Today was “French Friday.” My son’s kindergarten teacher came up with the name for my weekly volunteer visits to the class. Cute, huh? I am so proud of how well these monolingual kids are catching on to their new language. Although the exposure is very minimal, I still speak only French once the lesson begins. Here’s what we did today:
1. We always start out with a little physical activity before sitting down on the carpet. The kids responded to TPR commands:
Sautez! (Jump!)
Marchez! (Walk)
Tournez-vous! (Turn around)
Dansez! (Dance!)
Jouez au basketball! (Play basketball . . . Final Four is in Detroit this weekend. Allez Michigan State!)
2. To continue with our “get out the wiggles” warm-up, we sang “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” about five times . . . faster and faster and faster each time. (I was a bit winded. Time to start jogging again, I guess. Gotta be in shape to teach FLES!)
3. Time to “officially” begin. The kids sat in a circle on the carpet and we began with our Hello Song (“Bonjour mes amis”) and I pulled out my paper plate smily/so-so/frowny faces to find out how everyone was doing.
4. The theme of the day was the farm. I brought in my sons’ red barn and plastic farm animals. As I introduced new animal words, I passed toys around the circle and the kids said the words. It’s crucial that children at this stage of development have their hands on physical objects. To mix it up a bit, I’d also do some rhythmic chants and animal sounds.
5. Once the class was comfortable with about 6 new words, we played a “Hide and Seek” guessing game. The kids covered their eyes and counted to 10 in French as I hid one animal in the barn. Then they tried to guess which one was inside. When they said the correct animal, I opened the barn door and the animal walked out.
6. Next, we played a matching game. I placed picture vocab cards face down on the floor. Children turned over cards and we all said the name of the animal. When we found matching pairs, we’d clap and chant to celebrate: ”Tres Bien! Magnifique! Chouette! Super! Fantastique!”
7. Finally, we ended the lesson with a fun Old MacDonald picture book. I sang a verse of the song, and then lifted a flap to reveal the animal. By the end, the kids were singing along.
8. Whew! That’s it. 20 minutes fliiiiiiies by! It was time for our goodbye song. Because of vacations I won’t be back until mid-April. And I can’t wait 
Hope you can use some of the ideas from this farm animal lesson in Spanish, German, and other languages, too.
Photo Credit: by obraprima at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/358548
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What is the “good-bye” song that you sing in French?
I have a few goodbye songs in my repertoire! Do you know “Bonjour mes amis”? I just change words to “Au revoir mes amis, au revoir . . .” etc.
Or I do a chant at the beginning/end of class when I activate my “French Only” sign. Do w/snaps or claps to a rhythm: 321 Au revoir anglais; 123 Bonjour francais (beginning of class) 321 Au revoir francais; 123 Bonjour anglais (end of class)
Here’s one to the tune of 3 Blind Mice: Au revoir (repeat), A bientot (repeat), A plus tard, A la prochaine, A plus tard, A la prochaine, Au revoir (repeat)
They’re fun to just make up to familiar melodies. Anyone have some other favorites?