Multicultural games from around the world - Thanksgiving family fun!

It's almost a Thanksgiving tradition – as you frantically cook, clean, ready the table and prep for company, your kids, helpful at first, inevitably get bored. Sure, you could park them in front of the TV, but parades and bowl games can hold their attention for only so long, despite all those impressive balloon floats. What to do? How about keeping your kids entertained with these children's games from around the world:

Big Snake (Ghana)

This one's great to play with a big group of cousins or neighbors in a large open space, like a basement. The kids choose one person to be the snake, which "lives" in an area marked off by tape, cones or whatever's handy.

When the game starts, the snake emerges from its home turf and tries to eat – or tag – the other players. Once a player has been tagged, he or she becomes part of the snake's body, holding the snake's hand or waist. The snake grows longer as more payers are tagged, but only the snake's head and tail are able to tag other players. If the snake's body breaks, it must return to its home turf and regroup. Free players may deliberately try to break the snake. When all players are part of the snake (or completely exhausted), the game is over. Sssssssso much fun! [More info]

Piedra, Papel o Tijeras (Mexico)

Sure, you could call it Rock, Paper, Scissors, but that wouldn't be nearly as interesting -- plus, this is a great way to introduce Spanish to kids. Whatever language kids use, the game is the same: Kids count to three and then use their hands to make a rock (a fist), paper (an open, flat hand) or scissors (two fingers out). Papel covers piedra, piedra breaks tijeras, and tijeras cuts papel. Terrific for two kids and good for your children's language skills to boot. [More info]

La Barbichette (France)

It's like a staring contest, only with a French rhyme that's easy for kids to learn. Two kids hold each other's chins, stare into each other's eyes and say, "Je te tiens, tu me tiens, par la barbichette;Le premier qui rira, aura une tapette!" (Some versions vary.) The first one to laugh gets a gentle (that part's important to emphasize to your kids) token slap from the one who was able to keep a straight face. Expect lots of giggles from your kids, which is in itself something to be thankful for. [More info]

Does your family have any favorite games from other countries or cultures? If so, please share!

Where's the thanks? Teach your kids about gratitude this Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just around the corner and thousands of families still without power and heat in hurricane Sandy’s wake, it seems like the right time to focus on gratitude at home. Have you ever noticed that kids are not inherently grateful? We have to teach them to say thank you, not to grimace when they get a gift that isn’t exactly what they wanted, and to appreciate the things they do have, all the while trying to curb what can seem like an endless chorus of “I want.”

Many children who lost power in their homes became more aware of how fortunate they are to have creature comforts when those disappeared for a week – they learned that lights, hot baths, TV and phones are actually luxuries!  We've seen a lot of children getting involved in the relief effort too, whether donating clothes or toys at their preschool or going out to help with their parents. But as the hurricane and its aftermath is something we hope not to recreate to teach this lesson, how can we help our toddlers and kids be more thankful each day?

If you are like me, you want your kids to appreciate all the good things in their lives, and to feel a true sense of empathy for kids who don’t have as much as they do. This empathy is what will later drive them to volunteer, donate, identify with those in other countries and cultures, and inspire them to leave the world a better place than they found it.

In my own hectic life as a New York working mother, I have tried to integrate a new simple practice into our family’s routine to encourage thankful thinking. About once every two or three days, we go around the table (or the car, or wherever we might be) and each of us says three things for which we are feeling grateful.

It takes about 5 minutes, but done repeatedly it really does seem to increase gratitude and even joy, and it's something that even preschoolers can participate in. Here are some real life examples of the kinds of things my kids have said since we started this a few weeks ago:

Adrian (four years old)

-       I am grateful that daddy took me out to play soccer this morning

-       I am grateful that Emmett is the best big brother

-       I am grateful that mommy made my favorite macaroni and cheese

Emmett (eight years old)

-       I am grateful that we are going to see a movie today

-       I am grateful that Adrian got better (he had been sick until the day before)

-       I am grateful that we won our soccer game today

They love the opportunity to have everyone listen quietly to what they have to say, and as they can see it’s important to my husband and me, they take it seriously and put a lot of thought into it. My husband and I love hearing them focus on what is good in their lives, since we feel we spend a lot of time hearing about what they want/need/wish they had, especially with all those Toys R Us circulars arriving in the newspaper!

