Education for pre-school age

[melwest]

I have recently arrived to live in France, and would like to send my 3 1/2 year old to school so that he can learn French and make some friends.  In England he went to a nursery 3 mornings a week, and I would like to continue with these timings.  I was wondering if anyone knew whether this is possible in France.  We have an ecole maternelle (private) in the village.  Does anyone know if schools are quite flexible and allow parents to chose which days they want their pre-school children to attend and possibility of mornings only?  I feel he is too young to attend all day every day especially as he does not know any French.  Please help!

[Mistral]

I don't know for private schools, I suppose that will depend on the headteacher.

All three of my kids went to state maternelle mornings only for the whole of their first year (started at 3 and 4 months) Since most PS (petite section) classes have very long naps in the afternoon, the teachers preferred we kept the children at home in the afternoon. They had less bedspace problems.

I don't know about only certain mornings. I have a friend who sent her (2 year old) daughter three mornings a week, but she's the forceful type, who arrives and announces that's how things are going to be.

Maternelles do follow a set programme so the teacher might not be too keen. On the other hand, We only sent our two eldest 4 mornings a week  in the first year (just didn't send them on saturdays and Wednesdays the school is closed) This was so common that the teacher never planned any specific teaching for Saturday mornings.

 

 

[nimportequoi]

I think they are all different, but my local école maternelle is happy for the petite section to do mornings only, but it has to be every morning (here school is generally  Mon, Tue, Thur & Fri). My daughter has been going since the age of two and a half, she only went mornings for the first month. Since then, she has been there full time (I work out here, so no choice really!) She is now four and a half and loves school, speaks French nearly fluently (still a few problems with the le's and la's) - at school there is no difference between her and the French children. I would recommend starting children as early as possible as learning a language is so easy for young children.

[naps]

Having just been in the same situation I thought I had to add a reply.

We moved here in June, just as the schools were about to break up for the long summer holiday.  We visited the local maternelle and registered both of our children (our 3 1/2 year old and almost 2 year old). 

My first impressions of the school were not good, it seemed too big (250+ children in the maternelle) and I felt the hours were long at 9am to 4:30 four days per week and 9 to 12 on a Wednesday.  I worried about it during the summer and was almost certain that we'd turn up on the first day and ask if it was possible that our daughter could come part-time.  However, as the end of August approached I started to think differently, mainly down to comments from forums and my family.

Basically, I realised that she knows no difference, so she couldn't compare it with schooling in the UK (as I had been doing).  I felt that the only thing I could do was give it a try, and adjust the hours later if I felt it needed it. 

We had all the normal anxieties at the beginning.  First day was great, the second morning there were tears, which got progressively worse during the week.  Then one day they stopped.  Now, after only 4 weeks, she tells me how much she likes school, is chatting about her new friends, enjoying the independence of being away from us for the day, having lunch with her classmates, etc.  Plus, having no knowledge of French, she's now understanding a lot of what the teacher says, and is singing little french songs and introducing the odd word into her conversations.

It's not going to be the same for every child, and if the school are willing then you've got to make your own choice.  But in our case, it was right to put my own anxieties to one side and go with the flow to find out if it was right or not.

Good luck!

[cary]

Been here nearly a year and our now 4 year old goes every morning, home for lunch 12-1.30, and back in afternoon til 4.15.  in the UK she used to do mornings but only 9 til 11.20 so it was strange for her. She started here for about 3 weeks of mornings only then when the teacher thought she was ready he suggested afternoons.  She loves it and interacts very well with the other children.  She does still sleep in the afternoons at school which i thought would be a problem at first as she didn't have a sleep in the UK from the age of 1, but again she was fine.  There are only about 20 in maternelle so i suppose on that side we are quite lucky.  Anyway good luck with everything, all things here seem to change according to school and place really.

[Battypuss]

Being a very Bad Mother, I enrolled both my smaller daughters in Maternelle as soon as they hit the 2 year mark. Both already spoke French, but even if they hadn't, I don't think it would have caused a problem. Both loved every minute and stayed all day, having a sleep in the afternoon to start with and then tailing that off when they got to about three years old and didn't want or need one any more.

I would recommend you give it a try, it doesn't cost anything and you can always remove them if they don't like it and try again later on. Normally, you will have to contact yoour nearest 'Service d'Education' or the Marie, but you could try just turning up, as I did.

One caveat; your children will need to be fully innoculated; 99% of the time they will check this.

