To start off our Chinese New Year celebrations, we’re so happy to be introducing you to A Little Mandarin! A Little Mandarin: Chinese Children’s Classics v 1.0 is full of children’s classic songs, sung in Mandarin, just as the name suggests.
Mandarin isn’t a language that we often hear here, so my children aren’t familiar with the sounds of it. It’s very different from English, Japanese, and Spanish. I believe it’s important to expose children to many different languages as early as possible so that they can learn to differentiate the sounds and be able to pronounce them. This fun album is one way to do this without any effort!
My children love learning about many cultures, and they’ve enjoyed attending the Chinese New Year festivities nearby, and they’re looking forward to going again this year. Each year they learn something a little different there, and we also try something new at home, too.
Last year we made chopstick cases, and this year we’re having fun with the Year of The Sheep crafts, which we’ll be sharing over the next two weeks. Crafts, food, and music are perfect ways to introduce children to cultures.
A little Mandarin is the proud work of Toni Wang, a New York City Mom who was born in Shanghai. I love that she’s been able to help share her native culture with her children in such an amazing way!
This album takes many classic children’s songs and gives them a new musical twist. You’ll find a pleasant mix of ska, dance, pop, rock, and electro styles that brings a freshness to the tunes. As you can tell, my children love it. And it’s not just the children…I’ve been playing the disc and humming along as well! It makes washing the dishes a little more entertaining.
Tristan has enjoyed listening to this Mandarin album so much he specifically requested that Happy Birthday be played for his birthday! We played it for him on both the actual day of his birthday, as well as the day his extended family celebrated with him. You can listen to it here:
And if you think you’ll never learn the words…think again! You can find all the lyrics to the songs in Mandarin characters, an English pronunciation guide, as well as an English translation for each of the songs on the main website. How helpful! Print them out and hang them up around the house for the children to refer to as they listen to the music.
Where can you get your own A Little Mandarin Music?
- You can find it on iTunes and Google Play.
- You can have a hard-copy shipped anywhere in the world from the A Little Mandarin shop
- If you’re in the USA, you can purchase this fun album from Amazon, either via digital download or a physical copy by using the affiliate link below.
If you’d like to know more or would like to follow A Little Mandarin, you can connect with them through their website, Facebook, Twitter.
Freebie
Here’s a little freebie for you to enjoy. A FREE download of A Little Mandarin’s version of the traditional Chinese Happy New Year song, 新年好 – xīn nián hǎo (lyrics)
pam Hutchinson kelly says
England
Carolyn Wilhelm says
A teacher I worked with sent her child to a preschool with I assume Mandarin, and now she is teaching in China for two years. My own children spoke Dutch when we lived in the Netherlands, and later one was great in German and one in French. Languages are not only fun and education, but can bring many opportunities!
Crystal McClean says
They certainly can bring many opportunities, and increased pay even if you don’t use them, but have them ‘just in case’.
To think in another language would be amazing!
Sarah at Journeys of The Zoo says
My daughter speaks/understands 3 languages and my son understands 3 and speaks 2 (English, French and Spanish). We speak Spanglish in the house.
I’d love to introduce them to another language.
Thanks for promoting this giveaway on my weekly giveaway linky (Tuesday).
Besos, Sarah
Journeys of The Zoo
Crystal McClean says
Languages are an amazing thing!
…running off to find a language lesson for the kids today…
Have a great weekend!
Lori H says
My children only speak English. They have studied Latin for 2 years. My oldest son has been taking Greek for 4 years. One of my daughters is studying French and another one is learning american sign language 🙂
Shecki @ Greatly Blessed says
My daughter Hannah was speaking Mandarin when we got her, although she only remembers a few words now. My daughter Katie was speaking Cantonese when we got her, and since we know no Cantonese, has completely lost it. I hope to put both girls in Saturday Chinese School in the fall.
Crystal McClean says
That sounds like a fun thing for them to learn together and connect. And the perfect way to keep in touch with their heritage. Great job, Momma!