LITTLE PIM BLOG
Contest: Win Big from Putumayo Kids
We know you want your kids to learn different languages and cultures. What better way than through music? Putumayo Kids introduces children to other cultures through fun music from all over the world.
Putumayo shares our passion for creating global citizens.
The Putumayo Kids music team chooses songs with child-friendly lyrics and rhythms by both renowned and undiscovered international artists. The collections of songs are tested in schools and with families. An international music selection contributes to the education of future global citizens while holding true to Putumayo’s mission of sharing music that is “guaranteed to make you feel good”. -putymayo.com
Watch a preview below!
For a chance to win a full collection of their kids' CDs, just leave a comment telling us what your favorite genre of music is! You can also enter by leaving a comment on our Facebook page. Look for the "Putumayo Kids" thread.
And the winner is... Rachel Cox Cassidy! "I've been previewing Putumayo's cd's on their website, and really enjoy the Reggae Playground. Makes me wanna dance! ;)"
Rachel, please email adam@littlepm.com to claim your prize. Thanks for the entries, everyone! Look out for more fun contests in the VERY near future. :)
The Winner of the Hanna Andersson Contest is...
We're happy that so many of you enjoyed our latest contest with Hanna Andersson! Did you know that Hanna Andersson is a company built from Swedish roots? The original Hanna Andersson was a baby-loving grandmother in Skåne, Sweden near the Baltic Sea who passed on her fondness of quality goods to her granddaughter, the founder of the company so many of you adore.
The love that Julia Pimsleur Levine, the mom behind Little Pim, has for sharing languages with young children was passed down to her by her father, Dr. Paul Pimsleur. Dr. Pimsleur (of the Pimsleur language program for adults) was a French scholar and pioneer in the field of foreign language learning. Now Little Pim's animated DVDs are sharing French, Spanish, German, Russian, and six other languages with young children around the world (our success stories are amazing), including celebrity moms like Angelina Jolie and Jessica Alba!
No wonder we have so much fun together; two companies based on a global tradition committed to children.
Ready for the winner? The winner of the $100 Hanna Anderrson gift certificate is...Ellen Kucera! Ellen please email adam@LittlePim.com. Thank you for all of your entries!
This contest has put us in the giveaway mood! We're giving away a Little Pim Gift Set: this set includes three DVDs and a Little Pim Plush Panda ($59.95 value). Simply comment to enter.
Did You Know?
Young children who learn a language before the age of five tend to have superior reading, writing, analytical and social skills, as well as more extensive vocabularies.
You do not need to be bilingual to help your child learn a second language.
The most current scientific research has proven that babies, toddlers and preschoolers are uniquely equipped to learn one or more languages with ease.
To enter to win a Little Pim Gift Set in the language of your choice, just leave a comment below stating what language you'd like your child to learn. A winner will be notified via email.
Japanese Moms Come Together to Stand With Japan
Here at Little Pim, we’ve been keeping a close watch on the recent disaster in Japan. Our hearts are with everyone who has been affected by the recent earthquakes and tsunami. The magnitude of the tragedy may be obvious to us as parents, but it’s difficult to know what to say to your children, and how to explain it. We don't want to scare them, but we do want them to understand how we are all part of one interconnected world. This weekend, my family went to a festival organized by Stand With Japan, a new association of New York moms who set out to raise money for Save the Children's Japan fund. We took Emmett (six) and Adrian (three), to this family event that included a Japanese bake sale, origami making, and a koto recital (a beautiful Japanese string instrument that you can check out on YouTube).
Emmett had heard about the tsunami at school, and had also seen the wonderful movie Ponyo, about a boy and a half-fish half-girl who weather a tsunami in a small Japanese town. We had talked about the Japanese disaster a bit (one of his classmates is half Japanese and has family there), but I felt I hadn't done enough to help him understand how we could help our Japanese friends from right here in New York.
