We are officially halfway through the summer camp season! Summer Camp is how Les Petites Pommes started 15 years ago sparked from the idea that 2 months was to long to go without practicing French and that summer was an amazing time to continue learning outside of the contstraints of the classroom. When I started Les Petites Pommes, I was also still in university at the time which has a 4 month break, so it also greatly helped myself to stay in practice. It was win-win for everyone participating!
Something unique about Les Petites Pommes is our flexible session structure, allowing campers to join for one week, two weeks, or the entire summer. Already we’ve had campers who have been with us 1 week and some since the beginning of the summer. With new campers coming and going, we prioritize making them feel comfortable and excited about learning French. Learning a new language can be challenging, but our fantastic teachers and team are here to make it enjoyable and rewarding.
While most of you are familiar with myself and John who are here at Les Petites Pommes all year round, during the summer we hire an extra special set of teachers to help us run our summer camp program. We have 3 classrooms including our primary, juniors and intermediates which they are in charge of running + a STEAM camp session. We also have a social media co-ordinator named Devyn who has just joined the team! Devyn’s first project was asking the teachers to share some insight on how they help students learn French while helping them feel confident and comfortable. Here’s what our teachers said:
French learning strategies from our amazing summer teachers:
- Game-Like Activities: We design activities that feel like games. For example, last week, we organized a matching activity involving irregular verbs like “avoir” and “être.” Campers matched pronouns (je, tu, il, elle, etc.) to the correct conjugations at various stations. It was fun and interactive, ensuring the knowledge sticks better than through traditional worksheets.
- Pictionary with New Words: Whenever we learn new words, we play Pictionary. Campers draw the subject, and their peers guess what it is in French. This visual and interactive method helps cement new vocabulary in their minds. We also discuss what we’ve learned each day, asking questions like, “What’s one new word you learned? Tell me about it in French.”
- Mnemonic Devices: Mnemonic devices are incredibly helpful for learning new verbs and conjugations. We use catchy songs and videos from YouTube to make them memorable.
- Bilingual Method: To cater to different language levels in our class, we use the bilingual method. We say the sentence in French first, then translate it into English. This ensures all campers understand, especially the older ones with varied language abilities. Younger campers, who are all starting at the same level, benefit from this method as well. Research shows that students who learn this way score just as high or more as students who learn through the immersion method.
- Positive Reinforcement: Excitement is contagious! When we’re enthusiastic and encourage the kids, they’re more eager to learn. We use positive reinforcement, congratulating every successful word or sentence. The Sandwich technique—using a French word or sentence, providing the English translation, and then repeating it in French—also helps reinforce learning.
As we continue this summer season, we look forward to seeing even more progress and enthusiasm from each camper. With these techniques, we aim to further develop your child’s French skills, and you can use them too. These students are going to have an extra boost of confidence when September comes! Thank you for entrusting us with this special part of your child’s summer—here’s to many more weeks of fun and learning ahead!
Pictured above is some fun we’ve been having during our camp sessions including engaging language learning activites, a dramatic play en français and our older students on hike to Sassafras Point. All sessions are balanced with indoor and outood activites for maximum enjoyment of summer!