Nick Jr. Show: Ni Hao, Kai-lan
Ni Hao, Kai-lan is a relatively new Nick Jr. show for preschoolers (~ages 2 to 5). It was originally supposed to start back in October 2007, but it did not first air until earlier this month on February 7, 2008 (Chinese New Year’s). The main character in the show is Kai-lin, who is a 5 year-old Chinese-American girl. The show presents Chinese culture as well as incorporates some Chinese Mandarin words. The show encourages viewers to interact and help develop their problem solving skills by helping the characters find solutions to their dilemmas. This show builds on Nick Jr.’s other shows that show multicultural children (Dora the Explorer and Go, Deigo,Go) and presents it in a new context of Chinese American culture. This show focuses a lot on emotions such as understanding emotions and how to control your emotions. This emphasis is based on the Chinese cultural tradition that it is a good thing to be calm and content. The context of the show’s characters being preschoolers and the episodes events being relevant to preschoolers today makes it easy for preschool viewers to relate to the characters and learn about emotions and relevant social skills.
The Nick Jr. website for this show also has some great activities to do with your preschooler to have fun beyond watching this show, such as Paper Lantern templates and a Paper Dragon craft.
The show airs weekdays on Nickelodeon at 11am Pacific and Eastern time.
Episode List as of 2/15/08:
Episode 1: Dragonboat Festival
Episode 2: Twirly Whirly Flyers
Episode 3: Tolee’s Rhyme Time
Episode 4: The Ant Playground
Episode 5: Wait, Hoho, Wait!
Episode 6: Kai-lan’s Campout
Episode 7: Happy Chinese New Year!
March 23rd, 2008 at 5:03 pm
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