French Day Camps for Kids in Hamilton

1. What level of French do students attending usually have?
2. Do you speak French 100% of the time?
3. How do you manage multiple skill levels?
4. Can my child attend as an absolute beginner in French?
5. If my child is very shy, how will you support them?

What level of French do students usually have?

The majority of our students come from a French immersion background, followed by core, private and then homeschool. Students are broken into 3 age categories: 5-6, 7-9 and 10-13. In our youngest age group of ages 5-6, many children have not yet started French immersion or are still considering it while some have had 1 year of experience. In our older age groups, there are mostly French immersion students. However, we do often have enthusiastic core, private and homeschool students and this is awesome too!

Do you speak French 100% of the time?

No, we do not speak French 100% of the time. At Les Petites Pommes, whether it is during our in-person or online programming, we have chosen to use a bilingual approach to language learning. This means that while we will speak French the majority of the time (and our teachers are fluent in both French and English), we will use English to support the teaching of new concepts and not penalize children for not being able to communicate 100% in French. We find that this creates an inclusive, accessible and supportive environment for language learning as students are not constantly called out for being at different levels of their development and language learning journey. We can quickly identify student levels and if we notice that they are not communicating in French to their potential, we will encourage and motivate them positively to try again en français.

How do you manage multiple skill levels?

Our bilingual approach is one of the key ways we manage and address multiple levels in one classroom in terms of ensuring understanding, participation and a positive learning experience for our campers. Another way we manage this is by specifically creating activities that have different tiers and paths towards completion. For example, a writing activity which may ask about what a child’s favourite part of the day was maybe completed with a single sentence, varying lengths of a paragraph, or simply a picture, depending on age and ability. This allows students to work at their own levels and not compare themselves to each other. When students are not constrained by expectations or fearful that their work is not good enough, they simply start to take joy and pride in their accomplishments and improvement naturally occurs. This is the opportunity that summer camp provides us and what makes our program a place for students to flourish so that they keep coming back every year. You would be surprised how often we hear, “At first my child didn’t want to go to French camp, but now it is their favourite camp!”

Can my child attend as an absolute beginner in French?

Yes! Many of our students  have not started French immersion yet. It is our honour to be your child’s first experience with hearing and learning French and our main goal is to leave them feeling excited, confident and motivated to start at school.

If my child is very shy, how will you support them?

We have had many shy children attend our camps over the years and this is no different in our online programs. Concerning online, if a child is nervous, we usually recommend them participating with their camera off at first as they get used to new people and comfortable with us. We still include them in conversations and we wait until they want to participate by choice. This is just one scenario, as we are happy to work with families and come up with different solutions together.