le 7 février
C’est février! “Je t’aime!” is the key phrase for this month. What a wonderful thing to practice saying with your child! Hopefully they remember it and give you a big hug.
HALF HOUR
This morning, we talked a bit about the weather. They each got a picture and had to decide what phrase best described it. We had: Il fait beau. (It’s beautiful.) Il pleut. (It’s raining.) Il fait froid. (It’s cold.) Il neige. (It’s snowing.) Il fait gris. (It’s cloudy.) Il fait du vent. (It’s windy.) Il fait mauvais. (It’s bad out.) They have been hearing many of these all year, depending on Tuesday’s weather when I show up for French. So, this was a great way to reinforce those expressions. We all decided that today’s weather could be described by “Il fait beau.”
We sang “La neige tombe,” for the last time today. They really enjoyed acting out this song and did a nice job singing some of the words. In case your child wants to keep hearing it, click here.
I then told them a little poem using 5 bonhommes de neige. It’s about 5 snowmen wearing different colored hats. When the sun comes out, it gets hot and the snowmen begin to melt, leaving only their “chapeau.” At the end of the poem, there are 5 colored hats left on the rug. It’s rather entertaining and the children like to say “au revoir” to the snowmen.
We ended our morning with a variation of Simon Says. I call it “Fleur dit.” Fleur gave them different commands and they had to copy her. This was a lot of fun and got them moving. It also was a fun way to review body parts.
EXTENDED DAY
In the afternoon, we continued to work on some of their key lines for the play. They are becoming more comfortable each time we say them.
I introduced some winter words through a matching worksheet. They knew some of these from last year, but this was the first time they had seen the written word. They did a wonderful job focusing and trying to say these words. We all decided that these words best described l’hiver.
In going along with our theme for the month, we created French Valentine’s. Hopefully they get delivered and they can say the French words for “I love you!” While they were being artistic, we sang the songs that we will do in our play. I’m really pleased with how far they have come this year.
I then taught them a game, “Fermez la boîte.” You might know it as “Shut the Box.” It’s a great way to incorporate adding and saying French numbers. Your child could easily recreate this game at home using 2 dice and the numbers 1-12 written on pieces of paper. Ask them if they remember how to play. I hope you all have fun with it.
Merci et à la prochaine…
C’est février!
When I think of February, I think of hearts, love and snow. I tried to teach them, “Je t’aime” (I love you.) This might be a fun thing to practice saying with them at home. If you don’t know how to say it, click here. We acted out a fun song to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” We clapped (frapper les mains), stomped feet (taper les pieds), jumped (sauter), and many other fun movements.
I brought in the parts of a snowman. As I built it, I described it all in French. We talked about the various colors used in the snowman’s body. “Le bonhomme de neige a une bouche rouge.” (The snowman has a red mouth.) It has certainly been a tough winter for children… not even enough snow to build a snowman! This was definitely a fun activity to do with them.
Finally, we focused on the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Boucle d’or et les trois ours). I had various props, (thanks to my daughters’ dollhouse set) and little finger puppets of the various characters. They sat for ten minutes, fully attentive to what was going on… and I spoke only in French! I wish you could have heard their giggles. C’était formidable!
As always, thanks for sharing your children with me.
Merci et à la prochaine…
le 31 janvier
C’est le dernier jour de janvier et il neige! There is always excitement in the air when it’s snowing.
HALF HOUR
This morning, we played a game that we hadn’t played in awhile. I put out various plastic body parts on the work rug. I pulled one away and they had the opportunity to decide which one was missing. This was a great way to review the names of the body parts.
Today was the perfect day to sing our song, “La neige tombe,” since it was snowing. C’était parfait! Their favorite part is when we say “Oh, oh, oh,” and we pretend to be cold. They certainly are great actors!
I then tried something new with them. Working in pairs, they had a sheet to look at. There were 10 different sets of 3 body part pictures. They looked at the first set, I said one of the body parts shown and they put a colored disc on top of the picture. This was a fun way to check their understanding and they worked very well together.
