LITTLE PIM BLOG
Our Valentine to You: Free Little Pim Valentine Coloring Pages
Here's a treat that will be even more welcome than Valentine sweets for your little ones: fun coloring pages featuring our favorite panda, Little Pim, playing Cupid. Just click, print, and color for Valentine's Day fun. Joyeuse Saint-Valentin!
4 Surprising Infographics about Bilingual Education
Did you know the most commonly spoken language on earth is Mandarin? Or that students who studied a foreign language for at least 4 years scored an average of 140 points higher on the math SAT than those who didn’t? We found these fascinating facts and much more as we explored language learning and bilingualism Infographics around the web. We’ve collected a few of our favorites here. Click through to see the full graphic.
1. Second Language Acquisition By The Numbers
(credit, Huffington Post)
The facts and nothing but the language facts are the focus of this Infographic, including the most popular language to study in the United States (Spanish) and where scores improved on the SAT when students studied a second language (actually, they improved in all three sections!):
2. 50 Awesome Facts About Languages
(credit, UIC London)
If you’re looking for biggest, best, and most unusual language facts—from the number of world languages (7,000) to the easiest foreign language for English speakers to learn (Frisian, only spoken in parts of the Netherlands) this Infographic is for you:
3. The Benefits of Being Bilingual
(credit, BlueData International Institute)
What are the benefits of bilingualism? This Infographic links speaking a second language to improved concentration, boosted brain function, and increased creativity just for starters. Find out more:
4. Languages of the World
Finally, check out this Infographic from our friends at Pimsleur (which was created by Little Pim founder Julia Pimsleur Levine’s father, Dr. Paul Pimsleur) exploring the perceptions and realities of language learning in the United States.
Sochi Olympics Bingo!
The 2014 Winter Olympics is being held in Sochi, Russia, creating the perfect opportunity to introduce your children to not only the excitement of Luge and Speed Skating, but to basic Russian winter sports vocabulary as well.
We've made learning even more fun with this Sochi Olympics BINGO! To create your own bingo card using our word list, or your own special Olympics words, click here.
Winter Olympics Russian Vocabulary List
- спорт [Sport] - Sports
- зима [Zi-ma] - Winter
- снег [Snyek] - Snow
- Лёд [LYOT] - Ice
- Cнежинка [snye-ZHEEN-ka] - Snowflake
- Снежная буря [SNYEZH-na-ya BOO-rya] - Blizzard
- Холод [HO-lat] - (The) cold
- Коньки [kan’-KEE] - Skates
- Лыжи [LI-zhee] - Skis
- Санки [SAN-kee] - Sled
- Сноуборд [snow-BORT] - Snowboard
- Кататься на коньках [ka-TAT’-sya na kan’-KAH] - Skating
- Кататься на лыжах [ka-TAT’-sya na LI-zhah] - Skiing
- Кататься на санках [ka-TAT’-sya na SAN-kah] - Sledding
- Кататься на сноуборде [ka-TAT’-sya na snow-BOR-teah] - Snowboarding
If you're interested in exploring Russian more with your children, check out our great Little Pim Russian programs here.
A Sweet Craft for Valentine’s Day: Stained Glass Heart Cookies
Here’s an easy, and very tasty, way to transform store bought cookie dough and colorful candies into sweet treats to give or keep for Valentine’s Day.
Supplies
- Sugar cookie dough
- Hard candy, crushed into small pieces
- Cookie cutters
- Parchment paper
- Cookie sheets
Directions
To start – purchase (or make, if you’re feeling your inner Julia Child) plain sugar cookie dough. If it’s not in sheets already, roll out to ¼ inch.
Use a large heart shape cookie cutter to create a base shape. Then using a smaller heart cutter, or plain circle shape, make a hole in the center of the cookie.
Put the cut-out hearts on a parchment lined cookie sheet (the parchment is important here so the hearts don’t stick to the pan).
Take hard candy (we used leftover candy canes, but the sky’s the limit colorwise, think LifeSavers or Jolly Ranchers), unwrap and crush with a rolling pin between two layers of parchment or in a plastic bag.
Now fill the hole in the center of heart with the crushed candy.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until candy is melted and dough is golden brown.
Voila, stained glass hearts!
Get Ready for Sochi with an Olympics-Worthy Winter Moviethon
The 2014 Winter Olympics will be here soon (February 7, 2014)! To introduce your children to some of the events that will be featured in Russia this year, try watching one of our favorite family-friendly movies about winter sports. Added bonus? An excuse to snuggle up with your little ones and savor a movie during the Academy Awards season. And since we know not many parents have time to hit the movie theaters, we included one for you to watch without kids as well.
