LITTLE PIM BLOG
New York Times Foreign Language Article
Last week the New York Times reported on the unfortunate rate at which foreign language education programs in schools in the northeast are being cut to help balance budgets. If you've been following my blog, you probably share in my belief that speaking a foreign language is no longer an expendable luxury but an important twenty-first century skill. The article quotes Marty Abbott, the director of education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages as saying, "In many cultures, a lot of business does not get done around the business table, it gets done in side conversations and social situations. If you can’t participate in those discussions, you get left out."
I'd add to that, that not only is speaking several languages good for business, it is equally important for early childhood brain development and social skills. It has been so exciting creating Little Pim and finding out that many parents out there share my conviction that kids should have access to language lessons as young as possible. We want kids to be introduced to languages at home or in preschool, and to then continue with language classes in elementary school.
If your school is eliminating its language programs, make sure the principal and the district know your views. I'm contacting mine today. I've also written a letter to the editor of the NY Times, and fingers crossed, it will be one of the ones chosen to be published.
Read the NY Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/education/13language.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=foreign%20languages%20fall%20as%20schools&st=cse
Introducing Little Pim Music CDs!
Now you can bring the bilingual fun of Little Pim to the car and your iPod with our new music CDs: Little Pim FrenchBop and Little Pim Spanish Bop. Both CDs feature great kids songs, sung by native speakers, and include beautiful lullabies and lively singalongs. Native Spanish and French speakers will recognize some popular songs from their childhood and discover some catchy new tunes. You'll want to hear them again and again.
Enjoy the CDs on their own or use them with the Little Pim DVD series. Each CD contains a 16-page lyrics book that also highlights vocabulary that was taught on the DVDs, as well as an English translation of all of the songs.
And as an added bonus, both CDs feature three original songs by Milkshake, a popular band for kids. On the Spanish CD, Dan Zanes, a megastar on the kid music circuit, performs his toe-tapping rendition of Son Borinqueño in Spanish.
Follow the links below to learn more about the CDs and hear sample clips.
Until September 30th, enjoy our Special Introductory Price and save 20%!
$14.95, $11.95
The Little Pim "Our Bilingual Life" Contest
The Little Pim "Our Bilingual Life" Contest
We at Little Pim want to be your multimedia partner in helping your tot pick up a second language, and we'd like to celebrate all you are doing to create a bilingual lifestyle.
Moms & dads, please send us a photo or video that expresses how living a bilingual lifestyle is fun for your whole family. Have a great photo of your child writing in Spanish, cooking up French crêpes or a video of him or her reading in Italian? Send it over!
Please include a few sentences about the language/s spoken in your family, and why you want to raise a bilingual child.
Two winners will be chosen to win a Little Pim Language DVD Gift Pack which includes your choice of 3 DVDs in any language and a Little Pim plush panda! Send your photos and videos to contest@littlepim.com by September 30th. Winners will be announced October 3rd.
View the DVD gift sets here: http://www.littlepim.com/store/spanish-language-for-kids/ To enter:
1. Become a Fan of Little Pim on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mylittlepim 2. Send your photo or video tocontest@littlepim.com along with a short paragraph explaining why you want to raise a bilingual child.
Good luck!
With parental permission, the winning photos and videos will be published online at littlepim.com. Photos and videos will not be used or published without parental consent
Julia and Emmett Go to Paris
I just got back from a trip to France with my son Emmett – a special mommy and big boy trip (little Adrian, just 18 months old stayed home with his dad). We had been to France before to see family and friends but this was the first time we went to Paris. To get ready, we read children’s books about Paris, an art book we love that shows famous paintings in the Louvre, and watched Madeline videos about the adorable Parisian orphan character. It was so fun to see Paris through Emmett’s eyes. I planned a modified tourist agenda which left times for naps and daily ice cream treats. He rode ponies in the Luxembourg Gardens, danced in front of Hotel de Ville (“a castle !”), and of course we went up the Eiffel Tower. He had a chance to practice his French with the children of my French friends and all the shopkeepers (he has DOWN “un pain au chocolat s’il vous plait”). I was tickled that people said his accent sounded very authentic and was happy he was asking more and more about “how do you say... In French?”
When we were on the subway on our last day he heard the announcement for the Musée du Louvre and to my surprise piped up, “I want to see the Louvre!” I cautioned him it is a huge museum and might be overwhelming (we had plans to go to the smaller museum) but he insisted he wanted to see it. We jumped off the metro just in time and visited the Louvre! He didn’t last much more than 20 minutes but it was worth it.