EXTENDED DAY
February 2nd is a special day in France called “Le Chandeleur” or “Le Jour des crêpes.” Since I won’t see them on Thursday, I thought we’d celebrate today. The French light candles throughout their homes and eat crêpes. There are many games and traditions that go along with that. We experienced some of those today.
We worked on a sheet explaining this big French celebration. I wonder if your child remembers any of the facts. Ask your child if she/he can explain the coin in one hand while making crêpes. We tried one of the games, a crêpe toss. Normally, the French use real crêpes, tossing them to see whose crêpe goes the farthest. I made some crêpes out of felt and we tried out this fun game. Andrew was our winner both times. What a blast!
We even took some time to celebrate “Le jour des crêpes” by enjoying some crêpes filled with brown sugar. (Check out the pictures at the bottom of my post.) Maybe you can celebrate on Thursday by making some crêpes and enjoying them together. If you need a recipe, check out this site. If you want to taste some of the best crêpes in this area, head to Dover to Silver Moon Crêperie, but be advised that they’re only open from 10-3. You won’t regret the trip! You can even tell Chris and Teresa that I sent you. 
We worked a bit on their seasonal lines for the play. We also sang one of their favorite songs, using their apples. This sounds and looks wonderful!
We ended with a quick game of memory, matching the French name of a body part with the English name of a body part. Again, I was hoping to reinforce the morning work by introducing the written word.
Merci et à la prochaine…
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le 24 janvier
Vous me manquez! I missed so many of the children today. I hope everyone feels better soon!
HALF HOUR
M. Jaune visited the classes today. We built up his body with several parts, including la tête (the head), les cheveux (the hair), les yeux (the eyes), le nez (the nose), la bouche (the mouth), les oreilles (the ears), les bras (the arms), les mains (the hands), les jambes (the legs), les genoux (the knees), les pieds (the feet). We talked about when he has different parts missing, he can’t do certain things. For example, M. Jaune n’a pas de bouche. Il ne peut pas manger. Il ne peut pas parler. Il ne peut pas chanter. (Mr. Yellow doesn’t have a mouth. He can’t eat. He can’t talk. He can’t sing.) They were so attentive and enthusiastic about this activity. C’était fantastique!
“La neige tombe” is becoming quite an enjoyable song for the children. They now understand the difference between “frotte” (rub) and “frappe” (clap/tap) and are doing a great job when it’s their turn to sing the echo. Click here to listen to the song.
We played a new game this morning. Everyone got a card with a body part on it. We all stood up. I asked, “Qui a…?” Whoever had that part sat down. We played until everyone was sitting. I was impressed with how focused they were and how well they listened. It was a great way to review vocabulary.
EXTENDED DAY
Our folder work in the afternoon focused on the body parts. They had a sheet with various pictures and had to glue the correct word to the correct picture. It built on the lesson from the morning, showing them the written word. This lead to “Tête, épaules, genoux, et pieds,” a fun song to reinforce the worksheet.
We have decided which season each child will be responsible for in the play. In l’automne, we have Charlotte, Lucy, and Griffin. They worked on saying, “C’est l’automne. Il fait beau.” In l’hiver, we have Sawyer, Ian and Kaitlyn. They worked on saying, “C’est l’hiver. Il fait froid.” In le printemps, we have Andrew, Makenna and Hannah. Makenna was solo today since her two partners were out, but she did an excellent job. “C’est le printemps. Le vent souffle.” Then, they are all l’été. They all said, “C’est l’été. Il fait chaud.”
We did an activity where they each had a photograph. They had to decide which season it showed. This helped to teach the names of the seasons, a huge goal for our play.
To get them moving a bit, we played something similar to “Monkey see, monkey do.” I call it, “Singe dit, singe fait.” I stated certain actions in French and they had to figure out what to do. You would have been pleasantly surprised with their comprehension.
