LITTLE PIM BLOG
Little Pim Unboxing with Shonduras
We were so excited when Shaun McBride, aka Shonduras, a Snapchat celebrity and popular YouTube daily vlogger who was recently listed in Forbes Top 30 under 30 and his wife, Jenny McBride accepted our request to send Baby Adley (his adorable daughter) Little Pim language learning products in Spanish. Since Shaun spent some time in Honduras, hence his nickname of 'Shonduras,' and learned the Spanish language through immersion, we felt that he would want to the same for his child, and we were right on! Baby Adley already knows a few words in Spanish and is excited to learn more with the help of Little Pim. Check out Baby Adley opening her custom Little Pim package in Shonduras' daily vlog below:
The contents of her custom care package included:
- Little Pim Spanish (Vol 1 and 2) on an Amazon Kindle Fire Kids Edition
- Little Pim Trilingual Board Books
- Little Pim Spanish Words and Phrases Flash Cards
- Custom-printed Little Pim Coloring Book with Crayons
- "Say Hello" Poster
- Little Pim Plush Panda Bear
Order Your Spanish for Kids Complete Set to Start Learning Today!
The Benefits of Starting Early: Why Your Kids Need to Learn Another Language Now
Our world is no longer constrained by the borders on a map. It has become increasingly global in every realm from business to social relationships. For a child to flourish in this new and diverse climate, it's important that they get multilingual exposure and begin learning a foreign language before age 6 to experience the most benefits. In most non-English-speaking nations, particularly in Europe; instruction in another language is mandatory. Not only are children taught a second language, but they are often are raised in an environment where they are exposed to multiple languages; necessitating the acquisition of multiple tongues.
In places such as Switzerland and Belgium, there are many recognized languages and dialects, and therefore it is not uncommon for someone to speak three or four different languages. Meanwhile, the vast majority of English-speaking countries have no national mandate for teaching children a second language.
In the United States, foreign language instruction is lacking. According to an article in The Atlantic, only 1% of American adults were proficient in a foreign language. Many aren't exposed to a foreign language until their college years.
The United States isn't the only nation that fails to expose students to foreign languages at a critical age. According to Arlene Harris in her article, Learning the Lingo: Taking up a Foreign Language Before We're 3?; Ireland "lags behind the rest of Europe and should be starting kids off before they're 3."
It is a predominately western problem, perhaps because we are leaving an era dominated by English-speaking business and culture. With the advent of the Internet, success has spread in every direction; including eastward, with the future of industry looking strongly toward Asia and the Pacific. Children must learn languages early to stay ahead of the competition.
Most countries in Europe begin language instruction around the age of seven or earlier. It's not only possible, but beneficial for the budding mind. According to Dr. David Carey, "“All The children can learn another language at an early age [...] [The] young brain, before the age of 5, is able to learn to speak another language without developing an accent — to speak it like a native."
Starting language learning early has documented benefits. The childhood brain is elastic and able to learn and retain a multitude of information that someone in their early 20's would struggle with. It's been documented that it's easier for children to learn a second language than adults, so why wait until college to begin learning such an important skill? Exposing your children early is critical, and Little Pim has the resources you need to get them going!
Learn a New language in Record Time? Por supuesto, bien sûr, sì certo!
It doesn’t matter which language you want to learn, the answer is the same if you understand how to set about the task, of course you can! Many parents who choose Little Pim to teach their child a second language may not speak the language themselves, which is why we developed this parent guide to include information and tips so you can become your child’s first language tutor. Why not take it one step further? Make it your 2017 new year's resolution to learn a new language alongside your child.
This infographic below from UpgradedPoints shows you how you could achieve a level of fluency in most languages in record time, in fact it suggests that three months is all you need to make significant progress.
What you will discover is that there is a technique that allows your brain to retain more information and if you follow that path to learning a new language, you are more likely to succeed than spending hours trying to remember in a way that is highly inefficient. If you're interested in high quality resources to help yourself learn using similar techniques as Little Pim, but for adults, check out the Pimsleur Method, which was established nearly 50 years ago by our founder, Julia Pimsleur's father, Dr. Pimsleur.
Fun Activities to Celebrate Chinese New Years with Kids
The first day of the Chinese New Year falls on Saturday, January 28 this year and it's the Year of the Rooster. Also called the "Spring Festival" the new year celebrations and traditions are centuries old and last about 15 days. Kids of all ages anticipate and enjoy the celebrations, parades, and special treats during the festival. On Chinese New Years Eve, families get together to ring in the new year with a reunion dinner where homes are decorated in red and gold paper crafts, glorious lanterns, and intricate ornaments. Mandarin trees and plum blossoms placed in homes during the new year to bring good luck and fortune. Fireworks are set off throughout the night and red paper envelopes of money are given out as gifts. These are only a few of the many Chinese New Year traditions. To learn more about the Chinese New Year celebrations for kids, visit the "A China Family Adventure" website.
