I don't know how many of you reading this have small children but if you are like us and encourage your kids to learn about other cultures and languages then there is a tv show that you have try out- Ni Hao Kai-lan on Noggin!
Having taken two semesters of Chinese in college and of course being a student of Buddhism I am drawn to everything about the Eastern cultures. Noggin, which is a branch of Nick Jr, just premiered this new show and I am hooked. This is what the website says about the show:
Ni Hao, Kai-lan is the next generation of preschool television programming
that introduces the psychology of biculturalism. If Dora and Diego popularized
bilingualism, Kai-lan will weave together being bilingual and bicultural. Ni
Hao, Kai-lan reinforces the idea that being bicultural and bilingual is being
American. The show will familiarize the viewing audience with elements of
Chinese and Chinese American cultures to promote multicultural understanding in
the next generation and goes beyond featuring "culture" as only ethnic food and
festivals. Instead, it celebrates growing up in an intergenerational family,
having friends from diverse backgrounds, and "habits of the heart" that are
Chinese American.
One of the best things about the show is that it stresses being calm and content, not jumping around crazy and shouting to get things done like the plots in Dora. The songs are pretty cute as well!! Definitely another show that I won't mind watching with the girls!
