BOCA BETH: One Song at a Time

Dont’ you love, love, love when those ideas HIT YOU just out of the blue?!?!

I was driving home from bathing suit shopping (don’t we all just dread that time of year?!?!) which had been tagged onto a Build A Bear visit with my daughter and her birthday gift cards that were burning a hole in her little seven-year-old wallet!

Daydreaming about my Boca Beth business, our new site look and this new blog thing and how to make it more interesting to read this HUGE lightning bolt of an idea came to me (might it have been inspired by my daugther’s new addition to her 120 stuffed animal family whom she named ‘Lightning Bolt?’ - who knows?!?!?!).

In my blog called ‘One Song at a Time’ I am going to provide readers with cool posts about bringing my Boca Beth songs to life one song at a time!

What do I mean by that?  I am going to inspire all of us - moms, teachers, homeschoolers, nannies, grandmas, uncles, cousins, preschool owners, and more - to make this early language learning take place.  I am going to make it even more fun.  I am going to give you even more ideas and free resources than I already do.  I am going to continue to change the communication of our young children’s world one song at a time.

Given those three options only of what I would put my energies into had I only one final choice of a way to grow my business both in the realm of exposure and in the realm of financial success I would have to go with the good ol’ fashion cold calling.

I know, I know!  Those of you who are my colleagues in this world of entrepreneurship with options such as pod casting, blogging, viral marketing, You Tubing - see mine here - and more are thinking, “Has the girl lost her marbles?  Is she sipping on the vino just a tad bit early tonight?”

“No.” and “No!”

I am just having one of those ‘weary’ days where I feel as if I am spinning my wonderful Boca Beth web in so many different directions that the little spider (me!) is exhausted!  We all have had them.  We all must expect them.  But when they come, they take ME so by surprise!  I am so upbeat so much of the time (in fact I am often asked to give up my secret for my ongoing natural high) that when I do have one of these days I question some of what I am doing to make Boca Beth gain in national exposure, garner the recognition and following that it so deserves and make us financially solvent.

Solvent………….I even went to my Webster’s to look it up prior to typing it………….I do want to pay all those production cost debts, I do want to be liquid but more so I want to be able to share these bilingual fun products I have come up with with the masses.  Not one celebrity here, not one elementary class there but with the families around our world who understand the many benefits of introducing a second language early in life and don’t even know about me.

So - amigas, amigos - I put the question to you.

How would you see it if you were in my shoes?  Would you call Sophia Loren (who supposedly got one of our Boca Beth Beginner Sets in an Oscar SWAG BAG for her grandchild) or would you stay to local grassroots efforts and do lots of live events close to home (where mind you, very few of my daughter’s own elementary school’s parents have purchased one CD even after I have done concerts for free for their children, offered a special local’s discount and more) or would you start calling the buyers of Target and Babies R Us and get the party going that way?

I long for an easy answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (Ha-Ha)

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth 

Sooooo…..send out a press release about being environmentally friendly and green with new packaging, and feel the love!

I mean it!  As a mom of three children (all of whom will be living on this Earth much longer than I God willing!) and educator of thousands of other children,  I recognize that the youth of today needs help from us adults ‘in charge’ right now.  Al Gore and other activists are right on the money when they state that we need to get real about global warming and all of the things going on around us because of what we have done to our environment.

I have been telling my husband, “It’s because of global warming.” or “That is happening due to global warming.” for years!  Literally years!!!  He many times dismissed my theory (knowing that Earth Science and the advanced classes along that line were not my forté!!!!!), but I am telling you all and him again - we must take off our blinders and do more than ever to save the physical earth for our children to have a safe place to live.

Read my press release today that has received wonderful reaction thus far from many…………………………….. 

Boca Beth Spanish Learning Sets Go Green and Global: New Children’s Music CD Cha-Chas with Bilingual Beats

Not only can children sing, dance and play their way to speaking Spanish with bilingual beats from Boca Beth, but they can do so with an environmentally friendly package. The CD comes in a recycled cardboard sleeve and uses soy-based inks. Bilingual learning has never been more fun or eco-friendly!

