Parenting: French Lessons

As a mother with a B.A. in French Literature, what kind of a mother would I be if I did not teach my kids some French?  When Joel was a baby I was really into French speaking mode.  I had barely graduated college and maybe even still had a few dreams in French.  Dreaming in French began when I spent a semester in Nantes, France (another home to me). 

My husband worked at night, so I was left putting my son to bed and trying to figure out ways to make it less tear filled for us both.  One of my favorite things was to read some excerpts of my French books to him.  Maybe he would not learn that way, but he would hear the sounds and I love the way French sounds.  I would keep up some of my skills.  

Once, my second child was born, my time was used differently.  Having two kids was a lot more work and bedtime routines were cut a bit shorter.  It has taken me until this year to make another push for my kids to learn some French. 

My husband and I bought "Muzzy,"  a program I remember some friends of mine as a child had used to teach themselves German before moving to Austria.  With the internet it was easy to track "Muzzy" down and buy it for our kids.  It is a really fun way to teach kids 2+ another language.  Even Charis age 1 1/2 is singing the vowels in French.  My 2 1/2 year old has picked up even more.  Ellie, my 5 year old is loving learning numbers and letters in another language, as she already picked up some Spanish from watching "Dora." 

Now during snack time my kids will ask me, "What does mal a la tete mean mommy?"  We work on learning the names of our food, clothing, and other things around the house.  I try and speak to them in only French for about twenty minutes after watching some "Muzzy" or reading some of the story. 

My hope for the future is to purchase some children's books in French so we can read classic stories and just have this great French story time in our home.  We could find useful vocabulary and just build on what we are already learning.  I am not so focused on pulling apart sentences and teaching grammar just yet, but with "Muzzy" we do have an interactive cd and they could begin to learn some grammar from that when they are a bit older.  Right now, Ellie and Joel are not quite ready to make the sentences work.  The concept is a bit too much. 

Using "Muzzy" was a great starting place for learning French.  It is beyond kid friendly and fun for us adults too.  On the same disks we have Spanish, Italian, German, British English, and American English.  I look forward to trying some other languages.  I liked starting with what I know so I could continue in conversation beyond the program.  My Spanish is halfway decent, so that might be our next adventure.