LITTLE PIM BLOG
Multicultural games from around the world - Thanksgiving family fun!
It's almost a Thanksgiving tradition – as you frantically cook, clean, ready the table and prep for company, your kids, helpful at first, inevitably get bored. Sure, you could park them in front of the TV, but parades and bowl games can hold their attention for only so long, despite all those impressive balloon floats. What to do? How about keeping your kids entertained with these children's games from around the world:
Big Snake (Ghana)
This one's great to play with a big group of cousins or neighbors in a large open space, like a basement. The kids choose one person to be the snake, which "lives" in an area marked off by tape, cones or whatever's handy.
When the game starts, the snake emerges from its home turf and tries to eat – or tag – the other players. Once a player has been tagged, he or she becomes part of the snake's body, holding the snake's hand or waist. The snake grows longer as more payers are tagged, but only the snake's head and tail are able to tag other players. If the snake's body breaks, it must return to its home turf and regroup. Free players may deliberately try to break the snake. When all players are part of the snake (or completely exhausted), the game is over. Sssssssso much fun! [More info]
Piedra, Papel o Tijeras (Mexico)
Sure, you could call it Rock, Paper, Scissors, but that wouldn't be nearly as interesting -- plus, this is a great way to introduce Spanish to kids. Whatever language kids use, the game is the same: Kids count to three and then use their hands to make a rock (a fist), paper (an open, flat hand) or scissors (two fingers out). Papel covers piedra, piedra breaks tijeras, and tijeras cuts papel. Terrific for two kids and good for your children's language skills to boot. [More info]
La Barbichette (France)
It's like a staring contest, only with a French rhyme that's easy for kids to learn. Two kids hold each other's chins, stare into each other's eyes and say, "Je te tiens, tu me tiens, par la barbichette;Le premier qui rira, aura une tapette!" (Some versions vary.) The first one to laugh gets a gentle (that part's important to emphasize to your kids) token slap from the one who was able to keep a straight face. Expect lots of giggles from your kids, which is in itself something to be thankful for. [More info]
Does your family have any favorite games from other countries or cultures? If so, please share!
Where's the thanks? Teach your kids about gratitude this Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving just around the corner and thousands of families still without power and heat in hurricane Sandy’s wake, it seems like the right time to focus on gratitude at home. Have you ever noticed that kids are not inherently grateful? We have to teach them to say thank you, not to grimace when they get a gift that isn’t exactly what they wanted, and to appreciate the things they do have, all the while trying to curb what can seem like an endless chorus of “I want.”
Many children who lost power in their homes became more aware of how fortunate they are to have creature comforts when those disappeared for a week – they learned that lights, hot baths, TV and phones are actually luxuries! We've seen a lot of children getting involved in the relief effort too, whether donating clothes or toys at their preschool or going out to help with their parents. But as the hurricane and its aftermath is something we hope not to recreate to teach this lesson, how can we help our toddlers and kids be more thankful each day?
If you are like me, you want your kids to appreciate all the good things in their lives, and to feel a true sense of empathy for kids who don’t have as much as they do. This empathy is what will later drive them to volunteer, donate, identify with those in other countries and cultures, and inspire them to leave the world a better place than they found it.
In my own hectic life as a New York working mother, I have tried to integrate a new simple practice into our family’s routine to encourage thankful thinking. About once every two or three days, we go around the table (or the car, or wherever we might be) and each of us says three things for which we are feeling grateful.
It takes about 5 minutes, but done repeatedly it really does seem to increase gratitude and even joy, and it's something that even preschoolers can participate in. Here are some real life examples of the kinds of things my kids have said since we started this a few weeks ago:
Adrian (four years old)
- I am grateful that daddy took me out to play soccer this morning
- I am grateful that Emmett is the best big brother
- I am grateful that mommy made my favorite macaroni and cheese
Emmett (eight years old)
- I am grateful that we are going to see a movie today
- I am grateful that Adrian got better (he had been sick until the day before)
- I am grateful that we won our soccer game today
They love the opportunity to have everyone listen quietly to what they have to say, and as they can see it’s important to my husband and me, they take it seriously and put a lot of thought into it. My husband and I love hearing them focus on what is good in their lives, since we feel we spend a lot of time hearing about what they want/need/wish they had, especially with all those Toys R Us circulars arriving in the newspaper!
Sometimes my husband or I will try to remind the kids that they enjoy a lot of privileges that other kids might not:
- I am grateful that when Adrian had 102 fever on Friday, we were able to take him to the doctor right away to find out what was wrong. In some countries, people have to go miles to find a doctor and we have one just 10 blocks away.