Tampa, FL (PRWEB) May 9, 2007 — Beth Butler, creator of Boca Beth Spanish Learning CDs and DVDs, delights children and parents this month with the release of her newest Boca Beth limited edition CD titled Sing Praise for Children. Not only can children sing, dance and play their way to speaking Spanish with hymns of faith and silly songs like La Cucaracha, but they can do so with an environmentally friendly package. The CD comes in a recycled cardboard sleeve and uses soy-based inks. Bilingual learning has never been more fun or eco-friendly!

It was important for us to start the transition to all environmentally-friendly products for our Boca Beth line. As a company that focuses on children, we strive to keep our business as green as we can for their future, and this is the start of a major effort that will soon mean that every product we offer will be eco-friendly

“It was important for us to start the transition to all environmentally-friendly products for our Boca Beth line. As a company that focuses on children, we strive to keep our business as green as we can for their future, and this is the start of a major effort that will soon mean that every product we offer will be eco-friendly,” says Beth Butler.

Additionally, the CD gets global with popular hip-swaying Latin American songs like ‘El chocolate.’

The CD’s catchy beats and easy-to-follow lyrics are a breakthrough in the children’s music industry, joining children’s Christian music with bilingual lyrics. Traditional children’s melodies transform into fun songs that introduce young children to Spanish and English, showing parents and teachers that it’s never too early to start bilingual learning. The album introduces more than fifty words and twenty phrases in Spanish and English to young children.

‘Sing Praise for Children/Canta la alabanza para los niños’ is recorded in Spanish and English for the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking markets. This limited edition 7-song CD retails for $6.99, is ideal for children ages birth-ten and is available online at bocabeth.com or by calling 1.877.825.2622. $1 from every sale of this CD will be donated to World Outreach Mission efforts.

About the Boca Beth Program
The Boca Beth Program is an award-winning company that develops products to bring Spanish and English together with music, movement and creativity. The multimedia product line of sing-along CDs and DVDs are designed to introduce children to a second language and other cultures, as well as make them lifetime language learners by wiring their brains for language acquisition.

The Boca Beth Learning Sets, which include CDs and DVDs, as well as puppets, coloring/activity books and musical shakers, have been the recipients of prestigious parenting and educational awards. Ms. Butler is a nationally acclaimed speaker on the topic of bringing Spanish and English together for young children in the home and in the classroom.

To schedule an interview or to book her for your next Early Childhood Conference, corporate family event, PTA / school function, retailer’s convention or children’s group, call their bilingual office in Tampa, FL 813.855.5393 or directly to Ms. Butler’s cell phone 813.244.1432 (se habla Español).

It’s been a long time coming………

I was not allowed to do any production last year because my black and white, numbers-crunching husband was absolutely correct!  I had way overextended our home equity line of credit creating a brightly colored, beautifully packaged bilingual product line for young children that still was not getting the distribution it so desperately needed and wanted (at least it’s song-writing mommy wanted it!!!!).

But this year, 2007, the moratorium on Boca Beth production was lifted and - Hallelujah! - I have put together a kickin’ great CD called “Sing Praise for Children/Canta la alabanza para los niños.”  I love where we are headed with this project.  I did only 7 songs - 5 Christian songs for kids in Spanish and English and 2 Latin American songs.  Ever since I turned my life over to the Lord I have wanted to bring my bilingual beats along on my journey.

So, the press release is written, the web site home page is redone, and Wednesday we send it out early, early, early and wait and wonder.

What are we wondering?  Well, once again, my black and white, devil’s advocate role-playing husband, sat in our production and marketing meeting a few months back and posed the question, “What if the general mainstream customers who already love your Boca Beth music don’t like this new fork in the road?  What if you offend new time visitors to your site with “Jesus” and “Sing Praise” splashed around on the site and heard on your samples?”  I stammered and faltered and could not give him a good business sense reply.

