LITTLE PIM BLOG
The Little Prince: Growing Roots
Chapter 18 of The Little Prince is as rich with meaning as chapters one and three. My blog series featuring the iconic French children's book has allowed me to explore the text with new eyes. The passage below describes a melancholy exchange between the Little Prince and a flower. The Little Prince, always full of questions, wants to know where all the people are. The flower's answer is simple: "The wind blows them away. They have no roots...".
In 2007 the U.S. census reported that the average American will move 11.7 times in their lifetime. To most a passport full of colorful stamps is a most coveted possession. My children have both visited France with me and I look forward to more trips in the future.
Would the flower in The Little Prince look down on us? I think not. The roots that come to mind when the flower speaks are those of personal conviction. One's truth. What are your values? What do you stand for? What truths do you hold dear? Those are our roots.
Thomas Kempis, a medival monk, once said, "Wherever you go, you will always bear yourself about with you, and so you will always find yourself." Travel the world, learn languages, eat exotic foods but remember to do deeply rooted in who you are.
Le Petit Prince: Chapter 18 (en Français)
Le petit prince traversa le désert et ne rencontra qu'une fleur. Une fleur à trois pétales, une fleur de rien du tout...
"Bonjour," dit le petit prince.
"Bonjour" dit la fleur.
"Où sont les hommes ?" demanda poliment le petit prince.
La fleur, un jour, avait vu passer une caravane:
"Les hommes ? Il en existe, je crois, six ou sept. Je les ai aperçus il y a des années. Mais on ne sait jamais où les trouver. Le vent les promène. Ils manquent de racines, ça les gêne beaucoup."
"Adieu, fit le petit prince."
"Adieu, dit la fleur."
The Little Prince: Chapter 18 (in English)
The little prince crossed the desert and met with only one flower. It was a flower with three petals, a flower of no account at all.
"Good morning," said the little prince.
"Good morning," said the flower.
"Where are the men?" the little prince asked, politely.
The flower had once seen a caravan passing.
"Men?" she echoed. "I think there are six or seven of them in existence. I saw them, several years ago. But one never knows where to find them. The wind blows them away. They have no roots, and that makes their life very difficult."
"Goodbye," said the little prince.
"Goodbye," said the flower.
Memorial Day Travel With Little Pim
We're thrilled to announce that Little Pim was selected to win two prestigious awards this month! Our Gift Set Plus has been chosen to win a Dr. Toy's Best Vacation Children's Product Award.
Dr. Toy, Stevanne Auerbach, PhD, has been for many years one of the nation's and world’s leading experts on play, toys, and children's products. With 30 years of direct experience, Dr. Auerbach includes educationally oriented, developmental and skill building products from the best large and small companies in her four annual award programs.
As you plan your Memorial Day getaway, be sure to take Little Pim along- our Digital Downloads are compatible with your mobile device or smartphone.
Our second award of the month was given by the Dove Foundation Review Board. Our Spanish 3-Pak (Vol. I) has been deemed "Family Approved".
The Dove Family Approved Seal is awarded to movies, DVDs, made for TV movies and specials, books and other entertainment products that portray and encourage positive values.
The positive feedback we receive daily from customers is always an encouragement and we're delighted that these recognized media outlets agree with our Little Pim parents.
Happy Cinco De Mayo!
Happy Cinco De Mayo! Today commemorates the unexpected 1862 victory of the Mexican army over the French army in the battle over the city of Puebla. I've compiled some Spanish vocabulary words that follow the theme of today's festivities.
La batalla - battle La revolucion - revolution La bandera - flag El heroe - hero La independencia - independence La victoria - victory
Get the kids together and practice your espanol today! If you're heading out to a party, I've included a guacamole recipe below that will entice even your pickiest eaters.
Yummy Guacamole
Ingredients
2 large ripe avocados 1 small red onion, finely chopped 2 tbsp (30 mL) lime juice 1 medium tomato, seeded and finely chopped 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cumin 1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped cilantro 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
Cooking Instructions
Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and peel them. If they are ripe, the peel should come off easily. Dice the avocado flesh, and dump into a bowl.
Add all the remaining ingredients, and toss to combine without mashing. The ingredients should remain separate, and the salsa chunky. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping, or as an accompaniment to tacos or burritos.
Servings: Makes about 2 cups (500 mL).
recipe from Kaboose.com
One Laptop Per Child Partners with Little Pim
One Laptop per Child
(OLPC), a nonprofit whose mission is to provide every child access to new channels of learning and self-expression, and Little Pim, the award-winning foreign language learning program for children, announced today a partnership to bring Lim Pim content to the XO laptop.
“We are thrilled to partner with OLPC and help bring Little Pim content to millions of bright young minds around the world.”
