Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with Little Pim

Did you know that September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month? Every year, Hispanic Americans celebrate the contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. September 15 marks the beginning of the month because it is the anniversary of the day Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua celebrated their independence. Mexico, Chile and Belize also celebrate their independence days on September 16, September 18, and September 21, respectively.

The month culminates with a celebration on October 12, when Spain and Latin American countries celebrate their own version of Columbus Day, known as Hispanic Day (Día de la Hispanidad) to commemorate Christopher Columbus's voyage to the Americas on behalf of Spain in 1492. This is considered the National Day of Spain (Fiesta Nacional de España), and parades and festivals are held throughout the country.

Young kids may be familiar with the story of Christopher Columbus's voyage to the Americas for Spain, but as a Columbus Day nears, it's a great time to teach them there's more to the story than just the Niña, the Pinta and Santa María.

Your kids (or students) will love this interactive white board activity from Scholastic that features fun Hispanic facts, history and even a Piñata concetration game.

We also love this set of printables of famous Hispanic American role models from Nick Jr. And this Hispanic paper flower fiesta craft from Latinaish will have your house (or classroom) looking festive in no time.

Of course, it's also a great time to introduce kids to Spanish language and culture. Check out our Spanish Bop CD featuring fun 15 Spanish language songs for kids, our Spanish vocabulary flashcards, or our colorful English-Spanish books perfectly suited for young kids.

photo credit: zetgem via photopincc

10 Great Kids Books With Global Appeal

Sail away with your kids to magical lands across the sea – just by picking up a book. These 10 great kids books will give your family a glimpse of cultures and a taste of languages around the world. You can read all of them in English, but if you’re feeling up to it, several (such as the French classic The Little Prince) can easily be found in their original language. Whatever you choose, reading with your kids is a great way to bond and let their imaginations grow. Plus, it’s one step closer to getting ready for school, which will be here before you know it.

Europe

1. The Adventures of TinTin (Belgium) – A dog and his intrepid young reporter owner solve mysteries around the world – the comic strip imagery is especially popular with young children; and the comics are also available in French.

2. The Little Prince – A lovely French classic that tells the story of an aviator who meets a prince from a distant asteroid while stranded in the desert. This is a good one to try in French if you can.

3. The Invention of Hugo Cabret – Take a trip through Paris with the vivid pencil images in this imaginative story of Hugo, a boy who lives in a train station in Paris, and the friend who helps uncover his mechanical secret.

4. Strega Nona—Although written in English, this is the tale of an Italian “Grandma Witch” who lives in Calabria and makes enough pasta to bury an entire town. There are more than a dozen Strega Nona stories to keep the pasta-fueled fun going.

Scandinavia

5. Pippi Longstocking –Sweden’s contribution to global kids’ imaginations is this firecracker of a main character, a red-headed 9-yr-old with a with a suitcase full of gold, a pet monkey, and horse on her front porch. A great read out loud book that will make you and your kids laugh out loud.

6. The Moomins – A Swedish/Finnish illustrated collection of books about a family of animal-like creatures. The pictures are sure to captivate kids, and if they really love it, there’s even a Moomin theme park in Finland!

Asia

7. Lon Po Po – A Red Riding Hood Story from China – In this Chinese reworking of the classic Grimm fairytale, three sisters in rural China outwit the (heads up, relatively scary looking) Lon Po Po (Granny Wolf). Great for kids who like their stories to keep them on the edge of their seat.

8. The REAL Story of Stone Soup – Another children’s classic story with a Chinese twist. This time three clever brothers turn stones into egg drop soup – keep an eye out for Chinese vocabulary sprinkled throughout the story.

Africa

9. Anansi The Spider – From West Africa comes this Ashanti fable of a small spider who must make a big decision.

10. We All Went on Safari -- A counting journey through a safari in Tanzania. There’s a surprising amount of rhythmic Swahili vocabulary tucked into the illustrations of animals.

