teaching baby irish

sweetnjuicy

Hey guys just wondering if anyone knows if theres any sets or dvds to help a young baby start to learn irish??
I remember when i was in school we had muzzy but it no longer seems to be available in irish which sucks as it would be fun and keep his attention.

Now my lil man is only 4 weeks old but am thinking of introducing something like this from about 3 months. Would like him to have a better start with languages than i did.

Am getting him babog baby for xmas too. Its a fab teddy and will help him to start with as well as being fun.

Any advice would be much welcomed.

deise go deo

sweetnjuicy wrote: »

Hey guys just wondering if anyone knows if theres any sets or dvds to help a young baby start to learn irish??
I remember when i was in school we had muzzy but it no longer seems to be available in irish which sucks as it would be fun and keep his attention.

Now my lil man is only 4 weeks old but am thinking of introducing something like this from about 3 months. Would like him to have a better start with languages than i did.

Am getting him babog baby for xmas too. Its a fab teddy and will help him to start with as well as being fun.

Any advice would be much welcomed.

You can get Dora the Explorer DVD's from the TG4 website.

sweetnjuicy

my other half would murder me if i showed our son dora lol. He hates dora with a passion and sees it as a girls show.
Not sure i disagree on the girls show part myself tbh

conor.hogan.2

http://www.tg4.ie/siopa/shop/category.asp?catid=13

byhookorbycrook

If you want him to attend a Gaelscoil, put his name down now, seriously.

Liobarnach

Hi Sweet&Juicy,

I am in the same boat, tho my baby is 4 months old. I have purchased Rabhlaí Rabhlaí (Nursery Rhymes as Gaeilge) and several Childrens books as Gaeilge.

I think this is better than watching cartoons as they say interacting with baby helps them learn it quicker, do you have Irish yourself? If you do, I suggest speaking to baby in Irish all the time and if not, do so as much as you can!:)

deirdremf

sweetnjuicy wrote: »

Hey guys just wondering if anyone knows if theres any sets or dvds to help a young baby start to learn irish??
I remember when i was in school we had muzzy but it no longer seems to be available in irish which sucks as it would be fun and keep his attention.

Now my lil man is only 4 weeks old but am thinking of introducing something like this from about 3 months. Would like him to have a better start with languages than i did.

Am getting him babog baby for xmas too. Its a fab teddy and will help him to start with as well as being fun.

Any advice would be much welcomed.

As a parent, I'd say that he's a bit young for video, it will mean very little to him - and will make him a tv junky from an early age, if you're not very careful!!!
There used to be a nice cd by Padraigín Ní Uallacháin called "A stór is a stóirín", actually a package of two cds, one for adults and one with songs suitable for kids.

A booklet came with the cds, with the songs written out and also translated, iirc.
But what your child needs really, imo, is for you to bring this all to life: talk to him in Irish.
No need to be shy, he won't criticise your Irish if it is less than perfect.
And of course, sing along to him with the cd, he'll surely love that too.

PS I've just looked googled Padraigín Ní Uallacháin, and found her website. The cd's still available:
http://www.irishsong.com/recordings_stor.html

Ádh mór!!

byhookorbycrook

"Cúla 4 is the young people’s service on TG4. They have recently released a Gaeilge app designed for both iPhone and iPad. The app is aimed at younger pupils and provides over 100 fun Irish language words. The vocabulary is presented in four groups – Weather, Animals, Vehicles, and Parts of the Body. It includes the written and the spoken version of each word accompanied by clear images of the word. It also includes a drawing page, to scribble your own words! At the moment, the app is quite basic and it would be great to see it developed further. It teaches the vocabulary in isolation, so the word is not heard in context in a sentence. Nevertheless, given the lack of quality apps to support the learning of Gaeilge in the classroom, it’s great to see our Irish language TV station coming up with a good quality educational app."

from seomraranga.com

craoltoir

Tá CD-Rom ar fáil ó Chló Mhaigh Eo: www.leabhar.com

Tá leabhair éagsúla do pháistí ar fáil a bhfuil dlúthdhiosca ag gabháil leo mar shampla Máire agus a Mála agus Micí Moncaí, scéalta le Mairéad Ní Ghráda.

Féach anseo chomh maith http://www.siopagaeilge.ie/store-nr.htm

JniC

Ící Pící is a lovely book and CD, with music and singing. Songs young children learn in preschool and primary with a couple of new songs too. it's all young children singing on it.

Though generally you could try these resources;

The litriocht.com website has loads on it for children of all ages.

COGG.ie would also be a good resource. They, in association with Glór na nGael have a van that travels all the schools with resources for teachers to use with children of all ages.

naionrai.ie deal with preschool ages but may have some suggestions.

There really is so much for children and babies and plenty of variation too.

franc 91

There's another CD from Padraigin Ni Uallachain called Suantrai which you might like to listen to. As I've said elsewhere Naionrai Forbairt have brought out new versions of the Basic Irish for Parents with CDs and they also sell a lovely CD and booklet called Codail A Mhuirnin. For older children you might be able to find the DVD and book Spraoi le Chéile and COGG.ie have a DVD about children's games called Cluichi Clois which even a toddler might enjoy watching.

sillysocks

Not sure if it would help but every morning (during the week anyway) TG4 have all the cartoons in Irish - not sure exactly what ones but I know Dora is one cause our little girl loves it! There's definitely other ones as well though.

