It is incredibly important to me that my kids learn about different people
and different cultures. Perhaps it is the small town we are living in right now but I feel like I am stuck in the 1960s or something sometimes with the attitudes that prevail here and I do not want my kids to share that attitude. The area where they live and go to school is not diverse by any means. This is why we have lots of books about different cultures and people. I will be reviewing one this week that is really awesome in fact. This is why my daughter goes to an immersion school. This is why I insisted that my son watch the movie Australia with me so that he could see the horror of prejudice. This is why I plan on taking my kids to a holocaust museum.
Mostly what I can do though is make sure they see the beauty in other cultures though… their literature, their stories, their history, their religion, their language, their music, etc. My kids especially love to listen to ethnic music. Even my littlest guy gets in on the action. This week he has been watching a video and listening to an audio CD from Baby Einstein called World Music. It has beautiful sounds and music from every continent. My two youngest both really enjoy the CD and my youngest loves watching the kids play music on the DVD.
As one who LOVES ethnic music myself and since I grew up playing the pans I want my kids to love all types of music too. I am just one of those types that can’t clean or make a meal unless I am also dancing. Is is just not possible to slice fresh tomatoes from the garden without Funiculì, Funiculà playing in the background. They will either grow up appreciating the different sounds of the world or they will just remember I was kinda of loony tunes. ;)
My son is a bit older now and we’re into Little Einsteins, and it’s amazing how he can tell different music themes and about pyramids and art. I love that show!
My 5 year old LOVES the Little Einsteins. She learns so much from them.
Tiffany if you like music from around the world check out Putumayo Kids. They have a collection of awesome kids music. We have been listening to these CD’s since my first son was born 2 1/2 years ago and we haven’t grown tired of them yet. We especially love Reggae Playground, Animal Playground, and Dreamland.
Tiffany, I can relate to living in a small town that is not diverse. I also try to do my best to introduce different cultures to my children. Thank you for sharing this with me because I can feel so alone in this little town sometimes.
I love learning about different cultures which is why I married a Greek. My 6 year old loves geography. We read an atlas and he plays the Leappad Geography game. I try to teach my kids that everyone is different and special. We have travel vouchers from being bumped and my kids want to leave the country. My 4 year old wants to go to Africa to see the elephants and my 6 year old has a long list including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, Kuala Lampur (sp). He felt he was deprived because he’s only been to Canada but no other countries. I told him to ask his classmates and most haven’t left the country. Most people think my kids want Disney but they want the real thing!!!
I concur with Julie. We are HUGE fans of the Putamayo series of children’s music. My 4 year old sings Waltzing Matilda to her sister and tries to sing it in the native aborginal tongue! thanks for this great tip – I will have to look into it. You are truly amazing with all the great info!