TwitterMom of the Week: Meet Amy Kanter!

Even if you find the song annoying, the Disney folks hit the nail on the head back in the 1960s: It's a Small World After All. In our Internet age, we're more connected than ever to the rest of the world... but are we raising our kids to appreciate and understand other cultures? And isn't that pretty important for tomorrow's leaders?

Meet our newest TwitterMom of the Week, Amy Kanter, 35, a single San Francisco mom of two boys who's dedicated herself to raising a generation of global citizens.

Amy's new company, Little Passports, aims to "inspire a love and understanding of the world" as it teaches kids about a country's geography, history, culture, and language in a fun and memorable way. Each month, the Little Passports characters, Sam and Sofia, travel to a new country -- and mail your child a personalized care package full of gifts and souvenirs to help them learn about a new part of the world. Kids can also use a secret code to access the online Boarding Zone for more games and activities related to that month's adventure.

"We decided to combine the fun and excitement of offline postal mail with the popularity and richness of the Internet medium," says Amy.

"I grew up moving every three years from the U.S. to England and have traveled and worked in over thirty countries," she explains. Along the way, she often met Americans who knew little about other countries. "Once, after moving to Florida in the 8th grade, a boy asked me where I was from," she says. "I said England, and he asked where that was. I said that England was in Europe and he again asked where that was. That type of conversation happened over and over again and inspired me to want to raise a generation of global citizens."

With a background in strategy, finance and consumer products, Amy's dedicated her adult life to international issues. She has an MA in International Studies with a focus on Latin America from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Mount Holyoke College. She speaks Spanish and English -- and so does her 3-year-old!

Amy's passions include her kids, family and friends, travel, and Little Passports. "I love living in San Francisco, but taking a hike makes me feel peaceful," says Amy. "I love taking hip hop dance classes and am getting into African dance. I'm not graceful so I love to be able to stomp my feet in class and let it all out."

Faves: "I love reading novels about women coming of age. I read a ton of books - this year 'The Likeness' was an absolute favorite. 'The Piano' is a great movie. I love 'American Idol' and 'Grey's Anatomy.' There's no better food in the world than pizza, but farmers' market peaches, strawberries and early girl tomatoes are also awesome!"

Lea Curtes-Swenson is a happy, Minneapolis-based freelance copywriter and married mom of two little girls. When she's not unpacking boxes or straining to lift ridiculously heavy furniture, you can find her at Lea Writes.

Tags: amy, kanter, tmfc, tmotw

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Comment by Kelly Neill on November 4, 2009 at 9:24pm: WOW!!! I am actually an old friend of Amy's! I have searched for her on the Internet and found all of this neat stuff that she has done over the years! Great job Amy! I knew you would be successful in anything you put your heart and mind to. What a neat concept Little Passports is! I am a teacher and have seen first-hand the lack of "worldly knowledge" many children have. Well Amy, not sure if you will get this message, but I would LOVE to make contact and catch up! I emailed you through Little Passports customer service. If you do get this, please contact me via email: neillfam2009@yahoo.com or via my home or cell #. (I put my contact numbers in my email.) Hopefully, we will talk soon! :) Again, congrats on a very cool mission!

Kelly Neill (Hughes)

Comment by Jen Ohrman on July 17, 2009 at 7:02pm: Hey Amy...very cool biz! I was an exchange "professional" in Sweden and Poland with Rotary some years ago and just a few weeks ago we hosted a great woman from Norway. (now she's our friend on FB) My kids LOVED it and am committed to fostering these global friendships...one friendship at a time..and we WILL make a difference! Congratulations...I love your mission and will check out your site!

Comment by Carlotta Freixas on July 14, 2009 at 5:04am: Really nice! Do you know about our brand new service in Barcelona named Buggying bcn (www.buggyingbcn.com)? Please, check it out! Hope you like it and you decide to announce it in any corner of "Little Passports". Best regards from the shinny SPAIN :-)

Comment by Dawn on July 14, 2009 at 4:18am: I love your product and site - I did a post on it today! http://www.partybluprintsblog.com/cool-gifts/gift-idea-little-passpots

Comment by Jennifer Hughes on July 13, 2009 at 5:00pm: Congrats! Love the little passports

Comment by Toni - Design Dazzle on July 13, 2009 at 11:04am: Congrats for being featured. You are quite the traveler. I'm loving little passports:)