talking points: how would you make sure the colors overlap properly? What safety issues to the people working there need to think about? If you could make stickers, what would they be?
Length: 4:05
Possible concerns: One of the workers at the cutting station has a tool with a skull and flames sticker on it. The appearance is brief, but repeated several times, so if your little one has issues with skulls, you may wish to avoid the video. Also, some of the stock stickers offered may not be appropriate for everyone – but they do have a Kids’ Stickers area you can, well… stick to.
Would I let my son watch? Absolutely!
Link to the video: Slowed down camera!
Amazing things happen in a blink of an eye and thanks to technology we can capture all the minute details that happen, slow them down and take an instant-by-instant look. Talking points: how fast do you think a balloon actually pops? If you had a slow-motion camera, what would you take video of to see slowed down?
Length: 1:34
Possible concerns: These videos are on YouTube, so please refer to the Light Painting post on how to make it “safer” for your child. Might be scary for younger children because it’d be strange to see someone moving so slowly – blinking so slowly and all of a sudden (or not…) the water doesn’t fall like it usually does. Water falls on a man’s head (from popped balloon) so if they have issues with water in their eyes, it could seem scary.
Would I let my own son watch? Yes!
Other videos along the same lines that may or may not be suitable:
The Ultra Slow Show. Another YouTube video. To be honest, I found this video to be fascinating. It’s a compilation of various “happenings” – both normal life and manufactured – slowed down so that we can see every single movement and reaction. However, some of the subject matter because of the mediums they use, you may find quite objectionable. The opening scene shows the lighting of a lighter – nothing huge in and of itself, but because it’s so linked with the practice of smoking, it might be too much. The second scene shows a man looking straight into the camera, then he is slapped. Third scene shows a water balloon breaking over someone’s head. Fourth scene is a hanging water balloon being punched and subsequently popping. Fifth scene is a small “rocket” being shot out of a cannon, then pieces flying off of it (no explosions or anything getting blown up). From 1:50 there is a montage showing various things (apple, banana, playing card, can of pop, egg and a water bottle) being hit by a bullet. The very last scene shows a pidgeon taking off from a fence.
When I was typing the above, my thoughts were “Oh my… this sounds really violent! In a way, it is, since most of the video centres around forces being applied and the outward effects and ripples they cause. I would say that this particular video would be suitable for older children with whom you can discuss destructive forces and spin it into a “Physics is cool!” talk. As with all the videos, watch them first, then decide.
Length: 3:08
Would I let my own son watch? Now that he is getting older, yes.
Red Drop of Water. This one is pretty neat. The videographer set up the camera so that when he/she dropped a single drop of coloured water into clear water, the splash and ripples were caught on film. Concerns are that the drop is red and could look like blood – in fact, in the description, they use “blood red” – so careful if there are issues there and/or your child can read. (YouTube)
Length: 0:31
Would I let my own son watch? You bet!
One more for now!
Ladybug at 7000 frames per second. Very cool – really interesting how the wings fold out. Now, if you have a child who is afraid of bugs, this wouldn’t be good to show them because this is an up-close shot of a ladybug and you can see everything in all its glory. Great topic starter about how the wings’ motion carries it up – and in only 3 strokes! (YouTube)
Length: 1:45
Would I let my own son watch? Yup!
Link to the video: Stop-motion Origami
The video: this guy goes through and does an interesting sped-up movie about how he made an origami bird “fly”. It’s quite fast-paced and perfect for kids (and we adults…) who often ask the question “Howdeedoodat?”.
Length: 2:46
Possible concerns: This video is on YouTube, so the same information and cautions as spoken about in the post about Light Painting.
Would I let my own son watch? Yes!
While surfing, I found several references to “light painting” and took a peek. It’s really cool and people have been really creative with it. Below, I have posted links to 5 different videos on the subject available on YouTube.
