Vivaldi's Four Seasons in Music Class

This year is the season of Vivaldi!  

In music class at L’Ecole Française, we are learning about the great Baroque composer Vivaldi and his masterpiece, the Four Seasons.  Organized into four concerti, we started by listening to Vivaldi’s summer concerto that depicts a summer storm.   

Inspired by this wonderful chorus: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29qaN0M0o0s 
we learned to create a storm with our bodies both in music class and in chorus.

We then listened to Vivaldi’s inspiration of a rainstorm, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuF4oYRktcA  
and heard the wind and rain through his music.  We then drew and colored our own version of a summer storm while listening to Vivaldi’s entire summer concerto from the Four Seasons.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck : A Recipe for fun learning !

Students in Grade 2 have been studying Dr. Seuss in an author study. In class, we have read many books by Dr. Seuss, examined his writing style and illustrations, have learned about his life, and also have had in depth book discussions on some of books his including The Lorax.  

Bartholomew and the Oobleck is a book about a very greedy King. He wanted to invent something that would fall from the sky (other than rain and snow) so that he would be famous forever. Sadly, he created ‘Oobleck’ which almost destroyed the town. He was able to fix his disaster by saying 2 simple words, ‘I’m sorry’.

After reading the book, students used their imaginations and wrote about something they invented to fall from the sky. They wrote about things like candy, chocolate, and endless fruit falling from the sky! They also made their own illustrations.

Of course, after reading the book, we had to make Oobleck! We mixed cornstarch, food coloring, and water to create a non-Newtonian substance, which is not a liquid and not a solid. Students LOVED the way this silky substance felt in their hands. The slime looked wet yet felt dry.  It acts like a liquid, but when sqeezing it, it turned into a solid.  

Looking for a rainy day activity at home?  Make Oobleck!  Our 2nd graders have the recipe!

Songs

les insects

We learned so much about butterflies and moths: about their development, their diet, their environment, how they use camouflage... The butterflies of Peru and Papua New Guinea were gigantic and magnificent! We adored the "owl butterfly", the "peanut headbug" and the "walking leaves". It was interesting to see the scorpion and the "camel spiders", and to touch the centipede, and the enormous tarantula! Thanks to Jim for this interesting visit!

Grade 2 English Language Arts with Dr. Seuss

In English class, Grade 2 students have been studying Dr. Seuss.  This unit is well underway as students have already read many Dr. Seuss books, learned about his writing style and illustrations, and facts about his life.  After completing an in depth study of The Lorax which also included writing about how to help the earth, students made their own Lorax mustaches. 

As the Lorax would say "Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It's not."

apple picking outing

The preschool and kindergarten students had fun picking apples in Cumberland. Upon their return to school, they made baked apples and apple cake in the following days. A tasty good time!

Renewed Accreditation with French Ministry of Education !

L'Ecole Française du Maine holds triple accreditation: by the French Ministry of Education, as well as the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and the Maine Department of Education (DOE).

Students release Monarch Butterflies

Kindergarten and first grade students are studying insects and life cycles. Teachers Philomène Rossini and Yassine Merchi found Monarch caterpillars and milkweed for students to feed them. Their butterfiles are on their way for the long migration.

Bienvenue Chantal !

L’Ecole Française du Maine is pleased to welcome Chantal into the school in the fall of 2015 as Assistant Teacher and Yoga & Fitness Instructor.

Chantal grew up in the suburbs of Paris, where she graduated from high school with a baccalaureate in science. She started University in Paris, then moved to Boston MA where she finished her education at Bentley College with a Bachelor's in Accountancy. 

Chantal has several years of experience in banking as a manager but her heart lies in Yoga. She is a 10 year certified yoga instructor with a variety of teaching experience with adults and children. Chantal recently moved back to New England from Florida, where she had her two daughters. She is very happy to be part of our school's staff, she enjoys spending time with children and looks forward to building a new life in Maine with her family.

Welcome Aline Dussart

  

Aline was born and raised in the north east of France close to the Belgium border in a department called « les Ardennes ». This region is known as the “Heart of Europe” because of the proximity with Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg.

She graduated from the University of Reims and went on to pass the French National Teaching Exam to become a Certified Teacher. Aline is a seasoned teacher with 10 years of experience teaching for the French Ministry of Education to many ages and grades. She is known for her natural and easy contact with children and families and for her smiling and positive personality. Aline demonstrated enthusiasm for taking on projects in the schools where she taught. 

Aline has always been interested in learning about other cultures and languages. To satisfy her desire to discover the world, she took a year of sabbatical to travel with her husband to many countries, most of the time perfecting her English with other travelers or getting a taste for the local culture by discovering the local language with residents of the countries visited. Having had this chance to travel, she knew teaching abroad was something she wanted to pursue. 

In her spare time, Aline enjoys reading, listening to music, travelling, doing sport, cuisine and the wilderness. L’Ecole Française du Maine is pleased to welcome Aline into the school in the fall of 2015.