Sometimes my husband or I will try to remind the kids that they enjoy a lot of privileges that other kids might not:

-       I am grateful that when Adrian had 102 fever on Friday, we were able to take him to the doctor right away to find out what was wrong. In some countries, people have to go miles to find a doctor and we have one just 10 blocks away.

In my experience, kids have a hard time grasping how fortunate they are and it may be something they’ll only realize in retrospect. In the meantime though, we can help them heighten their sense of thankfulness and create a little more peace and harmony in our homes at the same time. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. What are you doing to teach your kids about gratitude this season?

P.S. Many thanks to Sarah Napthali whose book “Becoming Mindful Parents: Buddhism for Mothers of Young Children” inspired this practice.

Halloween food around the world

For most American families, Halloween "treats" mean one thing: candy – mounds of bite-size morsels heaped into kids' bags in exchange for that magic phrase: "Trick or treat!" Other cultures, however, celebrate All Souls' Day, All Saints Day or Dia de Los Muertos (Nov. 1 and 2), from which our Halloween (All Hallows Eve) is derived, with different sorts of treats. Why not expand your family's cultural horizons this Halloween by trying some of these traditional sweet treats from around the globe?

Here are a few ideas about food from Halloween around the world - about what people eat in other countries, and recipes to go with them.

Soul cakes (England and Ireland): These sweet, round cakes were traditionally given out in England and Ireland on All Saints Day or All Souls' Day during the Middle Ages to those who went door-to-door saying prayers for the dead in what may be the forerunner to today's trick-or-treating. They can be made with raisins and currents and aromatic spices like allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. (Soul cake recipe)

Fave dei morti (Italy): In Italy, All Souls' Day may be celebrated with delicate cookies (sometimes white, brown or pink) – made with almonds and covered with sugar – called Fave dei Morti or Ossei dei Morti, whose name translates to "Beans of the Dead" or "Bones of the Dead." (Fave dei morti recipe; Ossi dei Morti recipe)

Pan de Muerto (Mexico):  This soft sweet bread is a Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) tradition in Mexico, sometimes eaten at the grave of a loved one or placed on an altar. It may be flavored with orange zest or decorated with a teardrop or bones, perhaps placed in a circle to represent the cycle of life. Some people even mold the bread into animals, angels or other evocative shapes. (Pan de Muerto recipe)

Guagua de pan (Ecuador): These "bread babies" – sweet rolls molded and decorated to look like small children or infants – are part of the Day of the Dead tradition in parts of South America. Often made of wheat and sometimes filled with sweet jelly, they may be exchanged as gifts between families and friends or used ceremonially. (Guagua de pan recipe)

So what are you waiting for? Put down those miniature chocolate bars and start baking. These tasty treats will not only satisfy your sweet tooth, but your appetite for cultural exploration as well.

10 Ways to Teach Your Kids about the World through the Summer Olympics

10 Ways to Teach Your Kids about the World through the Summer Olympics

The Summer Olympic Games offer a great way to bring your family together and expose your children to new cultures, places, and sports, as well as lessons in teamwork and sportsmanship. This years Summer Olympics are being held in London (www.London2012.com) , starting July 27th and ending August 12th.

Here at Little Pim we’ve come up with 10 ways to help kids engage with the Summer Olympics while learning about the world and having fun! Most of these activities are appropriate for ages 3 and up.

1. History of the Games

The Olympic Games are certainly fun to watch, but they also have a rich history. Tell your kids about how the ancient Greeks started the games to honor their gods and goddesses. This is also a great time to slip in a lesson on the Olympic flag whose five rings represent the five major land areas and the field of white represents peace.

2. Create A Dream Team

Have each child assemble a Dream Team of his or her favorite athletes from around the world. It’s a great way to practice budding writing skills—or make a collage! Select a few to focus on and learn about each athlete’s event and country or nation of origin. Make flags to support your athletes and if they win an event, celebrate by singing their national anthem or making a special treat from their homeland!

