This weekend, my family went to a festival organized by Stand With Japan, a new association of New York moms who set out to raise money for Save the Children’s Japan fund. We took Emmett (six) and Adrian (three), to this family event that included a Japanese bake sale, origami making, and a koto recital (a beautiful Japanese string instrument that you can check out on YouTube).

Emmett had heard about the tsunami at school, and had also seen the wonderful movie Ponyo, about a boy and a half-fish half-girl who weather a tsunami in a small Japanese town. We had talked about the Japanese disaster a bit (one of his classmates is half Japanese and has family there), but I felt I hadn’t done enough to help him understand how we could help our Japanese friends from right here in New York.

I think that an important part of raising “global citizens,” is helping our kids make connections between seemingly distant people and places and their own lives, which tend to be filled with very local preoccupations. In addition to giving kids the advantages of being able to communicate with people through speaking another language, it’s important to try and give them access and exposure to other cultures in any way you can. As adults, we sometimes forget that the interconnectedness of the world is not that obvious to children. We hear about Japan on a daily basis and understand both the human tragedy and its global implications, but young children need a helping hand to connect those dots. A cultural event like the one organized by Stand With Japan was great not only because we got to help raise money for relief efforts, but because it showed our boys several important things:

1. There are many Japanese people in our community – people directly connected to the same Japan that Emmett was told about in school.

2. Japan, and Japanese people, have a rich tradition they hadn’t seen before, from the costumes, to the food, tea rituals and music.

3. Most importantly, my kids were able to see how we can help people in the rest of the world though local efforts.

Although my boys aren’t quite ready for the delectable sushi that was on offer, through the sweet goodness of Sticky Buns and Red Bean cakes, they were transported for an hour or two into another culture, something I hope they will grow a taste for.

Q: Are there any local efforts for Japan that you can get involved in, or take your kids to? Have you gone to any already?

Take Action: Donate to the Save the Children Japan Earthquake Tsunami Relief

This was part of Emmett’s French homework, which we do together every Sunday night before he has French class after school on Mondays.

If you have followed my blog, you know that it hasn’t always been easy to keep Emmett’s interest in French. I created Little Pim for him when he was a baby and we had a few good years of learning the words in the DVDs, naming animals and numbers, referring to apples as “les pommes” and singing French songs. Then around age four, Emmett, like so many kids of parents who speak a second language to them, started seriously objecting when I spoke French (as in, “don’t speak French!! “ and covering his ears) and it’s been pretty much an uphill battle ever since (he’s now six). So that I could let Emmett continue what struck me as an otherwise healthy separation/differentiation from his mom (rejecting what he saw as “my language”) but not letting his French slide, I brought in a wonderful kids’ French tutor (he loves her! saved!) and the French continued, despite occasional assertions that he’d rather play more soccer, see his friends or do just about anything else (I was unphased…Tiger Mom, move over).

In case you have a child who is not always 100% grateful for the foreign language gift you are giving them, you may share my moment of relief when I heard “l’âne a diné.” It was like suddenly years of reading him French books, playing French DVDs and insisting he continue French, just paid off. He can read in French! He has a good accent! He was actually pretty pleased with himself. This sentence means Emmett is just small steps away from accessing the French language, culture, films, music and so many other delights I wanted him to be able to experience as a dual speaker. So if your children are in one of the phases of “I don’t want to learn French/Spanish/Chinese/German…”, don’t give up! Your donkey will come.

This summer we are going to France as a family. I can’t wait to hear Emmett read the signs at the airport. Then, on to Proust.

The fact that Emmett goes to school with kids from Korea, India, Australia and China is one of the things I love about his school. Even though Emmett is in one of his “picky eater’ phases (OK it’s more than a phase) where anything that isn’t fish sticks, white meat chicken, pasta, yellow pepper or pizza meets with a resounding “no thank you!” I was happy we could share this international experience. His little brother Adrian was slightly more experimental, taking a crack at some chick peas with yellow rice.

The kids, who helped organize the evening, (along with a parent volunteer committee) drew colorful maps of each continent which hung on the walls, and the food was grouped by region. That way, as you went down the buffet line you could sample empanadas from Spain, fried ravioli from Italy and then move on to Samosas from India and sushi from Japan. Each dish was numbered so we could vote for our favorite one at the end.

We had a great time and it was a fun way to bring some of these countries my kids have not had much experience with to life through the foods they eat (we’ve been doing a lot of spinning our globe lately and learning about where it lands). There were also signs up all over teaching kids how to say “hello” in a variety of languages! Of course I loved that! All that was missing was Little Pim himself.

Does your child’s school or daycare have an “international night” or activity? if it did, would you attend?

This was the subject of a recent blog post on the NYTimes.com, and like any self-respecting parent, Pogue (tech columnist for the NY Times) is somewhat concerned by his youngest child’s newfound infatuation with his father’s toy. He’s concerned, yes, but he’s not worried.