In my experience, kids have a hard time grasping how fortunate they are and it may be something they’ll only realize in retrospect. In the meantime though, we can help them heighten their sense of thankfulness and create a little more peace and harmony in our homes at the same time. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. What are you doing to teach your kids about gratitude this season?
P.S. Many thanks to Sarah Napthali whose book “Becoming Mindful Parents: Buddhism for Mothers of Young Children” inspired this practice.
Little Pim Sandy Update
Dear Friends,We're pleased to announce that Little Pim is back up and running in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. We were all lucky enough to get through the storm with minimum disruption. Although the office was without power for a while, we're grateful that our staff, friends and colleagues are safe.
On our first day back in the office though, our thoughts go out to all those who have not been so fortune. To those who have lost their homes, their businesses, and even their lives - to people for whom getting back to normal will take considerably longer than a week.
We'd like to thank everyone for their patience and their support over the last week.
Best,
The Little Pim Team
A Message from Little Pim after Hurricane Sandy
Dear Friends of Little Pim,We wanted to let you know that we made it through the storm ok, and the office has not been damaged. Our site is still up, and our warehouse is shipping product, operating off a generator, to parts of the country not affected by Sandy. We are New Yorkers! It takes more than a little wind and surge to ruffle our feathers, but this WAS and is, a big one. My family was evacuated from our apt in Battery Park City and we just returned yesterday after two days, happy to find minimal neighborhood damage despite the 14 foot waves that washed over our streets. We are now one of the only neighborhoods below 34th street with power, and feel very lucky to have it.
Thank you for your support and patience as we try to get back to work this week. The MTA is still closed, and 4 of our 7 staffers have no power. The office (on 17th street) has no power and will not re-open until it does. Those of us who have electricity and Internet at home are working from home when we have Internet access, which is intermittent. Please excuse us if we don't answer emails in a timely way, as we are juggling whichever business issues are most pressing.
We hope you and your families and friends in the metropolitan area were out of harm's way and our hearts go out to the many families with young children who are still caught up in the aftermath of Sandy, with no power and much uncertainty about the days to come.
Thank you for being part of our extended Little Pim family. And Happy Halloween. We will all make sure our kids still have a wonderful Halloween and will remember this as, "that Halloween", when everything was upside down. And then, life goes on. C'est la vie. Please read my P.S. for how you can help.
Best,
Julia Pimsleur Levine
p.s. We will suffer a serious loss of income in the days and weeks following the hurricane, as will millions of local businesses. For small businesses like ours this can have a huge and lasting impact. As you probably know, New York and its environs comprise one of our largest markets and sales may seriously drop off as people focus on recovery. If you have friends far from the hurricane's path, please encourage them to buy Little Pim on our site as a gift for a child under six this year. Thank you, every gift set counts! Use HALLOPIM for 15% off.
Halloween food around the world
For most American families, Halloween "treats" mean one thing: candy – mounds of bite-size morsels heaped into kids' bags in exchange for that magic phrase: "Trick or treat!" Other cultures, however, celebrate All Souls' Day, All Saints Day or Dia de Los Muertos (Nov. 1 and 2), from which our Halloween (All Hallows Eve) is derived, with different sorts of treats. Why not expand your family's cultural horizons this Halloween by trying some of these traditional sweet treats from around the globe?
Here are a few ideas about food from Halloween around the world - about what people eat in other countries, and recipes to go with them.
Soul cakes (England and Ireland): These sweet, round cakes were traditionally given out in England and Ireland on All Saints Day or All Souls' Day during the Middle Ages to those who went door-to-door saying prayers for the dead in what may be the forerunner to today's trick-or-treating. They can be made with raisins and currents and aromatic spices like allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. (Soul cake recipe)
Fave dei morti (Italy): In Italy, All Souls' Day may be celebrated with delicate cookies (sometimes white, brown or pink) – made with almonds and covered with sugar – called Fave dei Morti or Ossei dei Morti, whose name translates to "Beans of the Dead" or "Bones of the Dead." (Fave dei morti recipe; Ossi dei Morti recipe)
Pan de Muerto (Mexico): This soft sweet bread is a Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) tradition in Mexico, sometimes eaten at the grave of a loved one or placed on an altar. It may be flavored with orange zest or decorated with a teardrop or bones, perhaps placed in a circle to represent the cycle of life. Some people even mold the bread into animals, angels or other evocative shapes. (Pan de Muerto recipe)
Guagua de pan (Ecuador): These "bread babies" – sweet rolls molded and decorated to look like small children or infants – are part of the Day of the Dead tradition in parts of South America. Often made of wheat and sometimes filled with sweet jelly, they may be exchanged as gifts between families and friends or used ceremonially. (Guagua de pan recipe)
So what are you waiting for? Put down those miniature chocolate bars and start baking. These tasty treats will not only satisfy your sweet tooth, but your appetite for cultural exploration as well.
