Mommy's Block Party Holiday Gift Guide 2013

Feliz Navidad!

B and S have heard Spanish spoken on television in some of their favorite shows and both knew some very basic words when they were toddlers. I loved how amazed they were when they discovered a new word or counted to ten using a language other than English.

I know foreign languages were not offered to me until high school and college but are now being introduced at much younger ages. As part of B's specials, once a week they attend Spanish class. I think it is great that he is being introduced to a foreign language at such a young age and that it is a part of his curriculum. I also have seen other private schools in our area offer things like Latin and French starting in Kindergarten as well.

While I know a few basic words here and there, I do feel like my kids could use some additional instruction when it comes to foreign languages. There are many products on the market for just this, one such company is called Little Pim.
Little Pim was founded by Julia Pimsleur Levine, a mother, award winning filmmaker, and language arts teacher, who was inspired by her own bilingual childhood and wanted to provide and teach her own son a foreign language. When she had trouble finding quality products to teach with, she created them herself. By creating Little Pim, she wanted to teach children while having fun. Scientific research has shown that learning a foreign language is something that young children can do naturally and children who do learn before age 6 demonstrate higher levels of reading and writing skills. Over a period of several years, Julia worked with a neuroscientist, educators, and language experts to develop the Little Pim program.

Little Pim is designed to teach children, ages 0-6, a second language in a fun, easy, and enjoyable way. They use videos, books, flashcards, and CDs to entertain in a way that promotes learning in a natural way. When Ondria approached me about working with Little Pim, I was more than happy to try them and see what they were all about. The kids were thrilled to have the chance to learn some new words and show off to my husband and I.

Our Little Pim package has arrived.
Inside we found a 3 pack of Fun with Languages DVD set in Spanish.

 

Here we go!

B and S are learning about things in their room
We are continuing to watch our Little Pim Spanish videos and picking up more each time. Our current favorite words are "hola", "vamos", and "cuchara".

These videos are so fun for the kids, they really get in to watching and learning their new vocabulary. B seems to be benefiting from the extra exposure and enjoying knowing some of the things he has already learned from school. S is feeling really smart and I think this will give her an advantage when she does start school to have a stronger background of vocab. I enjoy the fact that there are optional subtitles so I can know what words and phrases they are hearing.

Little Pim has products available in many different languages including: Chinese, French, English, German, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, and Portuguese.  These are truly helpful and fun products that draw the kids in and hold their attention. I think I could benefit just as much by hearing and learning with the kids.

Adios!

 

 Want It? Buy It!



Gracias to Jana and Little Pim!