Chez Renée

Bonjour fellow teachers!  I hope you've all had a good start to the year & that you're settling into your routine like I am.  I decided that my bulletin boards needed a fresh look this fall.  So I searched around on Pinterest for some new ideas.  I updated the look of my bulletin board by using a double border in red & blue, and some amazing silver glitter wrapping paper for the background. I've never tried a double border before...it wasn't too hard and I really like the look!  The glittery wrapping paper was purchased at a craft supply store ( Michael's ).  Here's what it looks like up close: I also made the Paris banner.  I found these wonderful free printable letters on Pinterest here , and I love the look!  The banner was so easy to make.  I just printed the letters on white card stock, and then put decorative craft tape around the edges.  I strung them all together on red and white baker's twine, which I also pu...

If you've been reading this blog, you know that I use antique department store mannequins in my classroom as a way to teach French creatively and with pizazz.  My students love the stories I write about Jacques and his girlfriend, Suzette.  I often act out these stories, which are written to reinforce whatever I'm trying to teach at the moment.  In my opinion, the use of these mannequins is one of my best ideas for keeping my classroom exciting & stimulating.  You can imagine my excitement when I recently discovered 2 antique mannequin children for sale!  I knew that these mannequins would be Jacques & Suzette's children, and would provide inspiration for me to write new stories.  It didn't take me long to decide to buy them, knowing that I might never find mannequin children again. Here they are! I love the detail on these...they have real eyelashes!  It will be one of my goals for this new school year to write...

Keep interesting gadgets on your desk and around your classroom and create a stimulating atmosphere to set the tone for learning!  I found this unusual fake butterfly in a jar this summer for my desk.  It's attached to a very thin wire which is battery-operated (the battery is under the lid to the jar).  The wire simulates incredibly realistic movements of a real butterfly caught in a jar.  Here it is: Yesterday a few of my students noticed this, and before long I had a crowd gathered around my desk.  Several students wanted to know where I had bought it and how much it cost, because they wanted to buy one for their bedrooms.  But the best reward of all for me was seeing a group of football players hunched over the jar, saying "That's awesome!"  I'm glad I bought it...it was worth it :).

My third year students have just finished reading the beloved book entitled Le Petit  Prince (the Little Prince)!  For those of you who aren't familiar with this book, it's full of philosophical quotes.  I asked my students to write their favorite quote from the book on a paper star which I provided for them (stars are discussed frequently in the book).  I hung the stars from the ceiling, where they now brighten up the room and remind us of the genius of Antoine de Saint-Exupery :).

Not long ago, my friend Martine kindly sent me some French Christmas candy called papillotes to share with my students.  Basically, these are chocolate candies wrapped in fancy wrappers, and each candy has a slip of paper inside with a French saying on it.  The wrappers on these candies are so beautiful that I decided to use them to make a Christmas decoration for my classroom.  So, I glued wrappers to each side of some cardboard rectangles. Then I strung the rectangles together with fishing line, and hung them from a banner made of cardboard and glitter.  The banner says Merry Christmas on one side, and Happy New Year on the other.  Voilà, a very festive, very French Christmas decoration! 

High school students love to write messages and graffiti wherever and whenever they can.  I decided to use this to my advantage by creating a message board for my students to write messages and graffiti in French!  I purchased a white board and some colorful markers for this purpose.  Students are allowed to write on the board in the few minutes before class begins, or at the end of class if we finish our lesson a few minutes early.  The rules are:  1. Write in French only,  2.  Don't erase anything that anyone else has written, 3.  Be nice.  Here's a photo of the message board. My students fill this board  in a week.  If you look closely, you can see that I taught them some texting phrases that week (Je t'm), so they tried it out on the board.  One year a student asked a date to Homecoming in French on the message board.  And often, students stop in after school to see ...

A few years ago I tried a new idea inspired by our high school librarian.  She had a clay flower pot filled with coffee beans at the front desk.  The pot was "sprouting" daffodils, which were really just pens made to look like flowers.  I decided to make my own flower pot filled with flower pens for my desk.  I bought various colorful silk flowers and attached them to pens with tape.  Then I covered the entire pen with floral tape so it resembled the stem of a flower.  I placed the flower pens in a pot filled with coffee beans.  Students are allowed to borrow the pens for the class period if they wish.  I've been pleasantly surprised by how much they seem to enjoy using these pens.  Believe it or not, last year a group of 11th grade boys enjoyed them the most and would sometimes race to class to claim their favorite pen first.  Who wouldn't want their students racing to their class with anticipation?  Thi...

Make your classroom a place of surprises by rewarding your students often.  I like to use French products as rewards so that students can learn about them.  Most of these items were purchased at local grocery stores (Busch's and Heartland Marketplace). The favorite prize seems to be the limonade. I try to give away several prizes in each class at the beginning of the year in order to set a positive tone.  Sometimes I give prizes at random ( for example, I might hide a sticker under a random desk before class starts and give the prize to whoever chooses that desk).  Sometimes I ask a difficult question that I know not everyone will be able to answer, and award the prize to the student who answers correctly.  This is a relatively easy way to motivate students without having to give something to each person, and I'm always amazed at how much interest and enthusiasm it generates.  The only item not purchased locally is the box of Bonne Maman T...