Fun French summer resources
Every summer, students look forward to taking a break from schoolwork…but there are many ways for your child to keep up their French over the summer in fun, less structured ways, here are some ideas from CPF BC & Yukon!
http://bc-yk.cpf.ca/blog/whats-new/fun-french-summer-resources/
French over the Summer Break
Every summer, students look forward to taking a break from schoolwork…but there are many ways for your child to keep up their French over the summer in fun, less structured ways! Here are some ideas!
• Summer French Camps | • Community |
• Movies | • Television |
• Libraries | • Workbooks and Magazines |
• Games | • Online activities |
• Music | • Other cool sites |
French summer camps offer opportunities for children to practice their French while engaging in all kinds of exciting activities. Teachers often notice that children are more willing to speak in French if they have attended a camp in French over the summer.
- Find French Summer Camps in BC and Yukon
- Find French Summer Camps across Canada
French-languages services & Francophone history in BC:
- Interactive Mapping Tool for French-language businesses in BC
- Self-Guided History of Francophonie tours: Thompson-Okanagan and Fraser River
- CJFCB (Francophone Youth Council of British Columbia)
- La Francophonie au Canada (Discovery game)
Watching French movies at home is a fun way to enrich French studies in a relaxed environment.
Several Canadian channels offer a wide variety of French children’s shows to watch online:
- Radio-Canada Jeunesse
- Radio-Canada Tou.Tv Jeunesse
- TFO (Télévision française de l’Ontario)
- UnisTV
Most local libraries offer a variety of French language resources.
- Summer Reading Clubs… ask your librarian for a list of French books for your child’s Reading Record!
- Check out French e-books in the Tumblebooks online library – many libraries offer free access
- Borrow French films on DVD, such as Ernest et Celestine, Belle et Sebastien, Louis Cyr, Le Coq de St Victor. Or watch any animated English-language with French subtitles or dubbing!
Here are some fun ways to practice French as well as some entertaining educational magazines.
- Je révise en vacances Workbook specially designed for summer enrichment
- Foule de mots
- Cahier grammaire jeunesse
- Kayak magazine (Canadian history presented in a comic-book style)
- Les Débrouillards magazine (fun science magazine for younger kids)
- GéoAdo (fun science magazine for teens)
Here are some fun traditional games and challenges:
- Origami Game (Make French a part of your life)
- 30 Day Challenge from French for the Future
- Mille Bornes (classic French card game)
- Ti-Joe Connaissant parcourt le monde
Or play word and number games you already own – Scrabble, Bananagrams, Uno, Boggle etc – en français!
And here some great online games and apps:
- Zone Jeunesse Radio-Canada’s interactive youth website
- Spend the Summer with MiniTFO (list of interactive and educational French programming)
- Le Petit Champlain a free app for little explorers to learn about Samuel de Champlain’s life in a fun way
- BrainPop
- Les Jeux de Lulu
Learning songs in French will help children expand their vocabulary, learn new expressions and develop confidence.
- Ici Musique (Radio-Canada)Scroll down for the Coin des Petits “webradio”
- Dans l’air du tempsLearn about popular French-Canadian music over the decades
- Chanter avec Mini (Karaoke style!)
- Chansons traditionelles (iPad app)
- Older kids can check out popular French-Canadian bands like Malajube, Karkwa, Les Cowboys Fringants and many more!
Here’s a collection of fun websites from Québec and France:
- Québec Original A compelling and feature-packed website showcasing Québec culture and geography
- La Tablette de Champlain What if Samuel de Champlain had access to a digital tablet?
- OffQc | Quebec French Guide For lovers of French and diehard fans of all things québécois!
- Google Night Walk In Marseille Explore the sounds, streets and soul of Marseille on this immersive digital night walk
- Parc Astérix Check out this theme park based on the classic comic strip!