I think that an important part of raising “global citizens,” is helping our kids make connections between seemingly distant people and places and their own lives, which tend to be filled with very local preoccupations. In addition to giving kids the advantages of being able to communicate with people through speaking another language, it’s important to try and give them access and exposure to other cultures in any way you can. As adults, we sometimes forget that the interconnectedness of the world is not that obvious to children. We hear about Japan on a daily basis and understand both the human tragedy and its global implications, but young children need a helping hand to connect those dots. A cultural event like the one organized by Stand With Japan was great not only because we got to help raise money for relief efforts, but because it showed our boys several important things:
1. There are many Japanese people in our community – people directly connected to the same Japan that Emmett was told about in school.
2. Japan, and Japanese people, have a rich tradition they hadn’t seen before, from the costumes, to the food, tea rituals and music.
3. Most importantly, my kids were able to see how we can help people in the rest of the world though local efforts.
Although my boys aren’t quite ready for the delectable sushi that was on offer, through the sweet goodness of Sticky Buns and Red Bean cakes, they were transported for an hour or two into another culture, something I hope they will grow a taste for.
Q: Are there any local efforts for Japan that you can get involved in, or take your kids to? Have you gone to any already?
Take Action: Donate to the Save the Children Japan Earthquake Tsunami Relief
Toy Fair 2011: From Bubbles to Blocks to Floating Fish!
We had a great time at Toy Fair last week. It was fun to reconnect with owners of some of the 800 book, toy and gift stores that carry Little Pim and make new friends and partners. Read on to see some of the cool new products we found this year. Little Pim’s Booth:
And our team (including our French distributor, Jean-Bernard Tanqueray, on left).
Why didn’t I think of this? Kids love silly hats and these new “Air Hedz” take the cake. Pirates, frogs and nurses… and great for water gun fights! Here I am as a pop star, complete with microphone.
Crocodile Creek has come out with new lightweight travel “pouch puzzles.” I especially like the World one, great for young global citizens!
Who doesn’t love bubbles? Who doesn’t hate the mess? Finally a bubble machine that doesn’t leak. In fact, it whirls and emits bubbles in a 360 degree spin. Wish I had this at my son’s third birthday party last week! Ours made a gooey spill that was a slip hazard, but the kids had a blast popping them so it was worth it.
Haba’s new “Animal Upon Animal” game is for kids four and up, and reinforces hand eye coordination, fine motor skills and just plain old silly fun of seeing cute wooden animals come tumbling down! Plus the game rules come in 6 languages! (English, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, French).
This new “Clock” from Zazoo Kids tells your toddler when it’s ok to get up … long before they know how to tell time! Invented by a mom, of course. It’s also nice that its 7" LCD screen turns into a digital picture frame once you get past that particularly unpleasant stage where your kids wake up before six am (I wish I could say we are past it in my house). You can program your own customized image for your child (it can even be his or her picture). I got one of these for my three year old.
A remote control fish swimming around the Toy Fair (actually a remote helium balloon). A great party trick!
3 Tips For Using HubSpot's Blogging Application
Tip 1: Embedding Video into Your Blog
To embed a video like the one above, you'll need to do the following:
- Most video sites like YouTube have an "embed" source code that you can copy and paste. For YouTube, this code is listed just to the right of the video itself, under a person's username.
- Open up the HTML Editor in HubSpot by clicking the "HTML" button in the toolbar. Then, paste in the source code at that point of the article you'd like the video to show up.
- Save! This tip will work on the rest of the CMS as well, not just in the blog. Just click on "Add Module", and add an HTML module. You'll be able to paste in the source code directly, and the video will exist as a stand alone module on your site.
Tip 2: Automate Your Social Media Publishing
If you use the HubSpot blogging platform, then we'll be able to automatically publish your content for you. To set up Social Media Publishing, complete the following steps:
- We need to add your social media credentials before we can automate your blog publishing to their feeds. Under the Promote tab, open up HubSpot's Social Media application.