We practiced some of the songs that we’ll be using in the play. I was very impressed by how far they have come. Merci à Ian… he was a real leader today. C’était fantastique!
I then read them a French story called “Le Nez de marmouset.” I will try to do this more regularly in our afternoon sessions. They did not understand all of the words, but by looking at the pictures, they got the general idea of the story. It is good for them to hear French in story form. They were wonderful listeners and really seemed to enjoy the story.
Merci et à la prochaine…
C’est janvier!
It was another wonderful month at The Joy of Learning. I always try to include some type of dialogue or story so that the children hear correct French pronunciation. In January, the “roi” visited them again while enjoying some “chocolat chaud” (hot chocolate). I enjoyed some “thé” (tea) and we had a wonderful conversation. I also read them the story, “Je sais faire.” It is about an older brother and younger sister and how the boy knows how to do everything, but his younger sister, “ne sait pas!” They all sat so quietly and really seemd to enjoy the story. So, even though your child might not understand every word, the important thing is that she/he is hearing the French language.
This month we focused on size, using words like petit (little), moyen (medium), and grand (big). By looking at pictures on cards, the children were able to decide which one was “petit” and which one was “grand.” We also used nesting figures to take it a step further, looking at “plus petit” and “très petit.” I was really impressed with some of the older children who are becoming more confident in pronouncing the words in French. It’s wonderful to see the progress.
We tried a new song, “Frère Jacques,” probably one of the most well-known French lullabies. We used “clochettes” to help them ring the bells during the song and used different hand gestures to act it out. This is a cute cartoon video to look at with your child.
We continued to look at numbers and colors through various games. Through dice and color matching, they are slowly remembering some of the words.
Merci et à la prochaine…
le 17 janvier
Quelle belle journée! The sun is so bright on the snow. There is a happy hum in the air.
HALF HOUR
Today I had a “bonhomme de neige” in my “sac” with “trois boules de neiges.” We built him up and saw things like un chapeau noir (a black hat), deux yeux bleus (two blue eyes), un nez de carotte orange (an orange carrot nose), une bouche rouge (a red mouth), une écharpe rose (a pink skarf), deux bras bruns (two brown arms) and trois boutons verts (three green buttons.) I used words like “mettez” (to add) and “enlevez” (to remove.) They caught on quite quickly and really seemed to enjoy this activity.
We kept working on, “La neige tombe.” They are getting really good at doing the actions like “frotte” (rub) and “frappe” (clap/tap). What fun we’re having! Click here to listen to the song.
We ended with a game of Number Bingo, reviewing all of the numbers, 1 through 9: un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf. I said the number, showed them the number, held up my fingers and then they had to mark it on their card. They did a nice job using teamwork for this.
EXTENDED DAY
In the afternoon, we reviewed the song from the morning. We did it very slowly and they had times where they had to sing without me. We worked on pronunciation. Saying the “r” in French is nothing like any sound in our language. Often, children will say an “l” sound, which is not correct. If your child is interested in practicing this sound at home, you might use this set of directions to help her/him. You might even try it with your child to offer some encouragement. I’ll keep working on it in class, too.
We talked a bit about the play. Since it is a play about the seasons, we looked at which seasons they like the best. We looked at some of the key phrases from last week to see what they are most comfortable saying. They are all very enthusiastic and energetic about this. I don’t want to reveal too much at this point, but just know that we are having fun preparing.
We worked on “les pommes” which we will use as props in the play. While they colored, we sang some of our French songs. It’s such a wonderful thing to roam around the class hearing children singing in French while they work.
As children finished, they met me on the rug to review the names of the seasons and what objects are associated with each one. Once we were all seated together, we played a matching game with the cards and the names of the seasons: l’automne, l’hiver, le printemps, l’été. To hear them, click here.
Merci et à la prochaine…
le 10 janvier
Bonne année! It felt great to see all of my friends at ChildLight Montessori.
