In both Kindergarten and First Grade, students have been learning or reviewing the Months, Seasons and Weather, as well as adding to our Action Verbs through TPR commands. 

Les Mois--Months

Song:  Voici les mois de l'année, l'année, voici les mois de l'année (Here are the months of the year...)
            [vwah see lay mwa duh la nay]

            janvier, février, mars, avril, et mai
            juin, juillet, août, septembre,
            octobre, novembre, décembre

Les Saisons:  Printemps (prah* toh*)--spring,  Été (ay tay)--summer,  Automne (oh tunn)--autumn,  Hiver (ee ver)--winter

Le Temps (Weather):   Il fait chaud (eel fay sho)--It's warm/hot,   Il fait froid (eel fay fwah)--It's
                                     cold,  Il fait du soleil (eel fay dû soh lay)--It's sunny,  Il fait du vent (eel fay  
                                     dû voh*),  Il pleut (eel pluh)--It's raining,  Il neige (eel nezh)--It's snowing

Noël--Christmas:  Students also enjoyed some vocabulary related to Christmas and enjoyed a video clip of two French girls who explained how their family celebrated Christmas in France.

Kindergarten

Students are enjoying the old French folk song, "Jean Petit Qui Danse," about a monk named Jean who loves to dance with different parts of his body!  The video clip is at right but we are learning a simpler version--Jean dances with his head, hands, and feet. The lyrics are as follows:

"Jean Petit qui danse, Jean Petit qui danse,
De sa tête il danse, de sa tête il danse,
De sa tête, tête, tête, ainsi danse Jean Petit!

Jean Petit qui danse, Jean Petit qui danse,
De ses mains il danse, de ses mains il danse,
De ses mains, mains, mains, de sa tête, tête, tête, ainsi danse Jean Petit!

Jean Petit qui danse, Jean Petit qui danse,
De son pied il danse, de son pied il danse,
De son pied, pied, pied, de ses mains, mains, mains, de sa tête, tête, tête, ainsi danse Jean Petit!"

Students are also learning to count to sixteen:

11- onze  (oh*z),  12- douze (dooz),  13- treize (trez), 14- quatorze- (katorz), 15- quinze (kah*z)
16- seize (sez)

Finally, added responses to "How are you?" (Comment ça va?) are:

J'ai chaud (zhay show)--I'm hot,  J'ai froid  (zhay fwah)--I'm cold,  J'ai faim (zhay fah*)

First Grade

Students are enjoying a new chant about the parts of the body:

1-Touchez la tête, touchez les pieds, maintenant la bouche, et puis le nez!
2-Tapez les mains, levez les bras, touchez les pieds, 1-2-3!
3-Sautez, sautez!  Touchez les hanches, le ventre, le nez,
4-Tirez les oreilles!  Tirez, tirez!  Touchez les pieds....
5-Et c'est assez!

Translation:

1-Touch your head, touch your feet, now the mouth, and then the nose!
2-Clap your hands, raise your arms, touch your feet, 1-2-3!
3-Jump, jump! Touch your hips, your tummy, your nose,
4-Pull your ears! Pull, pull! Touch your feet...
5-And that's enough!

We are also adding numbers seventeen to twenty:

17--dix sept  (dee set),   18--dix-huit  (deez weet),   19--dix-neuf  (deez nuf),  vingt--(vah*)

See numbers 11-16 and added responses to "How are you?" under Kindergarten above.

Kindergarten

We have added some new Parts of the Body vocabulary:

le cou -- neck 
le coude -- elbow
le bras -- arm
la jambe -- leg

Kindergarten

Students have begun learning the parts of the body.  We have been playing Simon Says (Jacques Dit) and singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" in French.  Note the translation is slightly different:

Tête, épaules, genoux, et pieds, genoux et pieds (2X)--  Head, Shoulders, Knees and FEET
J'ai deux yeux, un nez ,une bouche, et deux oreilles,--I have 2 eyes, 1 nose, 1 mouth, and 2 ears
Tête, épaules, genoux et pieds, genoux et pieds!--Head, shoulders, knees and feet!

This week many students have been able to identify body part vocabulary and colors in instructions about coloring parts on a robot.

We have also begun learning the days of the week:

lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi, dimanche.

The week starts with Monday, and the days and months are not capitalized in French.

Students should now also be able to count to 10.


First Grade

Students have finished the unit on classroom objects and will begin the unit on parts of the body after fall break.  We have also been saying our Pledge of Allegiance in French!

On Special Wednesdays, first-graders will be making dictionaries!  We will add vocabulary as we go throughout the year.

My conference times are now live.

Chers Parents,

Here is the link to sign up for Quarter 1 conferences:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c4dafa72aa7f94-quarter2

We are off to a great start in kindergarten and first-grade French!

The kindergarten class has delighted me with their eagerness to learn and their courage in trying to say new words and the First graders have surprised me with how much they actually remember from last year!  Students new to Archway in first grade have also been positive and eager to try out their new language.  I couldn't be more excited for a year rich with learning!

Kindergarten
Students have been learning how to introduce themselves, how to say several classroom objects, and to respond physically to classroom commands and action verbs.

