mathmarm Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Can anyone link to educational media and toys for French children? I'm not looking for Teach Your Child French type stuff, I'm looking for educational toys, CDs and DVDS that a French speaking parent would buy for their kids. I'm specifically interested in things that are speak in words or are electronic, not just sound effects. A toy dog that only barks is no good, a toy dog that says something in French is good. I found a TipToi on Amazon.fr--which is similar to the LeapFrog Tag pen, which seems like a good start. I found a couple of Disney DVDs that seem educational, here is one for (what I think is) Geography, and another for (I think) Reading and Math, Are there companies that are known for educational media, sort of like we English speakers have Leap Frog DVDs or Sesame Street? Edited January 17, 2016 by mathmarm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibiche Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Leapfrog exists in France (search on Amazon.fr or the FNAC), though I don't know anyone who uses it. That push seems more typically American. Gallimard Jeunesse Musique has a lovely series of books with CDs for young children if you are considering books. Search for "Mon imagier de..." Is there an Alliance Française in your area? They often offer classes or even story hour. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Are you looking for Parisian French or Canadian French? ....different creatures...;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 Are you looking for Parisian French or Canadian French? ....different creatures... ;) Either. It doesn't matter in the slightest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadenceSophia Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 What level are you looking for exactly and are the children already French speaking? Those DVD's linked are specifically region 2. Is that an issue? I haven't used any of them (in French or in English) but there are pages and pages of toys like that if you search "Jeux Educatifs" or "Jeux Electronique ludo-éducatifs" There are all kinds of tablets, a smart globe, digital books.. If this is for Jr., I would recommend going a totally different direction based on what you have said in other threads. You will spend oodles importing toys that will barely last him. Let me know if you would like to hear other ideas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Bayard has some magazines that come with CDs of the stories; would that be of any interest? Histoires pour les petits, J'apprends à lire, and Mes premiers j'aime lire are the ones I can think of that do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Please be careful if you buy toys from outside the US. It is technically illegal to purchase toys in Europe and have them shipped here. You can physically go to Europe, purchase a toy, and put it in your suitcase and bring it back, but you can't order from Amazon or something over there. :( Stupid laws here in the states! I only say this because I know I wanted to do this for my 2 year old and German toys and it is pretty much impossible unless you go over there and get it yourself, or know someone over there that can do it for you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Audible has some books in French, I've bought a few children's books from them. Does your local library have a French section? Some do. Type this into google: livre audio enfant youtube and you get a lot of children's stories. Here is The Elves and the Shoemaker: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Marlene Jobert has audiobooks that are great. She retells all the fairy tales, and a few she's written herself. Someone already mentioned LeapFrog is available here. There are a number of iPad apps that can be set to French. For the age of your kid, I like Cricket Kids: Opposites, and the same producers have a bunch of other apps and at least the ones I checked were also available in French- http://www.slimcricket.com/en/applications.htm The voices are native-speaker and the apps are simple and beautiful. My 4yo loved them starting at age 3. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 What level are you looking for exactly and are the children already French speaking? Those DVD's linked are specifically region 2. Is that an issue? I haven't used any of them (in French or in English) but there are pages and pages of toys like that if you search "Jeux Educatifs" or "Jeux Electronique ludo-éducatifs" There are all kinds of tablets, a smart globe, digital books.. If this is for Jr., I would recommend going a totally different direction based on what you have said in other threads. You will spend oodles importing toys that will barely last him. Let me know if you would like to hear other ideas. I would love to hear more ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 Marlene Jobert has audiobooks that are great. She retells all the fairy tales, and a few she's written herself. Someone already mentioned LeapFrog is available here. There are a number of iPad apps that can be set to French. For the age of your kid, I like Cricket Kids: Opposites, and the same producers have a bunch of other apps and at least the ones I checked were also available in French- http://www.slimcricket.com/en/applications.htm The voices are native-speaker and the apps are simple and beautiful. My 4yo loved them starting at age 3. We're currently keeping technology to a minimum here for Jr. we weren't going to introduce the PC/tablet to him prior to age 4 or 5, but if there was a wide enough variety of Educational apps in French, then we may reevaluate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 Please be careful if you buy toys from outside the US. It is technically illegal to purchase toys in Europe and have them shipped here. You can physically go to Europe, purchase a toy, and put it in your suitcase and bring it back, but you can't order from Amazon or something over there. :( Stupid laws here in the states! I only say this because I know I wanted to do this for my 2 year old and German toys and it is pretty much impossible unless you go over there and get it yourself, or know someone over there that can do it for you. Wow, that sucks! Can you link me to some English pages on those laws? I had assumed that some companies/resellers would offer WorldWide shipping and that would be that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 Bayard has some magazines that come with CDs of the stories; would that be of any interest? Histoires pour les petits, J'apprends à lire, and Mes premiers j'aime lire are the ones I can think of that do. Thanks! That is a good start. Audible has some books in French, I've bought a few children's books from them. Does your local library have a French section? Some do. Type this into google: livre audio enfant youtube and you get a lot of children's stories. Here is The Elves and the Shoemaker: OOh! Thanks for the phrases. That helps a lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Wow, that sucks! Can you link me to some English pages on those laws? I had assumed that some companies/resellers would offer WorldWide shipping and that would be that. http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Business--Manufacturing/Business-Education/Toy-Safety/ This is what it has to do with. Go to a large city or college town and find a toy shop that has international toys, and they will tell you ALL about it. The one near me had to bring in a lot of American toys, and more generic toys because testing is VERY expensive so toy manufacturers limit what they sell in the United States. Because of this it falls under the same jurisdiction as if you purchased Rx drugs in Europe and had them shipped here. They may not make it through customs and you and the party selling them to you could get in trouble. However, if it is shipped from a third party and seen as a gift or shipping it to yourself, it is okay. Also airlines don't care where you get things. I can find things on Amazon that are being sold "illegally" but they are about 3 times the price of the same thing in US, or even Europe. The safety laws just killed it for people like us to teach young children a language other then Spanish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 We're currently keeping technology to a minimum here for Jr. we weren't going to introduce the PC/tablet to him prior to age 4 or 5, but if there was a wide enough variety of Educational apps in French, then we may reevaluate. I understand this, as for my first two, I was a no-screens-before-4ish type mom. However, my recently turned 4yo picked up the entire alphabet, spelling of CVC rules, counting, and a number of other skills from apps. So there is at least some possibilities in tablets that make it superior to pure entertainment screen time. Other than that, I would suggest that if one parent speaks French as the first language, that you stick to One Parent One Language, which has worked well for all my kids without much else to add to it. (Although audiobooks are great!!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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