franglais...

So, as most of you know, the twins attend a French Immersion Montessori Preschool that we lovingly refer to as Ecole. This is year #2 and they'll be there for one more year before kindergarten. There are 3 teachers and less then 20 kids - it's a great, loving and nurturing environment. It's also funny when I tell people that's where they go to school, because then they expect Creed and Zelda to just start spitting out French. One has to remember that although the teachers only speak to the kids in French, the students are American (or at least half) and communicate effortlessly in English.

Creed and Zelda understand pretty much everything that I or their beloved teachers say to them. They answer questions and easily follow directions. They automatically respond with "Merci" and greet with "Bonjour". If I say, "Fais voir ton visage" to Zelda, she lifts her head and smiles. If I ask, "Ou sont vos chaussures?", they'll scurry to put on their shoes.

But the aspect that I am loving the most are Creed's questions, requests and interpretations. His half French/half English. His reference to particular objects only with the French word. His Franglais...

The other day, upon spilling some popcorn in the kitchen, he ran up to me and asked: "Mommy, may I have the balai?" That would be the broom. And then "How about the pelle?" Dustpan. He shook Evan awake the other day, "Daddy, I want to see your travail!" Show me your work!
And finally this morning while gathering his supplies for Ecole, "Hey, where's a grand bag?" As opposed to a petit...

Et alors, ca marche, cette histoire....It's fun to watch the way their little brains process and interpret language. It's interesting to think that they're not translating as one does when learning a language when later in school. Hopefully we'll keep doing this with them...at least until they start to complain - in French, of course.