Today’s Word

petite.abeille — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:55 +0000

Today’s Word:

mettre [mEtr]

To put on

Phrase:

Mets un manteau, il fait froid.

Put on a coat; it’s cold.

Winter is coming, so we may want to dig out our anoraks and bonnets before we’re taken surprise by the first real chill of the year. Thankfully my son’s blouson still fits from last year. We’ll see about his snow suit. He’s not yet three and has already owned more coats in varying sizes than I have bought for myself in a decade.

Vocabulary

un anorak – parka

un bonnet – knit hat

un bluson – light jacket, windbreaker

Bonjour!

petite.abeille — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:51:28 +0000

I’ve created this site to share my experiences trying to teach my son, now 2 1/2, the French language. I’m an American mom who studied German in high school and college and moved on to French about a year ago. As we learn, we learn together. Most sites on the internet have been aimed either AT children, or at adults, but there isn’t much specifically on the experiences and techniques of non-French parents teaching their children a language they themselves have not mastered.

Like many parents who don’t speak the language they wish to teach their child, I had (have) a good amount of anxiety about it. Will I be able to teach enough? Will he forget? Will he rebel against it when he’s older? Through my research and networking I’ve been assurred that it does not matter how bad I butcher the language, as long as he has meaningful, real-person interactions with and in the language he will be able to grasp it. Kids are resilient creatures, and I do believe their language-acquisition skills are quite spongy.

I hope to share the things I’ve found with other parents in similar situations, including research, words, games, songs, and all of the things that make me wish I had a French grandmother to do and save me the work

Rest assured, I will take care to only post reliable information.

Allons-y!

Petite Abeille - Teaching Your Child French

Today’s Word

Bonjour!