Here are a few fun activities you and your family can do to celebrate the Chinese New Year in your home this year:
Learn a bit of Chinese:
Gong Xi Fa Cai (Mandarin) and Gong Hey Fat Choy (Cantonese)! Means “Happy New Year!” and is the standard greeting throughout the holiday.
Have a countdown on Chinese by teaching your kids the numbers 1-10:
一 yī: one 二 èr: two 三 sān: three 四 sì: four 五 wǔ: five 六 liù: six 七 qī: seven 八 bā: eight 九 jiǔ: nine 十 shí: ten
Chinese New Year Crafts
Make your own Chinese lantern with the kids. Get some red and gold construction paper to create your own masterpiece. For step-by-step instructions, head on over to the China Family Adventure website.
You can also have lots of fun making fireworks on black construction paper using glitter glue!
Make a handprint rooster craft to celebrate the year of the rooster and teach your little ones how to say rooster in Mandarin: Gōngjī
Dress the Part
Don whatever red clothing you have — red is a lucky color in Chinese culture. Research the tales and legends of why red is the color of choice during the Chinese New Year. The stories will fascinate you and your children!
For more Mandarin lessons for kids, watch a free preview of Little Pim Mandarin for Kids! Comment below if you have any fun activities for Chinese New Years! Happy New Year or shall we say, Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Holiday Crafts for Kids: Christmas Around the World
Looking for some fun holiday crafts for kids during Christmas Break? Christmas Around the World is always a fun theme to incorporate into your holidays. Kids love learning about other cultures and countries and how they celebrate the holidays this time of year. Not only are crafts from around the world fun, they're educational as well. What more can you ask for? Before you dig out the paper, glue, and scissors, do a little research. Decide with your children what countries you want to learn about and make crafts. There are all kinds of wonderful resources on the internet for you to use in your research. Once you decide on which countries you'd like to learn more about, you can get started on the crafts. Try some of these fun ideas.
Flags of the World Ornaments
Use real ornaments or make paper ornaments with the countries flags on them. For this activity, you can also head on over to your local craft store such as Michaels Arts & Crafts to buy supplies to paint your own flag ornaments. They will have plain ornaments that you can paint on. For a image database of the world flags and countries, visit this website from the CIA.
Traditional Holiday Crafts
During your research, find traditional decor or a tradition the country enjoys during the holidays and recreate it with crafts. For example, The Nutcracker is a traditional ballet done in Russia. Design and create your own nutcracker using things from around the house like milk jugs or cartons, paper rolls, Legos, or wood pieces. For ideas, check out this great post from Multicultural Kids on DIY Christmas Ornaments Inspired by World Cultures.
Holiday Nature Crafts
Many countries have "treasures" that come from nature that you can recreate at home. For example, Poinsettias come from Mexico. You can make paper or tissue paper Poinsettias after learning about Mexico. Christmas trees originally came from Germany. In the link above, there is a beautiful Mexican Felt Poinsettia you can make with the kids. Do you have any Christmas crafts that you do with your kids that you can share with the Little Pim community? There are tons of fun Christmas tree crafts to make! Share your traditions in the comments below.
Holiday Dress Crafts
Many countries have traditional clothing they wear during the holidays. Make paper dolls or clothes pin dolls with the traditional clothing worn from the country you researched.
Paper Crafts
Make crafts of the countries you researched out of paper and hang on a tree or decorate your home. Origami is a great idea for Japan, or make paper chains from Sweden. Let your imagination run wild!
Whatever crafts you decide to use for Christmas Around the World, you know your kids are having fun learning and creating great crafts! For more fun activities, print out our Winter Coloring Pages or fun Hanukkah Crafts for Kids.
Little Pim's Winter Coloring Pages
Happy Holidays to all. Wintertime is the perfect time to cozy up with the little ones and do some coloring activities. We've got you covered for the entire Winter season with our latest coloring pages. Simply click on the links below to print out the pages. We'd love to see your creations. Post of photo on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #LittlePim and we will share it across our networks. Happy coloring and we hope you're enjoying the glorious holiday season! ¡Adiós Amigos!...
Links to download and print the FREE Little Pim Coloring Pages (in order as they appear above):
12 Days of Little Pim Giveaways
In the spirit of the holiday season, we're giving away Little Pim Digital Discovery Sets ($49.99 value) in your choice of 12 languages during our 12 Days of Giveaways event. The set includes your choice of Little Pim's award-winning foreign language videos available in 12 languages, Little Pim Panda Plush, and our "Say Hello!" Poster. The videos are sent instantly to your email address and the physical items will be mailed to you.
You can enter to win a free Little Pim Digital Discovery Set up to three times per day by commenting on our Facebook page, Instagram, or by retweeting our tweets on Twitter. Twelve lucky winners will receive the gift of a new language for their little ones this season.
The more your participate, the greater your odds of winning! Starting Saturday, December 10th, we will choose one lucky winner per day at midnight EST.