3. Medal Pool

Assign each child in your home (or team up with another family) a country for one of your family’s favorite events. If that country wins any medals, give the winning country’s patron a special prize. A great way to celebrate victory is by cooking/buying something from that nation or playing the national anthem. Taking on a country to support is a great way to expose kids to new places and people- help them do some research on their country and make flags to cheer on your team. You can also post a kid-friendly map of the world to help them see where these countries are. Here is one we like!

4. Geography Game

Every time a new country wins a medal, help your kids find it on the globe or map. If they can name a major city in that country they get points. You get extra points for knowing some words in that country’s language or languages!

5. Olympic Torch Obstacle Course

Kick off the Olympics with your own Olympic Torch run. Set up an outdoor obstacle course at dusk, and send each child through with a lit flashlight. Time their speed and the winner gets to pick the first event that your family watches! Here’s the schedule.

6. Create your own Olympic Games

Set up a series of fun outdoor activities for your kids and make it into your own mini-Olympics. Beanbag tosses, three-legged races, and jumping contests can all be incorporated into the Olympics theme. The winners of the events get to wear homemade medals. Make sure there are prizes for all participants and runners-up so no one feels left out.

7. Mascots!

Have your family create their own mascots for their countries or Dream Teams. Stuffed animals make great mascots and having your kids involve their favorite toys will help them stay engaged in watching the events.

8. Food

Preparing to sit down as a family and watch something together means you will have to have some snacks on hand. Make cooking into a cultural event! Make something from a different country represented in the games. Or, make Olympic ring cookies that your kids can decorate with different colors of frosting or sugar.

9. Flags of the World and Coloring Pages

There is no shortage of available Olympic-themed coloring pages and teaching tools online. A great way to help your kids stay engaged while you’re watching the games as a family is to have them color in these pages (good for an activity during commercials too). They can decorate your house with flags of the world or pictures of their favorite athletes and events.

10. Viewing Parties

Some families like to get together and have neighborhood Summer Olympics viewing parties.  You could even have different rooms be focused on different activities—some for learning, some for play, some for food, and some for watching the games!

Have fun! Amusez vous! Diverti!

Earth Day - ideas for kids

On April 22nd, more than a billion people around the world - and millions of children - celebrated Earth Day. It's a day to think about the pressing questions that affect our planet, such as water quality and conservation, recycling, food safety and availability, and how we can each work to reduce our carbon footprint.

How can you make this day meaningful to your children? Taking on a topic like "the earth" can be pretty intimidating, so we at Little Pim have come up with our favorite ways to bring Earth Day into your home.  Here are the top ten things you can do to teach the values of Earth Day in an easy and fun way, and learning a few new words in one of the earth's many different languages!  Check out or Springtime video to learn important earth-related words in Spanish, French and Chinese.

10 Fun Ways to Celebrate Earth Day With Your Kids

1. Plant seeds with your kids, and help them take care of their growing plant. The act of watering and caring for something alive - even if it's just a plant growing in an egg carton - is a great way to help children understand why nature is so valuable.  If you have an herb plant, your child can also pick from the plant and help you cook with it, and learn the valuable link between nature and food.

2. Take your child to the local dump! Stay a while (bring wooden pegs for your noses if needed) and talk about what a landfill is.  Few children really understand where garbage goes once it leaves the trash can, or that it takes up SO MUCH ROOM.

3. Do a recycling art project. There are so many fun things you can make from tissue boxes, egg cartons and cereal boxes.  Try this piggy bank from a tissue box, this cardboard house, or these cute little bugs

4. Get your old globe out of the attic, or buy one. Preferably a child-friendly globe like this one, with fun pictures and bright colors.You can point out parts of the planet where resources are scarce, explaining water-shortages in Saharan Africa, or countries where kids farm the land from an early age, like certain places in South America.  Where possible, connect the lesson to the experiences of real kids. I love the United Nations book A Life Like Mine: How Children Live Around the World.  You can also teach your kids how to say words like "tree", "flower" or "water" using Little Pim!