15 Essential Tips for Your Next Family Road Trip

Little Pim Founder and CEO Julia Pimsleur reports on her family's recent road trip. She returned to us with lots of stories and some great tips for busy moms.When we decided to go on a two-week road trip this summer through Oregon, Nevada and California many of our fellow urban parents with kids exclaimed “we have always wanted to do that!” But they still packed their brood off to Maine, grandma’s or sprung for that extra week of summer camp. To our surprise, we are among the first in our circle of friends to actually take a bona fide road trip. Our findings seemed blog-worthy and a great way to honor this amazing country and Independence month to boot! Both my husband and I have fond memories of summer car trips we took with our parents, and while this very American tradition may be going the way of the dial phone, if records can make a come back, why not road trips? We decided to find out whether 11 days of two adults, two boys (6 and 9), 1250 miles and imposing on far flung family and friends in three different states would make for a great time or a failed attempt at old fashioned fun, like trying to bring back square dancing. Happily, it was a huge success!

The trip included breath-taking views as we wound along Highway 101 on the Oregon coast, which really can’t be captured with any camera or smartphone. We only drove a few hours a day (maximum 4, and never more than 2 at a time) and had a great time in the car comparing hamburgers at our various stops, counting red cars, and playing French music. We did have rain the first couple days and we did have moments of total meltdown (the main one on a nature walk that did not get sufficient up front buy-in). In less than two weeks we saw three states, visited cousins in two states, ate in countless charming roadside restaurants, explored great zoos and aquariums, tasted local peaches and watermelon, heard our kids exclaim in delight over bugs they had never seen, took walks on bridges made by famous architects, and created opportunities for our third grader to show off his Native American history knowledge. As a side benefit, now we can all name which states are part of the Lewis and Clark trail! Can you?

Here is my list of Do’s and Don’ts for when you plan your own road trip. There is something deeply satisfying about moving your family unit through America and reconnecting with how vast and grand this country is. It is also a way of slowing down time and enjoying time together far from tech and TV. These tips are most pertinent if you have kids in the 5-11 age range – we figure we are in that short window when they will actually WANT to do this kind of trip with us. I also think setting yourself up for success means having at least one real driver in the family who thinks it will be fun to take on the lion’s share of driving.

DO:

1. Set up hotels and an intinerary a few weeks in advance. Book at least half your hotels up front so you have some anchors. Ask friends you haven’t spoken to in years where to go in their areas, you’ll find people are excited to help!
2. When planning the trip look for friends and family who have kids roughly your kids ages. And an extra bedroom. Lacking either will be sub optimal.
3. Stay at the nicest hotels you can and alternate with camping or cabins if you want t go more natural. (Shout out to my husband for agreeing to stay at “Marriott Town Suites” with eat-in kitchens and outdoor pools in lieu of the camping he requested.)
4. Let each child have his or her own iPod. Major sanity preserver and they can still hear you and look out the window.
5. Make a “Summer Road Trip” song playlist in advance with music everyone in the family likes (this takes some advance research). Let your kids make their own playlists too; they will love that.
6. Spend two nights in one place when you start feeling like if you have to rummage through your bag one more time to find your toiletries you might scream.
7. Map out the trip but don’t overplan. One of our favorite places was in a town we had no intention of going to (Redding) that was recommended by our hotel receptionist.
8. Have strict rules about "tech time" on smartphones or tablets (ours got 30 min a day in the car and listening to music on iPods did not count).
9. Start traditions! Every few days at a dinner we went around the table and each said 3 things we are grateful for. It’s a great way to get kids to reflect on the generosity of friends hosting us. And sometimes they even thanked us for planning this trip!
10. Use the road trip to learn new facts about America. We became Lewis and Clark Expedition experts.
11. Have a designated bag you bring with you to restaurants with entertainment for the kids. They color in those placemats way too fast and service is not always speedy. Inside the bag – coloring pad, markers, lego guys, Lewis and Clark kids book, stuff like that. Keep it in the back seat for easy grab and go.

DON’T:

1. Be too attached to the plan. But do have one.
2. Let your kids ask servers for things directly. Trust me on this one.
3. Settle for bad coffee.
4. Tell your kids more than once a day “look out the window, this is so beautiful!” You didn’t care about that when you were a kid, and chances are, they don’t either!

Kids Cook! Frozen Delights for Summer: Mexican Paletas

Looking for ways to beat the heat this summer? Turn your freezer into a private popsicle stand – it’s a chilly, fun, tasty way to beat the summer heat. Oh, and did we mention economical, too?

