I have always loved the Madeline books by Ludwig Bemelmans. In fact, I even named my Siamese cat in honor of the spunky little French school girl. Last summer I developed a summer day camp called “Learn French with Madeline” and I’m currently teaching a once-a-week homeschool enrichment program by the same name. As you
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Did you know that today, February 28, is National Tooth Fairy Day? I am in the midst of the tooth fairy years with my 8 year old, and my kindergartner regularly checks his teeth for wiggles with typical younger sib envy. This pretty tooth fairy finger puppet by Folkmanis, complete with a little pocket for a
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Music in the Foreign Language Classroom: How & Why It Works Tired of trying to get your students’ attention and hold onto it even when you get to the grammar? You might benefit from using background music in your foreign language classroom as a way to help students focus and concentrate while making the learning
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One of the hardest aspects of being an Assistant Language Teacher, ALT, in Japan, is working with other teachers of varying levels of enthusiasm for English. This can be especially true if your own Japanese language skills are less than fluent—communication barrier and all that. The problem this creates is that the children sense their teacher’s hesitancy, and become less excited about learning
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I was so happy to discover some new, fun readers for beginning teenage French students in levels I and II. Le piano magique and Ma grand-mère fait du judo were created by Catherine L’heureux, a French native born and raised near Paris. She has been living near Seattle since August 2000 with her husband Christian,
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January 6 is Epiphany, the day we remember the Three Kings visiting the Baby Jesus. The French have a wonderful way of celebrating this event . . . with a King Cake. Although I have celebrated with my French classes in the past, this year I had my first ever family celebration. What fun! I
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Young Spanish learners are sure to enjoy Clare Beaton’s engaging board book, Cerdota Grandota (How Big is a Pig? published by Barefoot Books.) Farmyard animals is a theme in every early childhood language program I know. Kids will be able to practice the Spanish vocabulary words for both animals and opposites. Cerdota Grandota is on
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Well, okay, it’s not really the big, official Back-to-School time of the year. But the first day back after winter break harkens the fresh slate feeling of the new year. And even if it’s not yet a new semester, it soon will be. Many language teachers in middle schools or in high schools with block
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Back by popular demand, I just hosting my annual family-friendly French New Year’s party. I started my “Paris Time Zone” party several years ago when my kids were little, my husband was working, and I was determined to celebrate the new year one way or another! You can read more about it here. Fortunately,
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I’m giving away a super cute & fun children’s travel journal on my new site, BarefootinRochester.blogspot.com Entering is easy . . . just follow this link and leave a comment on the BarefootinRochester site about how you could use this journal. Contest runs through midnight EST, New Year’s Eve 2010. I’ll ring in the new
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