5. Bake something using as many whole and non-processed ingredients as possible, and use the experience as an opportunity to explain that food can still come straight from the land!  Explain the difference between processed and whole food using real examples, such as boxed mac and cheese vs making it from scratch.

6. Visit a farmer's market together and learn about which fruit and vegetables are available in which season, and what is means to grow food locally. You can also explain that buying local food helps the planet, because it doesn't have to be transported very far.

7. Go to an Earth Day event in your city. The Natural Conservancy is hosting Picnic for the Planet events all around the world!

8. Have an Earth Day party! The kids can help you cook and you can decorate the house with Earth Day crafts

9. Go online and read about how kids are celebrating Earth Day around the world, then share some of those stories with your kids.

10. Help your child make an Earth Day drawing or story, and post it on your fridge or elsewhere in the home. You can teach them about endangered animals (pandas like Little Pim are endangered!) and print out coloring pages like this one (click to download).

And finally, happy Earth Day everyone!

Easy Ways to Raise Globally Aware Children

We’re excited to have Sara, from Tea Collection guest posting on our blog today. Tea Collection offers globally-inspired designer children’s clothes and gifts. To learn more about Tea and the inspiration for their designs visit their Studio T Blog. The world is a big place. It’s an even bigger place for a child. One of the best ways to teach your child about a new country is to visit it, and although international travel is a great family experience, it can also be costly and time consuming. There are some simple and affordable ways to teach your children about the world without purchasing plane tickets. We polled our staff at Tea and gathered our top three ways to teach your kids the world without opening your front door.

1) Talk about the world. “Growing up, we didn’t have money for international travel so we had to imagine our foreign trips using an old globe in our living room. My father would spin it and wherever our fingers would stop was where we’d take our “vacation.” We’d then imagine life in these faraway lands- what would we pack for our Middle Eastern trip? Is it cold in Beijing in the winter? What’s the food like in Morocco? To this day, I still can’t help spinning a globe whenever I walk by one to see where I should “vacation” that day.”

2) Cook globally. “I was a very picky eater growing up. I knew that when I had kids I wanted them to open themselves up to trying new foods and experiences. So we made preparing dinners a family experience. If we have Mexican food, my kids will prepare the salsa. If I make curry, they’ll help me make pita chips. I have to admit, some nights aren’t a hit and I do have to end up preparing macaroni and cheese. But, it’s worth trying especially for the nights when dinner goes as planned—like when my four-year-old actually rolled and ate her own avocado and cream cheese sushi roll!”

3) Incorporate a new language into everyday life

“I wanted my two boys to learn French but I didn’t know where to start. So, we started with what would be easy: food. We labeled all of the food in the house with their French translation. After weeks of referring to apples as les pommes and milk as lait I was ready to give up and then my 3 year-old asked for fromage with their crackers. Small changes really do make the difference."

Our Tea staffers prove that bringing the world home is actually pretty easy. How do you teach your kids to be globally inspired? Share your tips below in the comments section.

Seven ways to keep your kids excited about language learning

I haven’t written about my children’s language learning progress in a while, but with Thanksgiving coming I know it’s one of the things I’ll be grateful for this holiday. Being able to introduce Emmett and Adrian to French is one of my greatest joys and privileges (and sometimes one of the biggest challenges). When I last blogged about language learning, I was ecstatic that my son had just read his first sentence in French.

We have actually have had a lot to celebrate since then – when we went to France this summer, Emmett spoke French to shopkeepers and kids his age, and he recently started working with his French tutor again and actually ENJOYS his French homework. Here he is doing a page of drawing sports activities while learning the difference between “à la” and “au”:

Emmett turned seven in September and I am proud to say he can speak full French sentences, hold up his end of simple conversations and is curious about new words and expressions. He is also an avid reader (in English) which has opened up new teaching opportunities. I have been trying to keep it fun by getting him series he likes in French (Scooby Doo is a favorite right now).

