Chez Renée

Part of the adopt an escargot  project which I've spoken of in earlier posts involves students creating a dwelling for their baby snails.  Dwellings can be made of virtually anything the student desires to use!  So, the variety tends to be endless, which I greatly enjoy.  Here are some of the houses my students made. This baby, named Pickle, lives in an empty pickle jar. A closer view of baby Pickle in her cosy bed! Marcel the Shell lives here.  If you've seen the video of Marcel the Shell, you'll understand the significance of this house.  (See my earlier posts for the video!) This next snail is named Destiny's Child :). If you look closely, you can see the baby snail on the far right.  The student cut a hole where the face should be so the  snail could be inserted.  The head of the woman in the middle is a photo of the mother of this snail. This baby lives in a mailbox! We built the city of Escargotvill...

We've been learning what one might say at the doctor's office and how to describe pain in various parts of one's body.  So I've been using my classroom mannequin Jacques to help teach this.  I told students that Jacques was in the Tour de France last weekend (yes, I know it's not really held in March).  I also told them that it wasn't really Lance Armstrong who won the race...it was Jacques, of course :).  Did you notice Jacques' really awesome, authentic maillot jaune (yellow jersey)?  I paid a lot of money for that... I saw it at a store in the mall once and I knew exactly how I'd use it!  I told students that Jacques fell off his bike during the race and that's why he's wearing bandages. I acted out a conversation between Jacques and the doctor.  I played the part of the doctor, and the part of Jacques' voice as well! Jacques told the doctor that his nose, mouth and arm hurt.  The doctor told him to take two aspir...

I am incredibly fortunate to work only a few miles away from one of the most authentic French pastry shops I've ever visited outside of France.  Owned and run by a French family, Le Petit Prince pastry shop in Birmingham, MI is without a doubt worth the trip!  They also sell bread and chocolate. The front window is a refrigerated showcase for their chocolate.  Check out this Easter hen...and yes, it's made entirely of chocolate! Naturally, I take my students here on field trips.  The owners are always very gracious and patient with the large groups I bring, and they very kindly speak French with anyone who makes an attempt.  Here's some video of my French III & IV students at the shop just last week.      And here's more video of an amazing chocolate Easter bunny.  The glass case that the owner is opening for me is filled with more Easter chocolate.  And I absolutely love the little party...

Third year French students are currently learning how to describe a person's hair in detail.  Our textbook presents vocabulary on specific hairstyles as well as what to say at a hair salon if you want to get your hair cut.  I used a collection of wigs and masks (many of them purchased at Halloween stores) and my friend Jacques to introduce these words in class. Jacques has short, black hair.  And he's saying, "Merci.  Merci beaucoup". Jacques has braids. Jacques has short brown hair. Jacques has a punk hairstyle! Jacques has hair that's short on the top and sides, but long in the back. Jacques has curly hair. Jacques has long, black hair with highlights. Students also practiced suggesting how Jacques should cut his hair for the various hairstyles shown.  I got my students to laugh with the Elvis mask, and I was proud that they understood the joke in French, however simple it was :).    ...

Another fun activity to use with students participating in the  adopt an escargot  project is escargot car racing.  I brought in a bucket of old matchbox cars and let my students choose one.  They strapped their babies to the cars with rubber bands, and then we went to our gymnasium and raced the cars to see which one would go the furthest. It's so nice to see everyone smiling & speaking French at the same time! (well, everyone except for the one monsieur there who likes to give me a hard time whenever I take photos :)  And the race begins! Final race between the two cars that went the furthest.  And the winner is...Manon Corbier...the dear baby escargot of the student pictured here!  Manon won a pink teddy bear as a prize.  This activity took about 10 minutes to complete.  You can see from the photos that the students were having a great time cheering their escargots on (in French, of course)....

Not too long ago I experienced a milestone.  One of my former students followed in my footsteps and went to France to study at the same university and in the same program that I had!  I'm so proud of her.  I've had students go to France to study before, but never to the same university that I attended.  Melissa came by school to see me just before leaving.     Melissa has been blogging about her experiences in France, and I'm reliving many memories of learning French in France through her.  And this is causing me to have a strong desire to board the next plane to France immediately!  I was able to take my husband and children to visit the city where I studied (and where Melissa is now) not long ago.  One day we decided to take our kids to McDonald's (I know, it wasn't very French of me).  We ordered 4 cappucinos.  And this is what we got: Need I say more?  Vive la France.!!!!

A week or so after starting the fabulous adopt an escargot  project, I asked my students to write the names of their baby snails on a slip of paper and fold it up.  They dropped these papers into a hat, and then I passed the hat around the room for each student to draw a name.  I told them to keep it a secret.  Their homework assignment was to find out what that particular baby snail liked in a non-chalant way, and then think of a gift to bring to that baby on Friday.  Friday we had an Adoption Day Party for all the baby escargots.  Students had to present their gifts to the class in French (for a grade), explaining what the gift was and why they were giving it to that particular baby.  This one was my favorite.  An escargot jacuzzi!! (a jar filled with water) This young man is giving a map of Michigan to Jen, who LOST her poor baby (see previous post!), so that her baby will never get lost again! No party is complete without...