Testimonials from families like you
Ukrainian plus Russian Phrases for Children
This book is the single best guide to communicating with adopted children in Ukraine. It had the vast majority of phrases you really need to know when speaking with children. I had this book with me every minute of every day.
I found the handbook to be invaluable while we were in Ukraine for a month, and now that we have been home for 2 weeks with 3 new kids (ages 6, 5, &3). It has really helped and the phonetics are great.
I found this book to be THE GUIDE for communicating with the children. I actually referred to it as "my little white bible."
I am so pleased with the phrasebooks & CD. The format makes it so easy to learn. In a very short time I have commited to memory a good deal of the words & phrases. Thanks!
Thanks for all the time and effort you put into making this! It will be so wonderful to be able to speak to the children in the orphanage and to the little one that becomes part of our forever family.
I liked that it was simple and straight-forward and that the pages were laid out with different themes so that items were easy to find. I also liked that it had the CD which helped American's know "HOW" to say the words because without the proper pronunciation the children will not understand you.
I would convince families that they really do need to study BOTH the Russian and the Ukrainian. It is hard to explain to someone that you can't be certain which language a child in Ukraine will speak. However, if they didn't think they could handle 2 languages, I would error on learning Ukrainian because even though we were in the NE where the Russian language predominates, they nonetheless taught the children Ukrainian.
I just wanted to let you know that I am so impressed with your CD and handbook!! I wish I would have known about it sooner......! I will definitely let our sponsor know about it so that he, too, can recommend it if asked. You did a terrific job! Thanks again.
The CD and handbook have exceeded my expectations! The quality of the CD is excellent and it is really helpful to have the man and woman both speaking the phrases. I have been listening to the CD during my half hour commute to and from work each day. By the time we go to Ukraine for our adoption in December, I should have it memorized. I will certainly recommend this to other adoptive families. Thanks so much!
I have bought this CD and it is wonderful!!! I highly recommend it! I wish I had thought about that! Thanks...great job.
The CD has been a real "life saver" for me because Isabelle is old enough to really talk and have conversations.
Thank you very much for the Phrase Book. My husband and I were so concerned about the language issue and this makes it very easy.
Thank you for your promptness in sending our order. We like the book and CD.
I received my order yesterday. Thank you very much. This will come in handy. I already started listening to the CD on the way to work today. I can't wait to practice on my Ukrainian friends here at work.
I just wanted to let you know that I am so impressed with your CD and handbook!! I wish I would have known about it sooner......! We leave for the Ukraine on Saturday, but I will definitely let our sponsor know about it so that he, too, can recommend it if asked. You did a terrific job!
Thanks very much Fred for the quick shipment and the follow-up email.
Enjoyed the CD. Used it while hosting a young Ukrainian student.
I can vouch for this CD. I bought the Russian/Ukrainian one (as I'm adopting from Ukraine), and it really is good.
We got the CD and booklets (on the same day our Visas arrived—the FedEx man was my friend that day!). We think they're great. I can sometimes sit down and listen while studying the book and that is very productive, but I also try to just have it on while I work in the kitchen or fold laundry. I've found that phrases are going around in my head a lot already. It's very clear and easy to understand. I'm very happy with the phrases you chose--things that we really will need to be saying with our child. Thank you so much. I think they are a great tool, and we will be much more confident approaching our child when we know she will be able to understand at least something we say!
We've been listening to it a lot and it's been very helpful. I especially like the inclusion of male and female voices. The sound quality is excellent, and the written booklet for following along is great. You've done a great job! I'm sure it will help many people.
I ordered the CD using PayPal. He shipped it promptly. He did a good job deciding which vocabulary to put on it, especially if you are adopting a young child. My kids are even enjoying repeating the phrases.
I received my Ukrainian /Russian Phrases for communicating with your new child book & CD :IT IS WONDERFUL. Most translation books deal with travel issues. This one deals with things like: Naps, Bedtime, Interacting with your new child, Reassuring words, and on and on, in both Ukrainian and Russian.
This morning we received the CD and the handbook. Thank you! I have gone through the handbook and it seems well done. It's quite simple and easy, but I think that it took quite an effort to put all together.
