Chinese nursery songs we sing to our kids

I like to sing these songs to my kids. They are all famous Chinese nursery songs that I heard growing up, and the kids like them! Enjoy!

Two Tigers 两只老虎

Here you will hear our kids sing two little tigers song. We will be adding the video very soon.







Find Friends 找朋友



Twinkle Twinkle Little Star 一闪亮晶晶



I'm a painter 我是一个粉刷匠



Where is spring 春天在哪里



Mom is the best in the whole world 世上只有妈妈好




"If you are happy and you know it" "幸福拍手歌”

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in Chinese and English -- Our music video!

First we recorded as audio track together, and then we had the kids sing along with the music they made as a music video. They love watching it! I hope your kids do, too.




一闪一闪亮晶晶
yī shǎn yī shǎn liàng jīng jīng
满天都是小星星
mǎn tiān dōu shì xiǎo xīng xīng
挂在天上放光芒
guà zài tiān shàng fàng guāng máng
好像天上有眼睛
hǎo xiàng tiān shàng yǒu yǎn jīng
一闪一闪亮晶晶
yī shǎn yī shǎn liàng jīng jīng
满天都是小星星
mǎn tiān dōu shì xiǎo xīng xīng

Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are

What do you think?

Ting Mama de Hua (听妈妈的话) -- song by Jay Chou

This is another song that's great to play around the kids. Jay Chou is a very famous Taiwanese singer who sings pop and rap infused with traditional Chinese music. He is very talented, and his song Ting Mama de Hua (听妈妈的话) is a classic. Play this around your kids and encourage them to both learn Chinese and listen to their parents ... a win win situation!

Also available on google play and iTunes.

宝贝 -- Song by Zhang Xuan (Desert Xuan)

Also available on google play and iTunes.

This is an adorable little song called 宝贝, which means "baby". She is singing about her baby and the lyrics are very loving and cute. Zhang Xuan's voice is very good and sounds great with her acoustic guitar. She also sings very clearly and is easy to understand. This is a great, uplifting song to play around your little ones!

A Little Mandarin -- Chinese Children's Classics

We just discovered A Little Mandarin -- Chinese Children's Classics last week. It's now our favorite source for Chinese children's songs. We previously reviewed another CD called Little Dragon Tales, which we also highly recommend, but this album has some differences that probably make it an even better choice for your little children.

Both CD's cover classics like "Two Tigers - Liang Zhi Lao Hu". Both are produced well and have high quality music. As an adult, I prefer to listen to Little Dragon Tales. The music is more interesting, with richer layers and more complexity and originality. However, kids don't always want originality, they often want what's simple.

I'm not saying that A Little Mandarin -- Chinese Children's Classics is simple, because there are lots of different instrumentation on each song. However, the vocals are always crisp and clear, and she really has a nice voice. It makes for great sing-a-long music, but it's not too nursey-like that it will drive an adult crazy.

The first time we put this on, our 3 year old instantly started singing along to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Happy Birthday (granted, he already knew those song in Chinese, but the point is that he really, really liked listening and singing along). After listening to the album a few more times, he was even singing along to songs that he previously didn't know that well.

We think you can't go wrong with this CD and highly recommend it.

Buy the digital mp3 album here:



Or the CD here:

Chinese music for kids: Little Dragon Tales

We just wanted to write a brief post to recommend an outstanding album of children's music. It's called Little Dragon Tales: Chinese Children's Songs by the Shanghai Restoration Project. The album is very well produced and is high quality. It features children singing classic Chinese children songs, but in surprisingly tasteful modern renditions.

There's lots of synthesizer, piano, and good drum beats that enhance the melodies and add an element of complexity that allows adults as well as children to enjoy them music. I am very picky with my music, and I even enjoy this.

Our kids request to listen to this album all the time, and they are starting to sing along to some of the songs.

If you want to give your kids a bit of Chinese culture and some good music, give this a try! Good children's music in general is hard to find, and we think this album is a keeper.

If you happen to have amazon prime... then it's free! Otherwise the MP3 will cost $8.99. We think it's worth it.




What do you think of this album? Any other music you recommend?