      Vocabulary:
      Bonjour  (hello)      Je m'appelle  (My name is)     Au revoir  (Goodbye)

      un crayon  (a pencil)      un papier  (a paper)      une chaise  (a chair)      un pupitre  (a desk)

      Silence!  (Quiet!)     Écoutez!  (Listen!)     Levez la main!  (Raise your hand!)
      Marchez!  (Walk!)    Tournez  (Turn!)    Regardez!  (Look at!)    Sautez!  (Jump!)
      Dansez!  (Dance!)

First Grade
We have been reviewing all of the above, plus the following:

Comment ça va?  (How are you / How's it going?)
Fantastique!,   Très bien  (Very well),   Comme ci, comme ça  (so, so),    Mal  (Badly)

une porte  (a door), un tableau  (a white board),  une horloge  (a clock),   une école  (a school)
     

First grade students have been enjoying drawing and sharing their family trees. 

Both kindergarten and first grade will begin learning the names of many animals and how to describe them in our next unit.  They will also learn some prepositions to tell where the animals are located in the classroom.

Be sure to click on the links at right to enjoy two short videos we'll watch in class:
"Le Zoo de Tro Tro" and "Les Bébés Animaux du Zoo."

Vocabulary:

K:                                                                1st:  Kindergarten vocabulary, plus:

le chien (dog)                                              l'ours (bear)                   
le chat (cat)                                                 le tigre (tiger)
le lapin (rabbit)                                           le lion (lion)                                       
l'oiseau (bird)                                              la poule (hen)
le poisson (fish)                                          la vache (cow)
le serpent (snake)                                        le singe (monkey)
le cochon (pig)
le cheval (horse)
la tortue (turtle)

grand(e)--big/tall         petit(e)--small
gros(se)--fat/big           mince--thin
lent(e)--slow                rapide--fast
sympa--nice                 méchant--mean, féroce--ferocious


Students will enjoy songs about a frog and a rat in the attic!

Lyrics:

Saute, saute, la petite grenouille verte (3X)          Jump, jump, little green frog
Avec ses yeux globuleux!                                     With his bulging eyes!

Y'a un rat dans le grenier!                                     There's a rat in the attic!
J'entends le chat qui miaule                                   I hear the cat who's meowing
Y'a un rat dans le grenier!                                     There's a rat in the attic!  
J'entends le chat miauler                                        I hear the cat  meow                          

For the past two "Special Wednesdays" the first-graders have had an introduction to Francophone geography and French culture. They are seeing how many countries speak French on almost every continent, are getting a basic idea of the geography of France, and are enjoying learning about many famous monuments and landmarks in Paris. 

Students are rehearsing for their presentations to be filmed for "La Soirée de Beauté"--Fine Arts and French Night on April 8th.

We will also begin learning the members of the family:

K - Le père (father), la mère (mother), le frère (brother), la soeur (sister)  

1st - Above, plus: le grand-père (grandfather), la grand-mère (grandmother)

Students are currently learning the ALPHABET and CLOTHING.  We have also begun practicing new songs in preparation for Fine Arts and French Night, to be held on Wednesday, April 8th.  Look for details in a flyer to come. 

A link to a video of the pronunciation of the French alphabet is at right.

Clothing Vocabulary is as follows:

Le pantalon (pants), la jupe (skirt), la robe (dress), la chemise (shirt), le pull (sweater), le manteau (coat), les chaussettes (socks), les chaussures (shoes), le chapeau (hat)


Kindergarten is having lots of fun learning a song about the poor Alouette (lark), who is getting feathers plucked from parts of his body.  A link to a video of the song is at right.  The words are:

Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.
Je te plumerai la tête, je te plumerai la tête
Et la tête, et la tête, alouette, alouette, ahhhhhhhh
Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

Repeat, but replace la tête (the head) with le bec (the beak), le cou (the neck), le dos (the back), and la queue (the tail)

First graders are enjoying a song about children who feel safe strolling through the forest because the wolf is too busy getting dressed!  A link to the video is at right.  The words are:

Promenons-nous dans les bois, pendant que le loup n'y est pas!
Si le loup y était, il nous mangerait,                                     
Mais comme il n'y est pas, il nous mangera pas!

Loup, y es-tu?  Que fais-tu?  Entends-tu?     (Wolf:  Je mets ma chemise!--I'm putting on my shirt!)

Repeat first verse, but each time the wolf adds a clothing item:  mon pantalon (pants), ma veste (jacket), and mon chapeau (hat).

Since returning from Christmas Break, students have enjoyed learning a song about the weather:

Tu chanteras, je chanterai, nous chanterons ensemble,
Tu chanteras, je chanterai, s'il fait beau ou mauvais.

Tanslation:

You'll sing, I'll sing, we'll sing together,
You'll sing, I'll sing, if it's nice or bad weather.

We are now learning the alphabet and some clothing items.  Students are enjoying spelling words from dictated letters and playing Hangman!  We are also singing a new song:

Kindergarten:  Alouette (See video clip at right)
First Grade:     Banjo! (Words below)

                        Un jour dans sa cabane
                        Un tout petit, petit garçon
                        Jouait de la guitare--olé olé oh, Banjo!
                        Zoumbala zoumbala zoum zouin zouin
                        Zoumbala zoumbala zoum zouin zouin
                        D'un air mélancholique--olé olé oh, Banjo!