Discover the second part of videos and activities to practise while playing language games, cooking, singing or making arts and crafts with our teachers.

And check out the recommendations of activity books, games and books from Librairie La Page for all ages and levels.

LES VIDÉOS MINI LEÇONS ET ACTIVITÉS – MINI FRENCH LESSONS VIDEOS & ACTIVITIES

From 6 years old

 

Construction de phrases – minéraux, végétaux, animaux

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Fun sentence constructions on the topics: minerals, animals and vegetal.

Be mindful when to choose the feminine, masculine or singular, plural forms!

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Lien youtube Download the activity  click here

 

 

Les souvenirs de Paris

(for all levels of French)

Our native French teacher is on holiday in Paris! He bought some “souvenirs” for his family. Can you help him decide which souvenir he will give them?

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Download the activity  click here

 

From 5 years old

 

Comment vivent les enfants d’Outre-Mer ?

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Watch the video to discover how the children live in the overseas and have fun answering a quiz!

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Download the activity  click here

 

 

Le jeu du Mistigri des mots qui riment.

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Print the cards game and like the French teachers find the pairs with the words that rhyme.

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Download the activity  click here

 

From 4 years old

 

Recette “La tarte à la tomate”

(for all levels of French)

It’s the pique-nique season! Follow our French teacher recipe to make a delicious tarte à la tomate. Enjoy it by the beach or at the countryside!

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Download the activity  click here

 

From 3 years old

 

Les insectes qui piquent

(for all levels of French)

Oh là là ! Mielou has been stung by an insect! Play with our native French teacher and discover which ones can sting.

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Download the activity  click here

 

From 1 year old

 

Le bateau en pâte à sel

(for all levels of French)

What can you see à la mer ? Let’s get creative making a boat floating on the sea!

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Download the activity  click here

 

LES CAHIERS D’ACTIVITÉS – FRENCH ACTIVITIES BOOKS

From 5 years old

 

Activity book – Passeport de la Grande Section au CP

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Lots of games and activities in French to practise all school subjects this Summer!

Get your copy here  click here

 

From 4 years old

 

Activity book – Moyenne section

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Practise reading and writing skills in French this Summer with cultural and playful games.

Get your copy here  click here

 

LES CHANTS ET POÈMES – FRENCH SONGS & POEMS

From 4 years old

 

Je marche dans la ville

(for all levels of French)

Sing along with our pupils, performing our original song Je marche dans la ville !

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

 

 

Savez-vous ce qui est difficile ?

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Discover and learn the poem created by some of our pupils from les classes des francophones!

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

 

LES LIVRES ET LES JEUX – FRENCH BOOKS & GAMES FROM THE FRENCH BOOKSHOP LIBRAIRIE LA PAGE

From 6 years old

 

Détective Bernique

(for all levels of French)

When a little boy who loves observing the shells find an amazing limpet, they start a crazy adventure!

Get your copy here  click here

 

From 3 years old

 

Cartes à gratter – Toutes petites bêtes

(for all levels of French)

Discover le papillon , l’abeille , la chenille  et la coccinelle  scratching these 4 cards.

Get your copy here  click here

 

From 2 years old

 

Je pêche les poissons

(for all levels of French)

Let’s go fishing with your little ones! A lovely game to practise sealife, colour vocabulary and counting!

Get your copy here  click here

 

From 1 year old

 

Sous la mer

(for all levels of French)

Discover the beauty of the ocean with this tactile book!

Get your copy here  click here

 

BONNES VACANCES from Team Petit Pierrot!

SEE YOU in September | Registration for the Autumn Term here

The post “C’est les vacances !” Fun French activities and recommendations to practise during the holiday (part 2) first appeared on Club Petit Pierrot.

C’est les vacances and it’s time for your children to relax and have fun under the sun!

Either à la mer, à la campagne or en ville let’s learn and practise French on these topics, at home or on the go!

Here is our first selection of videos with language games, activities and songs made by our teachers and recommendations of activity books, games and books from Librairie La Page for all ages and levels.

