Bringing Bob to Life

One of the most fun parts of making Little Pim DVDs is going to the recording sessions when we bring our animated characters to life. We recently recorded the voice of Bob the Bobcat, one of Little Pim's new friends. We all have a soft spot for Bob, an adorable furry wildcat with black trimmed ears. He tries really hard to be a good hunter, chase butterflies and ladybugs, but can't quite ever seem to catch a thing!

We found a wonderful voice over artist for Bob (who moonlights as a PhD candidate in English literature) and spent a few hours recording all kinds of "mmmrrow!" and giggles and snoring sounds the other day. It was so much fun!

In addition to Bob, we'll also be introducing Lola the Elephant in the new DVDs.

Little Pim is having a blast now that he has two new friends who are just as playful as he is. Together they are helping kids learn a second or third language in a fun, laughter-filled way.

Look out for Bob the Bobcat and Lola the Elephant in DVDs 4, 5, & 6 this spring.

A Memorable Yale Weekend

This past weekend I was back at my alma mater, Yale University. As part of a celebration marking 40 years of coeducation at Yale, I was invited to screen the first full length documentary I ever made: "Boola Boola...Yale Goes Coed".

It was great to be back at Yale; a place that holds wonderful memories for me. I was reminded of how much I learned at the tender age of 21 when I conducted the interviews for our film. These women paved the way for all of us - Yale was truly a bastion of male power until 1969, when women were begrudgingly admitted amidst vocal protests from a large percentage of the alumni.

Before the screening, I met with a group of students interested in starting their own businesses. Eight aspiring entrepreneurs got up early (early for students!) to meet for breakfast at one of my old favorite spots, the charming Claire's Cornucopia. Over decadent Lithuanian Coffee Cake we talked about how Little Pim was launched and what obstacles I had to overcome to start the business. They shared some of their business ideas in various stages of incubation. It was great to meet Yale's future entrepreneurs, and perhaps future Mompreneurs, who knows?

I wish them all the best of luck and, since I agree with Woody Allen that showing up is 90% of success, they are all on their way to making it.

Fox61 with Sarah French

This morning I had the exciting opportunity to be interviewed by Sarah French (a Little Pim-approved surname!) on the Fox61 Connecticut morning show about foreign language learning for kids.

Sarah was interested in knowing why it's so much easier for young children to absorb a new language and at what age they should start -- you know the answer, the earlier the better! You can check out our discussion in the clip below or stop by the Why Starting Early is Key page of our site for a more in-depth explanation. Merci, Sarah!

Media Literacy

Our world is becoming more and more crowded with media. Whether in our living rooms, on our commutes or in our classrooms, every waking moment can be occupied by consuming media. Whether it's looking up "what causes earthquakes" on Google with my eldest son Emmett and finding a video to explain it, or the news feeds in stores and in elevators, media is here to stay, and will only get more ever-present. So how do we address this as parents? I attended a presentation about Media Literacy for Kids at a National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) teacher's conference this past year and wanted to share a few important lessons I learned, along with some of my own thoughts as a mom who has been making media for more than 20 years.

1) Media is not inside you. Make efforts to teach your child from an early age that media is "outside of their bodies." That may sound obvious, but research shows that young children often think that what they are watching is not only real, it is inside their heads. I told my four year old last year that what he sees on TV is on the screen, which is different from what is inside his mind. We went over it several times. I wasn't sure he understood, but a few months later (kids are amazing how they store information, like nuts for the winter) he told his friend, "What you see in the movies is not inside your head!" and really seemed to have taken in the message. He went on to assure his friend that scary movies (we were talking about Avatar) are not that scary, because they are only on the screen, not inside your head.

2) Watch "good media" with your kids. Make a point of watching some educational media with your children, especially if you let them watch both pure entertainment media and educational media. If you watch the educational media with them, you'll be sending a message that it's more important (i.e. worth your time, which is precious to them) and help them create healthy viewing habits. I watch Little Pim about twice a week with my two year-old, and he can see that this is something I make time for and enjoy with him, unlike the "Sing Yourself Silly" videos he watches, which I don't usually sit down for. I also watch nature and science programs with my five year-old.

3) Talk about the media they have seen. Whenever possible, ask your children to comment on the media they watched. This way you can make sure they aren't taking away distorted messages (and help to correct it if they are) and can establish a dialog with your kids about what they have seen. This will become even more important as your kids grow older and see more and more challenging and sometimes disturbing media. When they are young, you can ask them to look for certain things in a show, like "see if you can find all the ducks" or "who is the kindest character?". This teaches them active viewing skills, which is one of the most important cornerstones of media literacy.

This is especially important for girls, who will be bombarded with messages from the media about how they should look and act.

In short, help your children learn to be active and critical media consumers. Visual media has a strong sway on young children and can be much more mesmerizing than print and audio. If you teach your children to make healthy media choices, they will gravitate toward fun, educational shows when they get old enough to make their own choices. Media is here to stay, so let's get smart about teaching media literacy to our kids. It's likely they will be teaching us how to use the media of the future, but right now there is still a lot we can teach them.

