6 Easy Multicultural Recipes to Make with Your Kids

One of the best ways to introduce culture and language into your home is through the kitchen. Everyone learns to love something that is the source of delicious meals and snacks. Whether your children are learning another language or just stretching their linguistic wings, cooking is the perfect time to explore the globe through language. 

Cook together and pick recipes from all over the world. Talk about the origin of recipes, why people cook the way they do in other cultures. Then name each ingredient in the language of the people who invented it. From toddlers to teenagers, cooking together is a great way to learn. Let's take a look at six multicultural recipes that are easy enough to cook with kids and will bring language to your kitchen.

Spanish: Soft and Crunchy Tacos

Everyone loves a delicious meal of tacos. Crunchy or soft, spicy or mild, tacos are the ultimate in hand food. Kids love tacos and most kids are crazy about taco night. Make it even more special by putting tacos together as a family and naming each ingredient in Spanish along the way.

Ingredients

• Ground Beef

  • Carne molida

• Seasoning

  • Condimento

• Lettuce

  • Lechuga

• Tomatoes

  • Tomates

• Shredded Cheese

  • Queso rallado

• Crunchy Taco Shells

  • Tacos crujientes

• Flour or Corn Tortillas

  • Tortillas de harina o maiz

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F

2. Pan-fry the ground beef (or other meats) until browned and fully cooked.

3. Chop lettuce and tomatoes

4. Lay foil on a cookie sheet. Place crunchy shells and soft tortillas, line each with cheese along the fold.

5. Place the sheet of shells and tortillas in the oven.

6. Add taco seasoning and 1-2 tablespoons of water. Let the water cook down and infuse the meat with flavor.

7. Remove the shells and tortillas, then distribute them onto plates. 

8. Load each taco with meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and a sprinkle of cheese.

French: Mini Breakfast Quiche

Quiche is one of the most simple and delicious French recipes in your cookbook. It's really very simple: Quiche is an omelet pie. If you can make a delicious omelet with your kids (or just delicious scrambled eggs) then you can make a delicious quiche. Explain the strange name and explore the French names for each ingredient as you put them together.

Ingredients

• Pastry Dough (optional)

  • Pate a patisserie

• Eggs

  • Des oeufs

• Milk

  • Lait

• Cheese

  • Fromage

• Diced Protein

  • Proteine en des 

  • Ham, Bacon, Feta, Tofu, Scallions, etc.

• Chopped Vegetables

  • legumes haches 

  • Mushrooms, Spinach, Tomatoes, Onion, etc.

Directions

1. Preheat the Oven to 350 F

2. Grease a muffin pan and line each cup with pastry dough. This can be pie crust, premade dough, or croissant roll dough.

3. Sprinkle in meat and vegetables into each cup

4. Fill each cup with egg

5. Top each cup with cheese

6. Bake 25-30 minutes

German: Deviled Eggs - Gefüllte Eier

Deviled eggs are hard-boiled eggs with a creamy kick. In fact, most families don't realize that this Easter classic has deep roots with the German people. They have a unique name for the recipe and introduced sprinkling paprika onto egg-yolks mixed with mustard. If your kids love to make deviled eggs, turn this treat into an all-year recipe by practicing the german names for each ingredient.

Ingredients

• Eggs

  • Eir

• Mustard

  • Senf

• Mayo

  • Mayonaise

• Salt and Pepper

  • Salz und Pfeffer

• Paprika

  • Paprika

• Optional

  • Dill or Sweet Relish

  • Tartar Sauce

  • Sour Cream

  • Onions

Directions

1. Hard-boil the eggs, give them an extra few minutes to boil quite-hard.

2. Peel each egg and slice it in half, longwise.

3. Scoop the hard yolk from each egg, carefully keeping the egg whites from breaking

4. Mix the egg yolks with mustard, salt, pepper, and mayo or a mayo substitute. Mix additional ingredients if preferred

5. Re-fill egg whites with deviled egg mixture

6. Top with sprinkled paprika

Irish: Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie is filling and nutritious in a way that only very practical traditional foods can be. Stacked with all the good things a meal needs in one dish, kids love shepherd's pie. You can't go wrong with beef, mashed potatoes, and cheese. Enjoy the traditional recipe and Irish names for ingredients or mix it up and look up the Irish words for anything you add.

