Cherry Blossoms! Spring! (Enfin)

Ideas to help us all promote French language learning this week, including Washington, D.C. area French-language and cultural events for kids and families. Please share any other ideas by commenting below or posting to Bonjour Mama's Facebook page!

Could it be that we are really through to the other side of this incredibly long winter and into the beautiful Washington, DC printemps!?  It's hard to believe it is here to stay, I feel like there have been so many false starts. Let's hope the warm(er) days are here for good and we can finally all go outside and play!

I am determined to promote outdoor activities in French whenever the weather cooperates and I hope many of you will join us!  This week come for Cherry Blossom Gouter under what hopefully will be fully blooming trees on Thursday from 3:45pm- 5pm in the Kenwood neighborhood in Bethesda (which, IMHO, is so much less of  a production than going downtown especially if you are anywhere near Bethesda. And the trees in Kenwood are trop beaux!).   We have a beautiful French storybook that my brother and Japanese sister-in-law gave to Zach about a Kokechi doll and her trip to Tokyo during Cherry Blossom season, so we can have a very seasonal French storytime that teaches us some Japanese, too! [Konnichiwa= Bonjour = Hello]. All ages and language levels are welcome!

In case you missed Language Stars's "foreign language blasts" last week (we did, unfortunately, due to a stomach bug), the Gaithersburg center Director tells me more are planned for the spring season, so stay tuned. Also, they can arrange customized blasts (presumably at the same $29 price) if they can get at least 4-5 kids together so if any other Mamans would like to join in with me on on this please email me!

Out and About

($) indicates there is a cost for the event. 

Tuesday  

4pm: Storytime at the Alliance Française

Thursday

4pm – French Storytime at the Cleveland Park Library

Saturday

10:30am - Petite Chansons / Storytime at the Takoma Park Library

10:50am - Storytime at the Alliance Française

At Home

Some ideas for springing into Printemps:

Sing (and act-out) "Savez-Vous Planter les Choux": a very simple, fun song:

Start with the basic verse: "Savez-vous planter les choux (cabbages), à la mode, à la mode, savez-vous planter les choux, à la mode de chez nous?".  Then change to "Savez vous avec le ______ (insert any body part: coude/elbow, tete/head, genou/knee, pied/foot....) while you tap on the floor with whatever word you chose (tete-banging not recommended;-))  à la mode, a la mode, savez vous avec le ________, a la mode de chez nous. Alternate between "savez vous planter les choux" and "savez-vous avec le _____".  

Better yet, sing while planting some actual choux! [or for that matter adjust the song as you plant your first seedlings for anything - lets see....savez vous planter les pois, à la mode de chez moi; les fruits/chez lui....)

Plant an avocado seed (and learn all the associated vocabulary) following instructions on Cacaboudin.com

Read "Toujours Rien?" by Christian Volz, available at the Bethesda and Silver Spring libraries- a lovely little story about a man who plants his seed and comes back each day to check if it has grown. The reader sees all the activity happening under the soil, but he only sees the surface (toujours rien!) until one day....!  Such a cute book. 

Plan a playdate with other French-speaking parents and kids!  If you are in the DC Metro area, join or suggest an event on Bonjour Mama’s Facebook page!