5 Family Friendly Winter Sports Movies
1. Miracle– The true story of the underdog United States ice hockey team that competed in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. This edge-of-your-seat story shows how a team comprised of US college students took on the might Soviets. Great movie; even greater story.
2. Mighty Ducks – For a more kid-centric introduction to ice hockey, try this Disney movie about junior players at the bottom of their league who come together to play in the junior championships. This is the Bad News Bears of winter sports, but with such soaring popularity that a real team was named after them – the Anaheim (home of Disney Land) Mighty Ducks. Note: If the kids like this one, there are two follow-up films, D2 and D3.
3. Cool Runnings – Jamaica has a bobsled team! No really, that’s the real-life premise of this movie about a team of Jamaican bobsledders who started out as warm weather sprinters, but went on to compete in the 1988 Calgary Olympics. This is both laugh-out-loud funny and inspiring, in true Disney style.
4. The Cutting Edge – Also set at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, this movie is about figure skating and the Olympics, but that’s as realistic as this pic gets. Still, there’s a love story, figure skating, a hockey player learning to skate and no gross-out humor, so it’s a sweet intro to figure skating for kids.
5. Downhill Racer – OK, it’s from 1969 and stars a young Robert Redford– but you don’t need to tell your kids that. They’ll just focus on the excitement of downhill skiing in this classic winter sports movie.
PS – Bonus for adults only*:
*Men With Brooms-- A raucously funny look at curling – yes, curling, the winter Olympics sport that combines bowling with sweeping (yes, sweeping, like with a broom) on ice. Unfortunately, a few foul language choices give it an R rating, making it a late-night adult viewing option.
A Family Friendly Chinese New Year Celebration
Streamers? Check. Noise makers? Check.
Don’t put away your New Year’s decorations just yet -- January 31 marks the start of the Chinese New Year and it’s a great excuse to have a fun-filled celebration with your family.
This year is the Year of the Horse and will be celebrated with parties, food, dragon dances, and fireworks both in China and in Chinatown’s throughout North America.
Chinese New Year is also called the Lunar New Year because it’s celebrated on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar – and this year’s celebration will ring in the year 4712.
Want to celebrate the Year of the Horse? Here are 4 easy ways to join in the fun.
1. Learn a bit of Chinese:
Kung Hey Fat Choy! Means “Happy New Year!” and is the standard greeting throughout the holiday.
2. Dress the part:
Don whatever red clothing you have --- red is a lucky color in Chinese culture.
3. Decorate for your celebration:
Paper lanterns are a perfect project for craft time with your kids (although they can be any color, consider red to keep the new year’s theme).
4. Wok up a family-friendly Chinese dish:
The Lunar New Year is a usually celebrated with a big family meal.
Fried Rice is a great option to make at home with your family – let your children add their favorite veggies and practice picking up larger pieces of veggies with chopsticks while you cook.
CHINESE NEW YEAR FRIED RICE
(The vegetables below are just a guideline, feel free to substitute or add your favorites)
Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet.
Add 1 chopped onion and 2 small cloves of chopped garlic. Cook until soft, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add approximately 1 cup of chopped pepper, carrots, celery or sliced snow peas. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
Mix in 2 cups of cooked rice and stir until vegetables are fully mixed in.
Create an open hole in the middle of your pan and add 1 tsp of oil, then add 2 beaten eggs. Scramble eggs in hole, then mix into rice mixture.
Finally, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of soy sauce and stir through rice mixture until full seasoned.
Here's one more Chinese phrase you'll want to know when you're done eating:
Nn, mìan hăo chī! 嗯,面 好 吃! Mm! It’s good!!
Holiday Treats From Around the World
If you’ve been looking for some new treats to get your holidays off to a sweet start, all you need to do is spin the globe. We’ve found a selection of easy, and delicious, international treats that your whole family will enjoy both making and tasting for the upcoming holiday celebrations.
Swiss Basler Brunsli
(Courtesy of Saveur)
These gluten-free chocolate-almond-spice cookies from Switzerland taste like chewy brownies. Note: Be sure to use the parchment paper when rolling out your dough to avoid sticking.
- 8 oz. whole blanched almonds
- 1 ½ cups sugar, plus more for rolling
- 6 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground cloves
- 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
- Finely grind almonds and sugar in a food processor. Add chocolate; pulse until finely ground. Add cinnamon, cloves, and egg whites; pulse until dough comes together.
