Until I was 11 years old, the farthest point I ventured outside of my Brooklyn neighborhood was driving upstate every summer to the Catskill Mountains. Then at 12 years old, I got on a plane to the Middle East and my idea of my place and purpose in the world slowly began to take shape.
Acquainting myself with the exotic scents, cuisines and customs of other cultures fueled my understanding that I was part of a global community that was far more vast than my little Brooklyn enclave.
All these years later, my kids are far more cosmopolitan than I, and have been aware that they’re part of a global village since toddlerdom, having been inundated by “Sesame Street” vignettes featuring kids from different countries. Of course, I can’t discount Disney’s influence in peaking my kids’ curiosity in the far-reaching ends of the earth with films like “Mulan” and “Aladdin.” And I make sure to provide my kids with multicultural meals hailing from other parts of the world Mexico, Japan, India and China.
If you’re interested in teaching your child about the extensive world in which he lives, you’ll want to keep reading for information about some very cool multicultural toys and ways to learn a new language.
LITTLE PIM
Created by an award-winning filmmaker and mom, Little Pim Language Learning DVD series is for parents who want to help expose their kids to the basic building blocks of a foreign language. Each 35-minute DVD introduces more than 60 words and phrases, is available in French, Spanish, Chinese and English, takes place entirely in a foreign language and is segmented into five-minute episodes.
What kids will go gaga for: Little Pim, the animated panda, and his antics. Babies will respond to the colorful imagery and gentle pace. Toddlers will enjoy the DVD’s video segments of children engaged in daily activities like eating, drinking, playing and napping. While preschoolers will like repeating words in a foreign language. The DVD, which comes with a 12-page Parent Guide, helps parents with no prior foreign language experience to be the language teacher.
Drawbacks: Preparing yourself for the inevitability that you will likely be watching the same video several times over the course of one day and keeping up with your child’s newly acquired language skills.
Overall: These DVDs & Books can help parents take advantage of the fertile period between birth and 5 years when their child’s brain is primed to naturally learn multiple languages and subsequently gain lifelong benefits of enhanced cognitive, math, reading and writing skills.
Melissa and Doug Kids Toy,Children Around the World 48-Piece Floor Puzzle
This wonderfully illustrated 48-piece circular cardboard floor puzzle features twelve children from around the world dressed in traditional ethnic clothing. It introduces children to various cultures, and helps them notice differences and similarities. This unique multicultural puzzle from Melissa and Doug measures 32” across. The extra-thick pieces feature an easy-clean surface to keep them looking like new.
This family favorite, Turista Mexicano, from Mexico is a great way to make memories, practice Spanish and learn about Mexican culture.
A lovely gift for parents who have a love for language, history, or who consider themselves to be students of culture, this colorful set of 27 hand-hewn blocks puts the ancient language of the Jewish people at their child’s fingertips. Also, even if a child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah is years away, it’s never too early to get an education on their heritage and the beautiful written language of their people. These lovely cubes are specially made for little hands: letters, numbers and animal prints can be traced easily by tiny fingers, and the blocks’ beveled edges make getting a grip on language that much easier
Little girls will have fun creating their own global fashion show as they dress up in this Girls’ Japanese Kimono Costume.
Bojeux Matchitecture Japanese Bridge
Let the artist and engineer in you escape! With Matchitecture, you can create miniature replications of famous landmarks, or even your favorite hobbies and interests. Each model is built from wooden microbeams that you cut to size and glue together, following the specific step-by-step instructions. This Japanese Bridge model contains 500 microbeams and is for intermediate levels. Challenge yourself to create something spectacular, one microbeam at a time. Set includes microbeams, tweezers, glue and craft knife. Ages 14 and up.
How cute is this Bento Box
Truth be told these products have been test-driven by yours truly and my kids and we’ve all become slightly obsessed with all things Japanese culture.
I love the idea of trying to introduce our kids to things globally. I think it is the world that they will need to know as adults. Thanks for the tips!
I love the idea of letting the kids explore other cultures! I think that the best education is the one where we teach our kids of what other cultures are like! As much as we can we also travel with him.
It is so nice to see companies that educate children on other cultures. I think it is so important for kids to know what the rest of the world is like. That’s the only way future generations are going to know how to deal with people from other cultures. They need to be educated about them.
Because we are a transracial family, we explore many cultures. We like to visit other countries to help them experience it first hand too.
I’ve never heard of any of these toys but truly appreciate their purpose! I would love to help my children learn and branch out like this.
I love Little Pim too! I know my first daughter was able to learn a great deal about other cultures thanks to it.
I think it is important for kids to learn about different cultures. Kids always learn more when they are having fun.
These are such excellent toys for teaching our children about the world. As much as my children are way more cultured than I was at that age, we still have so many places around the world to see!
I think it’s very important to expose our kids to cultural diversity and different perspectives, which is great way to promote open thinking. I love the bento box =)
All of these are so great. I think all kids need to be able to learn more about culture. That Bento box is really cute. I may have to grab one of those for my girls.
Little Pim is awesome! I am dying over the sushi bento box, it is so cute!
This is a great way to teach kids to explore the world. My kids love learning about other culture, and I’m sure they’ll love these!