High quality video content is invaluable for minority language learning. Video input is nearly essential to grow fluency and vocabulary in young children when only one or two adults in the child’s life speak the target language.
German-speaking families are especially lucky when seeking out high quality video inputs for their children, as German public broadcasters make so much wonderful content available to viewers anywhere in the world, either via YouTube or their own apps (this article walks you through the options).
In my opinion, few US programs come close to the quality of shows made for children in Germany, so our family chose to only show our son children’s content in German during the preschool years. However, we definitely changed up our watching routines over the years depending on our son’s developmental needs and our evolving schedule. We’re currently in a low screen-time phase, as he’s reading a ton, but at other times we’ve watched a lot more. During one period when my son was having trouble sitting still long enough to eat, we even had a TV dinner ritual.
Whatever we choose to watch, we always had a parent participating. This helps us maintain safety when using Internet-based services, like YouTube, but it also increases the pedagogical value of the shows, as we can talk with our son about what we’re seeing and pick the right mix of videos at the right time. Especially when watching YouTube, we never use the autoplay feature or leave our son unattended. Below I have written brief introductions to our favorite shows and linked the YouTube channels. The shows can also be found on German broadcaster apps, such as ARD, ZDF or KiKa.
Die Maus The most famous German children’s show, Die Maus is mostly short nonfiction with some small humorous cartoons in the mix. There are videos of different lengths, from 3 minutes to 20 minutes.
Der Elefant Is similar to Die Maus, but geared more to the very youngest (3-6). The Moritz und die Maschinen episodes are a standout.
Bibliothek der Sachgeschichten short nonfiction episodes, many from the 1980s that show how things work or are made (e.g. slow motion water droplet, why are there holes in cheese, how are the stripes made in toothpaste). The presenter, Armin Maiwald, is considered to be a national treasure, a bit like Mr. Rogers.
Unser Sandmännchen (second channel) Short cartoons and puppet shows of 3-10 minutes. Each cartoon features a cute and nostalgic stop-motion intro and outro of the Sandmann saying goodnight. The Sandmann stop-action films and puppet shows are a mix of modern and DDR content, but the cartoons are all modern. Some standouts are Dr. Brumm, Moppi und Miwau, Jan und Henry, Pittiplatsch, Raketenflieger Timmi.
KiKaNiNCHEN A mix of short shows.
ZDFchen Meine Freundin Conni and Rudis Rasselbande are the standout series on this channel.
Sesamstraße German Sesame Street. There are also audio play versions on the YouTube channel.
Bobo Siebenschlaefer This playlist of WDR videos is no longer being added to, but the Bobo videos are very popular with preschoolers.
Dr. Brumm This playlist from Unser Sandmaennchen has all the Dr. Brumm videos. Each episode is about 4 minutes.
Wisch und Mopp A cute puppet series for preschoolers, no longer being updated.
Meine Schmusedecke a standalone channel for a series of short videos that show social/emotional problem-solving journeys through animals embroidered on a child’s blanket.
Janoschs Traumstunde Cartoons based on the stories of the famous German children’s author, Janosch. The stories are a bit surreal and strange, which may appeal to some kids but not all.
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