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 3×5 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.

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.

This is my four year old's rosemary plant

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

Tissue box piggy bank

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).

A fun coloring page for your kids

And finally, happy Earth Day everyone!

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”

Click here to read the rest of the article

If you follow my blog, you’ll know I was at CES last month checking out cool new tech toys.  I’ve been noticing a more toys that integrate your iPad or iPod touch into physical play.

Here’s one that’s a bit like space invaders, if you remember that.

These are the Heart to Heart dolls. Kind of like the American Girl Dolls, except they’re from all over the world and age a little younger. We love the idea of introducing kids to different cultures and countries, what a cool new line!

Lego has just launched a new line of “girl-friendly” pink and white legos. They are doing a big marketing push to get more girls to play with legos, which seems to involve just making everything pink! Above is a gal made of legos, and her little dog too…

Walking my ladybug! These balloons have little legs and were a big hit this year.  Also available in giraffe, elephant and puppy.

Little Pim-ers at our booth!

Dolls after my own heart! They’re made by Corrolle, a French company that has made its way to the US.

My boys have spent hours making marble mazes but I was never able to crack the code (my towers would fall over as soon as I dropped the marble!).  This new version from Mind Ware is so much easier to use that even I can use it, without asking any help from my four year old tower builder!
 
 

No Toy Fair would be complete without a huge lego creation for photo ops.  Here’s the Hulk snaring another victim.

Enjoy, and let us know if you have any questions of your own.

Julia Pimsleur Levine

I also attended the Mommy Tech Summit while at CES, where panelists from companies like Leapfrog, PBS and Disney spoke about everything from the best new apps (check out the award winning Three Little Pigs and Cinderella by Nosy Crow), “gamefying” everything, and how we can be more tech literate parents.

So without further ado, here is the smart, the super cool and the silly of CES 2012.

The Smart

The fridge that shops for you

Take a Jetsons trip into the future with this Fridge (video). Just scan your shopping list with your smart phone and let the fridge tell you when you next run out of hamburgers or Gogurts.

The alarm clock that wakes you up with TV from around the world

A great way to keep up with your foreign language skills at home or on the road. Show your kids French, Italian or Chinese TV on a portable alarm clock! Fully wifi.

The snap-on display that turns your computer into a touch screen

Your kids touch screen happy? Mine are. This is a screen made for schools – so that kids can get up to the screen and touch, drag and tap their way to learning.

The Super Cool

Last year 3D everything was the hot new thing, and this year continues that trend, but with prices dropping there’s a little more stuff we might actually be able to buy!

Kids asking for more 3D? Here is a handy snap-on screen…

This cool accessory slides on to your iPhone screen, and turns your screen 3D without the need for glasses!

Your baby will be even cuter showing off her moves in 3D

3D home video is here, and is getting more and more affordable (you can get a 3D camera for under $500 now!).

The world’s thinnest OLED Smart TV

This 55″ TV is only 4mm thick, and weighs under 17 lbs! It looked awesome, people were just standing around gawkin at it like it was Angelina Jolie.

The Silly

Grill burgers while you answer email

This handy device turns your iPhone into a BBQ sous-chef. The wires plug into the food so that your iPhone will tell you how hot your grill is, and when your food is ready! All while you are answering your email upstairs…

Take your iPhone for a stroll

The iPhone rider

I’m still not entirely sure why this exists, but if you ever wanted to turn your iPhone into a Roomba that doesn’t vacuum, this is for you!

Original tech uses.. the computer dress

This is a dress with it’s own computer display in the fabric. Never again will you have to worry about your iPad clashing with your dress at a formal occasion.

Which one of these do you think is the smartest? The silliest? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts!

The world is a big place. It’s an even bigger place for a child. One of the best ways to teach your child about a new country is to visit it, and although international travel is a great family experience, it can also be costly and time consuming. There are some simple and affordable ways to teach your children about the world without purchasing plane tickets. We polled our staff at Tea and gathered our top three ways to teach your kids the world without opening your front door.

1) Talk about the world.
“Growing up, we didn’t have money for international travel so we had to imagine our foreign trips using an old globe in our living room. My father would spin it and wherever our fingers would stop was where we’d take our “vacation.” We’d then imagine life in these faraway lands- what would we pack for our Middle Eastern trip? Is it cold in Beijing in the winter? What’s the food like in Morocco? To this day, I still can’t help spinning a globe whenever I walk by one to see where I should “vacation” that day.”

2) Cook globally.
“I was a very picky eater growing up. I knew that when I had kids I wanted them to open themselves up to trying new foods and experiences. So we made preparing dinners a family experience. If we have Mexican food, my kids will prepare the salsa. If I make curry, they’ll help me make pita chips. I have to admit, some nights aren’t a hit and I do have to end up preparing macaroni and cheese. But, it’s worth trying especially for the nights when dinner goes as planned—like when my four-year-old actually rolled and ate her own avocado and cream cheese sushi roll!”