Ice pops are popular around the world, especially in Mexico where paletas, ice pops made from unusual tropical flavors (think tamarind, mango lime, or watermelon and cucumber) are a super refreshing way to cool off on the tropical beaches. On the creamy side, there’s even arroz con leche (rice pudding) paletas, Mexican chocolate (cinnamon flavored), and avocado frozen treats as well.

Authentic Mexican paletas often combine a bit a savory, or even spicy, flavors together – pineapple and jalapeno or mango and chile, ice pops are even dipped in savory spices – we’ve decided to go with a sweeter version here though.

To make Paletas at home, think about whether you prefer an agua (water) based pop or one made with leche (milk) for a creamier treat.

Then the sky’s the limit as far as flavors – if you have lots of berries on hand, puree them in the blender or food processor. Then pour through a fine sieve to discard seeds. Add sugar (about 1 tbsp per ½ cup of fruit). Mix with milk, yogurt, juice, or water – then freeze.

To freeze paletas, you don’t need fancy equipment. Have a Dixie cup and a popsicle stick? You’re in business! Plastic ice pop trays can be picked up at the supermarket, dollar store, or even drugstores.

The trick, especially with small children, is patience – paletas, and all ice pops, need time to freeze. But if you start these in the morning, they should be ready after dinner. Or make the night before for the next afternoon.

For a fun summer activity, try setting up a paletas bar with a variety of juices, yogurt, plus assorted chopped up fruit and let the kids play ice chef!

We created two easy, tasty, fresh, and relatively healthy paletas combos below.

But use your imagination – Enjoy!

Orange and Blackberry Paletas

• * 1 cup Orange juice
• * ½ cup Pomegranate juice
• * ½ cup Blackberries

Pour a layer of orange juice into pop mold. Freeze until firm.

Mash blackberries and combine with pomegranate juice (strain through a fine colander if mixture is too thick).

Fill molds rest of way with pom/blackberry combo

Freeze until hard.

Strawberry Lemonade

• * Store bought lemonade
• * Squeeze of lime juice
• * Fresh strawberries

Mince or thinly slice strawberries. Combine with lemonade and lime juice.

Freeze in pop molds.

 Bonus Recipes

Mexican Chocolate Fudgicles: prepare instant chocolate pudding mix. Add ½ tsp of cinnamon and dash of vanilla. Pour into molds. Freeze.

Watermelon Paletas: Puree watermelon in the blender, add a squeeze of lime. Combine with a simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, boiled, then cooled) to get desired consistency and sweetness (you may find you prefer the pops sugarless). Freeze.

Love these Mexican –influenced ice pops? Discover more Spanish language fun with our Spanish Discovery Set, here.

Free Brazilian Samba Beats for Little Feet

Little Pim is celebrating the rhythms of the  FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil with a FREE kid-friendly compilation of Samba-influenced tunes. So get ready for a dance party Brazilian style!

Brazilian music has a get-up-and-dance beat that kids love, with rhythms that make it hard to sit still. The most famous Brazil sound is the Samba, a mix of Afro-Jazz influences. Kids are drawn to it for the multiple percussion instruments --- such as drums, whistles, and bells (very fun to play along with--DO try this at home!) -- featured in the songs.

Your children may recognize some of the Portuguese lyrics and Brazilian beats from their Little Pim language lessons and the fun animated movies Rio and Rio2. We’ve delved a little deeper into the music of the “Samba Nation” and created a get-up-and-dance music compilation. Just click on the link below and then turn-it-up for family-friendly Samba and Brazilian beats -- plus a special FIFA World Cup 2014 song by Shakira. We dare you stay in your seats!

World Cup 2014 Soccer Crafts for Kids (Perfect for Father’s Day!)

Does your family love soccer? Have they caught World Cup 2014 (currently being played in Portuguese speaking Brazil) fever yet? Are you all itching to find a way to show your love of the most popular game in the world? If you answered yes to any of the above, we have great news for you: we’ve found fabulous, fun soccer crafts (or as they would be called in most of the world, “football crafts”) for kids, fun to make and also perfect for Father’s Day giving.

We think they’ll score a goal with your whole family!

