chicfille

I have no personal experience, but you should first consult a GP, who will doubtless refer your husband to a specialist. In the past you could make an appointment with a specialist without a referral, but the rules have changed recently.

Thanks SB! For the record, my husband is French and my children are bi-lingual, bi-cultural and have dual nationality. We have lived in France for 8 of the past 11 years and the children have attended schools in both countries. Both systems have their strengths and weaknesses, so my point was simply that I hope to fill the gaps an in area where, in my opinion, the French system is weak, and gently encourage my children's individuality in areas where schools can be over-zealous (eg handwriting!).

Quite agree, Jo, but it's not just a boy thing - my daughters don't go in for spontaneous creative writing at home either, the prefer pretend games, drawing and rushing around the garden! The form-before-content thing seems to be part of the system here unfortunately... I'll be watching like a hawk to see what happens as my children move through it, all the while encouraging them to question silly rules and write however they like provided it is legible!

Films with Agnès Jaoui, Catherine Frot, Jean-Pierre Darroussin etc, such as Le Goût des Autres, Un Air de Famille, Cuisine et Dépendences - they can be pretty funny in places and I'm pretty fussy about my comedy. However I cannot hack the "Bronzés" films ("Les Bronzés font du ski" etc etc) which are similar in style to the Carry On series. They have a vast and devoted following and are a pretty good indication of what the average French person will laugh at.

My daughter arrived in France aged nearly 7, with neat, printed UK-style handwriting (they had just started joining up when she left), and had to re-learn to write in loopy (in both senses of the word) cursive style. I agree with TU, it's a waste of time and tends to eradicate all traces of individualism from handwriting. It's also very hard to read when written by a 5-year-old beginner as they don't learn to print lower case letters at all - they are launched headlong into joined-up loops right from the start. That said, it's taken very seriously here, they spend months learning it and they frown upon anything less flouncy.

[quote]The same house is offered for sale in one agency at 100k and another at 130k. As I understand it, the vendeur is obliged to sell at the asking price. But which is really the legal asking price? L...[/quote] The vendors sell at whatever price they accept from you. Our house was offered by 5 different agents at 5 different prices, the difference being the agency fees. Often houses are advertised "FAI" (frais d'agence inclus), and the percentage they charge the buyer varies from one to another. When you make an offer, make sure the agent knows what your offer includes (sale price alone, sale price + agents fees or even sale price + agents fees + notaires fees). The vendor may or may not accept, and nothing is binding until an offer is accepted and both parties have signed the Compromis de Vente. So it is in effect a race to sign the Compromis. It's worth knowing that agents' fees are also negotiable, by the way.

Children can start school at any time - you just need to enrol them as soon as you arrive.  

Of course the French are bound to have the last laugh by winning all the medals we have our eye on!

Are you sure you haven't met my husband?? Unlikely Mistral, but mine is just the same (except that I acquired him without any domestic or practical knowledge whatsoever!). He telephones when he thinks he should, which is not often, we visit only very rarely and don't particularly enjoy it when we do. But we must pretend to, like we must feign interest when the ma-in-law spends hours whingeing about assorted inconveniences, including how difficult it is having three of her four children (aged between 26 and 31) still dependent on them. Wonder why that is...?! I think some of the perceived closeness of French families may be linked to the fact that most school leavers go on to attend their nearest university. Those that cannot commute daily go home every weekend, so no real independence is developed. When they finish their studies and can't find work they go straight home, look for work locally because wages are so low they couldn't afford their own place, and hey presto, they are still either living with or at least financially dependent on their parents well into their twenties and thirties.

Absolutely, Mistral. Parents seem to cling to their children for dear life much more than they do in the UK, which can eventually push them away. Children, especially boys, often seem to be brought up deliberately dependent on their mothers - few of our male friends knew much about money, laundry or cooking until they finally left home (some not until nearly 30), when their exasperated other halves had to teach them about real life while their mothers tutted "she's not good enough for my son" under their breath! And a number of these friends avoid visiting their families or only go under duress because these "family values" often seem to boil down to a lot of obligation to do what is expected of them and guilt if they don't. 

