Brite Kids

When I was young, maybe 6, I remember my mom bringing home a set of 12 cassette tapes and corresponding books for us kids to listen to.  Let it be known that I listened to these tapes day in and day out, until every word and song was memorized.  I loved these tapes.  So 25 years later when my mother-in-law said she had these very same tapes and wondered if I would want them for my kids, I was all over it.   Oh the memories that came flooding back.  To my delight, my girls love them just as much as I did.  I remember thinking this would be a great thing to post on Citrus, but where would the readers find the tapes and who uses cassette tapes these days besides me...if only we could purchase them new today on CD.

Well, we are all in luck.  I recently discovered that these tapes are available for purchase on CD or MP3 download on Britemusic.com.  Brite has six different series of books and tapes.  I am only familiar with the Standin' Tall series and the Safety Kids series.  Here is what I absolutely love about these two series.
The Standin' Tall series is the one we enjoy now.  There are 12 books and CDs featuring 12 character building values: obedience, honesty, forgiveness, work, courage, happiness, gratitude, love, service, cleanliness, self-esteem and dependability.  The stories and songs do an excellent job of illustrating and bringing to life some hard to describe topics like dependability and courage.   If nothing else it opens up a discussion with my children as they ask questions.  I can't tell you how many times I have referred to the lessons in the tapes by saying something like, "remember in the tape how Jenny was ungrateful and no one wanted to help her anymore....or how the princess was unhappy even though she had everything she wanted." 

I will warn you the songs stick in your head and the music is reminiscent of the the late 1980s at times.  But overall they are very well done and are in every way applicable today as 25 years ago.  Standin' Tall is perfectly geared toward preschool to about 1st or 2nd grade age kids.  

The Safety Kids is another series that I loved as a child.  Monica, Amy, Freddy, Zan and Gregor are five kids that teach through different situations about the importance of safety rules: never talk to strangers, always use the buddy system, lock the doors when alone or taking care of younger kids, know your telephone number and don't let anyone do things to your body that they shouldn't do.

Again, Safety Kids helps parents begin discussing these important issues in a fun, child friendly way.  There are three CDs in this series: Personal Safety, Stay Safe from Drugs and Protect their Minds.  I only know the first one, Personal Safety, and love it.

If you want to get started, but are not ready to buy the entire collection let me suggest a few of my girls favorites: Cleanliness, Dependability and Gratitude from the Standin' Tall series.   One book and CD from Standin' Tall is $15.96 together.  For Safety Kids, one book and CD are $19.95 together.  All the CDs are available for MP3 download for about $2 cheaper.