LITTLE PIM BLOG
Family Fun for Oktoberfest
This year marks the 205th anniversary of Oktoberfest, a German festival that began in Munich in 1810. Each year, millions of people gather in Germany and all over the world to participate in the festivities, which include concerts, costumes, rides, food, and drink. There is something for everyone at Oktoberfest, and the holiday creates a great opportunity to introduce kids (and adults) to German culture.
A great way to get kids involved in the Oktoberfest fun is through crafts like this Edelweiss hat, often worn by men and boys in Bavaria during the festival. You can also print out these coloring pages to help kids learn about the German map, flag, and other national symbols. And check out “Backe, backe Kuchen,” a simple German song kids can sing to practice the language.
You can sample some of the delicious cuisine of Germany in your own home with these recipes for German potato salad and sausage and sauerkraut fritters. You should also break out the pretzels, a favorite during Oktoberfest. For dessert, you and your kids will love this rich German chocolate cake. Before you eat, don’t forget to say “prost” which means “cheers” in German!
Oktoberfest is a great holiday for the whole family, no matter where you celebrate it! Get creative, eat, learn, and have fun!
Thanks to Kelli Miller at 3 Boys and a Dog for the "Oktoberfest Activities for Kids."
Halloween Around the World
Halloween is just around the corner! If you live in the United States, that probably means costumes, candy, and possibly some pranks. But what is Halloween like in other parts of the world?
Photo credit: Muffet / Foter / CC BY
Ireland
The holiday most likely has its origins in Ireland’s ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people wore costumes and lit bonfires to frighten away the spirits. In Ireland today, many people celebrate Halloween by dressing up and lighting bonfires like the ancient Celts did. Much like kids in the United States, Irish children go trick-or-treating and attend Halloween parties with family and friends. They play games like “bobbing for apples” and “snap-apple,” where you hang an apple on a string and jump up to see if you can bite it. And of course, some Irish children play tricks on their neighbors. You can make barnbrack, a popular Halloween confection in Ireland, using this recipe.
Photo credit: LlGC ~ NLW / Foter / No known copyright restrictions
Mexico
In Spanish-speaking countries like Mexico, the celebration of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) begins on the evening of October 31st. Many families make altars honoring their loved ones who have passed, which can include photographs, candles, and even the deceased’s favorite foods and drinks. On November 2nd, the whole family has a picnic to celebrate and reminisce about the lives of their loved ones. They eat treats such as breads and sweets shaped like skulls and skeletons. You can make your own delicious sugar skulls by following this recipe!
Helping Your Kids Transition from Summer to School
Summer flew by faster than most of us expected and getting back to our school day routines can actually be exciting for parents. In order to make a smooth transition from vacation mode to strict schedules, we've put together a list of tips to make this as easy as possible. Good luck and happy parenting!
1. Sleep Schedules
Photo credit: Ozyman / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
You may not hear it often but it's time to get back to your old habits! It is important to start getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour at least two weeks before school begins. This way they will be well adjusted and rested when the first day of school rolls around. Setting morning alarms can also be helpful for those of us that like to sleep in.
2. Adjust Your Eating Habits
Photo credit: theglobalpanorama / Foter / CC BY-SA
Time to get healthy again! We all know that summertime causes our shelves and refrigerators to become full of unhealthy snacks like ice cream and chips. It's time to get your kids back on track. Plan quick and healthy meals that meet their school lunch schedule.
3. Establish a Learning Environment
Photo credit: Holtsman / Foter / CC BY-NC
In case you got carried away like the rest of us, now is your chance to get crafty with your kids at home! Set up a well-lit, quiet study area and make sure your kids become comfortable with the space. Whether it's by using your Little Pim flashcards or simply drawing with a pen and paper, make sure you set aside some time for your children to adapt to a learning environment.
4. Rekindle Friendships
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Children can sometimes be worried about finding friends at school. Schedule play dates with parents and friends that you may have lost touch with over the summer. This way your kids can feel more confident and comfortable in the classroom.
5. Motivate your kids
Photo credit: Jeff Pioquinto, SJ / Foter / CC BY
School is fun and it's important that your kids know! Talking about school will make your kids more confident and encouraged to do their best. Ask questions like: "What are your favorite subjects at school?" "What are your goals this year?" Setting goals is the first step to reaching them.
7 Hottest French-Speaking Celebrities
In honor of Bastille Day, we've rounded up the seven hottest Francophone men. Enjoy listening to the music for your ears while watching candy for your eyes.1. Johnny Depp
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Low-tech and high-tech toys at Toy Fair 2015
Toy Fair 2015 in New York showed off new toys of all kinds, from the simple and familiar to the edgy and technological. There were toys for kids of all ages and for kids at heart. Toy Fair brings out the best in toys, from books to dolls to learning tools to plush toys. Check out the highlights of this year's convention.