Micilin Muc

sweetnjuicy wrote: »

Now my lil man is only 4 weeks old but am thinking of introducing something like this from about 3 months. Would like him to have a better start with languages than i did.

Why did you decide on 3 months? Can you not start now?

Gael

Micilin Muc wrote: »

Why did you decide on 3 months? Can you not start now?

Micilín is right; best to start straight away. Even if it's only a few sentences here or there. The earlier you start, the earlier your child will pick it up. May I recommend you read the booklet printed by 'Comhluadar' on raising your children with Irish. It answers all the questions and concerns that parents might have when wishing to speak Irish to their children at home. You can download it free from here: http://www.comhluadar.ie/documents/final_gaeilge.pdf

The 'Rabhlaí Rabhlaí' CD of songs and nursery rhymes for kids is meant to be good. You can read and listen to a sample of it here: http://www.cdu.mic.ul.ie/rabhlai/sampla.htm and buy it here: http://www.litriocht.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=4369

Rabhlaí Rabhlaí is a delightful collection of rhymes and songs in Irish on CD with an accompanying booklet. The book and CD are well designed and produced. The book is illustrated in a bright child friendly cartoon style. The CD is lively and fun to listen to, even with a basic level of Irish. The accompanying music, some especially composed for the project, is atmospheric and a joy to listen to.

There's also 'Gaschaint', which is geared towards giving parents a good vocabulary and store of phrases for talking to their children in Irish: http://www.litriocht.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=3883

A handbook of 2000 phrases, together with a complete CD recording, for parents who wish their children to grow up able to speak Irish.
The three main Irish dialects are represented in the book, which is colour-coded for ease of use, and on the CDs.
All recordings are by native Irish speakers.
Several different ways of saying the same thing.

Good luck in your efforts and remember to buy through Irish suppliers to support Irish(-language) jobs.

cmacmurchaidh

All the best with it, I can't recommend anything that hasn't been mentioned above. Just be consistent with your child's exposure to the language. I have spoken Irish to my children since they were born and rarely speak English to them, they generally respond to me in English but their understanding of the language is excellent. My eldest child understands now that if he asks for something in Irish he is more likely to get it.

franc 91

I'd love to get hold of Muzzy as Gaeilge too - if anyone knows if it's still available.

brianeanna

Sweet n' Juicy - YOU are the wee fella's primary source of language! Scaoil amach é, bad grammar and all! No amount of DVDs will teach him Irish if he's not hearing it from people.

Go on - go over to the the TV and tune it in to TG4. Now tune the Radio to Raidió na Gaeltachta (or Raidió na Life if you're in Dublin).

And give Comhluadar a call (info at comhluadar.ie). They're the support organisation for Irish-speaking parents. They've got fantastic stuff!

And alas, Muzzy is no longer available.

cmacmurchaidh

franc 91 wrote: »

I'd love to get hold of Muzzy as Gaeilge too - if anyone knows if it's still available.[/QUOTE

It was never converted to DVD format, I contacted the company who own the rights to Muzzy and they told me that they have no plans to convert it due to lack of demand. I couldn't see it taking a huge amount of effort to convert it but sin mar atá.

franc 91

That's very kind of you - but in fact I use it (the English version) in the video VHS format - here in France we have PAL as well, so if it's still available in VHS, I'm still interested.
Unfortunately the BBC who originally made it for the French ELT market, closed down Omnivox, their French distributor and sold the rights to Early Advantage, who put the price up about tenfold. The BBC are now selling an anniversary package with all the different languages included at an enormous price and Irish isn't in it, so I'm guessing that for the Irish version there was a separate commercial arrangement. The children love it, but the reservation I have about it is that it's a cartoon (ie you don't see any real people) and you only hear adult voices, which is why I'm always looking for authentic teaching materials that show children. That's why I mentioned Spraoi le Chéile and Cluichi Clois in the case of Irish. I have similar problems with Mantra Lingua who produce (or they did) bilingual materials in several languages including Irish - they had a lovely version of Clann Lir by Dawn Casey and Diana Mayo.

Stabshauptmann

cmacmurchaidh wrote: »

franc 91 wrote: »

I'd love to get hold of Muzzy as Gaeilge too - if anyone knows if it's still available.[/QUOTE

It was never converted to DVD format, I contacted the company who own the rights to Muzzy and they told me that they have no plans to convert it due to lack of demand. I couldn't see it taking a huge amount of effort to convert it but sin mar atá.

If anyone can get hold of an old VHS of Muzzy I will convert it to DVD for them! Would really like to get a hold of him myself.

sue z

There's Gotta be some Primary School teachers out there that can get their hands on a copy!!

quinsworth

Stabshauptmann wrote: »

cmacmurchaidh wrote: »

If anyone can get hold of an old VHS of Muzzy I will convert it to DVD for them! Would really like to get a hold of him myself.

Id love to get a copy if possible too