Spring has sprung in French class!

Dear Second Grade parents,  Spring has come to our little French class!   The children are delighted by the arrival of Spring and we have celebrated in various ways.  First, we are learning several new songs that feature new vocabulary for Spring.  One song is about a butterfly (un papillon) which flies over the houses of the town.  Another is about a little snail (un escargot) who is lucky because his house is on his back!  The children sing very sweetly, and also know all the corresponding hand and body movements.  The other song that the children are learning is a beautiful one from the French countryside.  It’s an old song about shearing sheep and how wool is processed.  It’s a great teaching tool because it’s a repeating songs, and because the melody is quite beautiful.  The children love to sing it.  As a fun teaching tool, we are also learning how to card wool and about all the stages of bringing the wool from the sheep to the knitting needles!  Soon we will have a fun craft with wool which the children have been clamoring for.  Finally, there have been various spring flowers and even wheat grass growing in the classroom all of which delights the children.

The children continue to practice their colors, numbers, vocabulary and simple conversational French.  We have recently begun to speak about the weather, for example.  Is it raining today, I ask them.  They answer earnestly.  They laugh when I ask them if it’s snowing out!  They really know the word snow thanks to the puppet friend, “Neige,” that I introduced back in the Winter months.  But “Neige” has gone to sleep now for the Winter.  I want the children to anticipate certain traditions year after year.

The children delight in many things during our lessons.  It is a pleasure to see them open to the wonder of language.

More to come!

Elizabeth Downes

News from our French lessons – Mme. Downes

Hello Second Grade parents,

Here is a taste of what we have been up to in French class:

The children have nearly completed their drawings in their French cahiers.  They now know their colors quite well.  They also learned to use the special crayons that we use, and they have grown more confident and adept in their use.  You will see that they have made some wonderful drawings.

Though the weather was hardly wintry this season, the children have been learning several new verses for the winter, including a verse about a snowman.  The verse helps the children to review and memorize the body parts, (nose, eyes, head, arms, legs, neck, etc.) – as well as clothing (scarf, hat, jacket, etc.).   Coming up:  we will do a drawing in our cahiers of the snowman in mid-winter, and then another of the snowman once the sun comes and melts him away!

The children and I have also remarked on the changes that have taken place on our Nature Table that sits on a shelf in the classroom.  King Winter came once the snow whitened the campus.  But then Mrs. Thaw came several times to melt away all the snow.  The children have enjoyed the drama of these characters.  I also introduced the children to a beautiful puppet named “Neige” (Snow) who comes to visit them regularly.  They truly love this little puppet.  They treat him so tenderly and speak to him in French.  I wish you all could see it.

Recently, we started a unit on Paris.  We are learning about some of the major sites (Notre Dame, Le Louvre, La Tour Eiffel, etc) in Paris as well as the river (La Seine) and what it is like to live in a French city (food, customs, the subway, etc).  The children and I have been reading a children’s book about Paris and looking at several picture books that I have on Paris monuments and city life.  I want to make the children feel as if they know Paris.  I will tell them about the many parks and fun things that children do in Paris.  Since I spent one year in Paris as a jeune fille au pair, I know a lot about this aspect of the city.

The children continue to inspire and delight me with their insights and talents.  They are a joy!

More to come soon!

Elizabeth Downes

1st and 2nd grades celebrate together in French!

Hello Parents of the 1st and 2nd grades,

Just a note to tell you about the “Apple Crisp Day” that was celebrated last Wednesday in the 1st grade classroom.  The two classes got together for a French mixer and it was a hit!  All 33 children gathered together to recite verses and sing songs for their beloved teachers, Mrs. D.P. and Mr. Franz.  They were magnificent!   The children then sat down together to enjoy apple crisp with whipped cream.  That was pretty good too!  All in all, it was a sweet day and the children seemed to enjoy themselves.

I’m already getting suggestions from the children to put up a snowman with a long vest.  Everytime the children work well together, they tell me, we could put a button on his vest and then we could have ice cream! (I kid you not.)  So I’d better get cracking on the next project!

I hope that you all enjoy the restful, peaceful days of the winter break.  Let’s hope it snows!

All best and Happy New Year!

Elizabeth Downes

1st and 2nd grade French: the 33rd apple!

Dear Parents of the 1st and 2nd grades,  Just a quick note to tell you what you may have already heard:  that the 1st and 2nd grades completed the apple tree with their 33rd apple last week.   We’re going to celebrate their achievement tomorrow, Wednesday 12/7 during a special French mixer.   The children have learned a new verse about how to set the table and they also know a blessing that we’ll say before the treat.

Here is the English version of the blessing:

Earth below (we stamp our feet), sky above (our hands go up to the sky), friends around (we put our arms around our neighbors), let’s eat!

I’ll tell you how it goes at the end of the week!

All best, Elizabeth Downes

First and Second Graders use new beeswax crayons to learn colors in French

Hello to you all, families of the Second Grade,

Your children are hard at work drawing in their French cahiers (coloring notebooks).  I have introduced some new beeswax crayons to them in order to expand the drawing possibilities for the children’s coloring.  The response has been overwhelming!  The children love the new colors and using the crayons.  It has been wonderful to see what they are creating.  Here’s what we’ve been doing:

1.  We’ve reviewed the colors by putting 12 colors on one page in the cahier.  The children have drawn small circles so that we can review quickly.  I ask the children to point to the colors that I name in French.  The children are becoming very fluent in their colors.  This allows me to assess quickly who has learned the colors and who is still learning.  We will also work in pairs using the same method.