There were new twists on familiar toys like basic blocks and stacking toys. Toymakers added new functions to products like rattles and crib toys but kept them simple enough for the youngest customers to enjoy.
Some toys bridged the gap between technology and old school fun, like Toymail, a cute physical mailbox that lets family members leave kids WiFi voice messages through free phone apps. For parents who travel, children can hear friendly voices and encouraging messages - without having to stay in front of a laptop. They can play and respond to the messages when and where they want.
Take a hint from Little Pim the Panda and leave your kids a voicemail message using the words they’re learning in a new language. Hearing your voice saying some of their new vocabulary is a great way to send a caring greeting and help them learn new words in Spanish, Chinese, or French!
Augmented reality made books and other toys come alive through interactive, easy-to-use apps. When you point your phone at the right spots in a book, for example, your phone shows hidden features and games to play.
A redesigned View-Master and a talking, “smart” Barbie that connects to the cloud were also attention-grabbers.
The Little Pim booth welcomed everyone interested in children’s language learning.
The Healthiest & Unhealthiest Christmas Dishes In The World
The holidays are a season of indulgence for most people around the world, when people come together to celebrate with loved ones over special dishes. We've been known to overdo it on the Christmas cookies, but there's more to holiday food than sweets. From France to Brazil to South Africa, every country has their own special healthy--and not-so-healthy-- traditional foods they enjoy around the holidays.
But some countries are definitely more indulgent than others, according to Yahoo. The website ranked countries by how healthy their traditional Christmas meals are.
Spain came out as the unhealthiest, with an average of over 70 grams of fat in their traditional meal, which often features roast lamb for dinner and nougat for dessert. The United States was right behind, thanks to Americans' love for fatty eggnog.
To contrast, Kenya's traditional Christmas meal of lean roasted goat and chapatti (unleavened bread) contains just 10 grams of fat, the lowest of any country in the list.
It's fine to enjoy the less healthy items on a special occasion--just make sure to get those veggies in too, like the Spaniards do with white asparagus. Or make like the Swedes do and serve herring as an appetizer instead of fatty dips.
As long as you don't overdo it at dinner, there's no reason to skip dessert. Add an international twist to your dessert tray with a French Yule Log Cake (Buche de Noel) or a delicious German Stollen, a fruit cake with dried fruit and marzipan.
Check out the infographic below to see how the meals ranked and find out the healthiest and unhealthiest Christmas dishes of each country.
Happiness Around the World
Language, food and customs aren't the only things that vary from country to country--it turns out that happiness does as well. A new infographic from Movehub shows the well-being of different countries around the world, based on how good of job they do at providing citizens with long, happy and environmentally sustainable lives.
The United States didn't fare too well in the rankings, with a score of just 37.3 out of 100 on the "Happy Planet Index," which is based on living long lives with a "high experience of well-being within the environmental limits of the planet."
On the other hand, countries like Costa Rica, Vietnam and Colombia were found to have the happiest citizens, with happiness quotients nearly double that of the U.S.
The United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, China and Spain all ranked in the middle of the pack, with happiness levels ranging from 44.1 to 47.9.
Check out the full infographic below to find out the happiest and unhappiest countries in the world.
iPads Improve Language Skills in Kids with Autism
A new study has found that using iPads can help children with autism improve their language skills, CBS News reports. In the study, 61 kids, ages 5 to 8, were given speech therapy for 6 months. Half of the children were given access to iPads, while the other half were not. All of the kids involved in the study were "minimally verbal," meaning they had a vocabulary of fewer than 20 words.
The researchers found that the children using iPads doubled the number of words in their vocabulary, compared with those who did not use the device. The kids using iPads also showed much faster improvement in their language skills during the course of the study.
Dr. Connie Kasari, a professor of human development and psychology and psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles who helped to conduct the study, said that children benefit from using tablets because they allow for repeated practice, and the visual stimulants encourage verbal response. Using device like an iPad can also help clarify words the child is struggling with and may even alleviate the pressure to communicate, she explained.
This latest study is particularly interesting to us at Little Pim. We've heard from many families of children with autism who have expressed how much our program helped their kids communicate better in English, their native language. Parents have told us that their children with autism are drawn to the colors and sounds of our videos and that they've improved their language skills significantly using Little Pim.
We embrace the way technology can help children learn. That's why made our immersive language program for kids available both on DVD and in digital form, so that kids can use tablets or other devices to learn languages. And our mobile apps are another great way for kids to learn languages while having fun at the same time.
