As parents and world citizens, Alfie and I feel very strongly about giving our kids a global outlook and exposing them to different mindsets. We do have some natural advantages in this area because Alfie and I come from different cultures (Filipino and English), and we're raising our kids in a third (American -- but a very multicultural Silicon Valley American). Someday we want to move to another country to give our kids a taste of what it's like to live in a completely different culture. But for now, anything that helps broaden their cultural horizons is a good thing. So we go to different festivals, try a variety of cuisines, listen to different kinds of music.
A couple of months ago, along with several other SavvySource blogs, I hosted a giveaway on Being Savvy Silicon Valley for a Global Wonders kids DVD. Ever the swag whore, I put my name in the hat for a couple of the other site's giveaways -- and was lucky enough to win one of them! We received the Global Wonders: Around the World DVD and have been enjoying it ever since.
The story features a truly multicultural cast of children -- and I don't mean just white and black, I'm talking Persian, Italian, Irish, French, African American, Chinese, Mexican, Indian, including a multiracial kid (half Japanese, half American) -- at the park, having a picnic with their parents and playing together. The kids talk about their cultures -- foods they eat, words they say, games they play. The animation alternates with live footage of said cultural topics (sort of like the Baby Einstein videos, but for bigger kids), along with some sing-along music with a catchy ethnic vibe. The kids were very engaged in repeating all the different phrases in each language, and they were fascinated by all the global scenes. We now have a list of places around the world we want to visit! Around the World is a great way to introduce children to different cultures. If the other Global Wonders DVD's are as good as this one, we might be adding a few more from this series to our collection.
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