2. Next, I asked the the children to draw a big circle on one page — we started with the color blue.  On the opposite page, the children then drew a picture featuring that color.  For example, the children drew a big blue circle on one page and on the next page, they made drawings depicting blue things;  the sea and the sky figured prominently in those blue drawings.  We have covered:   blue, red, yellow and green.  We will continue with all the major colors and then we’ll do a rainbow and learn how to say it in French (l’arc en ciel).

3.  The new beeswax crayons:  we are reviewing how to use these special crayons so that the children can be satisfied with their drawings.  There are two kinds of crayons:  block crayons and stick crayons.  The children are learning when and how to use these two different crayons.  For example, it is better to use the block crayon to fill things in or cover a lot of the drawing, like when drawing the sky.  I have been thrilled to see the beautiful work that has come from the children.

So, there you have it!  The experience of using these rich colors and drawing in their notebooks is a  relaxing, yet satisfying activity for the children.  I have found that coloring is a wonderful way of having the children experience the colors differently.  When they have spent the class period coloring with a  red/rouge crayon, they feel the color more deeply.

I wish you could see their excitement as they choose what they are going to draw and then get down to work.  Interestingly, there is  not a lot of talking in the room when they get started; they are so absorbed in their work.

By the way, there are only about 15 apples to go on our apple tree!  More to come soon on how we will celebrate our achievement of working together and cooperating as a group.  I’ll be in touch soon!

All best, Elizabeth Downes

Second and First graders are working together in French class!

Hello again parents of the 2nd grade,

A lot has been happening in our 2nd grade French classes lately.  We continue to work with the colors and numbers, and to perfect our pronunciation through our verses.

To practice the colors, we started a game that the children love called “le bandit” or the bandit.  The children will soon know their colors without hesitation.  The bandit game, a variation on musical chairs, is a perfect way to review the colors.  Another game that we play involves the clothing that they are wearing that day.  If they have on the color that I name, they can stand up.  The first to stand up wins.  Then we go around the room to see where the color is located on their clothing.  Very fun!

To practice the numbers, we jump rope.  During those beautiful sunny autumn days of last week, the children and I went outside every day to practice counting in French by jumping rope.   There are some funny and fun jumping rhymes that the children are learning, like:  “Salade, salade, je suis malade, d’avoir mangé trop de bons bons, 1, 2, 3, etc.”  (Salad, salad, I am sick after having eaten too many candies:  1,2, 3, etc.) This is akin to our jumping rhymes like “Bubble gum, Bubble gum in a dish, how many pieces do you wish…”

This activity provides a wonderful way to inspire new connections to the numbers in French.  When we recite the numbers, we always count with our bodies.  But jumping rope is even more fun for the children because they want to see how high they can count.  One 2nd grader jumped up to 84!

In other news, the first and second graders are currently working on a project that will culminate in a festive autumn treat.  Here is what’s happening:  there is an apple tree on the bulletin board in the French room right now.  Whenever all the children in either the 1st or the 2nd grade classes work well together, listen carefully and imitate me, I put a little red apple up on the tree.  Once there are 33 apples – one for every child in the 1st and 2nd grades, we will celebrate our achievement by getting together for a special mixer!  The children will enjoy something to eat and drink (allergies will be carefully considered), and then they will perform some of what they’ve learned for their teachers.  We are all very excited about this project that will probably finish up just before Thanksgiving.  (There are currently 3 apples on the tree!)   I will report on the children’s progress in future posts.

See you soon!

Elizabeth Downes

Second Graders play games to learn French numbers

Greetings Second Grade Parents!   Just a note to let you know that I have introduced a new game to the Second Grade in order to help them to learn their numbers.  This game is very simple, but also very effective.  It’s the old favorite:  “I’m thinking of a number between 1-10″  I write the numbers 1-10 on the board, and then I say in French that I have a number in mind.  Can they guess what the number is?  Oh boy, do they want to guess!   They must say “Est-ce que c’est (Is it …) and then guess a number in French.  I call on the children one by one.  If they guess wrong (there have, however, been a surprising number of first right guesses!), then I cross off the number that they guessed wrong.  I then say:  “Non, ce n’est pas 9.  (No, it isn’t 9.)”  or whatever the number was.

If the children get stuck, we all count the numbers one by one together while I point to each number.  In this way, the children begin to associate the numbers (that they have been reciting and counting) with their written forms.   Once someone guesses correctly, that child gets to come up in front of the room to choose a number and then call on his/her classmates to guess.   This simple game provides much entertainment for the children.  They could play it for hours!  But it also has them racking their brains trying to remember their numbers.  Good and good for them — the best kind of learning, especially for this age.

I would also like to add that the children are making enormous strides in their recitations.  They are now speaking very clearly and distinctly when they recite their verses at the beginning of each class.  As always with this age, the children’s accents are excellent.   They are such keen imitators.

I look forward to seeing you all at Back to School Night on Thursday evening!

Cheers,

Elizabeth Downes

The first full week of French lessons for the 2nd grade

Bonjour Parents of the Second Grade!   The children and I have met several times now and they are starting to get into a routine with me.  We started with our opening verse which they will come to know by heart (In fact, soon they will know many songs, finger plays and verses by heart.)  Already, the children were beginning to imitate me as I recited the verses with them.  There is one verse that the children always love:  Monsieur Pouce (Mr. Thumb).  He likes to sleep in his house and sleep but we always knock on his door to wake him up!   We started working on body parts and nature vocabulary:  le soleil (sun), les animaux, la terre (earth), la lune (moon), etc.  The children will soon fall into an easy routine and begin to recite joyfully.  I can’t wait to see it unfold.

Welcome to Second Grade French!

Bonjour!  Je m’appelle Mme. Elizabeth Downes.  I am looking forward to seeing the children this week.  We will get started with introductions and getting to know each other.  A bientot!