The Fruit of Her Hands: Learn Our History

Mike Huckabee and Brad Saft co-founded Learn Our History with the goal of making learning history fun for kids. They have created a video series called Learn Our History: TimeCycle Academy. The series features a group of friends who go back in time to relive the most influential stories of our nation. Each video lasts about 30 minutes. Click here to see Mike Huckabee and Brad Saft discussing this series.

There are currently 5 titles available Columbus and the Great Discovery, The Birth of a Revolution, 911 and The War on Terror, Origins of World War II , and The Reagan Revolution with many more planned to be released this year. You can see a complete list here.

A few reasons parents love "Learn Our History" from the website:

Motivates and inspires your children to learn US history
Helps your kids understand and appreciate US history
Develops a strong sense of national pride
Teaches your children historical truth without bias
97% of kids remember what they learn from the videos
Learn Our History improves grades by making history fun

Sample videos can be found on the website or just watch below:
(you can see more previews by clicking on the links I posted above for each title)

Columbus and The Great Discovery:

The Birth of a Revolution:

I like the content of the videos we were able to see. The style reminds me of a cross between The Magic Schoolbus and Scooby-Doo. The animation is slightly rudimentary but not bad. You can read a description of each of the characters here. One character, Connor, is a rude boy and I really could do without him. He calls the other kids "losers" and "a crew of thumbsuckers" and other similar things. It's a real turn off to me and I don't like it at all. (and is frankly enough to make me not purchase the videos.) He also wears a shirt that says, "I rule, you drool." The videos are listed as family friendly and outside of this, I'd say that they are. The history is probably over the heads of young kids but from what I can tell some very serious topics are handled in a way that is appropriate for children.

There are links on each video page to discussion questions, a timeline, trivia and more that can be used in conjunction with the videos. These videos would make a nice supplement to any history curriculum.

You can order Learn our History DVDs from the Learn Our History website or call 877-US-HISTORY. Currently you can purchase Columbus and The Great Discovery for $9.95 and receive The Birth of a Revolution free. (Shipping is $3.95 PER video. This includes online streaming of the same videos (available for a limited time.) The DVDs come with a money back guarantee. Other DVDs are available for $9.95 each plus $3.95 shipping (see note below) and these come with a free bonus which includes a DVD storage case, a shoulder sack, a pair of binoculars and a Learn Our History sticker set.

One thing to note is that when you order a video you are then subscribed to receive new videos as they are released. An e-mail will be sent alerting you that a new DVD is available. If you do nothing you will receive the DVD and your credit card will be charged. If you do not wish to receive it, you must call within 10 days to say you don't want it which does not cancel your subscription. If you would like to cancel your subscription then you must call to do that as well. (I must admit I am NOT a fan of buying things through a subscription like that. I'd prefer to just order the ones I want.) The first DVD you order is $9.95 plus $3.95 shipping, subsequent DVD's cost $11.95 plus $3.95 shipping.

The website can be a bit difficult to navigate but if you scroll down to the bottom of the main page there are links to the other pages. They also offer a streaming only option which costs the same as the DVD's but there is no shipping charge. It is mentioned on the website but you must call to get this offer. (877-US-HISTORY that's 877-874-4786)

See what others are saying about Learn Our History on the TOS Crew blog.