Little Pim Fun With Languages: Review & Giveaway!

Are you the kind of person who is concerned about getting the right gift for your kid? Sometimes it is easy to just go get the biggest, brightest and loudest Barbie or fire truck you can find but deep down you would rather get something with more staying power. How about a second (or third) language? Enter Little Pim, a panda bear who will guide your kids to actively learn a foreign language. This isn’t the typical listen and regurgitate rote memorization learning you probably remember from high school.

The Little Pim Spanish Gift Set includes 3 Spanish DVDs, an 8″ velvety soft plush Little Pim panda and a fun, see-through Little Pim tote bag to keep everything organized. We got Spanish Volume I which includes eating and drinking, waking up smiling and playtime. The three DVDs will introduce our kids to 180 Spanish words and phrases. Each disc in this set is 35 minutes long and includes an option to repeat at the end and also English subtitles. We tried it with and without the subtitles and found the subtitles distracting. It was too hard to listen to Little Pim speak while reading along in English.

The way it works is Little Pim introduces a scene and then narrates as a set of short video clips play introducing vocabulary and phrases. The video clips are brightly colored and well-shot. Each word is reinforced several times. Our 5 year old was able to follow along and at the dinner table the first night tried out asking for “la leche” and “la mantequa for el pan”. We got her milk and when we didn’t finish her request she reminded us that she also asked for “butter for her bread”. Oh yeah, she is going to be just fine with this!

Each 35 minute disc is broken up into episodes about 5 minutes long. It makes a natural break point for parents and kids to review what was just learned. Another really nice thing is all the words are commonly spoken in our house. That means lots of opportunity to practice! We used index cards and made labels with the Spanish words and our daughter carries them around and places them on items so we can keep up with her rapidly expanding Spanish vocabulary!

Learning 180 new words might seem like alot to a grown-up but a kid younger than five will soak it right up. Once we finish the first 3 pack we definitely plan on purchasing Volumes II. It is a big investment at around $50 per set but one we firmly believe will pay off as our kids all learn additional languages. From the Little Pim website, “Research also proves that young children who learn a language before the age of five tend to have superior reading, writing, analytical and social skills, as well as more extensive vocabularies than their monolingual peers. Early foreign language acquisition is no longer considered a luxury. It materially contributes to a young child’s cognitive development and also gives him an advantage in the future of our increasingly global marketplace.”

Little Pim also offers the entire set in digital download format if you are a parent on the go. They also have accompanying items on their website like the Spanish Bop Music CD. Little Pim offers: Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian, Hebrew, English ESL with English subtitles, English ESL with Spanish subtitles, Japanese, German, Russian and Arabic. And if you aren’t sure what language would best suit your kid you can take the very brief Little Pim quiz.

Little Pim would be the perfect gift! It’s educational, fun and when they grow out of the toys from last year-what they learned from Little Pim will stay with them! You can follow Little Pim on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information on new products! Also, check out the Little Pim YouTube channel where you can see examples of what Little Pim can do for your child!

Little Pim is offering one lucky Sippy Cup Mom reader their choice of DVD to start having fun with languages!

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Disclaimer: I received the Little Pim Spanish Gift Set to facilitate my review. All opinions are honest and my own.