LITTLE PIM BLOG
Little Pim + Plan Toys = Contest!
Creating Little Pim episodes is always an adventure. From writing scripts, building sets to castings, there is never a dull moment! You may have noticed the exceptionally high quality props from Plan Toys® that are a regulars in our episodes. Plan Toys® is a green toy company that specializes in sparking children's intellect and imagination.
To make your holiday season just a little bit brighter, we've teamed with Plan Toys® to create a special contest. Between now and December 7th, view the video below and tell us the Spanish name for the two rooms taught below. Hint: The rooms are in the Plan Toys® dollhouse.
One person who answers will win a Little Pim DVD of their choice and a Little Pim Plush Panda! If the winner is also a fan of Little Pim and Plan Toys® on Facebook, he or she will also take home pack of Word & Phrase cards in either Spanish or French.
http://www.facebook.com/LittlePim
http://www.facebook.com/PlanToys
Good luck!
The winner is Kerri with the email address: drkl*******@yahoo.com
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!
Learning French & Spanish: Our Trilingual Adventure with SpanglishBaby
Roxana of SpanglishBaby.com has posted her second Video Blog (Vlog) about language learning with Little Pim. If you’re new to this Vlog series, Roxana is using Little Pim to introduce French to her daughter Vanessa, four years old, who is already bilingual in Spanish and English. Roxana has been doing Skype interviews with me to get tips on making it fun for her daughter to learn French and learning about resources for her to use as a parent who is not fluent in the language her daughter is learning. This week she talks about some of the hurdles she is facing in trying to incorporate French into their daily routine. It's not as easy as she thought it would be! At the end of the video Roxana’s daughter and I sign a French song together so be sure to watch the whole video. Vanessa est adorable!
Read the blog here: http://www.spanglishbaby.com/2010/10/our-trilingual-adventures-with-little-pim-media/
Learning French & Spanish: Our Trilingual Adventure with SpanglishBaby
Roxana of SpanglishBaby.com has posted her second Video Blog (Vlog) about language learning with Little Pim. If you’re new to this Vlog series, Roxana is using Little Pim to introduce French to her daughter Vanessa, four years old, who is already bilingual in Spanish and English. Roxana has been doing Skype interviews with me to get tips on making it fun for her daughter to learn French and learning about resources for her to use as a parent who is not fluent in the language her daughter is learning. This week she talks about some of the hurdles she is facing in trying to incorporate French into their daily routine. It's not as easy as she thought it would be! At the end of the video Roxana’s daughter and I sign a French song together so be sure to watch the whole video. Vanessa est adorable!
Read the blog here: http://www.spanglishbaby.com/2010/10/our-trilingual-adventures-with-little-pim-media/
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
Little Pim Goes to Cambridge Part II (Meeting Dr. Naomi Steiner)
While in Cambridge, I also had the pleasure of meeting the dynamic and charming Dr. Naomi Steiner, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Tufts Medical Center. Dr. Steiner wrote the most thorough, practical book I have found about raising bilingual kids (7 Steps to Raising a Bilingual Child). The book shows that every child can learn a second language - whether or not their parents speak the language - and offers step by step approaches for families. As a mother myself raising bilingual children, we had so much to talk about! Dr. Steiner's children speak German, French and English -- and her teenage daughter started Chinese this fall! I am so happy Dr. Steiner is helping to advance the pediatric field’s understanding of the ways speaking two languages benefits young children’s brain development and she will be making important contributions in this fields. Keep an eye out for her.
- Julia & Dr. Steiner
Boston has a very international population, which is why it isn't that surprising that our soon to be Brazilian distributor calls this city home. This is Heloisa Fitzgerald, a talented and passionate fellow mom-preneur I met through Entrepreneur's Organization (EO).
Heloisa is launching "Little Pim Brazil" in 2011. Little Pim is already distributed in 6 countries outside the U.S. and we are very excited that Heloisa, a native of Brazil who is raising her own two daughters bilingual in Portugese and English, is going to introduce the Little Pim method to English learning tots in Brazil. Magnifico!
- Julia and Heloisa
This was a whirlwind 24-hour trip that left me charmed by Cambridge, energized by the people I met, and looking forward to going back for more Little Pim language fun events. Next time I’ll bring my boys, but may not be able to get beyond Curious George & Friends if I do...
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!
Little Pim on The Today Show- Language Learning For Kids
Little Pim was featured on the Today Show on Wednesday, September 29th. The segment - "Kids Getting Ahead With Spanish, Mandarin" - was part of NBC's Education Nation week of programming. The demand for second language programs for children has been steadily increasing as parents learn about the developmental and employment advantages to growing up bilingual.
The segment featured parents and experts (including Little Pim founder, Julia Pimsleur Levine) who emphasized the importance of starting kids early on learning a second or third language.
Daniella Montalto of the NYU Institute of Learning and Academic Achievement expanded on the cognitive benefits to early second language acquisition, "Academically, children who have learned a second language tend to be better readers and writers...they also score higher on IQ tests."
Clips of Little Pim Mandarin, Spanish, and French were shown in the segment as well: ".. language DVDs, like Little Pim, [are] teaching little ones languages like Spanish, Mandarin and French."
We hope you were able to tune in! If not, enjoy the clip below. A big thank you to the Today Show for including us!