Soccer Field Mouse Pad

soccer crafts - mousepad

Supplies: Green craft foam square (you can also use green craft paper and glue it to Styrofoam or carboard), white paint markers, white crayon, or white acrylic paint and a small brush

1. Cut green construction foam into a rectangle, approximately 6” x 8”
2. Using a pencil, sketch the outline of a soccer pitch on the foam: circle in middle, rectangles for goals, line across the center. Hint: We used a small glass and our mobile phones to trace the shapes in pencil before we started coloring in.
3. Then using whatever white art supplies you've chosen, fill in the lines on the field.

Goal!

Check out these links for other great Soccer Projects for Father’s Day and beyond. Feliz dia dos pais!

Kick Off World Cup 2014 With Fun Portuguese for Kids

The biggest sporting event in the world, The World Cup of soccer (or football as it’s referred to in most countries) is about to kick off in the South American country of Brazil! To help you get ready for this month-long international sports tournament, we’ve rounded up a helpful list of Portuguese futebol (soccer) terms and a fun word search so you can say Let’s play soccer! Vamos jogar futebol!

Portuguese For World Cup 2014

soccer = futebol
the ball = a bola
to kick = chute
to run = corre
to catch = pege
to throw = joge
head = cabeça
hand = mão
foot = pé
He is kicking = Ele está chutando
He is kicking the ball = Ele está chutando a bola
He is running = Ele está correndo
He is throwing the ball = Ele está jogando a bola
He is catching the ball = Ele está pegando a bola

Click image to download our free World Cup 2014 word search!

Kids Cook: Gooooaaaal! Brazilian Treats For the World Cup

The World Cup 2014 is just around the corner – it starts June 12 – and is being held in host country Brazil. Here at Little Pim, we’re excited to share our love of both the Portuguese language and Brazilian culture with our friends. To get you ready for some world class World Cup watching, we have two easy Brazilian recipes – one savory and one sweet – great for small hands to help create.

Vamos comer! (Let’s eat!)

Savory Treat: Pão de Queijo (cheese puffs)

Courtesy of Saveur

These savory cheese puffs are crisp on the outside, rich and chewy on the inside. They’re a popular treat in Brazil for an afternoon snack or pre-meal nibble –although we think they’re also perfect for watching Futebol (soccer)!

 INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup tapioca starch
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. active dry yeast
• ¾ cup milk
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed
• 2 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together tapioca starch, Parmesan, flour, salt, and yeast. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until butter melts. Pour mixture into dry ingredients along with 1 egg and stir until dough forms; cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

Kids cook:

1. Using a tablespoon, portion out dough and roll each into a ball. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spaced 2" apart; beat remaining egg in a small bowl and brush balls with egg.
2. Bake until browned, 25 to 30 minutes.

Makes 16

Sweet Treat: Brigadeiros (Chocolate fudge balls)

Courtesy of Saveur - world cup brigadeiros

These fudgy truffles are a favorite dessert throughout Brazil. We say “Gooooaaallll” for the easy recipe and yummy sprinkles on top.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp. heavy cream
• 2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 3 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 cup chocolate sprinkles

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring butter, cream, and milk to a boil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add chocolate and cocoa powder, and reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is the consistency of dense, fudgy batter, about 16 minutes.
3. Transfer to a bowl; let cool. Chill until set, at least 4 hours.

Kids Cook:

1. Using a tablespoon, portion out fudge and roll into balls. Roll each ball in chocolate sprinkles until evenly coated.
2. Chill until ready to serve.

Makes 2 dozen

All recipes courtesy of our friends at Saveur.

April is National Autism Awareness Month

At Little Pim, we’re proud of all of our little learners. But recently, we’ve been hearing some amazing stories from some Little Pim families in the Autism community. We'd thought we'd share a few to celebrate April's being National Autism Awareness Month: 1. “My 4-year-old daughter received a Spanish language set as a gift.  She is enjoying them, but I was very surprised to find that my 7-year-old son has become so interested in them.  He has Autism Spectrum Disorder and is an emergent reader.  The simplicity and repetition for a child who is an auditory learner over a visual learner is key. The content and the color palette is soothing enough not to overstimulate and therefore, makes it easier to keep his attention.   He has been watching them every morning and loves to call out his new words like "Perro!" and "Lapiz!" and "Manzana!"…It's hard to find a learning activity for both of my children.  It's hard for a child on the Autism Spectrum to hold his interest. These are wonderful tools for them.” 