Little Pim Receives 25th Award!
LITTLE PIM RECEIVES 25TH PARENTING AWARD!
**The Series’ “Spanish Intro Gift Set with Book” Honored on
Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products Awards Program for 2012**
Little Pim, the foreign language learning program for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, has just earned its 25th award. The “Spanish Intro Gift Set with Book” was just honored on Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products Awards Program for 2012.
Little Pim’s Spanish, French and Chinese iPad Apps were also recently awarded the 2012 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, which judges a variety of products introduced to the parent/child consumer market. This is the series’ fourth win from the National Parenting Center. The Little Pim language series has now earned a total of 25 consumer and educational awards from leading organizations such as the National Parenting Center and Dr. Toy.
About Little Pim:
Little Pim is an award-winning foreign languagelearning program for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Between birth and the age of six, the human brain is hard-wired for language learning, and Little Pim helps families take advantage of this brief window, by makinglanguage learningeasy, fun and effective. Little Pim’s unique Entertainment Immersion Method® provides total immersion in the language. The method engages a child’s love of play watching real kids and animation. Little Pim’s proven repetition technique helps children retain new vocabulary. Founded on clinical research in early childhood development, Little Pim is available 11 languages including Spanish, French, Chinese and Italian
on videos, music, books, flash cards, gift sets and more. Come see why Little Pim is the number one way to teach kids a foreign language at www.littlepim.com.
For more info:
Aliza Rabinoff/DKC
Little Pim on NBC's Weekend Today Show Segment "Visiones"
Little Pim's founder Julia Pimsleur Levine was on NBC's Weekend Today (WNBC/NY) on Saturday! Click the video below to watch Julia's interview with Lynda Baquero, host of "Visiones".
Julia and Lynda talk about Little Pim and discuss just how easy it is for young children to absorb new languages.
Hear what Julia has to say on bilingual kids, learning a new language and early childhood development, and see just how easy it is for your kids to learn a new language with Little Pim!
Olympic Moms and language learning with Ali Wentworth
Industries are struggling to find bilingual experts. Speaking a Spanish is becoming a big advantage.
The Huffington Post wrote this article on why speaking English is no longer enough. The article is about how "industries are adapting to the growing Spanish speaking population in the US. Did you know there were more than 31,000 job oportunities that needed bilingual expertise as a core competancy. Huffington Post Article "Why Learning English is No Longer Enough"
Teach your child French - soccer, summer and sun!
“His name is Mouadh and he is from Tunisia but he lives in Rennes!” our seven year old Emmett reported breathlessly, fresh from a game of soccer on the beach with his new friend. While on vacation in France this summer, I was reminded why it’s so important to us to take our kids abroad. Though international trips admittedly present greater challenges than vacationing in the U.S. – like the expense, jet lag, and unfamiliar foods - the chance for our kids to see how other people live, encounter other cultures, tastes and languages makes it high on our list of priorities. We feel traveling abroad gives them a sense of being world citizens that will broaden their opportunities and help them excel as human beings. I lived in France for seven years as an adult, and my husband lived in Israel for three years. We both feel those were some of our best life experiences, and want our kids to have a taste for seeing the world too.
Emmett speaks decent French and fluent soccer, the international language of boys. During our two weeks in France (and with a little prompting from us) he kicked soccer balls with a pair of Austrian boys at the Eiffel Tower, taught American football to Barnabé, a French kid who lives near Chartres, and held a regular soccer match on the beach with Mouadh, a Tunisian boy living in France. Emmett and Mouadh communicated in a mix of French and English; Mouadh spoke the best English of anyone in his family and loved learning English. We were very touched when he, his mother and two sisters came to the beach specially to find us to say goodbye. They were leaving for Rennes, heading back in time for Ramadan. That’s how Emmett learned what Ramadan is and we had a great conversation about Islam and Muslim practices.
As I write this at 2:30AM (up with jet lag!) and know our whole family will be tired for the next few days, it helps to remember Mouadh, the Austrian boys and Barnabé - and the reasons we choose going abroad over going local.
