Runningmom80 Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 I was looking at Whistlefritz, but I'm concerned it would be too easy. They haven't had any exposure thus far, however. I'd love any recommendations anyone can give! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 We are doing just an introduction this year with One Third Stories. For next year (and a more organized study) I have my eye on Ecoutez! Parlez! I haven't seen anyone else using it, though. I'd be curious as to reviews. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 (edited) I really, really need to get serious about doing French with my kids, now that we live in a French-speaking country. :huh: I have a lot of stuff to practice French, it's the learning French that holds me up, since I myself am a beginner. I think I need to hire someone to implement this stuff with my kids. We have Getting Started with French, which at least gives you some framework for learning the language. It's a lot better than jumping straight in to memorizing phrases & sentences (which is what our high school Bien Dit book does). GSWF can be done as a family. The first lessons are so short - you can do several a day. You'll know when to slow down. I recommend watching the First Step en Français videos. https://www.knowitall.org/series/foreign-language-french. It's set up that you can watch episode 101 from First Step, and then 401 from First Step Again. The "again" videos are reinforcement. There is a TM with teaching suggestions and vocabulary lists. https://www.knowitall.org/foreign-language-french-teacher-resources Amazon has several French editions of Dr. Seuss books - controlled vocab + familiar story! Win! This French Dictionary is great. It has audio tracks for every word. I imported it into iTunes and put it on my phone. You can use it to quiz your kids if you cover up the margins. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071817301 We have the game Kloo for building French sentences, but haven't tried it yet. https://www.amazon.com/KLOOs-Learn-French-Language-Games/dp/B004JNZGFI I have a few of these books - Bedtimes Stories in French & English. My plan is to pick out key vocabulary to look for in a story, pre-teach it, then read the story in English and then in French. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1548291099 Teachers Pay Teachers has some nice products. I have this one for grades 4-7, but I think it would be fine for younger kids. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Beginner-French-Growing-Bundle-FULL-YEAR-of-Activities-Gr-4-7-3009847 (fixed link!) Edited October 23, 2017 by ondreeuh 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 We are doing just an introduction this year with One Third Stories. For next year (and a more organized study) I have my eye on Ecoutez! Parlez! I haven't seen anyone else using it, though. I'd be curious as to reviews. ecoutez! Parlez! looks good, if I try it, I'll let you know. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 I really, really need to get serious about doing French with my kids, now that we live in a French-speaking country. :huh: I have a lot of stuff to practice French, it's the learning French that holds me up, since I myself am a beginner. I think I need to hire someone to implement this stuff with my kids. We have Getting Started with French, which at least gives you some framework for learning the language. It's a lot better than jumping straight in to memorizing phrases & sentences (which is what our high school Bien Dit book does). GSWF can be done as a family. The first lessons are so short - you can do several a day. You'll know when to slow down. I recommend watching the First Step en Français videos. https://www.knowitall.org/series/foreign-language-french. It's set up that you can watch episode 101 from First Step, and then 401 from First Step Again. The "again" videos are reinforcement. There is a TM with teaching suggestions and vocabulary lists. https://www.knowitall.org/foreign-language-french-teacher-resources Amazon has several French editions of Dr. Seuss books - controlled vocab + familiar story! Win! This French Dictionary is great. It has audio tracks for every word. I imported it into iTunes and put it on my phone. You can use it to quiz your kids if you cover up the margins. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071817301 We have the game Kloo for building French sentences, but haven't tried it yet. https://www.amazon.com/KLOOs-Learn-French-Language-Games/dp/B004JNZGFI I have a few of these books - Bedtimes Stories in French & English. My plan is to pick out key vocabulary to look for in a story, pre-teach it, then read the story in English and then in French. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1548291099 Teachers Pay Teachers has some nice products. I have this one for grades 4-7, but I think it would be fine for younger kids. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071817301 These are awesome suggestions! The videos will be a great introduction. I took many years of French but I totally need a refresher. I used GSWS so I will definitely buy GSWF, I can't believe I didn't think of that. Actually, I can. haha! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 (edited) These are awesome suggestions! The videos will be a great introduction. I took many years of French but I totally need a refresher. I used GSWS so I will definitely buy GSWF, I can't believe I didn't think of that. Actually, I can. haha! I fixed the link for the TpT bundle - it's https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Beginner-French-Growing-Bundle-FULL-YEAR-of-Activities-Gr-4-7-3009847 I'll bet you love teaching French to your kids. I wish I had the confidence! I'm just afraid of screwing it up. You have a big head start since you are already very familiar with the language. Edited October 23, 2017 by ondreeuh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 I fixed the link for the TpT bundle - it's https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Beginner-French-Growing-Bundle-FULL-YEAR-of-Activities-Gr-4-7-3009847 I'll bet you love teaching French to your kids. I wish I had the confidence! I'm just afraid of screwing it up. You have a big head start since you are already very familiar with the language. You won’t screw it up! I figure my kids will outgrow me at some point and then hopefully we can find a fluent speaker who can help them with pronunciation. Lol I bought almost everything you linked, it all looked great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fralala Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 The only one of my kids who enjoys Whistlefritz is the 2 year old. I love it. But yes, I think your reservations may be spot on, as my 7 year old would not recommend it. (Except for the songs. We listen to the songs in the car, and she likes them, but feels the videos are a bit "babyish", which is weird because she will actually sit and watch Little Pim!) Since I find formally adding a foreign language to our schedule to be a challenge-- it is the first thing to get dropped, often, either on a daily or weekly or yearly basis-- I've shelved the workbooks I purchased optimistically, and just turned to youtube. Having my kids watch a daily video or set of videos is easy, and free. Songs, nursery rhymes, folk and fairy tales...I don't know if it will work for all kids, but when my 7 year old actually took her first French class, the teacher was surprised that she seemed to know a surprising amount of unusual vocabulary already (thanks in part, I think, to the mud-centric vocabulary of Peppa Cochon). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 I wanted to update and say that we are really enjoying First Step en Francais! I haven't begun using the accompanying TM yet, but plan to soon. We've watched several videos and both kids are picking up a nice amount of french words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 I wanted to update and say that we are really enjoying First Step en Francais! I haven't begun using the accompanying TM yet, but plan to soon. We've watched several videos and both kids are picking up a nice amount of french words. After you received that response, my 2nd grader started watching them also. She loves them. She can't wait for her big sister to come home for Christmas so she can show her what she has learned. (Of course, I think her big sister was her original incentive, but she really likes them.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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