Yes, I do love the CD and little booklet. I am really enjoying it, and trying to use the phrases daily.
The CD and the little booklet is great! I can't wait to speak in the Ukraine to the children, and especially my child! Thank you!
Russian Phrases for Children
Thank you for the CD...it is wonderful...so much more easier than any that we have tried already!
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.
Hello....just wanted you to know that your CD is perfect! Rather than trying to memorize numerous Russian words and phrases that are geared towards business travelers, your CD gave me a quick immersion into words and phrases specifically for my adoption journey..and I think that this will be a very valuable tool in making the transition for an child so much easier, as well.
I am an international adoption counselor and we are looking at bringing 30 children from Russian orphanages to Wisconsin this summer for two weeks, and looking to find them adoptive homes. We did the same last year and thought this year I would learn to communicate with the kids, but am also suggesting this to the host families. Thank you for this great resource.
The information included on the CD is perfect for parents adopting from Russia. I found it very frustrating trying to "weed through" the other language tapes to just find the things that we will need to communicate with our new little one. Thank you so much for producing this series!
I think it is very well done. It is easy to follow along and it is great to hear it in the foreign dialect.
I like the handbook! Thanks so much for putting this together.
It seems it was very thought out and has a lot of phrases I know we will be searching for how to say. I am sure it will be our "bible" when we adopt a child from Russia.
Thanks for your wonderful CD - we used it already - although my dear hubby called the dog "babushka"...wonder what our little boy was thinking! Thanks again for providing such a great tool!
Your CD is awesome! Thank you so much for putting this together and making it available. I have already told several friends and will spread the word about this wonderful resource.
Thanks! I can't wait to get starting learning some phrases for our trip to Russia.
I just wanted to tell you how much my daughter and I have enjoyed listening to the CD and practicing our Russian on each other. Your program is much better than the more difficult language programs and the phrases are certainly ones we hope to use with our new daughter.
Thank you so much for the FAST shipment. I've been studying from another Russia CD but decided to add this one to expand a bit. I especially like all the terms of endearment and phrases of assurance.
I am really enjoying your CD. I like the content - you've done a great job.
I was delighted to find that this is exactly what I needed - a small pocket style that you can take along with you wherever you go. Also, out of all of the books I ordered on the subject (5 or 6) this is by far the most useful.. I will surely pass this along to the other families.
I can certainly vouch for Fred - Thank you. It has inspired my husband so much so that he now starts Russian classes tonight! If you are looking for something to do while waiting for your forever child, you should get this CD!
Your handbook was very helpful, and I'm going to recommend it to anyone considering a Russian adoption
I heard about your CD in a FRUA chat room. All the parents say your CD is the best because the speakers have Russian accents.
Bulgarian Phrases for Children
Count me among those who found your CD immensely helpful…Between your CD and the little bit of Russian I remember from college, which allowed me to read the Bulgarian words in a little English-Bulgarian dictionary, I was able to communicate with Graciela right away. I can't imagine having adopted her without the help of this wonderful tool!
Thank you very much for this information about the CD you did...I found it can be very useful especially in the beginning, to be able to communicate with your child. I speak little Bulgarian and I was happy to find many words and short sentences.
I do not know if you have seen the post on the Bulgarian language CD available from Fred Des Chenes. We purchased this from him during our adoption and it was a life saver. It has phrases that are easy to learn in order to communicate with your child. I think this CD is a must.
I want to thank you for your CD. I received it a couple of weeks ago and am very excited that I will be able to tell my son that I love him, when I pick him up in a few months.
I received my BG phrases CD and have already begun trying to memorize some phrases. It will be a tremendous help. I've been listening to the CD in the car which probably isn't such a good idea since I keep having to look at the CD insert while driving. I've been testing out my Bulgarian on everyone, but Bulgarian with a southern accent doesn't quite sound the same. I had previously been listening to Bulgarian language tapes for the traveler, but your CD is the "Cliffs Notes" version I really needed.
Seriously, your BG CD was SUCH a help! I am a total auditory learner!