LES VIDÉOS MINI LEÇONS ET ACTIVITÉS – MINI FRENCH LESSONS VIDEOS & ACTIVITIES

From 6 years old

 

Construction de phrases – à la campagne

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Follow our French teacher to make some sentences with some countryside vocabulary. Be careful about the feminine and masculine and singular and plural forms!

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Download th activity  click here

From 4 to 6 years old

 

Jeu du memory – à la plage

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Let’s practise words’ recognition with this memory game about holiday at the beach!

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Download the activity  click here

 

L’Alphabet

(for all levels of French)

Let’s practise the alphabet in French and learn some French vocabulary with our native French teacher!

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Download the activity  click here

LES CAHIERS D’ACTIVITÉS – FRENCH ACTIVITIES BOOKS

From 6 years old

 

Passeport du CP au CE1

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Lots of games and activities in French to practise reading, writing, comprehension on all school subjects this Summer!

Get your copy here  click here

 

 

From 4 to 6 years old

 

Graphisme Ecriture, premiers pas vers la lecture – Grande section

(for advanced levels and francophones)

A mix of graphism, letters and sounds recognition with stickers. This activity book is a great tool to practise reading and writing skills!

Get your copy here  click here

From 3 to 5 years old

 

Mon cahier ardoise – ma petite section

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Little ones practise and improve their pencil grip and hand writing skills with this activity book.

Get your copy here  click here

LES CHANTS ET POÈMES – FRENCH SONGS & POEMS

From 6 years old

 

Quand la vie…

(for advanced levels and francophones)

Discover and learn the poem created by some of our pupils from les classes des francophones!

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

 

 

Être à Paris

(for all levels of French)

Sing along with our pupils! Our 6 to 8 years old pupils have re written our song with the verb Être!

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

From 2 years old

 

Madame chenille

(for all levels of French)

Sing along with our French teacher this cute rhyme about la chenille 

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

Under 3 years old

 

Une petite coccinelle

(for all levels of French)

Sing along with our French teacher this lovely rhyme about la coccinelle 

Video on our YouTube Channel  click here

LES LIVRES ET LES JEUX – FRENCH BOOKS & GAMES FROM THE FRENCH BOOKSHOP LIBRAIRIE LA PAGE

From 6 years old

 

Le slip de bain ou les pires vacances de ma vie.

(for all levels of French)

Follow this boy on holiday with his cousins at their grand-mother’s place!

Get your copy here  click here

From 4 to 6 years old

 

Ana Ana, une virée à la mer

(for all levels of French)

When Ana Ana brings her soft toys to the beach, they all stay quiet and listen to the waves…

Until she starts playing on the beach, swimming in the sea…

Get your copy here  click here

 

Jeu mon puzzle géant de la ville

(for all levels of French)

Children create their own city with this giant puzzle. A perfect setting to practise our song Je marche dans la ville and to role play shopping in the stores!

Get your copy here  click here

 

From 3 to 5 years old

 

Mes premières chanson au bord de la mer

(for all levels of French)

Let’s go à la mer with this musical books to discover and sing famous and traditional French songs and rhymes.

Get your copy here  click here

Under 3 years old

 

Raphaël le papillon

(for all levels of French)

Every day, Raphaël the butterfly flies between the daffodils, the roses and the tulips. His friends help him to paint his wings with all the colours like a beautiful bunch of flowers!

Get your copy here  click here

 

 

Stay tuned! We will be back with Part 2 and more recommendations for the summer!

Amusez-vous bien !

The post Bonnes Vacances ! Fun French activities to practise during the holiday (part 1) first appeared on Club Petit Pierrot.

I was recently interviewed for The French newspaper Le Figaro and on this occasion, the subject was about how best to maintain a child’s language skills and culture for French children living abroad.

It inspired me to write this blog to share my thoughts on this! As a teacher and a mother, I know that it is a challenge.

1. Language and culture are connected!

Speaking a language is not only the use of words to communicate, it is how we share our culture and traditions, as well as our history, sense of humour and emotions!

2. Analyse your context: It will help with any expectations or frustrations.

Not all children with a French parent hear French being spoken to them every day. Ask yourself…

• How often does my child hear spoken French during a week?
• Who speaks French to her/him?
• Does my child understand when I speak French?
• Does he reply in French or English?
• When my child tries to speak French, are they confident?

3. Make a plan!

The most common strategies

• One person – One language / each parent speaks in their native language.
• The minority language is spoken at home. In this case French
• When & Where: Plan moment(s) in your daily or weekly family routine which are always in French.

I advise choosing and adapting any strategy to fit in with your own family lifestyle!

4. What to avoid?

First try not to worry too much about it, remove any stress around the language!

• Don’t force your child to reply in French or repeat all the time, they will be discouraged to speak!
• Avoid systematic translation: It is not necessary, and this would be a missed opportunity to teach more and expand their vocabulary in a natural manner: you could explain the meaning of a word in French with other words, discuss possibilities with your child and/or you can mime, draw while explaining this in French.
• Don’t expect perfection. One learns by experimenting and therefore making mistakes is part of the process.
• Don’t give up, even if your child replies in English or mixes up both languages.

5. The importance of making it fun and meaningful.

• When your child is having fun, she/he is not frightened to experiment, so in this case not frightened to speak.
• Your child needs a reason to speak. They will naturally communicate if it is useful.
• Ideally your child forgets you are speaking in French and just communicates with you (even if in English sometimes or with an imperfect French) and feels that there is no pressure!

6. Several practical ideas to keep it as effortless as possible for you and your child!

• Speak French during everyday life routine: morning and evening routine, meals…
• Read stories: will improve their language skills.
• Play together: with any toys or board games that you both enjoy.
• Cook together: when following instructions, they will develop their listening skills and expand their vocabulary.
• Sing songs: children’s songs but also your favourite adult songs in French! When singing they will effortlessly absorb grammatical structures.

7. Learning a language is a journey.

Children learn a language through hearing it first. Their progress will depend on the amount of exposure they get. Therefore don’t compare their progress with friends or siblings. Each child has their own journey depending on their daily life.

Alors keep at it, having fun will have a positive effect on everyone’s motivation!

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call or send an email!

admin@clubpetitpierrot.co.uk | 020 3969 2642

Article in Le Figaro LINK

The post Learn how best to help your young child speak French with you! first appeared on Club Petit Pierrot.

Hairy araignées, pointed sorcières hat, flying chauve-souris, scary fantômes… your mini-linguists will experiment with painting, cooking, colouring, quiz and learn about Halloween all in French! 

Handprint araignées

All ages but very easy to do with little ones!

Watch our native French teacher and make your own spider to decorate your room for Halloween!

Magical Colouring Activity

From 2 to 5 years old

Colour all the letters V in grey… what animal appears?

Halloween Colouring Activity

From 3 to 8 years old

Can you spot all the Halloween characters? Colour them in the right colour!

Cooking Activity: Les monstres!

From 2 to 8 years old

Make your own scary tartines with yummy ingredients and Bon Appétit !

C’est quoi Halloween ?

From 5 years old (advanced to fluent)

Watch the video in French and it’s Quiz Time!

And to make it even more spooky and fun, children can join our Halloween Holiday Club and Event!

Holiday Club from 24th to 28th October in Chelsea

Hall of Remembrance with a playground, Flood Street, London SW3 5SY
Full Day (9am-4pm)From 4 to 6 and 6 to 8 years old. Children will be divided into groups according to their age and level of French.

They will learn, expand their vocabulary and their French language skills with educational and creative activities led by dynamic and dedicated native French teachers!

Only a few places left! You can register here

Storytelling Adventure at the French bookshop Librairie La Page

Children will be immersed in the language, interacting in French while discovering a story with singing and dancing too!

Wednesday 26th October
(7 Harrington Road, London SW7 3ES)
From 1 to 3 years old – 10am – Register here (only a few places left)
From 3 to 5 years old – 11am – Register here (only a few places left)

The post Booooh ! Let’s be effrayant this half-term with spooky activities in French! first appeared on Club Petit Pierrot.

C’est les vacances d’été !

It’s time to relax, enjoy the sun, travel and it’s especially time to have fun!

So let’s travel with Petit Pierrot and go shopping to le marché in Provence, to la plage and to la campagne !

Craft activities, cooking recipes, videos and games researched and prepared by the teachers to learn at home or on the go!

SHOPPING AT le marché

 

Discover and colour in the fruit and vegetables:

Find out which fruit we use to make these famous French pastries:

Bake a delicious savoury asparagus and goat’s cheese cake:

Learn how tomatoes grow and why they can be more or sometimes less tasty! https://www.1jour1actu.com/monde/pourquoi-dit-on-que-les-tomates-ont-moins-de-gout

A DAY AT la plage

Have fun with a colouring-in picture of the beach:

Look for the French pronoun and colour them with the right colour:

How many fish are in the sea? Let’s stick them on!

Crossword: sea themed French vocabulary

Make some refreshing fruit popsicles:

Is the sun good for my health?

Watch the video and answer the quiz! https://www.1jour1actu.com/sante/est-ce-que-le-soleil-cest-bon-pour-la-sante

A TRIP TO la campagne

Why do we need trees to breath? Watch the video and answer the quiz!

https://www.1jour1actu.com/science-et-environnement/pourquoi-a-t-on-besoin-des-arbres-pour-respirer

We wish you a wonderful summer full of discoveries and plenty of rest pour les enfants et les parents aussi !!

BONNES VACANCES from Team Petit Pierrot XXXXXXXXXXX

SEE YOU in September | Registration for the Autumn Term here

The post VOYAGE ! VOYAGE first appeared on Club Petit Pierrot.

The post Our experience at Club Petit Pierrot: Blog by Kiddo Adventures first appeared on Club Petit Pierrot.

What do we mean? This is very simple. Children need a reason to communicate so any appropriate activities when there is a need and purpose to interact is good.

Whatever you choose to do with your children, or your children choose to do in French, make it fun and practical!

Here is a selection of books and links to get you started

LIRE en français

Reading with your child is always a bonding experience and strengthens your relationship. Children love reading stories and it is a wonderful way to develop their imagination! It will improve your child’s language skills, picking up new vocabulary but it will also familiarize them with French syntax.

Let’s discover our selection of books to read during the summer holiday!

–      Les tout petits Up to 3 years : P’tit Loup part en vacances

–      3-6 yrs : Le grand livre des vacances avec les Monsieur – Madame Histoires, jeux, coloriages, puzzles, devinettes…

–      6 years + : Les Vacances de la maîtresse 

ECOUTER du français 

Children can listen to French radios, podcasts or even watch French cartoons and movies. Those activities are easy/simple to do during summer holiday as they can be done on the go while travelling for example. Listening to French through podcasts and radios is an excellent and fun way to sharpen your child listening and speaking skills.

–      Podcasts

3-6 years : Guillemette  https://www.arteradio.com/serie/guillemette

6 years + : Petits curieux, le pourquoi du comment  For curious little ones, The why of How

http://www.radio-en-ligne.fr/podcasts/petits-curieux-choses-a-savoir-1444819061

Pour les plus 8 years +/ fluent in French : Les Ptits Bateaux sur France Inter  https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/les-p-tits-bateaux

 –      Radio.fr

Up to 3 years : AllZic 0-4 ans

3-6 years : Pomme d’Api radio, Radio Barbouillots

6 years + : Radio Pitchoun

–      La télévision 

Up to 3 years : T’choupi à l’école – Demain c’est les vacances !

3-6 years : Trotro et le poisson rouge (saison 1 episode 13) ou TroTro part en vacances (saison 2 episode 21)

6 years + : Les mystérieuses citées d’or

COLORIER ECRIRE avec les cahiers de vacances

Every French child will have a cahier de vacances to practise throughout the summer! This is a fun exercice book following the French curriculum to practise French for all ages from 2 to 18 yrs old..

2-4 years : Mon T’choupi vacances de la petite à la grande section  https://www.librairielapage.com/recherche/resultat.html

6 years +: L’énigme des vacances  https://www.librairielapage.com/recherche/resultat.html

CHANTER

Music is an essential tool to learn French! It can be used as a mnemonic device when songs are catchy, fun and fairly simple, children can listen to them again and again and will know the words in no time! Once again, like with podcast and television, children listen to French music will practise their pronunciation and will absorb new vocabulary, linguistic patterns and grammatical structures.

