Global Wonders Review & Giveaway!

As a childcare provider, I value quality children’s toys, games and activities that promote learning and interaction. Even though I believe children shouldn't watch much TV, I think that some shows now a days are great because of how much teaching and learning is involved. There are many series that I could mention, but for the purpose of this article, I will be reviewing a wonderful new series called Global Wonders.

Global Wonders is a fabulous children’s series that introduces your child to a variety of different cultures and languages. This series shows the cultural diversity that is now the ‘norm’ in North America. Global Wonders DVDs feature high quality and adorable animations, as well as photographs and video footage featuring a number of different cultures. Each video features a new play date with a group of multicultural friends. Throughout the episode, you learn how each culture differs in terms of traditions, foods, languages, etc.

“Global Wonders was created by Rashmi Turner, a working mother and the former Executive Producer at The Walt Disney Company, and includes new animation, music, and stories written and performed by Emmy award winning leaders in children's entertainment and guided by experts in children’s developmental education.”

Global Wonders are perfect for helping your child “gain a broader understanding of themselves and the world around them, fostering a stronger self-identity, increased self-esteem, and improved cultural and social skills.”

Global Wonders currently offers 4 DVDs: Around the World, Mexico, India, and African-American, as well as a brand new CD called Global Wonders: Around the World Music. Soon, Global Wonders will be releasing three more CDs, as well as three more Global Wonders DVDs: China, Italy, and America!

Global Wonders’ DVDs can be purchased on Amazon for only $15.99 and their CD can be purchased on Amazon for only $10.99!

Review
I had a chance to test the Global Wonders DVDs out on two different groups of children I look after. The children I showed these DVDs to were between the ages of 2 and 4. The outcome was unanimous; they loved them! I am definitely not surprised by the outcome since I really loved them as well.

Compared to other series that I have seen before, I feel that this series has taught me the most (in terms of cultural awareness). Not only have I (and the children I take care of) learned about different languages, but we’ve also had the chance to learn about different cultural aspects such as food, traditions (e.g. holidays), sports, history, etc. The learning opportunities in these DVDs are endless.

While watching these episodes, I have to say, the children were glued to the TV but interacting and learning at the same time. I was surprised by how much information they were soaking up. I really enjoyed the idea of Global Wonders Fun Features: Wonder Vision and Language Jams. My favorite out of the two would definitely be the Language Jams. I loved these parts because it taught a bunch of things that I never even knew before. In addition, it made the learning process much more interactive. The Language Jams were also a favorite of the 4 year old I look after. She couldn’t wait for ‘the next Jam’ (in her words) and would always have fun following along and shouting out the brand new words she was learning.

Wonder Vision was also a hit. The purpose of Wonder Vision is to get your children interacting with the show. Wonder Vision allows you to “open secret paths to fun facts, cultural wonders, and mystery treasures. Uncover new wonders and unlock new interactive treasures each time you play.” I thought Wonderful Vision was a fantastic concept and great for children (and adults)! Even though I enjoyed it, there is one aspect I would like to see changed in future episodes. For me, I found it very difficult to notice when it was time to press ‘enter’ on my remote for the special Wonder Vision sequence. I would love to see Global Wonders either make the kaleidoscope more evident (either bigger, a different color, etc.) or play a sound when it is time for a Wonder Vision activity. The way it is now, at most, we were able to participate in two Wonder Vision activities. I guess this just goes to show how captivating Global Wonders are for both children and adults!

All in all, I am a big fan of Global Wonders. I love the learning activities and the amount of interaction available in this series. After watching the show with the children I babysit, one of them is slightly addicted. It is the first thing she mentions when she sees me and she is set on her parents buying her a set. I guess it is a good thing that her birthday is coming up. Finally, I cannot wait until Global Wonders put out these next three DVDs. I will definitely be buying myself (I mean the children I take care of), a copy of each of them.

If you want to see what all the hype is about, be sure to check out Global Wonders’ YouTube page for a trailer and other fun clips.

How many winners will there be? Four.

What can you win? One winner will receive a Global Wonders: Around the World DVD. One winner will receive a Global Wonders: African-American DVD. One winner will receive a Global Wonders: India DVD. One winner will receive a Global Wonders: Mexico DVD.

To enter, Visit the Global Wonders website, then come back here and tell me which DVD you’d like to win PLUS, one interesting fact about that particular DVD. This question must be answered to gain an entry in the giveaway.

Each of the following will give you one extra entry in the giveaway. Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do:
-Telling me which fun feature you think you would like best.
-Signing up for Global Wonders’ newsletter here. In your comment, please state the email address you used to sign up.
-Subscribing to my blog via email or RSS.
-Adding my *new* button to your blog sidebar.
-Following me on Twitter (ihchicky). Please leave your Twitter name.
-Tweeting about this giveaway (with a link to this page) on Twitter. Please leave a link to your tweet. You can do this once a day.
-Blogging about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a link to your blog post in your comment. 3 ENTRIES! Please leave 3 seperate comments if you blog about this giveaway.

Important Entry Details: The above entries (main and bonus) can only be submitted once per person (except for the tweet entry, which can be done daily). Please do not use more than one blogger account or add additional anonymous comments to gain extra entries. This is not fair to everyone else and this practice is strictly prohibited. If a person is found to be using more than one account to enter the same giveaway, they will be disqualified from that particular giveaway, as well as all future giveaways.

This giveaway will end on Monday, June 1st at 11:59pm (Central Standard Time). After the giveaway has ended, the winner will be picked randomly using random.org. EMAIL RULES: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email only. Please make sure your blog profile includes your email address and make sure that it is visible. If you do not have a blogger account, please make sure you have included your email address in your post. If there is no email address provided, to contact the winner, another person will be chosen. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email notification. If a response is not received within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to US only.

Good Luck!