Now………as I walk more confidently each day with Jesus by my side, helping me to serve God and be a wonderful ambassador of his word, I know that this is an awesome move for me personally and professionally.  I am not throwing religion down anyone’s throat.  I am providing young children the opportunity to pray in two languages and expanding my reach of my love for learning and my love for life.

What do you all think?  I wonder if I will lose old customers or never gain some new ones because of a 7 song limited edition CD that features Christian songs along with silly songs……………….I welcome some objective answers. 

Thank you / Gracias

Boca Beth 

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When your baby boy hits 15 it kind of hits YOU that you are not getting any younger (despite what those hair color commercials say!!!).  I feel so dated, I feel so much older, and I feel so ready to go to sleep before 9 pm nightly now that my ‘baby boy’ is of driving age and the odd number of 15.  (I have always had this aversion to odd number birthdays.  Be them for myself or for my family………….the odd birthdays always SOUND soooooooo much older than the even ones, don’t you agree?)

So, my 9th grader and now 15-year-old keeps reminding me “Speak in Spanish Mommy.”  (Man, don’t you love the kid who still slips in a “mommy” every now and then and will kiss you in the car rider line (even if it was by accident!!!).)

I tried putting up PostIt notes around the house saying “Speak Spanish” and “Habla Español” with very little success rate.  I stink at remembering to bring Spanish into our daily lives even though I AM Boca Beth, even though I DO this for a living, even though I KNOW it’s best for my three children that I speak both languages.  It’s just plain, hard work!  Now I understand and empathize with my Latina friends with an English speaking husband who embarassingly admit to me that they default to English at home.

Tell me - please amigas/amigos/friends - how do you do it?  How do you make sure to keep both English and Spanish going at your home?  I would love some tips, some tried and true success stories on making the Spanish cool enough to speak daily and the English easy enough to learn.

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth 

The phone call went something like this:

“Hola, you’ve reached Boca Beth!”

“Hi, Beth, this is Vonnie.  You don’t know me, but I went to high school with your sister Mary.  I ran into you all at the Early Childhood Conference in Orlando last year, and I work in Largo with the Florida First Start.”

“Cool.  I went to Largo High too.  What can we do for you all?”

“We have an event in May for our families, and we want to see what your fee would be to come and do a Boca Beth show for them…”

And that my friends/amigas/amigos was the start of a wonderful, touching and rewarding morning for this little Florida-born gal!

Never would I have pictured the crowd we had this morning at the Discovery Room to be the picture we saw!  Those little Mexican babies have such cherubic, adorable little faces you just want to plant besos/kisses all over them!  And the mommies, they were so not sure of me at first.  I almost read their minds as they entered the room with two or three little ones each in tow………….”Ay, ¿Quien es ella?  Tengo que escuchar solamente Inglés esta mañana….yo no puedo entender…¡Que pena!” “Oh, who is she?  I have to listen to English only this morning…I can’t understand…What a pity!”

But I turned the whole room around.  From one of anxiousness (mommies’ feeling) and uncertainty (babies’ and toddlers’ reaction) to We Be Lovin’ This Boca Beth Stuff!!!!!!!!!!  We sang about 20 Boca Beth bilingual songs and used my Dollar Store props to bring the Spanish and English to life for all!  I can’t wait to share the pictures with you…Lynne from Florida First Start will share some with us soon! 

It’s so cool what they do - this organization - they go right into these people’s homes and help them realize that they are their children’s first teacher.  They help provide them the tools and resources needed to give their children a fair start in this world of English, new culture, new community.  I so admire each and every one of them as I grew to love them in my short time of singing and dancing and playing in their native language Spanish as well as their new language English!

I am so proud to be part of events like this……it brings me joy to know that I made a difference in many of their lives in such a short time.

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth