Bonjour, Les Enfants

We had a spectacular treat this week with a visit from a kind-hearted mom brandishing loaves of fresh baguette!

She also brought cheese and chocolate and other home baked treats inspired by her beautiful homeland - France.

We invited Brigitte to come share a bit of French culture and history with our students as part of our kindergarten social studies curriculum.

She surprised us by preparing a beautiful lesson complete with music, vocabulary, photographs, art, hands-on materials, food and homework.

The children were throughly engaged as they located France on the globe (although one child kept bringing up Italy - another fantastic place, to be sure, but not the topic of the lesson).  We learned about Gustave Eiffel who designed both the breathtaking La Tour Eiffel and America's symbol of welcome, the Statue of Liberty.  And we even had an opportunity to put pencil to paper to create our own masterpieces.

Did you know that the French invented the bicycle (1864),  helicopter (1907), Concorde (1969), Scooter (1902), submarine (1863), parachute (18th Century), taxi (1640), dry cleaning (1855), hairdryer (1879), polo shirt (1926) and the first motion picture camera?  Not to mention champagne, baguette, ratatouille and neon lighting!  Oh, and of course Curious George was created there.

Before we said au revoir we enjoyed baguette torn off the loaf á la française while Brigitte read aloud from Bonjour, Le Jour!  by Grace Maccarone.  She used gestures to support our understanding as the language washed over us in a thrilling wave of fluidity.

Next year to celebrate my 50th birthday and the completion of my doctoral studies (fingers crossed) I plan to stroll along the picturesque Seine once again.  And if anyone wants a history lesson I'll be able to whisk them away towards Notre Dame while the gargoyles hang on my every word.