French for Kids | Teaching Kids French (Bilingual Products)

Ana Lomba’s “French for Kids” products introduce a fun way for teaching kids French, through everyday activities, play, songs, curriculum, stories, apps, and printable props.

We have specific advice to teach French to toddlers and to teach French to preschoolers and kindergarteners.

Why French for Kids Products Are a Fantastic Way for Teaching Kids French

Language products should make teaching fluent French fun and in a natural way. The way native French children learn through talk, play, and stories.

Teaching French with fluency is not about isolated exercises, like memorizing colors, numbers, and animals.

Instead, teaching a language in the context of everyday activities, play, and through storytelling are powerful teaching strategies for fluency.

Make Teaching Kids French Fun through Everyday Activities!

Our Play and Learn French with Audio CD is especially designed for parents who want to immerse their children (and themselves) in fluent, everyday French.

No drills and boring grammar exercises.

Instead, you get tons of activities, comic strips, fun games, and songs that let you seamlessly integrate the French language into your everyday life.

There are English translations for all the activities and sidebars with fun cultural information.

Note: this book is available in Kindle.

Use Storytelling

Storytelling is another fantastic strategy to advance quickly in French. Why? Because in the process of learning to do lively readings or act out stories, you are intensifying the development of oral and literacy skills.

Combining language skills makes a huge difference—and boy, is it fun!

However, not all story-based materials are created equal. Ours are bilingual.

We have designed our classic stories specifically for adults and young children learning French together. They are great for older children, adults, and classrooms, too.

The subscription and the apps include the following bilingual titles.  (Please note that some of the app titles – not listed – are also in French & Spanish or French & Chinese.):

• The Little Red Hen / La Petite Poule Rousse
• Cinderella / Cendrillon
• The Three Little Pigs / Le trois petits cochons
• Jack and the Beanstalk / Jacques et le haricot magique
• Thumbelina / Poucette
• The Ugly Duckling / Le vilain petit canard
• The Goose Game/ El juego de la oca / Le jeu d’oie

Key Features of Ana Lomba’s Classic Bilingual Stories:

• Voice-over by native actresses for captivating effect and to help you model animated speech.
• Easy toggle functionality between French and English (or another language) so you can quickly check the meaning if you get lost—you could also alternate reading in the two languages if you so please.
• “Pause” button so you can stop and replay shorter chunks of the text.
• Scene divisions so that you can concentrate on one section at a time and for easier reenactment.
• Vibrant comic-style illustrations, providing strong non-verbal cues to reinforce comprehension and make the experience very enjoyable.
• Tons of everyday language and dialogue at a kid’s level for easy transfer to daily parent-child interaction.

Use Our Poster & ToonFlips© Printables as Additional Storytelling Aids

Use the posters to generate conversations about the characters or however you like.

ToonFlips© are illustrations meant to be used as quick-acting cues. You can use them to indicate who is talking, the location where the action is taking place, or other important elements.

The applications are only limited by your imagination.

After Purchasing, What Should You Focus On?

• Personal interaction. Children learn languages best through personal interaction. This is why it is important that you, the parent, join in the adventure. [Note: older children and adults can use the stories independently, but I still recommend to have a learning buddy.]
• Animate your story reading/telling sessions. Make pretend voices, act out some parts, wear wigs… make the sessions as animated and lively as possible! Use our printable ToonFlips© and posters for additional inspiration.
• Use your French! Make the point of using the French that sticks with you (more each time) in your daily conversations with your child. Also, do NOT worry about speaking with perfect grammar and pronunciation. Actual usage is more important at this point.

For Even Greater Results for Teaching Kids French:

• Play the stories frequently. This is both to train your ear to the flow of real French in action and also to imprint large volumes of French grammar, intonation, cultural flair, etc., in your brain (a lot of this process will take place unconsciously!)
• Set personal learning goals. For example, “This week we will learn at least five new expressions.” Challenge yourself as you become more strategic in your learning. It’s a good idea to keep a language-learning journal and look back at all the progress that you have made—don’t forget to pat yourself on the back!

With my portfolio of French for Kids products, your children will be on their way to learning fluent French.