Sunday, October 27, 2013

Mice, Ghosts and Louis XIV!

Ideas to help us all promote French language learning including upcoming local Washington, DC Metro area activities for kids and families. In a hurry? For Bonjour Mama Bookstore news, scroll to "From the Bookstore". For local DC area French events, scroll to "Out and About"  For home activities, scroll to "At Home". Bonne Semaine!:-)  Look for the latest updates on the Facebook Page.



Opportunities abound for French practice in the coming weeks! The Kids Euro Festival is in high gear, and there are lots of French-language or French cultural events scheduled. The big stars next week are Ernest and Celestine, the main characters from a classic storybook series by Belgian author and illustrator Gabrielle Bernard about the sweet friendship between a mouse (Celestine) and bear (Ernest). The Alliance Française is doing a special Ernest and Celestine storytime and workshop on November 2nd, and the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring will be showing the 2012 film (in French with English subtitles) on November 3rd!   See more events below or check the calendar. 

Since Halloween is this week I had to at least post a few goodies. We had so much fun with Halloween last year - many of the links in the "Happy l'Halloween" post I did then are still our favorites, namely la Chanson des Squelettes and the magic potion game on Boowa and Kwala!



Also, I have been discovering so many amazing web sites lately in my quest for educational tools in both English and French.  I find these in such random, roundabout ways.  For example, Zach is learning about George Washington in his kindergarten class.  I googled "george washington kids" and found an awesome (English-language) site called "Washington's World" that gives an animated virtual tour of Mount Vernon, where you literally bump into historical characters like GW's doctor, the blacksmith, and even meet his horse, Nelson!.  

Zach so loved this that  I started looking for others. After so many twists and turns I can't remember how I got there, I found an amazing interactive game where you can help build the Chateau of Versailles to the glory of Louis XIV, the Sun King (Le Roi Soleil) !  We landed on the English version but I immediately switched to French. 

Kids educational resources never cease to amaze (and educate!) me!  I have visited Versailles at least twice, read the tourist guides, listened to lectures. None of these experiences brought the history to life as well as this animated game, where historical figures like Mansard (the architect) and Le Brun (the palace artist) speak to you as their apprentices with silly affected accents about how we must get it right (facades, paintings and decor for the palace, gardens...) for his majesty Le Roi!  

Dry adult literature and high-brow texts be gone!  I'll take my history with puppets and pop-up books, please!

Bonne semaine!



FRENCH THIS WEEK: 
Out and About
Sunday, October 27
1:30 Tea with Madeline at the Lamond-Riggs library (KIDS EURO FESTIVAL EVENT) - (in English, possibly a little French spoken)
Wednesday, October 30
10:15am: Free French storytime with Language Planet at Kidville, Bethesda (followed by Spanish and Mandarin!)

Thursday, October 31
4pm: French story time at the Cleveland Park library
Saturday, November 2
10:30am Tales of the Night (Les Contes de la Nuit, 10+) movie in French with English subtitles at the National Gallery of Art (KIDS EURO FESTIVAL EVENT).
12pm: Ernest et Célestine Storytime & workshop à l'Alliance Française

1pm: Drumblebee (rhythmic, musical performance for kids 5+) at the Arisphere (KIDS EURO FESTIVAL EVENT) Free. Reservation required.

Sunday, November 3
11:30am Tales of the Night Kids (Les Contes de la Nuit) (10+) movie in French with English subtitles at the National Gallery of Art (KIDS EURO FESTIVAL EVENT). 

11am: Ernest et Célestine film at AFI Silver Spring. In French with English subtitles. Ages 3+. (KIDS EURO FESTIVAL EVENT)

6 pm: Drumblebee (rhythmic, musical performance for kids 5+) at the Arisphere (KIDS EURO FESTIVAL EVENT) Free. Reservation required.
Thursday, November 7
4pm: French story time at the Cleveland Park library

Looking for other French language/cultural events? Take a look at the following calendars: 

At Home
Get to know Ernest and Celestine: get a preview of the film and print out coloring pages on Jedessine.com; or read a book! Check to see if your library has a copy in French (see links to local collections on the right side of this page), or get a copy on the Bonjour Mama bookstore.

Don't miss out on all the Halloween fun to be had en français. Boowa and Kwala have a ton of resources, be sure to search for "Halloween" to see them all. More favorites: Chanson des Squelettes and the magic potion game.
Help build the Chateau of Versailles and learn about the reign of Louis XIV, le Roi Soleil (Sun King) by playing "Pagaille à Versailles"

FROM THE BOOKSTORE
New additions, picks and promotions for the Bonjour Mama bookstore.  
Ernest et Celestine ont perdu Simeon
Price: $11.95


Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Free Books for Volunteers Sunday, OKTOBER 13th!


