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  • Learn French with WhistleFritz

    Learn French with WhistleFritz

    * I received product mentioned for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

    Immerse your kids in French with Whistlefritz

    About a month ago I introduced you to Whistlefritz and their immersion program through song and dance. My kids still love to turn on our Allons Danser! music and dance around while singing along in French. I loved it so much, I wanted to add to the excitement and get the DVD to go along with it
    Not surprisingly, my kids enjoy the DVD even more than the CD. Why? It is more interactive, and helps them correlate the words they’ve been singing with a visual of what it actually is. Simple things like Bonjour, with a wave of the hand and now they understand that it means Hello!

    Isn’t that fun? I love seeing Prince L join in as well, just by watching his sisters. They really are learning a lot, and hopefully will be able to have simple conversations in French with their cousins by the end of the summer.

    I truly believe learning another language can benefit anyone. Whether you’re a young child, or an adult, there are benefits to learning a new language. As a child, it helps expand your mind to learning and knowledge. As an adult, you will have more opportunities to work with worldwide companies. If you want to travel, you can do so comfortably knowing you can get around in another language.

    It’s not all just about benefits though, learning a language can be just plain fun too. After a few rounds of Whistlefritz, we went back to watching some Disney movies – like Frozen. Well, one of the first screens that come up on our Blu-Ray is the language option. My kids begged to watch it in French. Well, why not I said. We’ve done it a few times now, and I have to admit, it’s helping bring back a lot of my French skills, and is teaching my kids new words too. Since they have the whole movie memorized in English, translating it from French is becoming easier for them. However, their favorite line from the French version is the most similar to English


    “Chocolat!”

    Watching well loved movies in another language is a great way to get your kids and maybe even yourself, excited about learning another language. Some of my favorite films are foreign – The Scarlet Pimpernel and Cyrano De Bergerac. 
    Do you have a favorite Foreign Film?
  • Allons Danser! Learning French through Song and Dance

    Allons Danser! Learning French through Song and Dance

    Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

    I started learning French in 5th grade. For 2 years it was part of our rotation with other classes like Home Economics, Shop, and Art. When 7th grade rolled around though, kids with high grades in Reading and Language Arts could choose to drop their reading class and take French. I loved it. I never truly got the conjugations and his/her possessives. Though I could say a few words here and there, it never really stuck. 

    So when my senior year of high school rolled around and I found myself sitting in an AP class, getting ready to take a college test in FRENCH – I took a hard look at what I knew. And what I knew was that I had no idea how I was even getting an A in the class, because I was pretty sure I was fudging my way through. I felt all I truly knew were sight words, and a few phrases like “puis-je aller aux toilettes?” (translation anyone…)
    At that point I decided it would be best if I dropped my French class, and moved on to other interests. I regret, not that decision, but that I didn’t work harder, and study more while taking those classes. I viewed them more as fun, than useful. 
    This year, we had the opportunity to sign Princess C up for a dual immersion program that would run 6 years. I looked into it, and loved the idea of her learning a language at such a young age. They say children catch onto foreign languages easier than adults because they are still learning to form different sounds (or something like that). Unfortunately after I continued to look into the immersion and even drove over to drop off our application, I just didn’t feel it was right for her or us. boo, sad face.

    THEN I heard about WhistleFritz. Started in 2006 by a mom looking for a way to teach her children a second language. When she couldn’t find anything on the market to fit their needs, she made her own.

    Allons Danser! has 20 songs on it, some of which are classics we already know, others are new to us. Rather than tell you about them though, just watch my kids listening and having fun.

    They’re having so much fun! The kids can now name different body parts thanks to La Tete, Les Epaules (Head/Shoulders), and can count to three with Un, Deux et Trois. The music is all upbeat and fun, so even if they aren’t listening to the words, they can have a lot of fun dancing around. Eventually they’ll start picking up on it. 
    Have your kids learned a second language?


    I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.