We all have them – our top choices for babysitting DVDs. These are the ones you pop into the DVD player when you’re desperate for 30 minutes of relatively interruption-free time to get some work done. Rock ‘N Learn’s Dance with the Animals DVD for preschoolers is at the absolute top of my list for times when I need to keep my crew occupied.

My children love live-action footage of animals, and animals in general, so the combination of computer animated hosts (Katie Cat, Rex Rooster, Freddy Fox), with real footage of animals, and children dancing in front of colorful backgrounds really fits the bill in our house. They don’t need any encouragement from me they’re soon clapping their hands, imitating animal noises, and prancing around our living room to the lively songs.

Simple animal facts are related in song and through the interaction of the hosts, and animal sounds are also presented for most of the animals (it’s funny listening to my toddler trying to imitate all of their noises). The live footage includes more than 60 creatures, and when they come on screen my 20-month old squeals, points, and jabbers excitedly – this is definitely her favorite part of the DVD, though she loves the dancing songs as well. Animals are presented from the farm, forest, and zoo, as well as common domestic animals and African wildlife.

I was surprised to see how much my older children enjoyed the DVD as well. My three-year-old had actually asked for me to get her a copy, and she loves to dance with her sisters, but even my six-year-old jumps into the action as soon as I pop the disc in. Recommended for children age two and over, the children on-screen correspond with the ages and sizes of my own children – an assortment of preschool and early elementary aged little ones.

The main portion of the DVD is 35 minutes long (my toddler just watched through 27-minutes of it without needing me once.) Two bonus segments are also included, “Where are the Farm Animals?” and “The Sound Farm”. These are a bit corny as they include static images of live animals against a colorful background. These pictures are rocked back and fort to suggest movement. My kids really like “The Sound Farm Song” though the very simple animal location game in “Where are the Farm Animals?” is something of a miss.

The computer-graphics are somewhat simplistic; textures are flat, and colors tend to be simple bold blocks of color. Honestly though, I don’t care! My children adore this DVD; they go absolutely wild for it. That combined with an emphasis on education and movement makes it a winner in my book. Parents may also want to note that this disc presents no information related specifically to either evolution or creation.

This disc won’t give you a quiet time to get some work done – your children will be squealing, laughing, and making animal sounds – but it will certainly keep your children occupied, happy, and they even get to pick up some simple educational information about animal habitats, caring for pets, and other informative tidbits.

A video sample from this DVD can be found on the Rock ‘N Learn website. U.S. readers can use coupon code JQ7711 for a 25% discount there.

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