3) Incorporate a new language into everyday life
“I wanted my two boys to learn French but I didn’t know where to start. So, we started with what would be easy: food. We labeled all of the food in the house with their French translation. After weeks of referring to apples as les pommes and milk as lait I was ready to give up and then my 3 year-old asked for fromage with their crackers. Small changes really do make the difference.”

Our Tea staffers prove that bringing the world home is actually pretty easy. How do you teach your kids to be globally inspired? Share your tips below in the comments section.

BABIES (0-14 MONTHS)

Why should your baby just build with blocks when she can create a Spanish city?

Your child will love these brightly colored blocks from Haba (if you don’t fancy Seville, they also have Cordoba!). With 45 pieces, this set will keep your little architect  busy for hours. Brighten up your baby’s nursery and be the only one on the block (pun intended) to have a Spanish city under construction… Buy it here

A teether giraffe with je ne sais quoi

Made in the French Alps with natural rubber and non toxic paint, Sophie has been safely cuddled and chewed by thousands of babies. She is soft light and easy to grasp and fits perfectly into little hands. She makes a happy sound when squeezed… Babies especially love her bumpy head to soothe their teething gums. But if you speak French to her, don’t expect her to talk back, she’ll just look at you in her “coquette” way. Also comes in Vanilla! Buy it here

TODDLERS (15 MO – 3 YEARS OLD)

Learn about Endangered Animals in Asia

Introduce your children to beautifully made wooden toys and to how some of our most endangered species live!  Your kids will discover an Elephant, Tiger and Panda (our favorite, of course) in the “Asia Series” from Plan Toys.  They are made of natural, chemical free recycled bamboo and can sit and stand just like real animals. They are finished with non-toxic dye and recommended for 3+, but could be played with by toddlers as well. Make sure to show your wee ones where China is on the globe! ($34) Buy it here

Make Meal Time a Learning Time!

These adorable plates teach words in French – choose from delightful farm animals or Pirates and Princess themes for your little swarthy crew and precious princess (make that “une princesse”). My son Emmett is 7 ½ and I still haven’t managed to give away his animals plate from this series (little brother Adrian is enjoying it now). Buy it here

PRESCHOOLERS

Children of the World Floor Puzzle

What better way to get familiar with kids of different countries than with this oversized floor puzzle featuring kids from around the world? At only $10.75 it’s a great gift that will keep your child busy and expose him or her to not only to kids’ native costumes as well as the flags associated with the countries where they live. Buy it here

Geo Bingo

From our friends at GeoToys, this bingo game includes 50 country cards, representing the world’s most populous nations. Each card lists that country’s capital, land area, population, and geographic location. The goal of GeoBingo™ World is to get 5 countries in a row on one of the 8 GeoBingo™ Boards. ($18.99) Buy it here

Little Pim Books

Last but not least, what gift guide would be complete without our very own trilingual books? Featuring French, Spanish and English, these board books are perfect for budding linguists and chock full of lift the flaps, pull tabs and Little Pim antics. Books are in English with Spanish and French words taught throughout and phonetics for parents who don’t speak the language. COLORS and FEELINGS, $8.95 each. Buy it here

FOR ADULTS

Growing up Global

This excellent book by Homa Sabet Tavangar has practical suggestions for raising children with a global perspective. I got several ideas from this book of fun things to do with my kids, I am sure you’ll find new cool new activities too! Makes a great gift for parents who are travelers and want to share their love of other cultures and countries with their little ones. Buy it here

7 Steps to Raising a Bilingual Child

This is one of the most practical, well-written books I have found about raising a bilingual child. Dr. Naomi Steiner is a developmental-behavoir pediatrician at Tufts Medical Center in Botson and an expert in the methods used to teach children more than one language. 7 Easy Steps... includes worksheets that help you map out your family’s bilingual action plan, ways to involve parents who don’t speak the language being taught, and tips for keeping your child motivated and excited about language learning. A terrific resource and road map! Buy it here

In a new study, researchers at the University of Washington measured the electrical brain responses of “monolingual” infants (those from homes where one language is was being spoken) against those from bilingual households. The New York Times reported on the results:

“…the researchers found that at 6 months, the monolingual infants could discriminate between phonetic sounds, whether they were uttered in the language they were used to hearing or in another language not spoken in their homes. By 10 to 12 months, however, monolingual babies were no longer detecting sounds in the second language, only in the language they usually heard.”

Over the past decade, Dr Ellen Bialystok, a distinguished research Professor of Psychology at York University in Toronto, has shown that bilingual children develop crucial skills in addition to their double vocabularies, learning different ways to solve logic problems or to handle multitasking, skills that are often considered part of the brain’s so-called executive function.

These higher-level cognitive abilities are localized to the frontal and prefrontal cortex in the brain. “Overwhelmingly, children who are bilingual from early on have precocious development of executive function,” Dr. Bialystok said.

Little Pim allows families, even families who are not bilingual, to do this easily.

Read the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/health/views/11klass.html?_r=1&smid=fb-nytimes

Were you exposed to multiple languages as a child? We’d love to hear your stories!