You can also enter the giveaway, by filling out the form below (limit three entries per day per household):
CONTEST CLOSED
Check back here daily to see if you're one of the lucky winners. Winners will also be notified via email and/or social media. Comment below with any questions. Good Luck and Happy Holidays!
Day 1 Winner: Erin Caylor @UpsideofChaos on Twitter! Congrats, Erin!
Day 2 Winner: Meghan Finley on Facebook! Congrats, Meghan!
Day 3 Winner: Amber Walsh on Facebook! Congrats, Amber!
Day 4 Winner: Ami Tah @dollylaparker via Instagram! Congrats, Ami!
Day 5 Winner: Jenn Darrieux Shippy on Facebook! Congrats, Jenn!
Day 6 Winner: Doris Beyer-Hrebicek on Facebook! Congrats, Doris!
Day 7 Winner: Lori Leal @LoriLeal1 on Twitter! Congrats, Lori!
Day 8 Winner: Mady Swimm on Facebook! Congrats, Mady!
Day 9 Winner: Ashley Garrett Nolan on Facebook! Congrats, Ashley!
Day 10 Winner: Stacey & Alexandria @babyhawke84 on Instagram! Congrats!
Day 11 Winner: Abigail Frazee on Facebook! Congrats, Abigail!
Day 12 Winner: Jennifer Torres on Facebook! Congrats, Jennifer!
Need a last minute gift for kids? We've got you covered! **Shop Our Digital Sale** and SAVE 50% on ALL digital + streaming 3-paks of our award-winning foreign language series in 12 languages with code DIGITAL50. Shop Now >> www.littlepim.com - Little Pim Team
Infographic: The Benefits of Early Language Learning
Below is an infographic on some of the many benefits of teaching kids a second language at the age they learn best which is before the age of six. Give a child the gift of a second language and watch it pay off over a lifetime! Share this infographic with parents and teachers and explore more of the benefits of bilingualism on our website.
Explore Winter in Ukraine with a Craft Based on this Clever Story
The Holidays are easily the most magical time of year for a child. Make it even more magical by exposing them to another culture, like that of wintry Ukraine! In Eastern Europe, Christmas is not heavily celebrated. Instead, it is the coming of Father New Years that brings anticipation to children everywhere. That doesn't mean that there's any less winter wonder! The Mitten is a common folktale for Ukrainian families to read to their little ones during the holidays. With such cold winters, it's no wonder that the main feature of this tale is a group of animals trying to stay warm!
- Explore Winter in Ukraine with this printable craft based on the classic Ukrainian children's story, The Mitten.
The story starts with an old man in the forest losing one of his mittens. As animals in the forest find the mitten, they scurry inside to enjoy its warmth. The story begins with small animals, such as frogs and badgers, and works its way up all of the way to a bear. In the end, it's a little mouse that "breaks the camel's back," so to speak; causing the bear to sneeze and all of the animals to fly out of the mitten.
Engaging your child with The Mitten:
- Watch this free video of the folktale, retold and illustrated by children's author Jan Brett.
- Read the story with your children.
- Ask them, "Why do you think the smaller animals let the bigger animals take up the room in the mitten, even when there were too many?" This will help connect your child's mind to the abstract concepts of the reading.
- Color and illustrate pictures using your kids' imagination of the different animals mentioned in the story. Learn how to say the names of each animal in different languages.
- Discuss Eastern Europe and its Holiday traditions; its climate, its animals, and the similarities and differences between our stories and theirs.
For more phenomenal winter crafts, stay tuned to the Little Pim blog! Happy Holidays!
Brain Research: The Benefits of Bilingualism
Growing up knowing more than one language offers many benefits. Just knowing the language is the most obvious one, but the benefits extend to the way we think. An article on the NPR website by Anya Kamenetz, "6 Potential Brain Benefits of Bilingual Education," discusses these advantages. The article focuses on non-English speakers learning English, but English speakers who pick up a foreign language benefit too. The younger they start, the better, but children of all ages stand to sharpen their minds.
Keeping two languages separate in their heads exercises brain skills. The bilingual student has to know when to use one language, and when to use the other. Developing this skill helps in task switching, and spotting the social cues promotes empathy.
Another big benefit is "metalinguistic awareness" — the understanding of how language works. Learning more than one language means learning there's more than one way to say things. They learn about different ways to put words and ideas together. German doesn't have a word for "mind," but that's only because it doesn't draw the sharp distinction among "spirit," "mind," and "sense" that English does. That didn't stop Jung and Freud from going deep into the study of psychology.
A study at American University found that dual-language students outperformed English-only ones on reading. They could pull as much meaning out of sentences as students with better English skills but no foreign-language skills. They generally knew fewer English words, but their awareness of language made up for it.
The benefits may extend into old age. Kamenetz cites a Canadian study which finds that bilingual people with Alzheimer's disease don't suffer from cognitive impairment as early as monolingual ones. This could be because bilingualism gives a "cognitive reserve" that makes up for loss of brain function.
Learning a second language is a great way to expand a child's understanding of the world. Visit our website to learn how children can learn languages through Little Pim.