The site: YouTube. A public site that lets anyone sign up and upload video content. Note that *anyone* can post *anything* on this site. There are suggested other videos to the right of the selected video, and while the suggested ones are usually of the same topic, it’s not guaranteed. Also note that people can make comments on the video, and they are not moderated, so any and all matter of language can show up. After the video plays, there is another set of suggested videos – again, while usually on the exact same topic, be aware that anything can show up. In short, YouTube isn’t the place to just let your kids go and watch things – it’s be too easy for them to click on something that looks cool, but turns out to be a video response rant. An easy way to mitigate the possible exposure is to click on the “Full Screen” button before starting it. It looks like this:
When you’re done, just hit your “esc” button.
The subject: Light Painting!
These are really cool to watch and get a “howdidtheydoothat?” reaction. First, here are a few that I watched and were OK to me (caution, don’t just click willy-nilly on all the light painting videos; in some of, them people spell “bad” words and use cigarettes as light sources).
#1: Light Painting With The Kids
A dad’s account on having fun learning this with the kids.
Length: 3:28
Concerns: due to the lighting and how some faces were captured, this may look spooky to some children, or just be hilarious to others.
#2: Saving Energy Commercial – how much 24 cents of electricity gets you
Inventive use of the new fad – informative too!
Concerns: it *is* a commercial… but it’s not really “selling” anything. It’s just cool to watch.
#3: Light painting animation
Someone had a lot of fun using light painting in a stop-motion way.
Concerns: hip-hop type music is used – this in and of itself is not a concern, but this genre tends to have a higher concentration of adult language so I didn’t want anyone put off when it started. As far as I could tell, I couldn’t hear any.
#4: Playground
This is a lot of fun – watch the light blob go out and have fun at the playground .
#5: Lightpainting tutorial
I watched a couple tutorials on how to make your own light painting and I liked this one the best for it’s step-by-step and the fact that it didn’t use any questionable images.
Have fun!
Link to the site: Sky Guy!
The site: Tom Vilot (pronounced Vee-Lott), loves astronomy. He loves astronomy so much, he loves answering questions about astronomy. He loves answering questions about astronomy so much, he wants kids to send in their questions! Tom does regular videos about all things to do with looking up and beyond and is a hoot to watch.
Possible concerns: None, other than if the kids want the newsletter, it should be the parent that signs them up. For families who believe in creationism, this may not be the site for you as he is very scientific; for example, Tom speaks about how the oceans/water came from comets impacting the earth before there were dinosaurs.
Good points: Tom is energetic, genuinely loves what he does and is entertaining while educating.
Length: About two minutes each.
Would I let my own son watch? Yes.
Advertising on page? Not as of yet.
Link to the video: http://www.archive.org/details/felix_the_cat_the_goos_that_laid_the_golden_egg
Note: Old cartoons are always a treat, but they were not always made for children, nor were they made with the same sensibilities we have today.
Premise: Felix has The Golden Goose and shares his bounty with those around him. The greedy pirate, Captain Kidd, forcibly kidnaps the goose to have it all for himself, but Felix shows up on the ship to rescue his goosey friend.
Possible concerns: shows cartoon violence/sword fighting, slapstick, bullying, peril, drinking (some “ale” in mugs and a barrel, it’s never identified). Typical “pirate” behavior in a cartoon way. The goose is threatened with a sword when she won’t lay an egg. Felix uses cannons to both shoot himself onto the pirate ship and to deliver gold to the people.
Good points: Felix knows he has plenty and decides to share with those less fortunate than him and shows care, concern and friendship with the goose. Well, really – it’s just fun.
Length: 7:08
Would I let my own son watch? Yes
Note about the page it’s on: There are comments from viewer on the film at the bottom of the page. You do need to be a member to comment, but you never know what could be said and it could be ever-changing.
Advertising on page? No
The internet is a wonderful place because you can find anything.
The internet is a scary place because you can find anything.
Hi, I’m Jodie, and I’m a mom with an 8-year-old son. He loves the internet and all the wonders it holds, but I couldn’t just let him run around willy-nilly looking for cool things.
Since I was poking about anyway looking for fun videos for him to watch – ones I would let him see – I thought I might as well post my findings so that others may benefit.
Before using the site, I would suggest taking a peek at the Disclaimer page.
Happy surfing!