Bonjour Mama : All Aboard! En Voiture!

Friday, September 6, 2013

All Aboard! En Voiture!

Saturday, September 7 - Saturday, September 21: 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? Under "French this week", for events, scroll to "Out and About" For home activities, scroll to "At Home" . For Bonjour Mama Bookstore news, scroll to "New on the Bookstore". Bonne Semaine!:-)

Cabin John Station

Ahhh. Balmy days of September. This weather is heavenly and I am looking forward to being outdoors again tomorrow for our little meetup and train trip (trajet en train) at Cabin John Park (there is still time to RSVP if you'd like to join us!).

Most of the ideas for French at home below are train-themed and I'm feeling a little nostalgia for our days (correction: years!) of playing, watching, singing, and breathing Thomas the Tank Engine (Thomas le Petit Train). We must have logged a thousand hours at the train table in the Bethesda Barnes & Noble between ages one and three, not to mention all the time acting out the stories (somehow I always got to be Sir Topham Hat or if we were playing in French, "Monsieur Le Gros Controleur"). I am hoping we can resurrect Thomas play for at least a little while after tomorrow.

Wait -- what am I thinking (ou avais-je la tête?!?) now I'm remembering feeling slightly sick at hearing the theme song for the millionth time and thankful when we moved on from Thomas to other obsessions, namely Disney Cars (Les Bagnoles!).

I never tired of singing Thomas in French though:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8...les jolies locomotives....rouge et verte marron et bleue..toute l'équipe brille de mille feux...

Bonne semaine à tous!

FRENCH THIS WEEK:

Out and About

Saturday, September 7
11am-1pm: Meetup (via Le Petit Groupe Francais - Only French Spoken): Jouer et Voyage en Train - Cabin John Park, Bethesda. Free. RSVP Required via Meetup.com

Thursday, September 12, Meetup (via Le Petit Groupe Francais - Only French Spoken): 4pm-5:30pm: Jouer au Park Après l'école- St. Paul Park, Kensington. Free. RSVP Required via Meetup.comhttp://www.meetup.com/LePetitGroupeFrancais/events/138814732/

Saturday, September 14
2pm-4pm: Meetup (via Le Petit Groupe Francais - Only French Spoken): Aller Voir Les Papillons- Brookside Gardens "Wings of Fancy". Tickets for purchase via Montgomery County parks. RSVP Required via Meetup.com

Saturday, September 21
9am-3pm: Bonjour Mama Booksale at the Alliance Française!

Looking for other events en français? Take a look at the following calendars:
Alliance Francaise DC
Maison de France
French American Chamber of Commerce
DC French Meetup Group

At Home

Watch the hip, contemporary version of Thomas: Chuggington! This episode, "Les bonnes manières" teaches train terms and manners!

Sing this cute train song from Foreign Language House to the tune of "Wheels on the Bus":

Le chef de train crie "En Voiture! En Voiture! En Voiture!"

Le chef de train crie "En Voiture!"

(two hands around mouth as you shout "en voiture!" (all aboard!)

Sur la voie ferrée.

Les roues du train tournent et tournent, tournent et tournent, tournent et tournent,

Les roues du train tournent et tournent

(same as wheels on the bus hand gestures - round and round)

Sur la voie ferrée.

Le petit train fait tchou, tchou, tchou, tchou, tchou, tchou, tchou, tchou, tchou

Le petit train fait tchou, tchou, tchou

(kids stand up and hold hands and go around the circle)

Sur la voie ferrée.

NEW ON THE BOOKSTORE

In this section I highlight new additions, picks and promotions for the Bonjour Mama bookstore. If there anything you'd like to purchase but don't see, please let me know what you are looking for and I will try to find it for you!

New Titles Just In:

BACK TO SCHOOL / RENTREE: take 5% off any purchase through September 15th!
Use code: WC-RENTREE-2013 at checkout.
May not be combined with other offers or coupon codes.