2. "When our son was diagnosed with autism at 2 years of age, one of our main concerns was the delay in his language. After some research we purchased the Little Pim complete set in English. We were very pleased with the clear pronunciation of words and entertainment of the video. Little Pim provided our son with a fun opportunity to learn. Any child can benefit from Little Pim’s Immersion Method, whether it is to enhance their native tongue or to learn a new language."

We were delighted to hear such amazing stories. But we also wondered about how Little Pim’s language learning system was able to work so well for these emergent learners.

Adrienne Borgersen’s nephew has autism spectrum disorder. She’s also on staff at Little Pim and was  able to share this interesting background and perspective with us:

"Little Pim taps into both ‘ABA’ (Applied Behavior Analysis) and ‘echolalia.'

ABA is a tool used to educate students on the spectrum. It includes repetition reinforcement and reward.  Really, every teaching method uses repetition. You don't teach a child something once and expect them to learn it.

Echolalia is when children on the spectrum sometimes pick up bits and pieces of things and tend to repeat them.  If you recognize the echolalia speech, you can adapt your understanding of what someone is saying to help teach him conversation and social skills…it’s the same concept as teaching a different language.   For example, if you sat with a child who spoke only Spanish, and you didn’t speak Spanish at all, you would first try to learn what he was saying. You would listen to what he said more than once. Through repetition, once you learned why he was saying it, then you could reverse and teach him your language.  It’s the same thing. When the communication is successful, you reward them. That’s the ABA techniques to teach, and hopefully diminish, echolalia.

This is all why my nephew is responding to the Little Pim method.  The color palette, the repetition, the calm, consistent style, is ‘speaking his language’.”

You can learn more about ABA at Autism Speaks' incredibly informative and user friendly site.

In addition, we'd like to say  Mazel Tov! (Hebrew), Felicitazioni! (Italian), Omedetô! (Japanese), and Pozdravlaiu! (Russian) in addition to our own hearty Congratulations! for all the accomplishments our special learners achieve every day. 

Kid's Craft: Create a Cherry Blossom Festival Bento Box

cherry-blossoms-at-jefferson

There are few surer signs that spring has arrived than the lovely pink blossoms that mark Cherry Blossom Festivals around the world. In Japan, families celebrate the arrival of spring with hanami, which means “viewing flowers” parties that celebrate the blooming of the country’s numerous sakura, “cherry blossom trees”. For families, this means bringing picnics and bento boxes, an assortment of small tasty bites, usually with a nod towards what’s fresh and in season, to eat under the flower-laden branches.

If you’re lucky enough to be in Washington DC in spring, the National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from the end of March through mid-April and you can witness of the cloud of pink that surrounds the Tidal Basin from the 3,000 trees that were a gift from Japan in 1912.

Or, you can take a look at Japan’s official Cherry Blossom site, which offers a fascinating glimpse of the country’s cherry trees as they bloom. 

Even if you don’t have the fluttering flora near you, you can still celebrate spring flowers with an outdoor garden picnic and our fun, kid-friendly bento boxes featuring “sandwich sushi” that’s sure to have your kids saying Un, oishii! or “Mmm, it’s good!”

SANDWICH SUSHI

What You’ll Need

• * Soft square sandwich bread
• * Any of the following spreads:
• -Nut butter
• -Jelly
• -Hummus
• -Spreadable Cheese (ie, cream cheese, Neufchatel, Laughing Cow, etc)
• -Butter or butter spread

Then add crunch if you’d like:

• *Pepper slices
• *Carrot sticks
• *Celery
• *Cucumber
• (The sky’s really the limit here!)

Roll it all together:

1. First, slice the crusts off the bread so that you have a perfect square
2. Then, using a rolling pin, flatten bread
3. Choose a spread or two and thinly layer on the bread
4. Choose a “crunch” if you'd like and place horizontally along the top edge of your spread bread
5. Now roll from top to bottom until you have a log, then slice in 1/3 inch rounds

Take your sandwich sushi and place in cupcake liners in a square or rectangle plastic container. Fill empty spots with other liners filled with bites of fruits, veggies, sweets or cheese. Tabeyou! (Let's Eat!)

Little Pim Bento (pb&j sushi, cheese spread & orange/yellow peppers, hummus & red/yellow peppers, hardboiled egg with a pepper happy face, berries)