- Click the "Social Media Accounts" button. When prompted, add your credentials for the social media sites you'd like to publish to.
- Once your credentials are entered, head back to your blog's homepage and click on the "Options" link (to the right of the "Create Article" link).Your blog options will appear.
- Click on the Social Media Publishing tab. Under Social Media accounts, check off the boxes of the social media feeds you'd like your blog to publish to automatically. Remember to click "Update" at the bottom of the screen.
- When publishing content to your networks, you’ll need a line of explanatory text to let people know what they’re seeing. To write this line, write your slug in the "publishing slug" field, directly above the list of your social media acccounts. This is the text that will appear in Facebook and Twitter along with a link to the blog article. For example, you might write "Check out my new blog post!"
Tip 3: Text Formatting 101
You can edit the fonts of your website by going to Settings > Template Configuration in HubSpot, and then click on "Advanced Configuration". Throughout this list, you'll see places where you can change the font of your different headers.
One caveat to this, however: The fonts you can use on a website are dependent on the fonts that are available on a visitor's machine. If you try to name a font that the user does not have on their computer, it will default back to something standard (usually Arial or Helvetica).
Most machines are preinstalled with dozens of fonts, so the trick is knowing which fonts are likely to be installed on which computers. For a list of the fonts supported on most browsers, view this article on Success.
Holiday Learning Toy Picks
If you are like me, holiday shopping starts right after the Halloween costumes go into storage – mainly because my kids start telling me what they want for Hannukah as soon as November 1st hits! This year I feel I have a lot of great things to choose from that will delight them, and make me feel like I am buying things that actually challenge and stimulate them. Here are a few of my faves (and not all of them have to do with language learning!):
MAGNETIC BLOCKS
Tegu Blocks are the kind of invention that makes you think “why didn’t I come up with that?” Take a block and combine it with a magnet, and voilà! Embedded inside each block is a powerful magnet that allows you to build things that couldn’t be done with traditional blocks. To boot, Tegu blocks are made from eco-friendly wood native to Honduras, where they are manufactured.
You can get them in New York at Doodle Doo’s (11 Christopher) or on line at
http://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Set-Magnetic-Wooden-Building/dp/B003TU7ZIS
PUZZLES THAT TAKE YOU PLACES
My kids love GeoPuzzles, and are always excited about a new game or puzzle from this wonderful company. GeoPuzzles makes jigsaw puzzles with pieces shaped like individual countries, so children learn as they put the puzzle together. Invented by a dad, these great puzzles are made by a a family-run business. They make Geo Cards and Games too (like Geo Bingo – which is what it sounds like!).
PAINT A ZOO
My kids love doing art projects, and Alex Toys keeps coming out with cool new crafts to keep us busy on cold winter afternoons. This zoo kit lets kids paint bright colors on fun animal shapes and add silly accessories to create a zoo full of creative fun. The activity kit includes 6 cardboard punch-out animals, 12 poster paints, 6 crayon bright crayons, wiggly eyes, glue and easy instructions. Even better, my six year old and my almost three year old can both take part in this zoo-stravaganza. It’s tough to find activities for them to share, but big and little kids alike love zoo animals, so you can’t go wrong!
http://www.alextoys.com/product/132735/145/_/Paint_A_Zoo
CITIZENS OF THE WORLD T-SHIRT
For one of those 8 nights or Hannukah or a stocking stuffer: You can’t go wrong with these adorable Tea brand t-shirts that announce your child’s membership in the global kids citizens club in four languages!