The addition of Little Pim to the XO laptop will make learning English an enjoyable and easy experience for young children. Little Pim’s unique Entertainment Immersion Method® leads with a fun character (Little Pim the Panda) and provides total immersion in the language. The method engages a child’s love of play by watching real kids and animation. Little Pim’s method helps children retain new vocabulary, while enhancing analytical, memory and concentration skills. Children can learn over 360 words and phrases using all of the Little Pim products.
“We are delighted to join forces with Little Pim to make learning language more fun for children. OLPC and Little Pim share a common philosophy that learning should be a joyous experience and that children learn best when learning and play are seamless activities,” said Rodrigo Arboleda, Chairman and CEO of the One Laptop per Child Association. “We look forward to establishing additional strategic alliances with other providers of innovative children’s software and content.”
Little Pim CEO Julia Pimsleur Levine said, “We are thrilled to partner with OLPC and help bring Little Pim content to millions of bright young minds around the world.”
About One Laptop per Child
One Laptop per Child (OLPC at http://www.laptop.org) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression. In partnership with the public and private sectors and non-governmental organizations and supported by comprehensive implementation and pedagogical services, OLPC seeks to provide each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power connected laptop that empowers individual learning and growth.
About Little Pim®
Little Pim is an award-winning foreign language immersion series for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Between birth and the age of five, the human brain is hard-wired for language learning, and Little Pim unique Entertainment Immersion Method® helps families take advantage of this brief window, by making language learning easy, fun and effective. Founded on clinical research in early childhood development and linguistics, Little Pim is available 11 languages including Spanish, French, Chinese and Italian, with videos, music, books, flash cards, gift sets and more. Check out why Little Pim is the number one way to teach kids a foreign language at www.littlepim.com.
Leap Frog Partners With Little Pim
EMERYVILLE, Calif., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:LF), a leader in educational entertainment, and Little Pim, the award-winning foreign language learning program for children, today announced a partnership to bring Little Pim content to LeapFrog's LeapPad. Content will…
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!
Little Pim in the Huffington Post
What are the three things you wish you had as a kid?
The Huffington Post's Hilary Sheinbaum wishes she'd had Little Pim when she was younger.
"Little Pim easily teaches young children a second language. I'm not sure if I'm more impressed by their range of available languages including Spanish, French and Hebrew (there are 10 languages total) taught with DVDs, books and flashcards, or if I'm equally inspired by the adorable (Little Pim) Panda that teaches these dialects.
Had this bright bear been available during my youth, I would have been a seven-language social butterfly."
Mother's day through the generations
On Mother's Day, I like to tell my sons about my mom, her mom, and her mom's mom. It's not just because I come from a long line of great moms, but having two boys, I feel an extra need to educate them about strong, loving, working women.
In my family "working woman" has sometimes meant working as a full-time mom (like Nana, my mother's mother) or working as a career librarian like my father's mother. My mom ran her own business from our home, and now I run my own business from an office in Union Square. I want my sons to understand that women can be both professionals, and great mothers. I grew up at a time when this concept was still relatively new, and while more and more women do work outside the home, the perception (and perhaps more importantly the self-perception) of working women seems to be a "work-in-progress".
My boys know their amazing grandmothers well - their "grandma" works for the State of California and sends thoughtful care packages at every major and minor holiday, and my mother (Nana to them) is in her 70s, dances the tango, and is a cultural beacon - taking them to museums, piano lessons, and sharing her love of classical music.
So I tell them stories about my grandmothers, both long gone - Edna, who raised my mother in suburban Columbus, Ohio, while her husband managed his chain of drug stores, and Meira, my father's mother, who was the Head Librarian at Columbia Law School for 50 years. I still remember going to her Upper West Side apartment as a kid, and helping her file all those 3x5 index cards.
Emmett and Adrian's little brown eyes widen with curiosity when I tell them these stories. They ask, "Did she know me?" and "Did grandma's library have The Cat in the Hat?" While they may not get the full picture until they are older, I'm sure these stories help them understand that a woman can be a loving mother, and also have a thriving life outside the home.
Women friends of mine who don't yet have children often want to know how I balance running my own company, and having two little boys. I like to tell them that the key is to forget the idea of "supermom" - she doesn't exist. Instead, I just try to balance out my busy work schedule with the field trips and class plays, and don't dwell too much on what I'm not doing. Instead I try to stretch and do more of what I can do. And I have an amazing husband, who is a very "hands-on" dad.
As moms, we are all doing a balancing act worthy of Cirque du Soleil. So this Mother's Day, whether you are working at home or working in an office, let your family spoil you. You deserve it.
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!
Why Bilinguals Are Smarter
In case you haven't already seen it, there's a great article from the New York Times about all the benefits of bilingualism
"Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age"
