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Summer
Normandie 2005
The First trip to France this summer was with the students
and parents of the Saklan Valley school of Moraga
and their french teacher Mme. Amy Sullivan.
For 10 days we visited Paris and its many splendors, parc
Asterix and Monet's gardens in Giverny. |
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One of the things everyone must do when they
visit Paris for the first time is to visit the Tour Eiffel
Here the group climbs to the top of the tower. |
To experience the culture and history of Paris
Notre Dame is a definite must see. This is truly the center
of the city. |
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Just outside of the city is the palace of
Versailles. The story goes that Louis XIV was so jealous of
a beautiful chateau in Paris that he had its owner sent to
prison and kidnapped the architect to build Versailles. |
Our second trip was with French For
Fun Immersion children and
their parents to Normandy. We met in Paris and spent a few
days studying impressionism before going up the Seine to admire
the famous landscapes. |
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Studying Van Gogh's art in his resting place
at Auvers sur Oise, Jeanne D'Arc heroic life and tragic death
in Rouen, the Allied invasion on the beaches of Omaha and
Utah, the Normand conquest in Bayeaux, were just a few of
the many topics covered and visited on the trip. |
Here outside of St. Michel
we were fortunate to find a working wind mill and spent an
hour or so learning how wheat was ground to flour hundreds
of years ago. |
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After breakfast there is a lesson in French
of course on the topics of the day. |
Our days were spent tasting the wonderful
faire that Normandy has to offer. Of course the language associated
with these activities is rich in flavor as well. |
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The parents, not to be outdone were sampling
just as much of the country side as their children. Here is
a traditional Sunday diner prepared by the parents, starting
with the trip to the farmers market in the morning, an afternoon
of preparation and finally the wonderful many coursed meal. |
The parents were a big part of the success of the trip
and they had as much fun as the children.
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French
For Fun
Summer Lafayette 2005
French Camp is great in July, n0t only do you
get to celebrate the 4th of July but then 10 days later it's
Bastille Day. C'est la fête. The children recieved treats
and made Effiel Tower cookies.
In France some of our older students really
did attend the Bastille Day festivities. |
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Working on color projects
and learning language is fun and much easier at an early age.
The summer months give them a great opportunity to listen
and learn. |
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"La récitation"
is still an integral part of growing up for French school
students. So of course our students must become familiar with
the famous fables of Jean de La Fontaine.
Their favorite was "le corbeau et le renard"
Can you guess who was the Fox and the Crow? How about "le
fromage"? |
French
For Fun is toujours amusant !
Especially in the Summer.
Regardez !
Kids from around the world have loved the Charles
Perrault's stories....Everyone's favorite is probably
"Le petit caperone rouge".
Each child made his own marionnette and in small
groups the children rehearsed a special scene.
Once familiar with all the lines, the puppets
were put to rest and the actors went on stage.
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Monsieur Patrice
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Bonjour! My name is Patrice Mailfert
and I am very glad to be at French For Fun this year teaching
to the Coccinelles, the Papillons and Fles students. I am
a native of Verdun, in Lorraine and I recently completed my
M.A. in FLE (teaching French as a Foreign Language) at the
University of Nancy. I already have some significant experience
in teaching French in immersion in the US. I am looking forward
to meeting the children and to all having fun “en Francais”!
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I come from Verdun, a north
eastern town famous for being one of the key battles during
World War I. I’ve studied English language, civilization
and literature for three years at the University of Nancy
where I also got a M.A. in teaching French as a Foreign/ Second
Language. I am very interested in world languages since I
also learned some Spanish and Hebrew. In 2002, I had the great
opportunity to come to the US to be a teaching assistant in
first grade in Normandale French Immersion Elementary School
in Edina, Minnesota. I am very glad to join the teaching team
of French For Fun and I am looking forward
to teaching to the Coccinelles, the Papillons and the FLES
this year! |
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Cooking can be so fun and rewarding
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Montons dans le train!
Monsieur's Fles* classes sont très bien
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Second and third graders in Immersion
II are learning to read in French this year. We began by
studying sounds and stressed the importance of listening.
We are now working on "Peter and the Wolf" a musical
story written by Sergei Prokofiev, a Russian composer who
spent time in the US and France during the Russian revolution.
Since two of our families are natives of Moscow we had the
pleasure to invite them for a Russian lesson. We learned
the Russian alphabet, danced like a Cossack and heard the
Russian tale from the Russians themselves. What a great
way to begin our journey into this fabulous story!
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The new Baby Club is all smiles
on French day.
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The adults Mardi Gras Party was fun
for all. Thank you to every one who came and brought all the
wonderful food. |
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The morning and afternoon Mardi gras
parties were great fun with lots of dancing, costumes and
food. |
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Clown, Clown, Clown
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Furry Friends
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A conga line
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Just desserts
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Feathered Friends
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A limbo line
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Danse, danse, danse
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A confetti finale
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The colors of French For Fun!
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Love to have fun? Can't get enough
holidays? |
Come and join us to celebrate fêtes you didn't
even know existed
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Bastille day in Lafayette
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Reaching out to the community ...French
For Fun is always interested in promoting and/or participating
in events organized by the francophone/francophile community
of the San Francisco Bay Area and introducing our young
students to the many faces who speak french all around them.
French is not a school activity it is a world language!
With a béret on, or a glass of wine...every one speaks
French! Make sure to tell us if you hear of an opportunity
to get together en français..
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First Day of Spring Session
Each year, on the premier jour du Printemps
les enfants de la grande maternelle go on a hike around
the Lafayette Reservoir avec Madame Jolivet Johnson.
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In the Grande Maternelle we also love
shopping. With their very own porte-monnaie full
of Euros, the children went to the "Boutique de chapeaux."
Ava achète un chapeau de cowboy et Audrey un chapeau
de Paille avec un ruban blanc. Très chic! |
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The First Graders went around the world singing
"J'ai dans mon pays..." realizing that even though
we are all different we are so similar.
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All afternoon students are learning a welcome song
"Bienvenue" which some will perform on
stage at Stanford University for the Distribution
des Prix. It is a beautiful song which we call "La
chanson de la Paix" to reassure the children during these
troubled times. |
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From time to time students who have been particularly
outstanding during a lesson receive "La Médaile
d'or". It is a great honor and children and parents alike
understand that it takes a lot of effort and hard work to
walk out of class with the medal. Today Ava and Emma
deux amies were the lucky ones. Félicitations!
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The Magic of Content
based Instruction |
A science experiment with la Grande
Maternelle proves that mixing different colors and types of
solutions will magically change into a different color. |
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The Fifth grade class reviews conjugation of ER verbs.
As you can see alot more went into this project than conjugation. |
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Private Tutoring/Home
school education
Mme Sylvie conducts a tutoring session where she uses puppets
to reinforce language |
Our Home at Corporate Terrace
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Madame and some of her students gather in the front of
our new site on Mt Diablo Blvd. |
Parents wait in the court yard for their children. |
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