HALF HOUR
We started our circle time with “le roi.” He came for a little visit since last Friday was La fête des rois, celebrated by many in France and other countries in Europe. Le roi had a little chat with me while drinking his “chocolat chaud.” He even had a few guimauves… what a treat to put those mini marshmallows into his hot chocolate. I opted for “le thé.”
I then introduced them to M. Pomme de Terre. The children always enjoy putting in the various body parts and taking them off. It’s a wonderful tool to teach them various French words: les yeux (the eyes), le nez (the nose), la bouche (the mouth), les oreilles (the ears), les cheveux (the hair), les bras (the arms), and les pieds (the feet.)
We started working on a new song for winter, “La neige tombe.” It’s all about the snow falling on different body parts and how we get very chilly, but by rubbing, clapping and stomping, we can warm up each part. Click here to listen to the song.
We ended with a game of “Je vois.” They always love to play games and this is a wonderful quick game to review colors.
EXTENDED DAY
In the afternoon, we started with a mini worksheet. They had to match the phrase to the correct season: Il fait beau. Il fait froid. Le vent souffle. Il fait chaud. We then worked on saying these. We will continue with speaking through the end of the year. Hopefully by May they will be confident when on stage in front of all of you.
We then celebrated la fête des rois. What a thrill! Since I wasn’t with them last Friday, the actual celebration day, I just had to do it with them today. We even invited Pat to join us because she heard that there would be food. We had a gâteau aux pommes. Inside the cake was a fève, actually an edamame. We divided the cake equally among all the children, Jen, Pat and I… ça fait douze! Since Hannah was the youngest in the group, she decided who would get each piece. Pat ended up getting the last piece and voilà, she got the fève. So, she was “le roi,” or in our case, the queen, I guess. Since she wouldn’t be with us for the entire afternoon, she graciously offered to pass her crown to an assistant. She had each child pick a number, un à neuf. The lucky winner guessed “huit” and voilà, the crown was passed to Griffin. She helped to lead our closing song by using “le roi” puppet. It was really a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures… I apologize about the lighting, the sun was tricky today!
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We reviewed two of our four seasonal songs. They did a wonderful job with this. Certain songs really get them excited which is great fun to see.
In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, our play in May will be about the four seasons. From now until then, we will be focusing on everything related to the seasons and then we’ll tie it together into a performance for you. As things unfold, I will keep you posted.
Merci et à la prochaine…
La fête des rois
Tomorrow, le 6 janvier, 2012, is the celebration of the three kings. This is a very popular tradition in France. Throughout the month of January, you can find “la galette des rois” in just about every boulangerie in France. They come in all sizes and tastes. The thing that makes this cake stand out from others is the “fève” (bean) put in each cake. Who will be king for the day? Whoever gets the piece with the bean in it! This is a beautiful example of one.
In our home, we always have some kind of cake or sweet bread. I usually stick a jelly bean somewhere in the bottom. Then, we cut it into four equal parts. Whoever gets the piece with the bean is king (or queen, I’m often reminded) for the day. That person gets to be “in charge” for the day. I wonder what kind of new rules will be put in place. I’ll let you know tomorrow.
I can’t wait to hear your stories! I hope you have fun celebrating!
À la prochaine…
C’est décembre!
This month we learned many new holiday words: un cadeau (a gift), un elfe (an elf), une couronne (a wreath), un renne (a reindeer), un bas de Noël (a Christmas stocking), une clochette (a little bell), un arbre de Noël (a Christmas tree), Papa Noël (Santa Claus), un bonhomme de neige (a snowman), and une couronne (a wreath). By playing matching games and a fun game using a ball, it helped the children to hear those words numerous times. I think Papa Noël definitely stuck with them!