“for little citzens of the world” written in four languages on the shirt – comes in blue or pink
http://www.teacollection.com/product/TS3201F/Little-Citizens-Tee.html
SPANISH INTRO GIFT SET (NEW)
At Little Pim, we have just come out with an intro gift set to help you give the gift of language to little ones in your life – at a new little price! Our $29.95 intro gift set comes with the Little Pim Spanish DVD 1, Spanish Bop CD and plush panda, all in a see through vinyl tote that can later become a home for doll clothes, blocks or overnight at grandma’s supplies. A terrific value, and provides hours of play and learning.
http://www.littlepim.com/store/spanish-language-for-kids/little-pim-intro-gift-set-spanish/
Happy Shopping!
Savvy Auntie Exclusive: 10 Tips For Teaching a Foreign Language to a Child You Love
We’ve just been featured on Savvyauntie.com! If you don't already know this site, it's a great resource for the hip aunts and godmothers out there who are looking for ways to indulge (and in our case, educate!) the little ones in their lives. I was interviewed by Melanie Notkin – the site’s founder and original Savvy Auntie – about the best ways to get kids learning new languages from a young age. So much of language learning happens at home, and helping kids on the road to fluency is very much a family affair.
Melanie and I spoke about how best to engage children (and their families) in a plan to foster a love of languages. We discussed everything from the benefits of speaking a second language to the ways you can best help a child with their learning, even if you don’t live nearby. Enjoy!
Contest: How Do You Say "Halloween"?
Halloween is right around the corner & we're in a spooky mood! How about you? What will you be dressing up as this year? We'd love to see what your little ones in their Halloween costumes.
For this week's contest, either post a photo of your child in a Halloween costume (from this year or previous years) on our Facebook wall or email it to info@littlepim.com.
One person will win either Spanish Bop or French Bop! Both CDs feature three original songs by the popular children's band, Milkshake.
Below are a few Spanish and French Halloween vocabulary words to get you in the spirit of the season!
Spanish
- una arana - spider
- aterrador - scary
- una bruja - witch
- una calabaza - pumpkin
- caramelos - candy
French
- un chat noir - black cat
- une chauve-souris - bat
- une citrouille - pumpkin
- une araignée - spider
- un balai - broom
- des bonbons - candy
*photo from coolhalloweencostumesforkids.net
Win One DVD From Little Pim Volume II!
Volume II featuring Bob the Bobcat and Lola the Elephant has been a huge hit with our fans! Our recent appearance on the Today Show introduced the new characters to even more little language learners and we couldn't be more thrilled. Have you seen DVDs 4, 5, or 6? They are available in Spanish, French, and Chinese.
Contest: Win one DVD from Volume II in French, Spanish, or Chinese. Just leave a comment with which DVD you'd like to win and in what language!
Happy, Sad, & Silly
I Can Count!
In My Home
If the winner is a Facebook Fan and newsletter subscriber (subscribe by going to LittlePim.com), at the time their name is announced, they will also win a Little Pim plush panda!
Good luck!
Little Pim Meets Curious George in Cambridge!
This weekend Little Pim held its first event in Cambridge MA! We held a fun, silly sing-along of Spanish and French songs from our CDs, and showed clips of the new DVDs featuring Little Pim, Bob and Lola. Many thanks to Curious George & Friends and owner Donna Friedman for hosting us. This charming, filled to the brim with goodies toy store has drawn thousands of tourists and locals from its Harvard Square location. It is definitely worth seeing if you and your little ones find yourself in Boston/Cambridge. Just don't blame me if you can't get them out of there!
Curious George & Friends carries a wonderful selection of educational books and toys in addition to its eponymous monkey collections. Little Pim is proud to have been part of Curious George's offerings for over a year. This was a fun chance to meet local families, share some songs in Spanish and French and talk with parents about raising our children with more than one language.
One question that comes up a lot is "when is the right age to start?". My answer is always the same - you can't start too young. Babies' brains are hard-wired to learn up to three languages at once and the earlier you introduce the new languages, the easier it is for them to pick them up. I suggest parents start with music and books, then introduce DVDs when they are ready, and expand to classes, playgroups and tutors.
Enjoy the photo and video below!
