Welcome to "Phrases for Children" Adoption language tools for English speaking parents   New lower international shipping costs! Reduced international shipping to Europe, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. You still get the same professionally produced audio CD and two pocket-sized phrase books, but for less!!

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Featured Testimonial:

"I ordered Russian Phrases for Children a couple of months ago in preparation of hosting a 6 year old this Christmas. I cannot begin to tell you how valuable this little bit of knowledge has been. Our little girl is very verbal and wants to talk, talk, talk. Although we can't understand or communicate everything, we have done great. The phrases I learned from you have made all the difference. I worried that my accent wouldn't be correct or that she couldn't understand me, but she has! In fact, at first she thought I spoke Russian and would run to me to chatter everything that someone else couldn't understand. I cannot reccommend this highly enough to prospective hosts or adoptive parents. It has saved a world of frustration for a small child and a bunch of enthusiastic Americans."

Click here to read more testimonials from families like you

Hello. Eight years ago, during my own adoption process in Eastern Europe, I created a CD of useful adoption phrases for children so I could learn to communicate with my daughter when I picked her up. Lucky for me I had Bulgarian friends nearby who helped translate the phrase list and offered their voices to record. Using my music production background, I created a CD of the spoken phrases with the right amount of space between each phrase so I could rehearse along with it. I was happy to listen to the CD over and over in my car to and from my job every day. It worked. When I picked up my daughter, she understood me. What a thrill that was for me. My facilitator and the orphanage staff were also impressed. A few months later, after repeated requests from other adopting families, I decided to start making the CD available.

After my daughter came home, I continued to be very involved with Eastern European adoptions, in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhtsan helping bring families and kids together. I've been blessed to be able to participate in what is likely to be the most important decision a couple or single parent will make in their lives.

Three years ago, I started a project to take the "best of" comments and suggestions I've received from adoptive families and develop the "Phrases for Children" series of language CDs and phrase books. I think you will find that there is nothing out there quite like this for Cyrillic languages. I now have a very good list of essential phrases, words, and yes/no type questions you will find invaluable when you visit your children, travel home with them, and bring them into your family. These are phrases and words that you as adoptive parents will be glad to know or have handy to read from the phrase book. Click on each CD picture above for more details.

Learning a Cyrillic language is a huge challenge. Commercial materials available tend to focus on traveler's phrases and many require you learn the Cyrillic alphabet and grammar. Some oversimplify the language, while others make it too complicated or are inconsistent. I believe to learn a Cyrillic language without learning the alphabet, you need to hear it spoken by native speakers and also see it phonetically in English. Hearing and seeing will make the subtle differences between the male and female forms of certain phrases, or the differences between two languages much clearer.

Thousands of families have benefited from my CDs and phrase books and I'm always looking for ways to improve them. I've received countless numbers of positive and encouraging letters and emails over the years. I've shipped orders to Canada, Spain, France, Guam, Ireland, and even Australia! I get really excited over the international orders - I never expected to be helping so many families worldwide. This is why I decided to expand the "Phrases for Children" language series from the original Bulgarian-only version.

Four years ago, I released a special combined Ukrainian and Russian languages version for English speaking parents adopting from Ukraine. It quickly became so popular, that I was running to the printer every month for more boxes of phrase books! I started getting requests for a Russion-only version for families adopting from Russia and Kazakhstan too, so I released that as well - it includes the Cyrillic spellings of every word and phrase for those of you who are as curious about languages as I am. It is now my most popular product.

"Everyone, including the children at the orphanage, was amazed that I could speak the language!"

The CDs feature native speakers, both male and female, so you can hear how the phrases should sound.

"I have been all over the net looking for a CD like this...Thank you."

For more information, including how to order, click on any of the above CD cover images.

Produced by Fred Des Chenes.  Copyright 2000-2006.  All Rights Reserved   Email: fdd@newmexico.com