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نُوروز مُبارَک (Nowrooz Mobãrák) Happy Naw Ruz!
We have been known to listen to this album four times all the way through in a single day.
As my family celebrates the start of Spring and the new Baha’i year, I am saying prayers of gratitude for having the opportunity to share A Little Farsi Alphabet Book with others in just a few days. In the meantime, I want to share another fun Farsi learning and Persian cultural resource with you.
Not only on Naw Ruz, but all year long, there’s a particular Persian children’s album playing on repeat in our home: خانم خورشید (Khanoom Khorshid, pronounced “khanoom khorsheed”, or “Mrs. Sun”). We have been known to listen to this album four times all the way through in a single day.
Khanoom Khorshid: Farsi Children’s Music Review
Khanoom Khorshid‘s music includes Farsi versions of popular American kids’ music, like Down by the Bay (Raffi’s version is our fave in English, and my daughter gets excited to hear the melody no matter which language it’s in). Sometimes the song’s melody is the only thing used from the English version, and sometimes they’re more or less direct translations. For a beginner learning Farsi, those direct translations can be very helpful. The اَلِفبا (álefbã), or alphabet song (watch on YouTube), is a great way to memorize the Farsi alphabet! I may or may not have had it stuck in my head for several months at this point.
There are a lot of cute songs, but the basics are always the most helpful for a beginning learner. The colors (watch on YouTube) and numbers (watch on YouTube) songs are slow enough for me to catch the words and simple enough to understand a lot, even without being fluent. The captions are hard to read for a beginner, but we mostly listen rather than watch anyway. They’re catchy, fun songs, and you can usually find us enthusiastically clapping along! You can listen to Khanoom Khorshid on YouTube, Amazon Music Unlimited, and many other streaming platforms listed on their website (Don’t be intimidated by the lack of English text. You’ll recognize the platforms by their logos and can click the links to listen).
Who are your favorite Persian children’s musicians?
I hope these suggestions help bring some joy into your playtime, with the added benefit of learning Farsi together as a family! Do you have any music suggestions you’d like to share with my readers? Favorite learning resources or strategies to recommend? Send me an email (maia@littlefarsibooks.com) or contact me with this form!