My younger son Adrian, now 3 ½, started attending a French Immersion School this fall and has already made huge strides in just a few months. He and his best friend, Paul Camille (I just love saying that name, it’s so French), love to sing French nursery rhymes and Adrian now greets me in the mornings with a “Bonjour maman!” and thanks me with “Merci maman!”  which makes my day every time.

While my children are not yet bilingual in French, I am so thrilled to see them with good accents (thanks to starting young with Little Pim and other resources) and a solid foundation to work from. I always tell parents that learning a second language is a life long journey and each child will move forward at his or her own pace. The important thing is to keep showing your child that language learning can be fun and that the rewards will be great if they can stick with it (not unlike playing a musical instrument).

Here are a few things that have worked with my boys to keep them interested and “on the journey” over the past few years:

1. 1. keep speaking French to them, even if it’s only a little here and there. Never let it disappear from their daily lives entirely even if they are “rebelling”. It’s not all or nothing with language learning….

1. 1. mix in one French book to the 2-3 books I read them at night. right now it’s Little Pim Colors or Feelings for Adrian and Asterix comics for Emmett

1. 1. make extra efforts to experience the fun parts of French culture with them (go to a French bakery for breakfast, attend a chocolate making workshop with a French chef, make crèpes with friends, etc.)

1. 1. play the “flash card game” with Little Pim flash cards (you get a treat for identifying 10 right in a row – this is a subway, car ride and restaurant waiting favorite!)

1. 1. always encourage, never nag or tell them they “said it wrong”

1. 1. bring in help in the form of tutors to supplement when needed

1. 1. find other families teaching their children the same second language so our kids can speak together and also just see they are not unique in learning two languages.

What will you be grateful for this Thanksgiving about your child’s language journey?  Write in with your successes and challenges and I’d be happy to answer any questions about raising kids with two languages.

5 Tips for Managing TV Time During the Holidays

It’s the holidays! That means fun things like family, treats, presents. But for many of us, it’s also darker, shorter, colder days. If you are like me, you might be asking yourself, “How are we going to keep the kids busy all day when they can’t play outside?”

Then it’s school vacation! What to do? When you have run out of the art projects, cooking projects and sorting through old toys to make room for new ones, you might be tempted to resort to TV, the computer or handing over your iPhone/iPad. Or maybe you just want to sleep in, and the TV makes a pretty good babysitter between 6 and 7 am.

This can bring up feelings of guilt and questions about how much is too much “screen time”. I recommend a great book on the subject called “Into the Mind of Babes” which helps you sort through some of the best information – and misinformation – out there about the effects of TV on your little ones’ minds. In the meanwhile, here are some of my tips for keeping screen time in check and using media as a positive force in your kids lives.

5 tips for managing screen time during the holidays:

1. Decide in advance with your partner how much “screen” time is OK to have each day. Tell the kids what that is, and everyone needs to stick to it. If the kids ask to watch their second show you can say “we all agreed to one hour a day and you’ve already used that up, sorry!”

Make sure they know that screen time includes TV, computer and digital media players (iTouch, iPad, etc). That can seem obvious to us, but not always to them.

2. Teach your kids the expression “mush brain” from watching too much TV. This will help them realize there is a such a thing as TV overload (my kids have used the expression on their own since I taught it to them!)

3. Don’t only use TV as a babysitter. Make sure to watch special made for kids movies with them during the holidays (we recently watched “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” as a family and had a great time).

Make sure to talk about the movie with them after viewing. Movies can be great springboards for conversations about emotions and things kids think about. (How did Charlie Brown feel when they made fun of him? How would you feel if you had spell a hard word in a spelling bee?)

4. Use TV time for “soft teaching” – let them watch TV, but try to mix up the “eye candy” entertainment with videos about science, nature, language learning or music. Many parents feel good about Little Pim because their kids are having fun “watching TV” but parents know they are learning a new language.

5. Use TV time as a special reward (“after we read these 4 books… “ or “after we clean up your room”).

Happy Holidays!

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!).

http://geotoystore.com/

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!

Read the whole interview!