My experience of "family values" here in France varies widely from the vast, lovely, welcoming and close extended family (a rarity) to those that see family as a closed and private circle, impenetrable to outsiders. As for extending a caring attitude onto other people's children, this is not something I associate particularly with France. Children are dispatched to crèches and childminders at a very early age, then in often very large classes in maternelle, garderies etc for at least 8 hours a day. What I'm saying is that children are generally cared for by people outside the family circle from a young age. Busy parents prefer to pay up for childcare and clubs without getting involved unless they feel the need to complain. Another thing that springs to mind is the attitude to strangers and their children. When I saw a mother running frantically around a hypermarket one day, calling desperately for her young son who had wandered off, the only people who looked even remotely bothered were the staff. Thankfully he was found by a staff member, but the shoppers' lack of reaction shocked me. My general feeling is that society is as much a case of every man for himself here as it is in the UK, and in some cases, more so.

[quote]To discourage visitors using your garden as their toilet, you can sprinkle lion dung (available from garden centres); worked for me in Manche![/quote] Does this stuff work for cats too? Our neighbours' cats are constantly depositing their nasty gifts in the middle of our lawn.

Ah Maggi, a girl after my own heart. I can get Dry Martini here in Rennes, but I have to make a specially long journey to a far-flug hyper to get it. But that's only when I finally finish the several 1.5 litre bottles imported from Sainsbury's.      

I am on the hunt for a gîte with pool sometime between 8th and 27th August for 2 weeks for me, husband & 2 children (7 & 5). Ideally we'd like a place near the sea and where there are likely to be other children for ours to play with. Husband's preference is the Languedoc-Roussillon region... but I know it's a bit late to be picky! If you have, or know of, somewhere that might suit, please PM me. Many thanks.

With reference to the "bras de chemise" thing, isn't it exactly the same as the English expression "in shirt sleeves"? Simply a way of saying that a chap has taken his jacket off due to the heat. I remember thinking the English expression was odd as a child, and being surprised that the French had the same one. But maybe I've got it all wrong...  

FlyBE fly from Southampton to Rennes now, and have also started other routes to Brest (from Exeter, Southampton & Birmingham). Not that Brest is particularly convenient. I hope the Rennes route gets sufficient use because it's great for us!

Ewa is likely to be Eva (with a short 'e', so will sound like the English 'ever'). How is it pronounced in Polish? Steven is more likely to be pronounced Steevenn rather than Stéphane, as Steven has now been adopted by the French - think Steven Spielberg.

Another one to avoid for the channel hoppers is Yves. A French boy I know of went to live in England with his family and was ok at school until he corrected their pronounciation from Eves to Eve. Then he was teased mercilessly for having a girl's name.

Susan is a tough one for the French. They cannot put more emphasis on the first syllable than the second, so it comes out Suzanne, which is NOT my name (no offence to any Suzannes, it's just not me!). Those that attempt to pronounce it properly end up saying what sounds like Suzon, which is infinitely worse. Even those that have been subjected to the "how to pronounce my name" lecture still can't spell it - it's nearly always Suzan. End result is that many French friends call me Susie, it's less hassle. We can all feel sorry for the unfortunate Reeesharr Zheeeer (Richard Gere)! Took me a while to work out who they meant when I heard that one.

I'm not sure how useful this will be given your location, but there is a special section for enfants précoces at the Ecole/Collège/ Lycée St Vincent La Providence in Rennes. http://www.institution-st-vincent-rennes.org/specif-2.htm    

Just read this article about how children learn a new language when thrown into a foreign school. It makes interesting reading. 

The story-writing thing bothers me enormously. My 7-year-old hasn't done a single piece of creative writing since she started school here in September. It's a huge waste -  the vivid imaginations of children set them apart from the fonctionnaire adults and not exploiting their creativity at school means it is lost or buried way before most children are ready to replace it with reality.

[quote]Thought I'd follow this up with the correction made by my French teacher. He said it's: ''...pour que je lui donne (subj)...son cadeau'' Thanks to all for your suggestions & help.[/quote] Just for the record, "pour lui donner" is also correct French, just 2 different ways of saying the same thing.  

La Redoute is essentially a mail order company. I don't think you can buy furniture etc in their stores - the one in Rennes has clothes, but it's not very big. Get their catalogue (www.redoute.fr) - it's got lots of household stuff from cheap and cheerful to better quality things that you can order for home delivery. We've bought various items over the years and have been very happy with them.

I find religion a very hot potato with some people. Some teacher friends of ours got rather worked up over the religious headgear/ crucifixes in schools issue, particularly as we were comparing the French & British approaches to religion in education. I ended up wishing we had stuck to health issues. Don't mention the war. Or the church.