Ingredients

• Ground Beef

  • Mairteoil Talun

• Peas, Carrots, and Corn

  • Pisaenna, Caireid, agus Corn

• Onions

  • Oiniuin

• Worcestershire Sauce

  • Anlann Worcestershire 

• Seasoning

  • Seasue

• Mashed Potatoes

  • Bruitin

• Cheese

  • Cais

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F

2. Brown and break up ground beef in a pan

3. Fry chopped vegetables with the beef. Add Worcestershire sauce and seasoning to taste.

4. Load a casserole dish or muffin cups with beef-vegetable mixture

5. Top casserole or cups with mashed potatoes

6. Sprinkle with cheese

7. Bake for 30 minutes

English: Hand Pies

Every culture has hand-held recipes and in the UK islands, the favorite is definitely hand-pies. For children practicing English, explore the names of pastry dough, and name the fruit in the filling. Talk about street vendors singing about their pies and how hand-pies are an important part of traditional life in both rural and city England.

Ingredients

• Pastry Dough

• Fruit Filling

• Meat Filling

  • Cooked and minced

• Butter

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 

2. Shape dough into flat circles the size of a spread-out hand

3. Add 2-3 tablespoons of filling to the center of each dough circle

4. Fold each dough circle in half and press the edges together

5. Brush the tops with butter, line pinched crusts with foil

6. Bake for 20-30 minutes

Japanese: Sushi (Philadelphia) Rolls

Sushi is the single most recognizable meal from Japan and something every kid can enjoy. Both a refined entree and a healthy finger-food, practice Japanese with your children while rolling your own sushi rolls.

Ingredients

• Short Grain White Rice

  • Sushi to Gohan

• Seaweed Sheets

  • Nori

• Fresh Raw Salmon

  • Furesshusamon

• Avocado

  • Abokado

• Stick of Cream Cheese

  • Kruimuchizu

Directions

1. Cook 2-3 cups of sticky white rice

2. Slice thin strips of sushi-grade raw salmon

3. Slice equally thin strips of avocado

4. Lay out one sheet of nori seaweed on a bamboo rolling mat

5. Distribute an even layer of sticky rice over the nori

6. Lay salmon in a line down the center of your rice, same direction as your bamboo mat sticks are pointing

7. Lay avocado in a line next to the salmon

9 Chinese New Year Activities for Kids

Xīnnián kuàilè! Happy New Year! 

In China, the New Year is the most important holiday of the year. It's a time for families to come together and celebrate. People enjoy eating traditional foods, watching fireworks, and going to parades. 

When is the Chinese New Year? 

In 2020, the Chinese lunar year will start on January 25th and end on February 11th, 2021. The Chinese New Year starts on a different day each year because it is based on a lunar calendar.

• Each year starts on the new moon that occurs between the end of January and the end of February. 

• Celebrations run for approximately two weeks, from the first day of the year until the next full moon.

• New Year's festivities end with the Lantern Festival.

The Chinese lunar calendar has been in use since the Shang Dynasty during the 14th century B.C. Even though China adopted the Western calendar in 1912, the Chinese New Year is still observed as a cultural celebration. 

Chinese New Year's Activities for Kids

The New Year is the perfect opportunity to introduce Chinese culture and the Mandarin language to your kids. The great part about a celebration that lasts for two weeks is that you'll have the chance to do several activities.

Watch a Parade

Many larger cities hold Chinese New Year's celebrations. San Francisco and New York City are famous for their parades. If you can attend a parade, it will be an experience you and your child won't soon forget! If you can't be there in person, check your TV schedule or live stream a parade. 

If there aren't any Chinese New Year's celebrations near you, there are still plenty of ways you can celebrate right at home. 

Eat a Traditional Meal

Dumplings are a traditional Chinese New Year food. Making them from scratch requires a bit of prep work, but they are so tasty! Get the family together and make this kid-friendly Chinese dumpling recipe. Young children can help by mixing and rolling the dough. 

• If your family doesn't eat pork, you can substitute ground chicken or crumbled tofu.

• Serve with soy sauce or your favorite dipping sauce. 

• For extra fun, try eating with chopsticks. You might be surprised at how well your children do! If traditional chopsticks are intimidating, purchase a "beginner" pair. These chopsticks are made of plastic and are joined at one end.

Get Crafty

Preschoolers love making crafts. It allows them to be creative and spend time with their caregivers. Crafts are also beneficial because using scissors and coloring gives kids a chance to develop their fine motor skills.

• Lanterns are a traditional New Year's decoration. Using craft supplies you probably already have at home, you can help your child create this Chinese lantern. Children can make them in their favorite color, or go with the traditional red.

• Dragons are a symbol of good luck. Chinese New Year's parades feature dancing dragon puppets. The puppets are so large, they are operated by several people. Create your own good luck by making a smaller dragon puppet out of wooden spoons and ribbons. Your child can dance around the house with their new puppet. 

