L'ecole - French Picture Book + KID KANDY Activity

L'ecole
Text by Micheline Bertrand and Fernand Nathan
Illustrations by Dick Bruna
(Paris, 1964f)

I love France and all things French. I love old books. I love old picture books.

L'ecole fits all three loves. Though I cannot figure out who published the book, I know it came into being around 1964 and has Paris listed in the scant information on the inside cover.

L'ecole, as you may have guessed if you read French, is a picture book about school.

Yes. School. Small children, les enfants, march happily to school, for school is a pretty place. Les enfants do the normal kid things at school - sing, draw on the chalkboard, build with blocks, celebrate a birthday, and make pattern designs.

And then, they are fini. They go home until the next day.

L'ecole is tres adorable! (Say that with a French accent, s'il vous plait!)

KID KANDY:

Listen to a language ~ any language!

They say that children who learn more than one language do better is school. Early exposure is the very best way to keep those neural pathways and LAD (language acquisition device) intact and available to pick up the nuances and sounds of languages.

Let's do this!

~ Sing some Raffi or Charlotte Diamond. Both of them have songs in English and French. Numerous recording artists sing in two languages. Check it out.

~ YouTube. I know there are basic language videos just there for the listening. Caution: View them before sharing with your child, just in case.

~ Check out a language program from the library. Your choice - Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Italian . . .

~ Join a language group. In my area there is at least one French speaking group that meets on a monthly basis. I haven't gone yet, but I dream of it. If only to show my lack of true language skills and taste the cheese.

~ Books on CD (or tape). Libraries and bookstores have these available. Occasionally, Costco has a series you can purchase.

Bonne chance!

Angie Quantrell loves hearing and trying to speak French. She easily massacres the beautiful words, but that does not stop her from trying.