advice needed on 3yr old going to french school

[murphyworm]

Hi again....  since joining I seem to get so much comfort in the fact Im not alone!!!  we are moving to west side of Paris next July I have a 3 yr old daughter and 11mth baby boy.  My daughter at them moment goes to nursey school 4 days a week and absolutely loves it. my 11 month goes twice a week.  Lovely to have a break!!!  anyway this French move is due to my husband working in Paris for the last year he only comes home on weekends so its really tearing our family apart specially my 3 yr old.  so I decided to give in an dmake the move.  to be honest Im scarred sh...less about it all.  we have Ellie enrolled in the local French school who say the teachers do speak some English.  Im worried about how she will fit in..... shes going to be so confussed!!!  has anyone gone through this with a 3 yr old????    I really dont want to put her off going to school.  I will also have to go to school as I dont speak much French.  so the first month or so Im dreading as I will be alone in a village with people I cant even talk too!!!  Ellie cant got to school until Sept so thats nearly two months I will have to be stuck at home with her and the baby.  please someone tell me its going to be ok......Its been so hard already bring up my kids because Daddies not around.

 

thanks

Lisa

[Kitty]

Lisa - Things will be fine for your 3 year old daughter.  The younger they are, they easier they adapt.

I'll give you an example.  German friends of mine, who arrived in France last September, have 5 children; their youngest is 3 years old and she has found it the easiest to integrate.  After 4 months of the 3 year old being in France, I had to look after her when her parents had to go to Germany for a week.  I could only communicate with her in French as my German is limited.  But she understood everything that I said in French and spoke very clearly.  After only 4 months in nursery...

I have 4 children.  They all enjoy the challenge of being bilingual.  After all, can't you remember when you were little, trying to speak Double Dutch?  If you explain to your daughter how amazing it is to be able to speak another langauge, she'll be really proud when she starts to understand.

Meeting parents in playgrounds is not easy - in the UK or France.  But you will find that parents who can speak English will gravitate towards you to practise their language skills.  Teachers in France can be rather stark and very direct but most of them have a smattering of English.

Try to sort out a landline with unlimited telephone calls to the UK for a monthly sum.  That way, you will not feel so isolated.

 

[tweenie]

hi murphyworm (love the name),

I came  here 2 1/2 years ago on my own with a 2yr old, 3 yr old and a 6 yr old. Hubby working in the UK and only able to visit us for one week per month (situation is still the same). However, my children settled into school straight away and I know that I am very fortunate not to have had any problems with any of them. None of them spoke french before hand, I only had 'holiday' french so couldn't help them. I have left the learning of french to their teacher (who is excellent, she spoke a little english) and to their new friends.  I started lessons after a few months of being here and have improved so much. I also help as much as I can at the school which is great practice. We have also been very fortunate to have been accepted into our commune with 'open arms'

Your 3 yr old will amaze you. I hope all goes well for you. Feel free to pm me