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Total Immersion Programs
Total Immersion Programs are for all boys and girls 2 to 12 years
of age.
A previous knowledge of French is not required.
We encourage participation from all races, nationalities and religious
backgrounds.
Total Immersion means that the French Language is used as a vehicle
of communication at all times and English is used only when pedagogically
appropriate.
FRENCHFORFUN wishes to foster the joy of learning a second
language in a truly Francophone and sensorial environment.
Listening being the most important language skill at this
early stage of language development, our classes are small and staffed
by native speakers.
In such a unique, responsive and encouraging setting, the children
have the opportunity to appropriate the "new" language
in a natural and gentle manner.
The "new" language is not "taught", but simply
introduced naturally through daily activities, songs, dances, games,
mimes, plays etc...
Speaking will come gradually when the child is ready. Visual
and auditory aids are used from a treasury of French cultural sources.
Schedule 2008-2009
IMMERSION PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN
Les Poussins 3 days M–W–F from 10:30 to noon
For children just turning 3
 Most
Poussins are not new to French For Fun since they have
attended the Baby Circle with maman or papa
and the Tot’s class. French may not be
foreign to them, yet the concept of “school” is.
Children new to French are certainly welcome to join
at this level and will soon catch up to the “veterans”
of the group.
Madame Jolivet Johnson will work her magic
with the children and involve them mentally and physically so
they can become better listeners and start acquiring a second
language in a natural way. A wide range of manipulatives will
be used to develop dexterity and will lead to pre-writing exercises
and fun art projects. The goal of the class is to learn to play
together, to share, sing, dance, and have fun while acquiring
a lot of vocabulary and becoming familiar and comfortable with
a “school” routine à la French For
Fun.
Les Coccinelles 5 days
M-T-W-Th-F From 9:00am to 12:00am
 These
boys and girls will be turning four this coming school year.
All of them have been exposed to French and most of them have
been in our program. Children will learn to recognize numbers
from 1 to 12 (at least). They will be doing graphisme
or pre-writing exercises to prepare them for writing. They will
be starting to make complete sentences in French and building
a solid vocabulary. The school year will be structured along
the four seasons and explore the cultural activities in France
associated with the different times of year. Basic phonetics
and pre-reading exercises involving letters will be introduced.
Montessori manipulations will be used to develop dexterity and
concepts can be math or language based.
Les Frimousses 5 days
M-T-W-Th-F From 9:00am to 12:00am
 This
program is the equivalent of the pre-K curriculum of an academic
private school. Students function in French, can make
complete sentences and their basic vocabulary is actually quite
impressive. Writing, pre-reading, and math concepts will be
an integral part of the yearly program along with cultural units,
holiday celebrations, and more.
Les
Abeilles 5 days M–T–W–TH–F
From 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
 These
five year olds are very bright and busy bees! They
will attend American kindergarten in the afternoon while starting
the day at French For Fun. For many of them, this is the third
year continuing in the morning program. Our Abeilles (or Grande
Maternelle program, as it is sometimes referred to) has been
run successfully for 10 years.
In the Grande Maternelle, children communicate in French with
ease; they begin to read and know the parts of speech and how
to form sentences. Already, they apply basic grammar rules like
singular/plural, basic conjugations and agreement of adjectives;
they also use the metric system and perform computations in
French up to 100. The arts and children’s literature are
well represented in this class with fun, hands-on projects,
story telling, skits, and, of course, music!
If your child is in a district that does not offer afternoon
kindergarten and has never had French before, we would love
to offer an early afternoon kindergarten program between the
hours of 1:00 and 3:00. However, we need a minimum of 8 students
to honor the program. Please call, send an email, or drop by
for a visit and let us know if you are interested in an afternoon
kindergarten program at French For Fun.
 Eveil
Musical / Music Education
All our returning students are involved in music education.
We sing and dance every single day and even have our very own
professional musician and singer, Madame Isabelle,
who comes to French For Fun with her instruments
every morning.
We have an open-door policy. Come visit us anytime. Click on
our address on the home page for directions.
Afternoon
Immersion
All classes conducted
entirely in French
Our pride and joy! All these students attend
American schools and come to French For Fun 4 days a week
to continue their French education. Almost all of them grew
up with us and started when they were 2 or 3 years old in
morning immersion.
Afternoon Immersion I Mademoiselle Elsa
M–T–W–TH 3:30 – 4:15 p.m.
Children are typically in first grade.
This class, conducted entirely in French, is all about reading
short stories, building up more vocabulary, and talking about
things that matter to six / seven year olds like losing their
teeth, planning their birthday party, or choosing a costume
for Mardi Gras. Montessori grammar symbols are used as manipulatives
and ways to teach grammar.
Afternoon Immerison II Mademoiselle
Stéphanie
M–T–W–TH 3:30 – 4:15 p.m.
“Immersion deux, c’est encore mieux!”
It’s even better in Immersion II!
The main theme is la ville (the city) and
its many buildings, stores, that families in France and in
the U.S. visit as part of their daily routines. The vocabulary
is varied and by this time children are comfortable making
complete sentences and expressing themselves in simple, yet
correct French.
Afternoon Immersion IV Madame Jolivet
Johnson
M–T–W–TH 3:30 – 4:15 p.m.
These children are fully capable of functioning in
French. All four language skills are in place, so
the class becomes ‘language arts’, in French,
of course.
We visit specific regions throughout the year. Bourgogne
in the Fall for les vendanges (harvest), Alsace at Christmas,
the Alps in winter and the south of France in late spring.
Afternoon Immersion V (semi-private
group) Mademoiselle Elsa
T–TH 5:15 – 6:15 p.m.
These children will visit Paris this year,
review the present tense of common verbs, and become familiar
with the imperfect and the passé composé.
Afternoon Immersion VI Madame Jolivet
Johnson
M–T–W–TH 4:15 – 5:00 p.m.
These middle-school students, who began
French For Fun in pre-K or sooner, will ‘travel’
to French-speaking countries this year: the western countries
of Africa, Québec, and the islands (Tahiti, Guadeloupe).
All tenses of the indicative mode will be used.
All students in these classes have a good control of
the French language. They are in first grade and up
and are becoming literate in French. They are taught to read
in French, travel (virtually bien sûr) through the regions
of France and French-speaking nations. They start reading simple
versions of French classics: Saint-Exupéry, Victor Hugo,
Desnos and many more. They also study French grammar more formally
using Montessori grammar symbols and learn conjugations and
verb tenses. Our goal is for students to enter high school in
French II or III and prepare for the French AP exam.
In a Total Immersion program, all subjects are expressed
as concretely as possible. Verbs become the steps of a dance, nouns
are clarified through the use of manipulatives.
In a supportive and stimulating environment, the children discover
how things work, how bright Gauguin's colors are, how tasty a "tartine"
is, how fun it is to march to an "ouverture" by Bizet
and much more!
In addition to our "lessons" in mathematics, science,
literature, art... throughout the year, the children and their families
will celebrate the many holidays French speaking families enjoy
throughout the world.
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