We have spoken Hebrew at home since my son was born four years ago. I have to admit that it has not been easy, since I don’t think in Hebrew and always have to translate everything in my mind first. So with each passing year we have begun to speak Hebrew a little less, to the point where I am worried my son may begin to forget everything he has already learned.
Luckily his interested once again piqued with the help of a little panda; Little Pim. Ok, not a real panda, but a plush one that came with three learning DVDs; Eating and Drinking, Wake Up Smiling, and Playtime.
When the set arrived on our doorstep, I handed Little Pim to my four-year-old, who was not impressed at first. Then after much convincing (let’s face it is a plush panda, not a racetrack, Lego set or soccer ball) I placed the first DVD in. The DVD reminded me of the popular Baby Einstein DVD series for babies and toddlers, only with real children not puppets. The DVD began with a short introductory cartoon with the panda and then showed children engaging in different activities (in this case Eating and Drinking) with music and a voice over that names the activity, food or drink in Hebrew.
He knew many of the words and was thrilled every time he heard something familiar.
Little Pim is a great learning tool and a must for anyone trying to immerse their child in a new language (Also available in Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, German and Russian.)
We have now watched all three DVDs several times. My son actually became interested in learning and speaking Hebrew with us at home and even with his grandparents. I believe that Little Pim was beneficial in helping pique his interest in learning the language (since I thought he had forgotten so much of it already and was not interested). He even repeats phrases that he has learned throughout the day.
Although Little Pim is recommended for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, it appears to be geared more toward babies and toddlers without enough engaging activities for older preschoolers. However, that being said, my son did still pick up new words and piqued his interest in learning more.
I hope that Little Pim continues teaching little ones and even comes up with a few new DVDs for older children. Adults will pick up a few words along the way as well. And I thought I knew it all…go figure.
I think Little Pim is a great tool in helping your little one learn a new language.
www.littlepim.com