[Katieb]

We too moved to France in July this year and met the Maire for approval for our daughter to start ecole maternelle (4yrs old). We registered with the school on the set day - nobody spoke english - i asked if my daughter could attend 3 days a week but was informed that it would help with integration if she attended every day. There were tears for the first week or so, but they soon stopped and now our daughter is very happy there - more so than in her nursery in the UK. We pay for her to have lunch in the canteen - which doesn't go down too well, but we feel that she will learn more by eating french food with her friends (our personal opinion) and learn to love the cuisine!

As an little addition, i helped the class on a nature trail yesterday - it was very pleasing to see our daughter fully immersed in french school life, playing and chatting with friends and happy.

 Good luck!

[French Novice]

We've been here a year and our 5yr old and 3yr old started school a month after we moved out here. I went to the school first for a look around but had already met people who's children went there so had some information about it. I then went to the Mairies with copies of birth certificates and proof of residency (bill) and they were able to start as soon as they wanted to. You do need proof of innoculations, they both needed BCG, and insurance which you can get from any insurance company.

They are both pretty much settled, I still get tears for the first week after holidays but they soon get used to the routine again. Even though you may think it's cruel as they don't understand a word of French it will mean that they pick up the language a lot quicker. I am getting used to asking my 5yr old to explain what he's saying in English rather than French.

[benedicte]

It seems to vary depending on the Maternelle, at our request our child went for half days while she was in the petite as we felt it would've been too much for her (and us) inititally, she is now in the moyenne and goes full-time.

My advice would be if you feel it's not right for him/you for him to go full-time then go with what you feel, if the maternelle isn't happy to take him half days try and find somewhere that meets his/your needs at this time.

[davison]

my grandson went to the local maternelle from age 3 and as he hadn't long been speaking English my daughter decided that half a day was enough, but oh dear "everyone goes for the full 4 days".  There was compromise and now at 4 he does his full-time stint like everyone else.  He certainly doesn't speak French as well as he does English, but he's getting there and is at the stage where he corrects our French.

There was a meeting at school last week to say "Everyone "is going on a trip  to La Mer - a journey of six hours and a stay of FIVE days. Is this normal for French  schools?  The ages of the children are from 3 to 10 or 11 years.  There only seems to be one set of parents ( no, not us, but we are wondering) who are not giving permission for this educational holiday.

Has  anyone out there any knowledge of  these school trips, especially for the very young pupils?

 

davison.

 

[chicfille]

Some friends of ours sent their daughter on a 5-day school trip, aged 4. I was horrified, I think this is WAY too young to be away from home and in the care of just a handful of adults. They said she enjoyed it, but came home with lots of (very) dirty underwear...

Our daughter's class went off to the mountains when we'd only been here for a term. She was 7 and not that keen, simply because of the distance (a 8-hour overnight coach trip), but we were made to feel like bad, boat-rocking parents for not sending her. The school insisted that they had never had any problems, that the children loved it and got a lot out of it. We and our daughter stuck to our guns though and think we made the right choice because she had no regrets about not going, because she just wasn't ready.

Discuss it with your child, make sure they and you don't feel under pressure from anyone (teachers, especially) when deciding. It's entirely your choice, so don't be bullied!

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="chicfille"]

Some friends of ours sent their daughter on

a 5-day school trip, aged 4. I was horrified, I think this is WAY too

young to be away from home and in the care of just a handful of adults.

They said she enjoyed it, but came home with lots of (very) dirty

underwear...

Our daughter's class went off to the mountains when we'd only been

here for a term. She was 7 and not that keen, simply because of the

distance (a 8-hour overnight coach trip), but we were made to feel like

bad, boat-rocking parents for not sending her. The school insisted

that they had never had any problems, that the children loved it and

got a lot out of it. We and our daughter stuck to our guns though

and think we made the right choice because she had no regrets about not

going, because she just wasn't ready.

Discuss it with your child, make sure they and you don't feel under

pressure from anyone (teachers, especially) when deciding. It's

entirely your choice, so don't be bullied!

[/quote]

Quite a lot of schools seem to be happy to take children half day or

full day as soon as they are out of nappies. For smaller schools, this

may be one way of keeping roll numbers up, but many parents seem to

expect access to education from this point in a child's life.

Our eldest spent two nights away on the Island of Noirmoutier with the

school at the age of four. We were slightly trepidous about letting her

go, but the rest of her coven were going and we could think of no

rational reason why she should not - we trusted the school with her

wellbeing every day, after all. In the event, she had a whale of a time

and shed not a single tear at leaving us (I'm not sure if that's a good

thing or not...). This year they get five days in Paris, and her sister

(5) will be going too. I have volunteered to assist on the trip but

have been told quite firmly that I am Not Wanted on Voyage. Rotten

swines.