The last day culminated with a visit to the Bon Marché toy department, a tip from a dad friend who had just been to Paris with his five year old daughter. Emmett loved the 6 foot pirate made of Legos and bought a medieval castle and knights to bring home.
As we got on the plane I told him to say “Au revoir!” to France. He chimed in, “Au revoir, see you next year!” Music to my ears.
Little Pim Looks For Its Next Little Stars
In preparation for the filming of Little Pim DVDs 4, 5, and 6, we held a casting call yesterday in our Manhattan offices. Our loft was flooded with the most adorable babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Toddlers, crawlers, and walkers mingled and drank juice boxes in our waiting area, turned into play room. As the kids waited their turn, they sampled our soon-to-be-released Little Pim flash cards and made works of art from Little Pim Coloring pages.
When it was time, the children and their parents took their turn playing in our mock set, outfitted with beautiful toys and furniture by PLAN Toys, one of my favorite kid companies.
Jolene, the production supervisor, has an incredible knack for getting kids to relax in front of the camera. A few minutes with her and the little ones were playing with blocks, throwing tea parties, making faces to express a number of different emotions (one of our new DVDs is called "Happy, Sad, and Silly") with adorable results.
So many cute and talented kids came out and we all had a great time. It will be tough to narrow it down for our shoot! Thanks to all the parents and kids who turned up.
Brad and Angelina, Fans of Little Pim and Multilingual Education
Brad Pitt recently said in an interview that raising multilingual children and spending so much time in France is making him wish he'd learned a foreign language (Parade, September 9th). While it's never too for Brad or any adult who wants to pick up another language, experts agree it is much easier to learn a new language before the age of seven. We've all seen how easily young children soak up information, and their brains are hard-wired to absorb up to three languages with ease.
The Jolie-Pitt children are all learning French and we're proud to be a part of their language education. Last November, Angelina Jolie told US Weekly that she was using Little Pim to teach Shiloh French.
Whether you're a celebrity parent or not, giving your child the gift of a second or third language is something you'll never regret. And they will thank you for their rest of their lives!
BiculturalFamily.org
Raising a child to be bilingual or raising a bicultural child can be a great joy yet also challenging to families who are just starting out. The two best things you can do to give yourself peace of mind is 1) Know that there are many families who have navigated these waters with beautiful, successful results and 2) Know that you aren't alone. BiculturalFamily.org is a wonderful resource for parents who'd like practical advice, how-to's, and stories from other parents on living a multicultural and/or bilingual lifestyle.
The online magazine is rich with content spanning the research of bilingual education, essays from readers, and more.
Their Playgroup section lists many offline opportunities for friendship and connection within the bilingual community.
Browse the website, make friends, and don't forget to have fun!
Unraveling How Children Become Bilingual
Unraveling How Children Become Bilingual Yahoo! picked up a great article by Associated Press medical author Lauran Leergaard on the widely discussed topic of how children learn languages with such ease. Scientists continue to unravel the neurology behind language learning. This research says that the ideal window for one to become fluent in a second language is between the ages of birth and age seven.
"While new language learning is easiest by age 7, the ability markedly declines after puberty."
And take note parents:
"Baby brains need personal interaction to soak in a new language — TV or CDs alone don't work."
That's why Little Pim was created in 5-minute episodes. It's the perfect length for you to stop the DVD and interact with your tot. Play with the new words together. We have several games and coloring pages to share on the website, and new print and music materials are coming soon to make Little Pim the multifaceted language learning resource you've always dreamed of!
Little Pim on BharatBhasha.com!
We enjoy seeing Little Pim featured on websites of all shapes and sizes. A new review was just posted on the article sharing website, BharatBhasha.com.
Father, Little Pim reseller and author Ray Ritchey had this to say about teaching children Chinese using Little Pim:
"Little Pim DVDs are very useful for little children to learn to Chinese. A lot of learning-Chinese DVDs for children focus on individual words for children, like colors and numbers. Little Pim DVDs also feature these words, plus more. Little Pim teaches action phrases that small children use in daily life, such as “I am playing,” “One more time?” “Mama is sleeping,” and more."
Little Pim in American Baby magazine!
Pick up this month's issue of American Baby magazine for a peek into the family behind Little Pim!