Summer songs from the CD Club Petit Pierrot Available at the French Bookshop Librairie La Page

•             Up to 5 years : Petit Poisson Nage/ Roule Vole Flotte
•             3-6 years : Le Petit Train/ AAA je grimpe à l’arbre
•             6 years + : Pierrot part en vacances

LES VACANCES

If you are on holiday in France. Have fun with your child and grab every opportunity to speak French.

If not, come to our HOLIDAY CLUB!

Whether they know some French or not, they will get the opportunity to improve and speak French without any pressure and more importantly without a word of English spoken!!

Stay tuned… booking will be opened soon for our Halloween Holiday Club!

The post Does it make sense? How to practise French this summer! first appeared on Club Petit Pierrot.

As the 72nd International Film Festival opens in Cannes, our team would like to share with you some of their favourite childhood movies!

Have you watched  Peppa Pig, Mathilda, Paddington and the Harry Potter sagas too many times with your children? It is time to discover wonderful French films and practise French at the same time!

Babar, roi des éléphants

Babar, King of the Elephants is Ramzi’s favourite film. Adapted from the children’s book and suitable for 2 to 6 years old

SYNOPSIS: Babar is a young elephant raised by an old lady, who decide to bring back peace in the elephant kingdom helped by his friends Celeste and Arthur.

Ramzi says: “It reminds me of my childhood as it’s one of the first films I watched with my family. You can also find this great classic children’s characters in several movies, cartoons and of course books.”

Les 12 travaux d’Asterix

The Twelve tasks of Asterix is Laura’s favourite film. Adapted from the famous French comic “Asterix” and suitable for 4 to 99 years old!!

SYNOPSIS:  Gallic heroes Asterix and Obelix take on the might of the Roman Empire. When Julius Caesar finally fears that he may never be able to defeat Asterix and conquer his village, he comes up with a deal; if they can pass twelve of his chosen tasks, the whole of the Roman Empire will be theirs. If not, they must surrender.

Laura says “This film reminds me of my father as I always watched it with him! It’s a fun film as some of the tasks are similar to the Hercules’s ones, but some of them are reinvented in a really comical way! I have seen it so many times, I can still say what happens during each task and in the right order!”

Peau d’Âne

Donkey skin is Laetitia’s favourite film . Adapted from the tale by Charles Perrault & music by Michel Legrand – suitable for 4 to 10 years old.

SYNOPSIS: In a magical, faraway land, a widower king decrees that he will wed his daughter, the princess (Catherine Deneuve), because she’s the only woman able to match his former queen’s beauty. To dodge the  union, the princess with the help of a magical fairy disguises herself as a donkey and escapes to a neighbouring kingdom. There, the donkey-skinned maiden encounters a handsome prince who falls in love with her.

Laetitia says: “In my memories this film is full of colours and magic, with magnificent decors and costumes. I watched it with my sister and I remember that we couldn’t decide which dress was our favourite between the “moon colour” one or the “weather colour” one! So beautiful! We also had fun placing a ring in our cake dough singing, like the main character does in the famous scene.”

Check out the trailer!

Un indien dans la ville

An Indian in the city is Amélie’s favourite film and is suitable for 10 to 16 years old.

SYNOPSIS: Steph, a commodities broker living in Paris, wants a divorce from his wife Patricia to marry another woman: Charlotte. However, Patricia has been living among the Venezuelan Amazonas Indians for the past 13 years, so Steph travels to the Indian village to meet her and ask her to sign the divorce papers. When they meet, Patricia tells Steph that they have a teenage son, Mimi-Siku, who has been raised as an Amazonas Indian. Patricia tells Steph she will not sign the divorce papers unless Steph takes Mimi-Siku on a visit to Paris, which he agrees to.

Amélie says: “I discovered Paris with this film as I had never been to the French capital before! It was an opportunity to see the Eiffel Tower from a different perspective It was also really funny to see the differences between the Indian habits and culture and ours.”

Kirikou et la sorcière

Kirikou and the Sorceress is Stella’s son Harry’s favourite French movie: Adapted from an African tale and suitable for 3 to 8 years old

SYNOPSIS: The tiny Kirikou is born into an African village upon which a sorceress called Karaba has cast a terrible spell. He wants to rid the village of the curse so he goes on a voyage to the Forbidden Mountain, where the Wise Man of the Mountain, who knows of Karaba and her secrets, awaits him.

Harry says: “I recently rewatched my childhood favourite of ‘Kirikou et la Sorcière’ and incredibly it was as good as I remembered it. It’s a film of such honesty and humanity that I think it truly bewitches adults and children alike. Kirikou teaches the value of curiosity and the wisdom in persistence, all drawn with a clear respect for nature and a refreshing cultural setting. A must see!

Ratatouille

And finally, we would like to recommend this film too even if it’s not a French one, as it represents the culture of French gastronomy.

This is Julien’s favourite film and is suitable for children from 4 years old.

SYNOPSIS: Remy dreams of becoming a great chef, despite being a rat in a definitely rodent-phobic profession. He moves to Paris to follow his dream, and with the help of hapless garbage boy Linguini he puts his culinary skills to the test in the kitchen but he has to stay in hiding at the same time, with hilarious consequences.

Julien says: “I love this film about French gastronomy, full of “clichés” of Paris. Did you know that the restaurant in the film “Chez Gusteau” has been inspired by “La Tour d’Argent” the oldest restaurant in Paris? Just to warn you, after watching this film you will crave French food!”

Fun French Lessons for Babies and Children

www.clubpetitpierrot.co.uk

The post Film Festival: French selection for Kids first appeared on Club Petit Pierrot.

Cognitive scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that parents think using educational toys, apps and flashcards is the best way to teach their children, when all they really need to do is engage them in chat.   Back and forth conversation, they found, changes a child’s brain. It boosts brain development and language skills.   The conclusion: parents shouldn’t just talk, they should also listen.

I read this research on language development with interest as although it’s new, the philosophy behind it is something we’ve been doing at Club Petit Pierrot from the very beginning.

When I started out, twenty five years ago now, flashcards and repetition were all the rage. If your children knew all the words to Sur Le Pont D’Avignon then, as a teacher, you were doing well. But this just wasn’t for me. Instead, I believed (and still do) that young children learn a second language by absorbing it like their native tongue and I devised an immersion programme to encourage children to communicate in French from the moment they come into the class.

Those of you who are familiar with our concept or our classes will know that conversation plays a huge part in what we do. Parents often think they’ll be able to sit and spectate, they sometimes get quite a shock when they realise how important it is for them to join in.

For me, building relationships with children and communicating with them in any way we can is absolutely crucial. And not just for first or second language development, but for a whole host of other things too.

When you really engage with children and make it fun as we do, they are happy and want to communicate back. You can’t fool children, if you’re not genuinely interested in them and what they’re doing, you won’t keep their attention for very long – or even capture it in the first place. It’s also important for us that adults have fun too – we sing, play games, do arts and crafts and don’t allow the distraction of mobile phones!

Of course, it’s all well and good engaging with your children for 45 minutes in a class. The real key to success is to do this all the time, to talk with your child, not to your child. Have conversations with them about their favourite TV show, toy or even what you’ve been doing all day – anything that’ll interest them. I used to love it when my son asked “how was your day mummy?” I was always quite touched by this and it was a great conversation starter between us both.

“It’s almost magical how parental conversation appears to influence the biological growth of the brain,” says John Gabrieli, the senior author of the MIT study. “Having a conversation requires children to practice understanding what the other person is trying to say, and how to respond appropriately. This is obviously a very different skill from just listening.”

So there you go, surely there can’t be a better reason to make yourself a cup of tea, grab a comfy chair and sit down with your child for a good old chat!

www.clubpetitpierrot.co.uk

The post Talk Less and Listen More! Boost your child’s language development first appeared on Club Petit Pierrot.