Pogue makes a critical point: his child uses the iPad mainly for learning purposes. He plays mostly educational and creative apps: a program that lets children create animated short movies, write their own songs, or solve challenging spatial awareness puzzles. To parents who remember a world before computers, this may admittedly feel a little foreign. But the technological devices can be an invaluable tool for educational entertainment when used in conjunction with other, non-screen activities.

There’s good TV and bad TV, so why shouldn’t electronics be the same? There’s little doubt that technology like the iPad can be interactive and collaborative, and actively encourage children to think, learn and create.

Poll: What are your rules for electronics or TV?

Little Pim’s Booth:

And our team (including our French distributor, Jean-Bernard Tanqueray, on left).

At our Valentines Day Cocktail Party

Why didn’t I think of this? Kids love silly hats and these new “Air Hedz” take the cake. Pirates, frogs and nurses… and great for water gun fights! Here I am as a pop star, complete with microphone.

Crocodile Creek has come out with new lightweight travel “pouch puzzles.” I especially like the World one, great for young global citizens!

Who doesn’t love bubbles? Who doesn’t hate the mess? Finally a bubble machine that doesn’t leak. In fact, it whirls and emits bubbles in a 360 degree spin. Wish I had this at my son’s third birthday party last week! Ours made a gooey spill that was a slip hazard, but the kids had a blast popping them so it was worth it.

Haba’s new “Animal Upon Animal” game is for kids four and up, and reinforces hand eye coordination, fine motor skills and just plain old silly fun of seeing cute wooden animals come tumbling down! Plus the game rules come in 6 languages! (English, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, French).

This new “Clock” from Zazoo Kids tells your toddler when it’s ok to get up … long before they know how to tell time! Invented by a mom, of course. It’s also nice that its 7″ LCD screen turns into a digital picture frame once you get past that particularly unpleasant stage where your kids wake up before six am (I wish I could say we are past it in my house). You can program your own customized image for your child (it can even be his or her picture). I got one of these for my three year old.

A remote control fish swimming around the Toy Fair (actually a remote helium balloon). A great party trick!

Father warns his sons Tarta and Chichi about the dangers they will face! From “Light of the River” 川の光 (Kawa No Hikari)

Before the movie started, the festival organizer asked the kids to think about 1) what they liked about the movie, 2) what they didn’t like about the movie and 3) why. This film was for 4-7 year olds and the organizer pointed out to parents that these three questions provide the seeds of “critical thinking”. Taking young children to well-made films like this – and then engaging them in talking about what they saw – is an excellent way to get children engaged in analytical thinking at a young age, and build up media literacy skills. Plus, in watching “Light of the River” Emmett got to see Japan (in animated form) and hear Japanese for 75 minutes (a talented actress read the subtitles out loud right in the theater). He loved the movie and we are still talking about it two days later!

You can watch a trailer for “Light of the River” below. Sorry, there are no subtitles here, but after a few sessions with Little Pim Japanese your kids should be able to help you out!

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.

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!

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…

Today is Bastille Day, or as the French say, le 14 juillet. On July 14th, 1789 the Bastile prison was stormed and the French Revolution officially began. If you’re lucky enough to be in Paris today you’d be enjoying fireworks, parties, and an incredibly jovial environment.

Today is the perfect excuse to use the French word in your vocabulary. Eat traditional French foods like croissants, baguettes, French fromage (cheese), wines, fondue. Make reservations at a French restaurant and be sure to learn the words to La Marseillaise, the French national anthem.

My son Emmett with a pain au chocolat in Paris.

]]> http://www.littlepim.com/french/happy-bastille-day/feed/ 0 http://www.littlepim.com/bilingual-life/world-cup-2010-celebrate-won/ http://www.littlepim.com/bilingual-life/world-cup-2010-celebrate-won/#comments Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:05:05 +0000 Julia Pimsleur Levine http://www.littlepim.com/?p=4956 Everyone at Little Pim is very excited about the World Cup games taking place right now in South Africa. And it’s not just because the Fifa mascot bears a striking resemblance to Bob the Bobcat of Little Pim Volume II.

It’s always amazing to see some of the world’s best soccer players take to the field for their countries. Did you know that soccer is the most popular team sport in the world?

One can only imagine the number of languages being spoken in Cape Town right now as tourists from all over the world flood the city to support their players.

The World Cup games are a great opportunity for you to teach your child about other countries. The blogosphere is full of posts by mom & dad bloggers who have made teaching crafts centered around the games.

• Consider printing out pictures of the flags of different countries and hanging them up in your child’s room. Point out the the corresponding country’s name and language.
• Look up how to say “hello” in the language of the two teams playing at any given time.
• Use a globe or large map to show your child where the different countries are located.

The World Cup games are not only exciting, they’re an opportunity for you to spark an interest in your child about cultures & language. Have fun and may the best team win!

Did you know that most Australians take a year or two off to travel between high school and college? Australia is a diverse cultural landscape and its children speak a variety of languages. In primary school Australian children are encouraged to learn a second language from a young age.

Below are two images from the Brisbane Dymocks display. Dymocks is the Borders equivalent in Australia.

The last image is from a Sydney York Street Display.