Bilingual Bear: French and English Children's Books

I'm always on the prowl for good French children's books. You'll have to check out the bilingual treasures I've discovered at Barefoot Books! These Bear books are very appealing and engaging to kids, both visually and linguistically. Designed for children ages 2-6, they can also be used for older novice level French learners. In fact, I've used Bear in a Square/L'ours dans un carré for many years to reinforce both shapes and numbers for students form preschool through 5th grade. The Bilingual Bear books are written by Stella Blackstone and illustrated by Debbie Harter. Enjoy!

Bear about Town/L'ours dans la ville

Bear at Home/L'ours à la maison

Bear in a Square/L'ours dans un carré

Bear in Sunshine/L'ours au soleil

New Language Learning eNewsletter: Free French Worksheets Every Month

Subscribe to our newsletter

Visit Foreign Language Fun

Au Revoir

A sermon at church today about being busy got me seriously thinking.  It seems as though I've been functioning lately on coffee and a "sleep is for the weak" mentality.  Not the way to live life, especially one as blessed as mine with a precious young family and a job I love.

Although I've been enjoying this blog and some other online writing gigs, something has to go.  My kids have eaten at McDonald's one time too many.  After the decision, I curled up for a wonderful afternoon nap and woke up to fix a simple, healthy dinner for my family.  I still face laundry and school papers to grade, but I feel calm and relaxed :-)  

I hope you'll come visit me at the one blog that gets to stay:  ForeignLanguageFun.  Encouraging teachers and families to make language learning a fun and natural part of a child's life is my true passion.  And I'll keep working hard to develop useful and cheap language learning materials in English, Spanish and French at the new and growing Foreign Language House.

It has been a privilege to meet so many like-minded Francophiles :-)  I won't completely rule out future blog posts, but for the indefinite future, let me just say Merci et Au revoir!

Learn Spooky French Words for Halloween

C'est octobre.  I love the chill that's in the air this time of the year.  It can only mean one thing . . . l'Halloween!  I took my boys costume shopping this afternoon.  Looks like I'm going to have a little pirate and a Darth Vader this year.  I can't wait to dress in costume and take the kids trick-or-treating on a dark, chilly night.  Tomorrow we're decking out our house with the paper skeletons and light-up bats.   J'adore l'Halloween!

I grew up with this holiday, but it's a relative newcomer to France.  Every year I'm amazed by how it's catching on.

Learn some spooky vocabulary in French, and challenge a friend to a game of Halloween Tic Tac Toe.  It's the latest language download by Foreign Language House.

Disguised as the classic X and O game, this effective activity encourages speaking and communication. Instead of a blank tic tac toe grid, you'll find Halloween vocabulary pictures in each square. Players must speak in order to place an X or O in a box. Beginners can just identify the picture with a single word, while more advanced speakers can make descriptions or create original sentences in a variety of tenses.

haunted house - maison hantée

bat- chauve-souris
ghost- fantôme
owl- hibou
pumpkin- citrouille
black cat- chat noir
skeleton- squelette
mummy- momie
scarecrow- épouvantail
witch- sorcière

spider - araignée

Visit the Foreign Language House storefront at Lulu.com for an ever growing collection of fun, convenient, and affordable language learning downloads. Halloween Tic Tac Toe is less than one dollar :-)

Photo Credit: by Tinneketin at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1083110

Bon Anniversaire à Moi

Today's my birthday--mon anniversaire. The big number this year is 41 . . . not quite as traumatic as the big 4-0h of le 3 octobre 2007.  

Of course, it's only fitting to teach some French birthday vocabulary on this auspicious occasion.  Here are a few useful expressions you can use in a French birthday card:

Bon Anniversaire - Happy Birthday
Joyeux Anniversaire - Happy Birthday
À - to
Pour - for
De - from
Mon cher ______ - My dear (insert boy's name)
Ma chère ______ - My dear (insert girl's name)
Je pense à toi. - I'm thinking of you
Le meilleur reste à venir. - The best is yet to come.

Read Make a French Birthday Card for more words and expressions.

Well, I've got to run!  Time to blow out those birthday bougies:

Photo Credit:  by nkzs at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1076967

Am Stram Gram: Eeney Meeney Miney Moe the French Way

When you're a kid, picking the person to be "It" for a game is serious business.  I grew up with this elimination rhyme:

Eeney meeney miney moe, 

Catch a tiger by its toe,

If he hollers let him go,

Eeney meeney miney moe.

My mother says to pick 

The very best one 

And you are not it!

Meanwhile in France, children were up to the same serious business with an equally silly rhyme:

Am, stram, gram, 

Pique et pique et colégram 

Bourre et bourre et ratatam

Am, stram, gram 

No, it doesn't mean anything.  (Though it's great practice for pronouncing the French "r"!)  Whenever you need to make a decision, turn to Am Stram Gram!