- Sprinkle a large piece of parchment paper with sugar; transfer dough to paper. Lay another piece of paper over dough; roll dough to 1/8" thickness.
- Cut out cookies with star-shaped or other cutters; transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 1" apart. Reroll scraps and repeat. Let dough dry for 3 hours.
- Heat oven to 300°.
- Bake until cookies are slightly puffed, 12–15 minutes.
French Palmiers (Elephant Ears)
(Adapted from Saveur)
Easy baking alert! You can make these light and crispy French pastry treats with just 2 ingredients!
- 1 package puff pastry dough
- ½ cup of granulated sugar
- Cut dough square in half and roll out ¼ inch thick, sprinkling with sugar as you work. Roll or fold the short ends 2 or 3 times inwards to reach the middle. Fold the dough in half along the center and press gently to seal. Repeat with remaining half of puff pastry. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice the rolled dough about 1/3 inch thick and sprinkle with more sugar. Place dough on an ungreased baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
- Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes, turning the cookies once halfway through.
Norwegian Crowns
Melt in your mouth butter cookies from Norway.
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 ¼ cups sifted all purpose flour
- Heat oven to 375 degrees
- Cream butter with an electric beater and then gradually add sugar. When mixed, add the egg and the almond extract.
- Slowly add the sifted flour.
- Fill cookie press and use a half moon shape to create crowns.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden.
The Holiday Ebook Is Here!
Yup, that's our holiday ebook in the Kindle store! It's hard to believe that a little over 2 months ago, Around the World with Little Pim was basically just an idea. We launched our Kickstarter campaign with crossed fingers, and now here we are: fully funded with our holiday ebook on Amazon just in time for the holidays.
But enough reminiscing...
The Little Pim holiday ebook is finally a reality and we really hope you enjoy it. We have sent Little Pim to France, Mexico, Brazil, and China to sample some tasty holiday treats and learn about how other countries and cultures celebrate the winter holidays. Join him on this delicious adventure and you might just pick up a few new words in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese!
If you could go on a holiday food tour like Little Pim, where would you go?
7 Budget Saving Tips for a Family Trip to Europe
Want to try out your child’s Little Pim language skills with a family trip to Europe? Follow our 7 easy tips to visit the continent without breaking the bank. 1. Friendly Skies: To save on international airfare, remember this one easy tip: Depart on a Tuesday, and return on a Wednesday for the lowest fares.
2. Shoulder Your Way To Savings: Shoulder season is what the travel industry calls non-peak travel season, the periods between prime summer months and the Christmas/New Year’s holidays. If you’re flexible, visiting Europe in the “shoulder” months of January through March will save you a bundle.
3. Do Your Homework: Not all credit cards are created equal. Check before you jet off to make sure your card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. Note: Amex Platinum, most Capital One cards, and Chase’s United MileagePlus and Sapphire cards are all good options to avoid foreign fees.
4. Pack Smart: Most airlines will allow one checked bag free on international flights, but charge a HUGE surcharge for a second bag, up to $100! Think one large (within the weight limit) bag per person, instead of two smaller ones.
5. Home Away from Home: For families, nothing beats an apartment or house for stretching out and cooking your own money-saving meals. Try Airbnb for unique options and user reviews or VacationHomeRentals.com for everything from Italian villas to Paris apartments. Want to stay for free? Home exchanges with a like-minded European family might be just the ticket. Check out HomeExchange.com or HomeLink.org.
6. Ride the Rails: Whether you ride London’s Tube (where kids 16 and under ride free) or the multi-country Eurail (kids under 4 free, kids 4 to 11 ride for ½ price), train travel is the most economical option for European family travel. Plus, most kids love a train ride, so you have built-in entertainment value as well.
7. To Market to Market: Now that you have your own room with a view, and a fridge, you can take advantage of farmer’s markets, artisanal shops, and roadside stands to eat like a local and on the cheap. Bon appetit and bon voyage!
--By Melissa Klurman
Holiday Shopping Extravaganza at Citibabes!
You're invited to the New York holiday shopping event of the season! Located in the chic Soho area, Citibabes says, "Tis the season..." for a little bit of holiday cheer.
Join Little Pim, along with over 75 other retailers, on Saturday, December 14 for a day-long holiday shopping extravaganza for families. You'll be able to get gifts and advice for everyone in your family, AND do some good while you're at it, as a percentage of the proceeds will go to Toys for Tots.
Childminding appointments are available to keep your little ones occupied while you finish up your holiday shopping... but RSVP soon! You need to book your childminding session in advance.
For more details, check out the Citibabes invite:
