Kate O'Connor (September 16, 2011) - To begin the class, the kids and Miss Clementine reviewed colors and sang into the microphone – the kids love that microphone! They sang the "Bonjour Les Amis" song. They followed that with tossing a beach ball in the air and naming the colors on it, in French of course. Then they played the name game with the ball – 'Je m'appelle ___' and 'tu t'appelle ___ ', followed by hot potato with the ball and their ages. My son loves anything that has to do with a sports ball and was very enthusiastic
about that game.

Next it was time for more games - bowling! They counted pins, had to ask for a turn and the ball, and counted the pins again – standing and knocked-down ones. Au revoir bowling! They studied flags – each child colored a flag on the poster and they reviewed their colors. They did a fast/slow train to get up and stretch a bit. They had a snack and story time (Pete the Cat) where they learned a few animal names in French, and had a coloring sheet.

For snack time, the kids don't get goldfish lickety-split. It is an elaborate ritual. Miss Clementine pretends to smell 'stinky' hands. She makes a 'what IS that odious SMELL!?' expression which the kids find hilarious and never tire of.

A volunteer is found for handing out hand wipes (of course they must volunteer in French) and the volunteer has to converse with s/he who has stinky hands as to whether or not s/he wants a wipe.

If there's a new or difficult word or phrase, Miss Clementine has a catchy intonation and rhythm when she repeats that particular word. It's catchy enough to get lodged in my brain and it stays there all day. I find myself humming lavez lavez lavez lavez lavez lavez laaaahhhhvezzzzzzzzzzz (The aforementioned "Bonjour Les Amis" song also has its own special quadrant in my brain and often pops up just as I'm falling asleep, or in the middle of a few quiet moments.) Cup, plate, and water distribution are also on the ritual list.

Jacques would repeat some of the stuff to me. For example, he'd go around saying, what sounded like, "unco blat synco play" to me. It took me awhile plus Google Translate to figure out he was saying 'un gobelet s'il vous plaît'! (Disclaimer: it's entirely possible he's saying something completely different! I don't ask Miss Clementine to proofread these.) Sometimes a choice of cereal and/or goldfish is offered. It is always asked, 'un peu' or 'beaucoup' goldfish? When has a kid ever said 'I just want a few'? 'Beaucoup' of course!

The main theme of the following class was facial expressions. Miss Clementine had a bag full of facial features and the kids had fun sticking them on a board with a blank face. They had fun picking out 'la bouche' and making silly faces on the board!

"When one child stakes out his or her area of special competence, be on guard about excluding others from that area," the authors say. "No child should be allowed to corner the market on any area of human endeavor."

During the aforementioned bowling class, Jacques had a very hard time paying attention. Usually he's very attentive, eager to learn, and tells me he wants to go to class – all good signs that this is something we should continue to do. I'm not sure if it's because it was his first afternoon class and we're giving up his naps or he was just having an off day.

At the end of that class, while I was asking how he liked class and whether or not he was having fun (yes and yes), I asked him why he wasn't paying attention that day. He told me he didn't understand sometimes. Previously, I taught him 'je ne sais pas', (because I often used it!) which he'll sometimes say at home, but he hasn't said it in class yet.?

-- Kate O'Connor