Give Gifts

A traditional New Year's gift for children is a red envelope containing money.

• You can surprise your children with this gift, or opt to have them decorate their own envelope.

• Depending on your child's age, you can give them real money and coins, or play money. 

Gifting red envelopes is an ancient tradition, but the origin is somewhat unknown. One legend states that an orphan defeated a demon that was terrorizing a village. As a show of thanks, the elders gave the child a red envelope full of money.

Learn about Chinese Zodiac Animals

Like the American zodiac, the Chinese zodiac has 12 signs. 

• However, the Chinese zodiac is based on a 12 year, and not a 12 month, cycle.

• The year your child was born determines their zodiac animal.

The rat is the zodiac animal for 2020. You can celebrate by making a cute rat finger puppet.

Read a Book

Visit your local library and check out books about China and Chinese culture. The author Grace Lin has several picture books that are appropriate for preschoolers:

• Dim Sum for Everyone

• Bringing in the New Year

• Fortune Cookie Fortunes

Ask your librarian if they have other book suggestions. 

Clean Your Home

Cleaning the home is a traditional way to prepare for the Chinese New Year's. While it is a chore, you can still make it fun. Young children love to mimic the activities they see you doing.

They can sweep with a small handheld broom and dustpan, or dust with a cloth lightly dampened with water.

Celebrate with Indoor "Fireworks"

Fireworks are a traditional way to celebrate, but there's a safer way to have noise and colors.

• Fill balloons with glitter or confetti before blowing them up. You or another adult can then pop them with a pin. If your child is adventurous, they can try to pop the balloons by sitting on them.

• If loud noises scare your child, make DIY confetti throwers.  

Learn Mandarin Words

The Chinese New Year is the perfect time to teach your kids some Mandarin words. You can use these words as a starting point:

Rat = Shǔ

Red = Hóngsè

Dragon = Lóng

Lantern = Dēnglóng

Are you and your child ready to learn more Mandarin?

The Little Pim Difference

Over a billion people speak Mandarin Chinese, more than any other language. It's a great choice for a foreign language for your child.

Children are never too young to learn a second, or even third, language. In fact, learning multiple languages is easiest and has the most benefits between birth and six years of age.

If don't you don't speak Mandarin, don't worry! Our program is designed so that parents don't have to already know the language in order to help their child learn it. You'll learn right along with your child. Our companion guides and scripts will make it easy.

Subscribe to Little Pim today and introduce your child to a new language!

Unlinked Sources:

https://www.littlepim.com/choose-a-language

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/chinese-new-year-2020-when-date-what-rats-meaning-zodiac/

https://www.rd.com/culture/history-chinese-new-year/

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/chinese-new-year

Little Pim Beach Day Kids Coloring Page

With the heatwave we're experiencing here in the northeast, there's nothing like cooling off at the beach or pool. In this coloring page, Little Pim is at the beach ready to enjoy the hot summer day. When it feels like over 100 degrees outside, cool off indoors in the A/C while your little ones color with Little Pim!

Print your FREE "Little Pim Beach Day" coloring page here or by clicking the image below:

If you're subscribed to Little Pim's new subscription product, in addition to all of our videos, you'll receive new episodes introducing your child to new words and phrases describing the weather, seasons, and greetings. Here's a sneak peek at some of the vocabulary covered in our "Sunny Day" episode in English & Spanish that you can teach your little ones while they're coloring:

summer / el verano
it's sunny / está soleado
beach / la playa
sand / la arena
swimming pool / la piscina
swim / nadar

Stay cool, stay hydrated, and enjoy the last few weeks of Summer! - The Little Pim team

Rainy Day Coloring Activity

Rainy-Day-Coloring

Add some color on a gloomy day by printing out this Rainy Day Little Pim coloring sheet. July 29th is Rain Day according to the DaysoftheYear.com calendar and throughout history, people of many cultures across the world have celebrated rain and it's "life-giving power." Teach your little ones about the power of rain and how it is necessary for survival. If it's raining where you are, head outside with the kids to walk in the rain and to jump in some puddles! When you get back inside, serve some fresh fruits and vegetables that need rain to grow. Review your color and food vocabulary as you point out each fruit and vegetable in the second language. After a healthy snack, get their creative juices flowing by printing out Little Pim's Rainy Day Coloring Sheet!

Share your rainy day fun with us by using #LittlePim on Instagram or Twitter!

Click here to print out the rainy day coloring sheet.