We also focused on a new song to the tune of Frère Jacques. It has a lot of repeating in it, so that helped them to sing along. It also uses fun hand gestures. They really got into it. Here are the words, for those of you who know a bit of French and want to try to sing it at home:
Papa Noël (2), Ho, ho, ho (2), Où est Papa Noël? (2), Il est au pôle Nord. (2)
Santa Claus (2), Ho, ho, ho (2), Where is Santa Claus? (2), He’s at the North Pole. (2)
To make sure that they are hearing spoken French, I try to use as much French as possible during our half hour together. This month, I even did a couple of skit, using finger puppets and props. They are always very attentive when I’m doing this. Even though they don’t understand all of the words, they are hearing French, and they pick up the general meaning through the props and actions. They are very fortunate to have exposure to a foreign language at a young age.
We continued to work on colors and numbers. That’s a concept that can be applied to any season of the year. We looked at Christmas balls, saying all of the different colors. We counted ornaments, too. We even tried using a spinner to learn the numbers 1 through 6. It was a lot of fun!
They should have come home with a “Joyeux Noël” sticker today picturing my puppet, Fleur, who sings with them each time I visit.
I hope you all enjoy your families and the holidays! I’ll look forward to more fun in “janvier.”
Joyeux Noël!
le 20 décembre
Vive le vent, vive le vent, vive le vent d’hiver! The winter wind has arrived, hasn’t it?
HALF HOUR
Today, “Nez rouge” visited the children. He was in search of Papa Noël. They finally figured out that Papa Noël must still be at “le Pôle nord.” Rudolph told them how excited he was when children left him carrots and how happy cookies and milk made Santa. It was a fun little story and the children were very attentive listeners.
We then played a game with a ball. The ball was covered with various pictures of the holiday words we’ve been using this December. I would say, “Où est… Papa Noël?” and whoever had the ball would try to find the picture of Santa. Every child got a turn and they rolled the ball so nicely. We saw un cadeau, un elfe, une couronne, un renne, un bas de Noël, une clochette, un arbre de Noël, Papa Noël, un traîneau, une chandelle. Some of the children really enjoy repeating these French words. C’est fantastique!
We then sang “Vive le vent,” for the last time. It might be fun to play it during the holidays for your guests. The children definitely know the first part so they might just sing along. Click here to listen.
I then had 10 different “peek-a-boo gifts.” On the top of each flap, was the name of the object in French. When I opened it, inside was a picture of the toy that Santa had given. It was so great to see their excitement and hear them say these French words. We saw: a truck = un camion, a doll = une poupée, a train = un train, blocks = jeu de cubes, a book = un livre, a drum = un tambour, a teddy bear = un nounours, a jack-in-the-box = un diable à ressort, a ball = un ballon, and a wagon = un chariot
We ended by practicing how to say Merry Christmas in French. It’s on their little Fleur sticker that they hopefully brought home. Joyeux Noël!
Enjoy your families, the holidays and hopefully a little break from the ordinary. I’ll see you all in January!
EXTENDED DAY
In the afternoon, we practiced “Nous allons au bois” and “Vive le vent.” This extended day group has really come a long way since the start of the year. It is great fun to watch their progress.
We then played a puzzle-type of game. They each got a piece of a Santa picture that I put out on the work rug. As I named the parts, they got to put the part in its proper place. They did a wonderful job with this.
To continue our study of the seasons, we played Bingo. We have associated a certain picture with each month of the year. For example, in “janvier” (January), there is a picture of a “flocon de neige” (a snowflake). I named the object, let them think about it, and then showed them a picture of it if they needed help to find it. We then played a second time, switching up the boards. Each child had the chance to pick a card and say the word. I was very impressed with how well they handled that challenge. It was a fun way to learn and review vocabulary.
We also played a memory game using all of the holiday words that we’ve been learning in the morning. Again, this is a fun tool to reinforce vocabulary. You would be amazed at their retention of these words!
I had promised them that we would try to finish Simon & Barklee before the holidays. We did it! While enjoying a “canne en sucre,” we ended our journey in France. We all decided that we would like to travel with this bird and this dog. Ask your child about our final discoveries.
Joyeux Noël à tous!
Merci et à la prochaine…