How have you introduced your kids to media literacy? Share your stories with us at Little Pim.

NY Times article about increase in Chinese-learning in U.S.

Yesterday the New York Times published an article about the increased interest in Chinese-learning among students in the United States. Apparently more and more parents want their kids to learn Chinese in order to be competitive in the global economy and have the option to work with Chinese-owned companies; plus the Chinese government is sending subsidized Chinese language teachers into American schools. At Little Pim, we have been amazed to see how many Mandarin Chinese DVDs fly off our virtual shelves! Mandarin Chinese is the most popular Chinese dialect being taught today.

In the meanwhile, romance languages are on the decline in public schools. Wide cut-backs in foreign language classes have led to more parents looking to introduce second languages at home via books, DVDs and other materials. We talk to these parents every day at Little Pim, and are proud to be helping them fill that gap.

Click here to read about our Chinese products and watch a short video clip in Chinese: http://www.littlepim.com/store/chinese-language-for-kids/. You can also read my letter to the editor published in the New York Times in September commenting on the cut-backs and the importance of foreign language teaching in schools: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/opinion/lweb20foreign.html?_r=1

Thank you for your support of Little Pim, and for helping us to prepare our children to become active participants in an increasingly multi-cultural and polyglot world.

Read the New York Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/education/21chinese.html?hpw

The Joan Hamburg Show

Today I have a radio interview with Joan and Liz Hamburg of The Joan Hamburg Show. Joan, "New York Radio's First Lady," is known throughout the country for her award-winning business and consumer affairs reporting. I'm looking forward to sharing my personal experience growing Little Pim from the ground up with her audience. Listen live to the 12:30 PM EST show by clicking on the link below (look for the "Listen Live" icon). Update: Listen to the recording of the interview. Julia Live on The Joan Hamburg Show

Little Pim Press: Wired & Geek Dad

2010 kicked off with an amazing review in Wired.com's Geek Dad channel, by Jenny Williams and Jonathan Liu. Jenny, a homeschooling mom, had this to say about Little Pim Spanish DVDs: "This series is cute, funny and my kids loved it. The teaching was sound, the meanings mostly clear. Small kids will want to watch it over and over."

She ended by saying: "You’ll want to buy the next level of videos, but I don’t think it exists yet!" We're getting there Jenny! Little Pim DVDs 4, 5 & 6 are in the final stages of editing and will be released soon.

Jonathan gave Little Pim Mandarin Chinese DVDs a big thumbs up. He notes, "I watched the Chinese (Mandarin) version of Little Pim with my kids (age three and six) and they both enjoyed it and laughed a lot at the cartoon panda." He also touched on an important issue: "I think reinforcement from parents is very crucial to learning the language..."

I wholeheartedly agree, which is why at LittlePim.com we provide a For Parents section filled with free tips, games and coloring pages, designed to compliment the series and provide interactive activities for parents and their children. Parents can also check out the 12-page Parent's Guide, downloadable from our site, which offers language education resources and ideas for how you can be proactive in teaching your child a second language.

Our flash cards (available in Spanish and French) and CDs also help you give your child a well-rounded language experience. We'll have more great products available in 2010, so get ready!

Your child's language acquisition is my passion and joy. I hope everyone's 2010 is off to a terrific start.

Read the whole Wired article here: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/01/little-pim-teaches-your-kids-foreign-languages/#ixzz0bwJo8P5c

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!

BONNE ANNÉE!

AUGURI!

Happy New Year from Little Pim. Thank you for helping to make this year a great one. Here's to 2010!

Warmly, Julia

The Little Pim Holiday Party!

The Little Pim holiday party was last week. It felt great to celebrate and thank the many people who have worked so hard all year to grow our company - our staff, filmmakers, editors, graphic designer, animators, fulfillment house, website manager, advisors and investors, to name just a few. I feel incredibly lucky that we have so many talented and fun people working with us!

We also used the party as a chance to introduce Little Pim's two new animated friends: Bob the Bobcat and Lola the Elephant!

They were represented by life-sized cut outs and a sneak preview of Little Pim DVD 4. Keep checking the blog for new developments about our soon to be released DVDs 4, 5 and 6.

Wishing all of our Little Pim families a happy and safe holiday season - in all your favorite languages!

More Photos:

Enter our iPod Touch Giveaway

Now through December 20December 31st, order a Gift Set or Deluxe Gift Set through LittlePim.com and automatically be entered into our holiday giveaway. One lucky winner will receive an iPod Touch, complete with Little Pim digital dowloads for Discs 1-3 in the language of his/her choice. Five runners up will receive Little Pim t-shirts or onesies for their little language learners. Contest winners will be chosen by December 22 and will be notified by email. Even more reason to spend the holidays with Little Pim!