If you have a child with autism, using an immersive language program like Little Pim on a tablet can be a great way for your child to improve his or her language skills. Our videos provide kids with visual and aural stimulation while encouraging feedback and repetition to help kids learn.
And if you have a child with Autism who's been helped by Little Pim, we'd love to hear from you! Email us at info@littlepim.com to share your story.
Have a Multicultural Thanksgiving with Little Pim
When most people in America think of Thanksgiving, they think of eating traditional foods like turkey, cranberry, and pumpkin pie with family and friends. Uniquely American traditions like football and Black Friday shopping may also come to mind. But Thanksgiving looks very different in other countries, each of which have their own way of celebrating the bounty of the fall harvest with loved ones. You can teach your child about other cultures and build on their foreign language learning by introducing them to some international Thanksgiving traditions.
Germany: Germany's version of Thanksgiving is national holiday called "Erntedanktag," which translates to "Harvest-Thanksgiving-Day." Harvest Festivals (Erntefests) are held in churches, markets and dance halls throughout the country, each celebrating foods for which the region is famous.
China: China's Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, like the American Thanksgiving, is a time for family and loved ones to celebrate the end of the harvest season with a giant feast. Legend says that the moon is at its brightest and roundest on this day, which is said to inspire rekindled friendship or romance.
To represent the full moon, the Chinese eat a delicious flaky pastry called a mooncake, which is stuffed with either sweet or savory filling. If you're up for a tasty challenge, check out this step-by-step guide to making your own.
Israel: Jewish families celebrate a 3000-year old harvest festival called Sukkot. A hut of branches called a Sukkot is built, and Jewish families then eat their meals beneath the Sukkot under the night sky for eight days. These hearty, seasonal fall soups from Israeli Kitchen are the perfect way to celebrate the end of the autumn harvest.
Korea: Chuseok is a major harvest festival and 3-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. During this holiday, Koreans return to their hometowns to perform traditional rituals in the morning to remember their ancestors. Family members also visit their decreased loved ones, offering food, drink and crops. A popular food for the holdiday called songpyeon, a crescent-shaped rice cake, is prepared using healthy ingredients like sesame seeds, cinnamon, and pine nuts.
Check out the video below for a tutorial on preparing your own Songpyeon.
Tradition is great, but don't be afraid to mix in a few international foods and activities this holiday. As the Portuguese say, "Feliz (dia de) acção de graça" (Happy Thanksgiving)!
6 Reasons Your Child Should Learn Korean
This week we launched our 12th language for kids: Korean! And we couldn't be more excited. With so many languages to choose from, you may be wondering why your child should learn Korean. Here are a few reasons why Korean may be the right choice for your little one.
1. The Korean language is growing in popularity.
Korean is the sixteenth most widely spoken language in the world, spoken by more than 78 million people, according to Boston University.
As South Korea has become a bigger player in the world economy thanks to its technological innovation and popular culture, Korean language learning has been on the rise, particularly among younger people. Young adults are recognizing the growing opportunities in Korea and adopting the language to give themselves a leg up over the competition.
2. Korea has become a popular vacation spot. International tourists are increasingly realizing that Korea is a great country to visit for vacation. From checking out the dining and landmarks in Seoul to hiking in many of the beautiful mountains, Korea has become a major destination for world travelers.
And because the exchange rates are more favorable than in European countries, families on a budget can make the most of their trip.
3. The alphabet is easy to learn.
The Korean alphabet, Hangeul, is a phonetic alphabet with 24 letters and is very easy to read and write.
According to The Mezzofanti Guild, unlike Chinese and Japanese, it is not character-based. It is written from left to right and it has a unique way of organizing its letters into syllables where consonants and vowels are neatly arranged in blocks.
4. Korean phonetics are easy for English speakers.
Korean phonetics come easily to English speakers. Unlike Arabic and Hebrew, there are no guttural sounds.
Additionally, there are no tones like many other East Asian languages. In general, Korean is usually pronounced exactly the way it’s written--which is more than can be said for English, which contains many words that sound nothing like they appear.
5. Many Korean words are made up smaller, single-syllable words.
Many compound Korean words (especially ones that are derived from Chinese) are made up of single syllable words and you can usually take a rough guess at its meaning if you can recognize them. And if your child already knows Mandarin Chinese, it'll be even easier to start learning these words in Korean.
6. Learning Korean can be fun and easy.
Our new Korean program for kids makes it fun and easy for kids to learn. Built around fun, kid-friendly themes for ages 6 months to 6 years with language videos narrated by native speakers, kids can learn this increasingly popular language while being entertained at the same time.
Learning Korean can be a great way to give your child a head start and prepare him or her for the global economy. Check out our new Korean program or any of our 11 other languages.
