Growing up Wild ~ Schoolhouse Review

I get the opportunity to write my final review for the 2012 Schoolhouse review period about my favorite product we reviewed this year! "Growing up Wild" is a 5-volume dvd series written and narrated by the Wild family, missionaries in the Wano village in the jungles of Papua, Indonesia. The Wilds have four sons, and the videos are told from their perspective as children.

We had the privilege to review the 1st and 4th volumes. And let me tell you, we had a blast watching these videos!

 Each dvd contains three episodes that are about 15 minutes long. They are very personal, narrated by either mom or dad, and show amateur video footage of many different aspects of village living, accompanied by music. Even the family's pets are involved! They are very fun to watch and so, so interesting! Each volume also contains a separate cd that has a printable Activity Guide. Each video has suggested activities at the end of the episode (which are the same as what's on the printable guide) that go along with that episode.



I say it so often that we love unit studies! And just recently my kids have decided that they wanted to do geographical studies. We were completing our unit on Nigeria when we received the "Growing up Wild" videos. So, we decided that Indonesia would be next.


How we used the video series

Each day we would watch a video. Then we would read some picture books about Indonesia or set in Indonesia. We would end our time each day doing one of the activities suggested in the Activity Guide.

Volume 1

"Home Sweet Hut" ~ We learned about the living arrangements for the Wild family and all about the Wano hut. We compared our home to the Wano homes and then made our own Wano huts by using materials from our yard.

"Supply Trip" ~ We learned about what it takes for the Wild family to plan for and obtain six months worth of supplies to live. Then we did some math to see what our family would need to survive for six months.

"Sun and Water" ~ We learned how the Wild family obtains their power by use of water and sunlight. Then we made a solar oven and cooked hot dogs and s'mores by the power of the sun.

Volume 4

"Amazing World Around Us" ~ We learned all about the animals in the Papua jungle and about their environment and ecosystem. Then we took a trip to the zoo and recorded the different animals and their environments and ecosystems, particularly the chimpanzees.

"Adventures in Culture" ~ Obviously the Wano culture is much different than our culture and we learned some interesting things. We were all shocked to see two of the Wild brothers get their noses pierced. Then I pierced Eli and Brynne's noses. JUST KIDDING! I told them that was what we were going to do, and they freaked! We did do comparisons of our culture to the Wano culture, and then we compared our culture with our immediate neighbors, the Amish.

"Tribal Calling" ~ The last episode we watched showed the hard work of the Wild family as missionaries. But, more than anything they showed how many others are involved in mission work, not just the missionaries living in the villages. They compared the different aspects of missionary work to an iceberg, so we made our own iceberg as a demonstration.

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Each and every day the kids wanted to know when we were going to watch our Indonesia video. And, when they were completed, Eli said, "I wish we had these videos for every country we study." So do I, buddy, so do I. Seriously, this was the best way to learn!

Each volume in the dvd series can be purchased separately for $18.95, or all five dvds can be purchased in a bundle for $80.99, a savings of 15%, by going to the Wild Brothers Website. And, in my opinion, this is a great cause to support. It's a win/win for all involved.

To read other reviews on this product, go to the Schoolhouse Crew blog.



{Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.}

And that's a wrap for this season. See you next year!!