Tuesday, October 8 - Sunday, October 20:  Ideas to help us all promote French language learning including local Washington, DC Metro area activities for kids and families.  Please share any other ideas by commenting below or posting to Bonjour Mama's Facebook page!  
In a hurry? For Bonjour Mama Bookstore news, scroll to "New on the Bookstore". Under "French this week", for events, scroll to "Out and About"  For home activities, scroll to "At Home". Bonne Semaine!:-)  Look for the latest updates on the Facebook Page.
It's all about Europe over the next few weeks, with the Kids Euro Festival October 12 through November 13.  The web site says "it's like a trip to Europe --but you don't need a passport!". This is the sixth year that 28 European embassies and organizations are putting on a month-long festival with more than 200 free activities including performances, concerts, workshops, puppetry, dance and movies. There are several Francophone participants, and lots of programs both at DC metro libraries as well as at the Maison de France and other venues. We definitely plan on attending as many as possible.
Also, the Kentlands in Gaithersburg is having their annual Oktoberfest next Sunday, October 13th from Noon to 5pm, and Bonjour Mama is participating!  We will have an activity tent where we will be doing games and activities, reading stories in French (and other languages), and also have lots of books for sale:-)
And we need help! If anyone is willing to come (for at least one hour)  to help with kids activities and/or read a story (in English, French or Spanish),  you can have your pick of book(s) from the bookstore of up to $10. This will be FUN and great French practice!  Ideal for families where one parent can be watching the kids while the other helps at the Bonjour Mama tent.
Please email me (Jennifer) at bonjourmamadc@gmail.com if interested.  
Merci et bonne semaine à tous!
:-) 
FRENCH THIS WEEK: 
Out and About
Thursday, October 10
4pm: French story time at the Cleveland Park library
3:45 pm: Randonnée en Nature au Locust Grove Nature Center. Free. RSVP required via Le Petit Groupe Français.
Saturday, October 12th
CANCELLED12pm-12:30pm: Storytime (l'Heure du Conte) à l'Alliance Française
Sunday, October 13th
12pm-5pm:  Bonjour Mama Activity Tent at the Kentlands Oktoberfest!
Games and stories, plus books for sale in French and other languages! 
Thursday, October 17
10:30 am: Welcome to France! Bienvenue en France! Storytelling/Juggling at the Greenbelt Library  (KIDS EURO FESTIVAL EVENT)
4pm: French story time at the Cleveland Park library
Saturday, October 19th
12pm-12:30pm: Storytime (l'Heure du Conte) à l'Alliance Française
11am, 4pm: Painting/singing (Belgium) at the Maison Française (KIDS EURO FESTIVAL EVENT)

Looking for other events en français? Take a look at the following calendars: 

At Home 
French-speaking and furloughed?
Kill two birds with one stone by teaching your child how to save money in French! This site has a fantastic array of games that teach basic money management and other fun ones like  "les monnaies du monde" where you match the currency to the country.
Or get a lesson about how the U.S. Congress works (or doesn't, apparently) en français using this little interactive demo from France2 (for older children/adults).
Prepare for the Kids Euro Festival 2013 by testing your knowledge of European geography on this site.
Get musical with pumpkins by singing "J'habite one mason citrouille…".

Read "Devine Combien je t'aime" : this is one of those sweet, childhood classic storybooks that brings tears to your eyes and reminds you of what it's all about. The French version is beautiful and I learned from the Mommy rabbit that I love you to the moon...and back is "Je t'aime jusqu'a a la lune..et retour!"

FROM THE BOOKSTORE
In this section I highlight new additions, picks and promotions for the Bonjour Mama bookstore.  







New Additions to the Bookstore
Any Disney Cars, Toy Story, Superfriends or Incredibles fans out there?  Take a look at the fun Disney and other popular characters now available on the bookstore!  Many more coming soon!
Bonjour Mama at School
Would you like to have a great selection of French books at your child's school book fair or other school event?  Invite Bonjour Mama!  We have begun working with schools and PTAs  to supply customized selections of books for book fairs and other events, as well as media centers!   Please get in touch if you would like to plan an event. We still have openings for December and are booking now for early 2014.   Read more about our school and library programs here or email bonjourmamadc@gmail.com.